A 1970’s nostalgia post. Good times, great memories, and some surprising remembrances. (part 1)

December 2020 is almost upon us. This entire year has been shit, and I want to gallop away from it as fast as my two legs can carry me. I tire of the SHTF stuff about the United States and all the Trade stuff regarding China and international Geo-political issues. Instead, I just want to munch, chill and cozy up with some wine and a loved one. (Rent-a-loved one, a much beloved pet, or a favorite family members are all acceptable.)

I have been musing about how different things are today than they were when I was a young ‘un. And indeed, it does seem that time has completely rewrote reality. Whether it is my experiences in hopping crazy world-lines, or that the world has indeed moved on, who actually knows? I don’t. Not really, and I really don’t wanna think about it any more. One thing for certain is that it sure is different.

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

Here, I want to chat about some of the things that I “miss” from my past. Well, nope “miss” isn’t exactly the right word. Say, “muse about”. You know change is a part of life, and good change is wonderful and bad change isn’t all that great. Truth this. And don’t tell me that you don’t agree.

Here’s one thing everybody who was alive during the 1970s can agree on: The entire decade still feels like it only happened yesterday. Seriously, how can the ’70s be five decades in the past? Really?

It’s just not possible that the era ruled by bell-bottom jeans and 8-track cassettes was half a century ago. For those of us who lived through it—and survived that groovy yet perilous time—it will forever be a part of our souls. That and the roach burns in our jeans, the stain of bong water on our shag carpets, and the earth shoes in our closets. Let go to the max! and realize that not everyone reading this is a space cadet. Some might be out to lunch, but you know, it’s all cool beans!

So take a chill pill, and I’ll give you the skinny on what’s going on. Who knows? Maybe I’ll catch you on the flip side.

Waiting for the phone

Having a phone full of APPs where you can call anyone, at any time, and share Social media did not exist and was unheard of. It was Science Fiction. For us, our telephones were hard-wired to the house. And that was that.

Answering the phone. — A scene from the televisions show “The Brady Bunch”. Having cords attached to the house when dealing with telephones was a normal event.

Everybody in the ’70s had just one phone in their house. It was a rotary phone that stayed in some central location, with a cord that could only be stretched so far. If someone was on that phone, you just had to sit and wait for them to finish. Family members hogging the phone were the cause of many sibling battles during this era. And I would have to say that the leading culprits were the young high school females in the household.

Telephones have come a long way from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Most homes back then only had one phone for the entire family whether there were three people or twelve people. That’s right… people had to get in line to get on the line! It wasn’t uncommon for the cord to be stretched out of shape since the user could only hope for privacy by getting as far away from the other family members as possible.

Pretending to be “bionic”

No body ever does this today. But, back in the day, it was a “thing”.

If you truly are a ’70s kid, we don’t need to explain what’s involved in pretending you’re bionic. But for those who aren’t, you simply start running in slow motion, and then you make a sound with your tongue that sounds vaguely robotic. Decades after The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman were canceled, trying to imitate Steve Austin or Jaime Sommers still makes us feel powerful.

Today, if they tried to remake this series it would be called “The 6 Trillion Dollar Person”.

Playing Simon

This game came out as I was entering University. At that time I was heavily into beer, and girls. But my younger brothers and sisters were addicted to this little piece of electronic wizardry.

So simple, and yet so addictive. When this electronic game came out in 1978, every kid had to have one. The gameplay wasn’t too involved—you just had to tap on the right series of four colored buttons to repeat a sound pattern—but we played it with the intensity and focus that kids play Fortnite today.

Gas station lines

At the time of the “Oil Crisis”, my father was commuting a three hour drive back and forth from our home to his new job. The petrol-political situation just made everything tougher. And I well remember having to ride to the gas station and collect all sorts of plastic containers of gas that I would fill up and then siphon back into my dads car.

Did you know that the thick PE containers would crack if you stored gasoline in them in sub-zero temperatures? Guess how I found out? Yeah. Let me tell youse guys icy below freezing gasoline at -20F is still liquid and freezes the cockles of your mouth.

Long car lines at a gas station. — Terrible national management brought this disaster to the door-steps of America.

The 1973 oil crisis (and the second oil crisis a few years thereafter) caused a nationwide panic resulting in around-the-block gas station lines that never seemed to move. Some stations even started posting color-coded flags: Green indicated they still had gas, while red alerted customers that they were out. Every car trip you took with your family in the ’70s felt like it might be your last.

Boogie life! Roller disco parties

Don’t laugh. Whether you lived in the city or in the country, there were always parties at the local roller rink. They installed flashing strobe lights, a DJ, some neon, and before you knew it, we were all boogieing on down!

Boogie boogie! — Party on! So very groovy!

All the fun of a discothèque with the extra awkwardness of having wheels on your feet. We might all remember these parties fondly, but it’s a miracle we didn’t break any bones trying to dance along to a Bee Gees song while skating at frightening speeds.

Love Train

Teenagers at the time, just like now, couldn’t get enough of their favorite artists including Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith just to name a few. All bets were off though at the roller rink. When the lights went down low and the sparkling disco ball shined on the wooden floor, tacky organ music was just fine!

After getting inside the roller rink, the next thing to do was to go stand in another line to get a pair of skates. Of course, to use a pair of skates that belong to the rink, you had to turn your own shoes in as place holders for the borrowed skates. You got your street shoes back only when the skates were returned. I can still see the wooden wheels and smell the disinfectant spray used on the skates between sessions.

We roller-boogied everywhere. And when we did it on the street, we wore appropriate attire, don’t you know. Such as this…

Yikes!

“Free skate” time was awesome. Everyone would go around and around that floor. It was a time to show off your cool moves. The fancy skaters whizzed, by skating backwards, leaving you in their dust. The skaters with extraordinary skills would show off their abilities in the center of the rink. They were the ones that had their own skates and didn’t use the rented ones. Often, they would stroll into the rink with their skates hanging around their necks like a piece of jewelry.

Roller Skate Rentals

Ai! Now this is something you don’t see any more…

By the end of the evening, the borrowed roller skates were sweaty and had caused at least one blister on the skater’s feet. That was just part of the deal. A person knew when they got there that they would get that blister. Hopefully, it would heal in time for the following weekend.

After taking off the roller skates and putting your own shoes back on, it took a few minutes to get your legs used to being off of the skates. It was a weird feeling being 2 inches shorter, although that’s how tall you were when you got there. It is something everyone should experience at least once.

The 70’s really were a time like no other.

Coveting an Atari video game console

No, you may not have owned an Atari console during the ’70s, but at the very least you knew somebody who did and you made sure to do everything in your power to win their friendship. The very idea of playing video games in the comfort of our own homes without ever worrying if we had enough quarters seemed unfathomably futuristic.

Annoying (or being annoyed by) your sibling on road trips

I don’t know if this happens or not. In the days before electronic media, all that you could do when you were trapped inside an automobile is either listen to the AM radio or pester the heck of your siblings.

But that didn’t stop you from going on road trips! When a family piled into the station wagon for a long trek across the country in the ’70s, kids didn’t have the distractions they enjoy today.

There were no iPads or smartphones to keep us occupied. The only way to pass the time was to see how much we could torture our brother or sister sitting in the backseat with us. It was either annoy or be annoyed, the latter of which required constantly demanding justice from your oblivious parents trying to ignore you both in the front seat.

Waiting until Saturday for cartoons

Well, this isn’t exactly true. There were after-school cartoons that we would watch. Namely “The Flintstones”. But for a real marathon of cartoon gluttony, it’s Saturday Morning non-stop comic-thon.

If you wanted to watch Bugs Bunny or Fred Flintstone or any of your favorite cartoon characters, you had only one chance to catch them—Saturday morning. If you missed it, you missed it, and those precious few hours of animated bliss were gone forever (or at least until the next Saturday). It taught us important lessons about delayed gratification. It just wasn’t possible back then to see every cartoon ever made with the press of a button.

The Watergate hearings

It was a simpler time. President Nixon was impeached for erasing 18.5 minutes of personal tapes. Today, the government vacuums up every item of your life in 3D, indexes it, and sells it off to the highest bidder, and then bills you for it in the form of higher taxes.

Even if you didn’t give a hoot about politics, everyone was at least vaguely aware that something bad was happening in Washington. It was the topic of every dinner party conversation, and the evening news reported each new detail like the Watergate scandal might very well be the downfall of democracy.

Seeing the disgraced Richard Nixon leave the White House forever (with his iconic two handed peace symbol hand wave) and get into a helicopter was one of the most unforgettably surreal moments of TV viewing for just about everybody in the country in the ’70s.

Living in a world without Darth Vader

The ’70s was the last decade when a person could wake up one day having no idea who Darth Vader was—and by dinner that night their head would be spinning with thoughts of the Dark Side and black helmets and lightsabers. The world was suddenly divided between “before Star Wars” and “after Star Wars,” and nothing would be the same for us again.

Suddenly true and real “evil” stopped being Hitler and his evil Nazi horde, and it became a large Empire. One with tentacles in everyone’s business, in every corner of the known world, and one led by indescribably evil people.

Being oblivious to “stranger danger”

In the 1970’s we were innocents. We lived life, and while there were bad people about, we didn’t have them thrown into our faces 24-7. We didn’t see missing kids on milk cartons, Amber alerts, screeching television shows and exposes of predators. We were insulated from all that.

The world was no less dangerous for kids in the 1970s than it is today—our parents just weren’t as freaked out about it. Many of us weren’t warned that every unfamiliar face might mean us harm. So we made friends with just about everyone, even random adults that we didn’t recognize.

For me, it was cranking “The immigrant song” by Led Zeppelin at 100, and playing games with my buds. While “Pee Eck” or “Joe Piney” had an record album open and was using it to separate the stems and seeds out of a five dollar bag that we had bought. Heh heh.

Memorizing the lyrics to “Rubber Ducky”

LOL. How true is this?

There was a limited amount of quality TV for kids in the ’70s, so when something came along that resonated with us, it burned into our subconscious. Sesame Street provided many of those pivotal memories.

Rubber Ducky

Rubber Ducky, you're the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you;
(woh woh, bee doh!)

Rubber Ducky, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise!
Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true!
(doo doo doo doooo, doo doo)

Every day when I
Make my to the tubby
I find a little fella who's
Cute and yellow and chubby
(rub-a-dub-a-dubby!)

Rubber Ducky, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you.
(repeat chorus)

Rubber Ducky, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of -
Rubber ducky, I'd like a whole pond of -
Rubber ducky I'm of -
Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you!
(doo doo, be doo.)

Even today, long past the age when we’re regularly taking baths with toys, we can recall Ernie’s ode to his rubber duckie in its entirety.

Bell bottoms

Cool bell bottom jeans. — Bell Bottom Jeans. (“Elephant bells” shown.)

You cannot say “the 70’s” without mentioning the iconic “bell bottom jeans”. They were everywhere. And they were awesome! Most especially when worn with Rock-star platform boots, or earth-shoes.

A lot of completely groovy adults thought bell bottoms looked stylish in the ’70s, and they were right-on! And you know, it’ the cool kids have historically always been eager to imitate the best of adults’ instincts. So obviously, we all had these fantasticly stylish attire.

Short shorts and tube socks

Yes. And it does seem… obscene, now doesn’t it?

So much fashion! — Tube socks, bikes and skateboards.

Rarely in the history of fashion has a clothing style been universally accepted by both men and women. But that was the case in the ’70s with short shorts and tube socks, even though nobody looked especially good in the getup. In hindsight, tube socks that stretched up to your knees and shorts that were way too tight wasn’t the most flattering combo. But at the time, we all thought we looked cool.

Tube socks. — The girls looked better in Tube Socks than the guys.

Do you feel like we do?

Perhaps nothing says 1970’s as the Peter Frampton (live) ode to that period in time. It’s… well, what if all felt like. And if you don’t understand… well… you needed to be there and live that lifestyle.

The 1970’s for us was like this kind of soft fog. Like walking in a fluffy pillow everywhere, and it was really, really surreal.

Oh, did I say that? Oh.

Well. I mean that. You know. Like I REALLY mean that. Yeah.

Oh. What was I saying?

Oh yeah…

I’d give you the original song for free here, but apparently it’s all monetized right now. So I’ll just give you the link…

Hitchhiking

True hitchhiking is just as dangerous as it ever was, but we did it anyways. Back then, we were not a fearful as people are today. We are not blasted with stories of the gruesome things that can happen to young folk on the road. And even if that were to happen, many of us would probably try to fight back with our pocket knives or fists.

No car? No problem! Just stick out your thumb and wait for a kind stranger to pull over and offer you a ride. It seems unthinkable today, but for a ’70s free spirit who didn’t have the bread to buy their own car (or was too young for a license), hitchhiking seemed like the best option when your own two feet couldn’t get you there.

Freedom! — You could hitchhike anywhere, and the police wouldn’t bother you. You could even hitchhike down town!

Having a favorite Charlie’s Angel

We all did. Don’t be silly.

Which brings up a song from the 1970’s. I don’t know why I have this connection of the song to the TV show. I attribute it to me coming home from a long day of partying and listening to Manfred Mann, and then settling down and watching Charlie’s Angels on the tube. I guess that; that is as good as an explanation as anything else.

Manfred Mann’s earth band – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Blinded By The Light..mp3

Oh, and here’s the gals…

Some kids were always rooting for Jaclyn Smith, and some only had eyes for Kate Jackson. The vast majority of us, however, were smitten with Farrah Fawcett, and not just because she had the most iconic poster of the ’70s (and, arguably, of all time). Whatever your preference, they were the coolest crime-fighting trio on TV, and proof that ladies could kick as much criminal butt as the boys.

Woo Woo!

Going outside without sunscreen

Oh. Of course we knew about sunscreen. We could go ahead and use it. “Tans don’t burn with a Coppertone tan”. It’s just that we didn’t care…

These days, most health-conscious people won’t even leave the house on a winter day without slathering their exposed skin in sun protection. But in the ’70s, you could walk around shirtless on a blazing hot summer day and nobody would think to ask if you’d applied any sunscreen.

Wait, sorry, we mean suntan lotion.

There was limited sun protection in the ’70s, just lotion to help you get some color. And when you didn’t get a tan, you got a sunburn—which nobody took all that seriously. There’s a lot we didn’t know about the long-term consequences.

Building a sand castle. — We used suntan lotion to give our burns a bronze hue. Not to protect the skin.

Chase-lounges

This was just about the only way to hang out outside. You get a flimsy aluminum frame with the cheap nylon ribbing and plop down and pop a beer. That is what the 1970’s was all about.

Relaxing. — Relaxing outside with the family.

Do you want to hear a story about a date where I was tripping balls, it was a hot and humid evening, I sat in a chase lounge chair that fit like a glove. My icy cold PBR was next to me, and Traffic, Robin Trower, and Led Zeppelin played all night. After the beer was quaffed, my date and I rode on the foggy river at 3am in a small speedboat. Oh, and her brother couldn’t speak. He was deaf and dumb. So the entire event was in slow motion, sign language.

The 70’s. Youse kids have no idea.

It’s how we rolled

No helmets, knee or elbow protection, and no one recording it to post on Social Media. It’s how we rolled.

It’s how we rolled.

Then, when we were old enough to get our driver’s license, we started to terrorize the neighborhood righteously…

Scene from Dazed and Confused. Driven by Ben Affleck’s character Fred O’Bannion, this commanding Plymouth Duster was nicknamed the “Grey Ghost.” This beautiful car was driven by an unsavory character in the film, and thus the body paint was something resembling very opaque primer.

Wood Paneling

There isn’t anything that says 1970’s than a house with interior wood paneling. My own parents installed it in our television room around 1973. You simply cut it to size and then glue it to the walls.

The metric system

Thanks to the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, we were all prepared to start measuring things in meters, liters, and grams rather than feet, pounds, and quarts. It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this was in the late ’70s, especially if you were a kid. In school, we were inundated with pro-metric system films, which tried to win us over with the adventures of the Metric Marvels. You couldn’t find a kid today stressed out about metric conversion, but in the ’70s, we all lived with the fear that we’d have to be metric-ready at a moment’s notice.

Drinking beer

It’s true that there were laws about drinking alcohol. But they weren’t really enforced. The min-age to drink was 18, and even 16 in some states. And in states where you could work (with parent’s permission) at 14, and drive as well, no one gave a rat’s ass about whether your were drinking alcohol or not. It wasn’t a big thing.

Not like today.

Drinking was not an issue. — Drinking was no big thing.

If the police caught you drinking underage, they would probably pour it out and tell you to drive home safely and go to bed.

Which happened on more than a few occasions.

Today… well, let’s be real. You’d spend the night in Jail and probably need to fork out a few thousand to a bail bondsman to get out so that you can go to work.

Some things never change

Ah. When going through some of these photos, I see things that could have very well been taken today…

Some things never change.

Though, you might get arrested for sexual indecency and become a “Sex Offender” for the rest of your life.

Brutal playground equipment

Playgrounds in the ’70s were about as user-friendly as modern-day adult obstacle endurance races. Sure, there wasn’t as much barbed wire, but the equipment was just as unforgiving and brutal.

1970s playground. — Two story slide was the norm in the 1970s.

Monkey bars were made of cold steel that could break bones without mercy. Everything—from the slides to the seesaws, the swings to the merry-go-round—was built to withstand military strikes, and no ’70s kid would use them without anticipating at least the occasional bloody injury.

Safe playground. — Modern safe playground. No taller than one yard high.

Being terrified to go in the water

Not everyone was, but enough of my friends were that I thought that they were really too-caught-up. I strongly believed that they needed to “loosen up” a bit.

When Steven Spielberg’s Jaws first hit the theaters in 1975, it’s hard to quantify exactly how big an impact it had on our collective psyche. We weren’t just scared of getting into the ocean—even lakes and ponds and wading pools seemed to disguise shark fins. We looked for sharks virtually everywhere, certain that their ferocious fangs were just waiting to bite down hard on our toes and pull us underwater.

Smallpox vaccine scars

It’s a sign of being a “Baby Boomer”.

Before most doctors stopped routinely giving smallpox vaccines in the early ’70s, every kid had the same familiar scar on their upper arm, caused by the two-pronged needle that punctured our skin with all the delicateness of a staple gun. Yeah, it was scary, but smallpox was eradicated. And the fact that we all had the same scars almost felt like a badge of honor.

Being tricked into learning by Schoolhouse Rock!

Saturday morning is supposed to be about eating sugary cereals and vegging out in front of the TV, watching animated shows with no educational content whatsoever. But the Schoolhouse Rock! shorts tricked us, teaching us about multiplication, history, and the differences between conjunctions and interjections without our even realizing it.

Thanks to their catchy songs, we knew all about the different branches of government and what carbon footprints are without ever cracking open a book.

Having the Oscar Mayer commercial stuck in your head

That Oscar Mayer commercial with the cute kid fishing while eating bologna played so often—and was so catchy—we could hear the familiar melody reverberating around our brains over and over and over.

Oh, I’d love to be an Oscar Meyer weiner
That is what I’d truly like to be
‘Cause if i were an Oscar Meyer weiner
Everyone would be in love with me
Oh, I’m glad I’m not an Oscar meyer weiner.
That is what I’d never wanna be
‘Cause if i were an Oscar Meyer weiner
there would soon be nothing left of me

Another variation is:

I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner
That is what I’d truly like to be
‘Cause if i were an Oscar Meyer weiner
Everyone would be in love with me
Oh, I’m glad I’m not an Oscar meyer weiner.
That is what I’d never wanna be
‘Cause if i were an oscar meyer weiner
Everyone would take a bite of me.

The only thing worse was when it got replaced by that “I’d like to teach the world to sing” Coca-Cola commercial! (We’re sorry.)

School assignments printed on ditto machines

And oh they smelled so good!

In 1960s and '70s-era classrooms, it was an olfactory treat whenever the teacher passed out fresh-off-the-machine purple print “ditto” sheets to the class. Virtually every student immediately held the page to his face and inhaled deeply.

-11 Smells That Are Slowly Disappearing | Mental Floss

The mimeograph became the most widely used system for mass-producing papers with print on them. The ink it used ended up looking deep blue or purple. The materials also made mimeographed paper have a unique smell. That fragrance came from the machine’s output; the duplicator fluid had methanol and isopropanol in it. — Personal anecdotes from family members tell of the time when teachers would ask a student to head down the hall. That student would walk on over to the room housing the mimeograph. From there, he or she could get the many copies of that day’s worksheet, printed in that unique, pretty purple ink.

When I was in elementary school in the 1960s and into the early 1970s, teachers gave homework and classroom assignments, quizzes and tests on Ditto worksheets. We wrote on them so often that my classmates and I became intimately familiar with the aniline purple color of the Ditto—as well as the mesmerizing smell that emanated from the freshly printed sheets.

Making Dittos was a two-step process. The first step was to prepare the master, a two-ply form that had an easy-to-write-on paper sheet on top and a wax-coated sheet on the bottom. Our teachers would either hand write or typewrite the schoolwork onto one of these typically letter-size Ditto master forms. The pressure of the pen or the typewriter would transfer wax from the bottom sheet onto the back of the top sheet.

The second step—after discarding what was left of the bottom sheet—was to mount the master, bottom side up, onto the Ditto duplicating drum. The wrong-reading wax image contained the “ink” that was progressively broken down by the chemical spread across the drum as it was rotated—often by cranking the cylinder manually—and came into contact with the paper. Several dozen Ditto sheets could be easily produced within minutes.

Any worksheet or homework assignment passed out to students in a ’70s classroom was likely created using either a ditto or mimeograph machine. Who could forget the way they left purple ink on your fingers, or that unmistakable odor?

Using Silly Putty to preserve newspaper comics

We felt like geniuses for discovering that Silly Putty could be rolled over the comic section in a newspaper and perfectly reproduce our favorite Garfield strip. Today, most newspapers use non-transferable ink, so any kids wanting to try this experiment are out of luck. Sigh.

Slide Rules

Call me a nerd, but I loved my slide-rule. Unlike my fellow classmates, who embraced their new fangled calculators that were just coming out, I used mine for all sorts of engineering and science subjects.

There is even an application for a slide rule for your Windows Computer. You can go ahead and get it HERE. Or better yet, check out these links…

Not at all useful, but a joy to behold and quite beautiful in it’s own way.

Pencil cases with attached slide rulers and sharpeners

It was an essential school supply back in the ’70s, the epitome of high-tech pencil gadgetry. Pulling one of these out of your backpack meant you were serious about learning—or at least looking like the coolest student in your class. Pencil cases have become as extinct as… well, pencils. But the plastic pencil case in 1975 was the iPhone of its era.

Never consuming Pop Rocks and soda at the same time

Every ’70s kid had heard that terrible rumor about Mikey, the picky eater in the Life cereal commercial. Apparently, despite the warnings of his friends, he had consumed the deadly combo of Coca-Cola and Pop Rocks, and the carbon dioxide had caused his stomach to inflate to a lethal degree. What happened next? Well, his stomach exploded, of course, and poor Mikey died on the spot! The rumors were, of course, completely false. But that didn’t stop us from believing them. In a world without Internet, we had no choice but to trust what the smartest kid on the playground was telling us.

Moving the TV antenna for better reception

We called them “rabbit ears”.

And we used them is “complete” systems like this…

TV reception in the ’70s was unreliable at best. If the picture was distorted with zig-zag lines—or, worse, the dreaded “snow,” where everything was fuzzy—the only way to fix the problem was to adjust the antenna, otherwise known as “rabbit ears.”

This involved twisting and turning until slowly, so slowly, you captured a better signal and the picture started to come into focus. But even then, just removing your hands might cause the picture to disappear yet again. It was a long and arduous process to get the kind of visual consistency that TV audiences today take for granted.

But, on the other hand, television was FREE.

You didn’t need to subscribe to cable, to a television satellite service, or some kind of streaming internet service. And it is still free, too. It’s just one of those way-under-reported elements of life that exists today in a world full of gigantic multimillionaires ruling over a land where everything has a price tag.

...don't knock tv antennas. use them and you'll still get plenty of channels and save lots of money and not be a slave to the cable company. shame on saying it's something you're glad to get rid of

-x60hz11 RonaldFelder

Typewriters

Before Microsoft Word were Word Processors, and before them were typewriters.

Decades before email or texting existed, if you were writing to a friend or family member, you either did it by hand—a long and excruciating process, especially if you had a lot to say—or you used a typewriter. The unmistakable metallic clang of typewriter keys pounding on paper is something that few of us who lived through the ’70s will ever forget.

Secondhand smoke everywhere

And the freedom was glorious.

Smoking wasn’t just acceptable in the ’70s—it was ubiquitous. In offices, restaurants, airplanes, homes, and most public buildings, everybody was puffing away on their cigarettes without a care in the world. No busybody is going to tell you to go outside in the rain to smoke near the gutter or trashcan. No one even cared.

People smoked everywhere. Restaurants, parks, in taxi’s, on the train,at work and on airplanes.

Secretary smoking at work. — Secretary smoking at her desk in the office.

People smoked. It was as natural as drinking Pepsi and eating a hamburger. The prices for cigarettes were very cheap, and no one had the nerve to tell you what to do with your own body. It was unheard of. And if you did, the response probably would be “Hey Man! What’s your fucking problem?”

Smoking in the kitchen. — Smoking in the kitchen of a tiny apartment at 7:35 PM. Notice the brown refrigerator, the rabbit ears for the television, the tumbler of beverage on a table on top of a napkin, and the enormous salt and pepper shakers.

And those wooded crate that her books were in, those are crates for eggs. I used them for my record album collection. In those days they were real wood. Flimsy things, but they did the job all rightly.

Headsets for the Stereo

Well, we have headsets today, but they are used differently. Back in the 1970’s if you had a stereo, you also probably had a pair of headsets. And while your parents might have bought them for you so that they could have some peace and quiet, the chances are that you probably used them while the stereo was blasting through the speakers. You know, for the “full effect”.

This is what we pretty much did. Here’s a scene from the iconic movie “Dazed and Confused”.

Debating what “American Pie” was all about

What was going on in Don McLean’s 1971 hit? Nobody knew for sure, but plenty of kids had a lot of theories about who the jester was and why he was stealing the king’s thorny crown, and if “Jack” was supposed to be Mick Jagger or Bob Dylan or somebody else entirely. Was the whole song really about Buddy Holly dying in a plane crash and McLean feeling sad about it? In those pre-internet days, your guess was as good as anybody else’s.

Macramé home décor

Macramé home décor was especially popular in the ‘70s. A lot of different home decorations were macramé including curtains and plant hangers, but nothing was more popular than the macramé owl.

The groovy pop-culture era is a phenomenon that stands out among many others. Sometimes it seems like it was a million years ago and sometimes it seems like just yesterday. Check out this “far out”, very cool kitchen…

Shaking “instant” Polaroid photos to help them develop faster

As Outkast reminded the world with their 2003 hit “Hey Ya!,” the ’70s taught us how to “shake it like a Polaroid picture.” Or at least, that’s what we all believed. The moment a new picture slid out of a Polaroid instant camera, we pinched it between two fingers and shook it vigorously, as if air drying was the only way to get the clearest image. It wasn’t until 2004 when we finally learned it was all bogus. As Polaroid helpfully explained, “shaking or waving has no effect.”

Bicycle helmets not being required

It’s pretty silly that a government that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the people, would require them to do all sorts of things “for their safety”. But that’s America for you.

If you wore a helmet while riding a bike during the ’70s, it meant either that you were recovering from a serious cranial injury or you were terrified of even the most minor of accidents. We just weren’t as safety-conscious back then.

In those days, freedom actually meant something. it wasn’t confused with “safety” or “cleanness”, like it is today.

Clackers

Everyone had these.

So simple and yet so entertaining. Consisting of two heavy acrylic balls attached to a string, you basically knocked the two balls together as fast as you could… and that was it. Somehow it kept us entertained for hours, or at least until some kids started overdoing it with the clacker enthusiasm and the balls shattered and caused shrapnel-related injuries. Clackers were deemed weapons of mass destruction and officially pulled from stores.

Me. Well, I put them in an oven and baked them. LOL.

Aluminum can tabs

The 1960’s was known as the time where you needed a triangular “can opener” to open up your favorite can of beer. You would do so with the heavy gauge steel can, and make two triangular indentations. One large one to drink from, and one small one for the air to get in.

Then, in the 1970’s the pull-tab was invented, and life was forever changed.

Opening a soda in the ’70s required pulling a ring that tore open a small wedge shape on the top of an aluminum can. Then the ring would be thrown away, usually on the ground where somebody would invariably step on it and hurt themselves. Injuries from those metallic tabs became a nationwide epidemic.

One 1976 New York Times report remarked that a large percentage of beach injuries “were due to cuts inflicted by discarded pop tabs,” Slate noted. Getting a tetanus shot was the only way to survive in a world littered with soda can tabs.

Fixing mistakes with Wite-Out

The “delete” button of the ’70s came in a little jar full of white liquid, which could be painted across anything in a letter or school assignment that we wanted to make disappear. It wasn’t quite as magical as it sounds, since you had to wait for what felt like forever for Wite-Out to dry, and sometimes you had to blow on the paper, which just made you feel ridiculous. By the time it was ready to put back in the typewriter, you’d have completely lost your train of thought.

Sea-Monkeys

Those ads in the back of comic books were too irresistible for most kids. Why would we not want to have our own anthropomorphic sea creatures, living in a tank and looking reverently out at our bedrooms like we were gods?

But when the Sea Monkeys arrived, we learned the hard lesson that you shouldn’t always believe advertising.

The creatures didn’t look anything like tiny humans at all, because they were actually a type of brine shrimp, the most boring aquarium pet a kid could ever ask for.

Station wagons with wood trim

Ohhhh baby!

Cool car with wood trim. — So very groovy.

Why so many people were drawn to cars that looked as if they were made at least partly out of wood is anybody’s guess. Maybe they were responding to some residual hippie influence, and they couldn’t resist a car that was seemingly constructed from biodegradable materials harvested in pesticide-free gardens. It was all bunk, of course—the wood texture, more often than not, was just vinyl siding—but especially in the ’70s, appearance was more important than reality.

Thing Maker

Parents thought it was perfectly safe to let kids make their own artsy crafts by putting plastic in the oven. Totally cool. We were able to mix chemicals, and bake them in ovens and crate all sorts of wondrous dangers. Thingmaker came with it’s own oven. It was glorious!

It introduced me to molds, plastic injection molding and hardware design.

The concept of the Thingmaker was first introduced in 1963, as an extension of Mattel’s “Vac-U-Maker” line. Thingmaker Creepy Crawlers by Mattel was by far my absolute favorite toy as a kid and I got my first one in 1968.

I spent hours in my room playing with this and spilling plastic goop on my carpet. I loved overfilling the metal molds just slightly so I could peel off the excess. I burned myself more than a few times and have the scars to show. I also had Creeple People and Incredible Edibles, but neither of these was as cool as the original Thingmaker. I cannot believe I played with this toy totally unsupervised starting at the age of 10!

There have been several revivals of the Thingmaker – the first in 1978 was called the Thingmaker II and employed safer technology. This toy used a totally different type of goop and plastic molds, into which the heated Plastigoop was poured.

The reformulated Plastigoop did not work well, the bugs and insects were shoddy, and the process was painfully slow, so it went kaput fairly quickly. In 1992, ToyMax reintroduced the Thingmaker with much stricter safety regulations. This new version of the Creepy Crawlers set once again used metal molds and a goop similar to the original.

ToyMax went out of business around 2002, and yet another company, Jakks Pacific started producing a similar toy starting in 2006.

The Vac-u-Form, also called Vac-u-Former, was a toy manufactured by Mattel in the 1960s. Using an industrial process called vacuum forming, a rectangular piece of plastic was clamped in a holder and heated over a metal plate. After the plastic softened, the holder was moved to the other side, over a mold of the object to be formed. Pressing a handle on the side of the unit created a vacuum, which caused the plastic to be sucked down over the mold and form a shape. When the plastic cooled it solidified, creating a little model of the item, such as a car, boat, or tiny log cabin

-Consumer Grouch

The Pacer

My first car after I wrecked my GTO. Sigh! I loved that car.

But the Pacer, or the Pacer-rooo as we liked to call it was perfect for the era. It was like riding in this big quiet glass bubble, and we would listen to tunes and watch the world go by…

…slowly. Very slowly.

The AMC Pacer. — My grandmother loved my Pacer. She thought it was a robust, well built car.

Pink Floyd – Sheep

Drinking tons of Tang

My personal formula was 50% of the glass filled with Tang powder, and the remaining part water.

The makers of Tang drove home the idea that their instant beverage, which tasted vaguely of oranges, was the nutrition of choice for astronauts everywhere. And that was enough for us to believe that just drinking Tang for breakfast put you in the same intellectual company as the brave astronauts of NASA. Even though Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, once famously said he was not a fan of Tang, that wasn’t the popular opinion in the ’70s.

Relating to one of the Brady Bunch kids

Whether it was ambitious ladykiller Greg or awkward middle child Jan or young dreamer Bobby, there was somebody among The Brady Bunch that resonated with just about every ’70s kid. The oversized family that was too perfect to exist in the real world somehow still managed to reflect our individual quirks and idiosyncrasies.

Metal lunch boxes

A plastic lunch box? That would’ve seemed inconceivable to a ’70s kid, who proudly carried around a lunch box sturdy enough to protect bologna sandwiches from an air strike. The characters featured on the front of these lunch boxes, whether Evel Knievel or Strawberry Shortcake, said a lot about our personalities.

48 Hassocks

These round ottoman seats became weirdly popular during the ’70s, and always in the most outrageous colors—like avocado green or neon orange. They were meant as foot stools but kids knew they were perfect for stretching out, or curling up on for cat naps, or even spreading out on stomach-first and pretending we were flying like Superman. Ah, those were the days.

Taping songs off the radio

Taping music off the radio. — Not every bedroom was so well equipped, but indeed, once we figured out that we could tape the music that we heard on the radio, it was only a matter of time before the high priced sales of record albums would crash.

The music piracy of its day! When you had a new favorite song but there wasn’t enough in your piggy bank to buy the album or 45 rpm single, you would sit next to the radio with your portable cassette recorder and wait… and wait… and wait… until finally that song you loved so much started playing, and you immediately pressed down on the record button, capturing those beautiful sounds for free.

A chopper bike with a banana seat

Oh baby, I had a burnt orange bike. Tall handle-bars. White banana seat. Red reflectors, and drag-strip rear tire.

You didn’t even have to pop a wheelie when you owned a chopper bike. All you had to do was sit there, tapping your fingers on the handlebars like you were revving a throttle, and you looked like Evel Knievel getting ready to jump over a canyon.

Stretch Armstrong

I didn’t have this, but my brother did, and the tortures that he put this poor toy through were the stuff of legends.

This elastic hero was like a stress ball for prepubescents. Just how much torture could Armstrong endure at your hands? Plenty of kids were willing to find out, pulling his limbs like they were trying to get a confession. The secret to Stretch’s durability—the goo inside his body that made him so elastic—was nothing but plain ol’ corn syrup.

Frisbee

Yeah. You can go on all the retro 1970s websites on the internet, and not one single one will mention the iconic Frisbee. This was the most prolific and versatile tools in used during the 1970’s.

Not only could you toss it about, but you could clean out your bag of weed with it. It was portable, convenient, light weight, and came in a wide selection of colors and designs. I well remember my glow in the dark scooby-doo Frisbee. What fun was that!

Shag Carpeting Throughout Your House

This was so 70’s.

I used the left over pieces to carpet my GTO, and then later, my Pacer, and even later than that, my Dodge Tradesman 400.

Covering your floors wasn’t as simple as popping into Pottery Barn and picking up a rug in the 1970s. Your house—apart from the patterned linoleum in your kitchen—was covered in shag carpeting in a variety of earthy tones, from moss to pumpkin to, of course, leopard.

Not all homes had carpet during the groovy era. Some still preferred their hardwood floors, but you can be sure that any respectable modern and hip household that did have carpet had shag carpet. Some shag carpet was so shaggy that you could lose the family hamster in it for days.

Having Every Dish Served Out of Patterned Pyrex

Pyrex. An awesome invention and completely under appreciated.

Kitchen of the 70s. — Modern kitchen 1975.

Fancy china has its place, but as a ’70s kid, you know that the true height of sophistication is enjoying your mom’s tuna noodle casserole straight from the Pilgrim-patterned Pyrex it was baked in.

But truthfully, you haven’t lived until you made a “swamp” pizza (Chicago style deep dish pizza) from a Pyrex dish.

Basement Den

Up until the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, basements were a place for the hot water heater, furnace/boiler, and washing machine. Basements were also a great storage area. Basements were stacked with boxes full of things that wouldn’t ever be used again but the owner couldn’t live without!

During the groovy era, “finishing” basements for living space became a popular craze. It wasn’t called a finished basement… it was called a club room; complete with the old TV set and fake wood paneling. It was a classic look.

Many a night would be spent quaffing beers, playing cards, darts, and chess while listening to Neil Young. I’ll tell you what.

Water bed

This type of bed is pretty cool, and not at all what one would think. If you go on the internet, you might find someone who has never slept on one of these beds writing derogatory statements about them. (It’s a very common thing on the internet these days… you write about what you know nothing about for a hand full of change.)

These beds are really super comfortable. They are heated, and it is like sleeping inside the soft bosom of a giant woman. The sides envelope around you and you feel completely embraced.

All jokes aside, this is a super comfortable way to sleep. When I slept on my water bed, I was usually out within two minutes.

Now, for some important notes. Firstly, if the power goes off, in the dead of winter, you can rest assured that you will be sleeping on top of an icy pile of slush. And secondly, you need to constantly add anti-bacteria chemicals. Otherwise algae will grow and your water bed would spring about a zillion super tiny, impossible to locate, leaks.

Lava Lamps

Technically the oddly hypnotic lava lamp was made popular in the 60s, but it continued on strong through almost the end of the 1970s. I actually had two of them, and they really added a nice effect in my bed room.

TV Dinners

We had these little metal folding tables, and a place where we wold put them behind the door. When we were too busy to eat a “real” meal, out came the TV dinners, and we would eat in front of the television learning about the world on the “news”.

Do you want more?

I have more posts that are similar to this in my Life and Happiness Index here…

Life & Happiness

I miss my Orange GTO. In the movie “Dazed and confused”, This car was driven by Kevin Pickford, played by Shawn Andrews. Two vehicles were used for this film, and they were acquired from GTO collectors through the local classified ads. One of the GTOs in Dazed and Confused was powered by a 455 High Output (H.O.) V8, and the entire film crew and cast members were delighted at the car’s ease in burning rubber. Cinematographers love tire smoke, and the GTO in this film delivered plenty of it.

Can you believe that this is only part one?

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How to play the KTV (and bar) dice game in a cup when you are in China. The various rules and games, and some fun advisement’s

In this article we are going to look at some of the most common games that drunk adults play in China. It’s a fundamental part of Chinese culture. This is true whether you are in a bar, or a KTV, or just messing around eating BBQ outside at 4am. Playing with dice is a (seemingly) national pastime.

We are going to talk about two subjects primarily…

Drinking alcohol.
Playing games in the KTV.

I am covering it here as part of my business KTV section. You don’t need to go to a business KTV to play it. But knowing how to play the game is going to be really helpful to be able to control your drinking. Otherwise, you will be too drunk to do anything when it comes time to go to your hotel room.

…

You do NOT want that.

Oh, HELL no!

…

You need to control your alcohol intake, and part of being able to do that is to understand the drinking games that you will play with your companion.

So listen up.

Ok. So here you are….

You have had a very fulfilling meal. You impressed your hosts with your drinking ability, and you gave them great face by eating all sorts of delicious Chinese food. Now it is time to play. So, arrangements have been made, and your are driven into a non-descript building with a tiny-tiny sign that says KTV on it, and you depart the car in the basement. Your aide helps you into the elevator and you find yourself being led to the KTV room for the evenings festivities. You’ve already selected a companion and after you two clink glasses of beer together she picks up a big plastic cup with five dice inside of it. What now?

What now?

Here we are going to discuss some of the dice games that you can play. You only need to know one or two. Then just use that as a basic of getting drunk. Have fun, and don’t get too caught up on what you are doing. Just relax, and have fun.

It is part of the Chinese culture, especially among Chinese men, to drink beer or Baijiu when gathering with friends and family during hotpot dinner or KTV sessions. So be ready to 干杯gān bēi (drink up). It is part of Chinese culture to toast with people that are with you in order to make them feel that you consider them and care about them. If someone toasts with you ten times in ten minutes, just go with it and drink up ten times.

-6 Interesting facts about Chinese KTVs

The beauty of China‘s drinking games is that they cut down on the rules, leaving plenty of time for pure, unadulterated imbibing. Whether your preferred tipple is a beer or a cocktail, there’s a game to suit you.

Strong boss. — In China, a very successful boss is someone who can drink very strong alcohol and hold his own and maintain “face” while the rest of the world watches on.

Realize that everything listed here is conducted with healthy quantities of alcohol. If you cannot or will not drink alcohol, I would advise you NOT to come to China.

Warning! Before going to China on business or for pleasure, make sure you understand the cultural implications of drinking, or not drinking, alcohol, or you will most likely suffer unwanted consequences. It’s not always lighthearted fun and games in China.

To boil down this complicated issue to one sentence: You can have friends, be rich and drink …. or don’t drink and be lonely and poor. 

While that might seem overly exaggerated to some, anyone familiar with drinking culture in China can tell you that at best, this is a slightly black and white, yet mostly accurate, description.

-China Educational Tours

Understand China well; If you cannot drink alcohol, they will take your money, but you will have ZERO respect.

Non-drinker. — In China, the ability to drink hard alcohol in large quantities is a measure of your worth. If you cannot do it, you will be judged as something undesirable. It is better to try to handle the alcohol and throw it all out in the privacy of the bathroom than lose face to your peers of business associates. This is a Fair Warning.

A Quick Review

The dice games usually occur at a KTV after a full night of eating and drinking in a restrurant.

It should come as no surprise that China has more of a collective culture and less of an individualistic one. Therefore, in social situations, things are done more as a group and less as an individual. Drinking is done no differently.

You’ll be at a restaurant, sitting at a round table with white table cloth, and 10-20 other people. Depending on the occasion, there could be multiple tables (for weddings, it’s of course the entire room). Snacks and then food will be served, along with copious amounts of alcohol.

However, usually everyone drinks together, at certain times (not necessarily whenever they feel like it) and rarely alone. Someone next to you may say “quànjiǔ” which means “let’s drink together” and is a way for them to propose a toast. Or, the most senior host may propose a toast for the table before the junior host does the same.

Throughout the evening, there will be many, many, truly many toasts – both small toasts between you and the person next to you or on the other side of the table, and large toasts for the whole table.

Drink alcohol. — If you cannot drink alcohol, don’t even bother coming to China…!

If it’s a wedding or other multi-table event, people will gradually begin to just walk from table to table toasting almost everyone they see.

Note: for anyone not familiar with the custom of “toasting”, it means that drinking alcohol with the toaster is pretty much obligatory.

The drinks are usually in small shot glasses (sometimes only half the size of a regular shot glass) and will be beer or red wine if you’re lucky, baijiu if you’re not.

Toasts are little more than the word “Ganbei”, although they can be longer. For those curious minds asking,

“Would it be ok for someone to toast me with Ganbei and instead of downing the drink all at once, I just take a sip (as they down theirs)?”

The answer – NO! Not really.

It is an action considered to be RUDE by the majority of people. No one is going to force you to shotgun your drink, but it leaves an awkward, slightly offended moment, as if someone goes to high-5, or fist-bump, another person and the other person just walks by. In the end though, it’s your choice.

If invited to an event – be it a business-type meeting, a wedding, a graduation, etc. – you will more than likely, be EXPECTED to drink.

And it IS expected.

And there will be pressure to do so (more pressure if you’re male, less pressure if you’re female).

Your glass will be filled (and refilled), and refilled yet again.

People will make toasts or raise their glass towards you, and … most importantly, it will be considered incredibly rude to refuse.

China does not give the same consideration to individual preference regarding drinking as is normally done in English-speaking countries (especially in Canada and the US). This is something that they have never of. It is something that is simply NOT done.

In other words, “No thanks, I’m good” is not usually considered acceptable and instead will likely be considered rude, insulting, and offensive.

To decline an offer of drinking is to insult your host.

To illustrate, imagine being invited to someone’s house for dinner and doing one of the following: 1) not eating or drinking anything, all while sitting at the table with a disgusted look; 2) going to someone’s house for dinner and telling the host their house is ugly, their furniture looks cheap, their decoration is in poor taste.

Refusing a drink in China is considered somewhere in between those two illustrations. It is a MAJOR Faux Pas.

Faux Pas
A faux pas is a socially awkward or tactless act, especially one that violates accepted social norms, standard customs, or the rules of etiquette. The expression faux pas comes from French, where it means "false step", "misstep". It has been used in English for over 300 years.

-Wikipedia

Drinking. — In China, you will discover that even tiny petite little girls will be able to drink very strong alcohol. If you cannot compete against them, how can you compete against hard steely company bosses? China is all about relationships and the competition building them.

Rejecting the drink is felt as a rejection of the person offering the drink. It is not seen to have anything to do with a person’s personal taste preference, comfort level, tolerance, or previous drinking habits. Thus, the unintentional insult that a western may convey when turning down alcohol, will spill over into, and harm, business and social relationships.

Beware.

In between toasts, there will be lots of eating, joking, storytelling (probably all in Mandarin unless you’re in a bilingual, bicultural group), and some drinking games as the night progresses. All the while, people will be toasting one another faster than a swarm of bees hitting a flower parade.

Ten to fifty toasts per hour is a pretty reasonable expectation.

Once dinner is over, the party could continue into the wee hours of the morning at a KTV or massage parlor. If it’s a business dinner, and you want to sign a contract or close a deal, expect the night to go ‘til late. I’ve been out as late at 7am the next morning.

Check my other posts on this subject on how to control the timing and events.

Loser #2. — Non-alcohol drinkers are viewed within China as losers, thief’s, untrustworthy, dangerous, sly, and a big problem. It’s sort of the way that the homeless in San Francisco are viewed as they shit on the sidewalk.

Some advice

The following is from an article titled “Ganbei – Chinese Drinking Culture” . Reproduced as found, minus the pictures. Edited to fit this venue, and all credit to the original author(s) and all credit to the website at the link listed. I would suggest you visit this most excellent site.

Toasting culture and rules

It’s bad enough if you refuse a drink, don’t insult your hosts more by messing up the toasting rules too.

1) Toasts are not usually long, draw-out affairs that take minutes to complete. These types of toasts are saved for more ceremonious occasions. Often, a “toast” simply means someone turns in your direction or physically approaches you, lifts their full (shot) glass and says the magic word, “Ganbei!”. That’s it. You’ve now been toasted (or, colloquially speaking, ‘ganbeied’) and you’re now expected to grab your full (shot) glass and drink. Don’t have a full glass? No worries. The person doing the ganbeiing will gladly fill it for you before proposing the ganbei.

2) Toasts are somewhat of a power move in China. The person giving the toast is seen to have the power and the person accepting the toast is somewhat acknowledging that power. Therefore, the most senior host at a banquet will usually offer the first toast — accidentally stealing this opportunity from them is very bad form indeed. This ‘power’ issue is more the case early on in the evening than later after everyone is sloshed, but never forget what toasting truly represents in China.

Toasting. — If you cannot handle your alcohol, don’t bother coming to China.

3) Stand and raise your glass for formal toasts when others at the table do so.

"干杯"（Gānbēi）is the drinking toast equivalent of “cheers” in English. However, beware of the fact that “干杯” literally translates to “dry glass.” You WILL be expected to finish your drink after the toast. 

"我敬你一杯” (Wǒ jìng nǐ yībēi) is used to toast to a specific person. The person being toasted to is expected to at least take a sip of his/her drink. 

A more generous way of making a toast to someone is “我干了，你随意” (Wǒ gànle, nǐ suíyì), which means “I will finish my glass, but you can drink at your leisure.”

4) In general, it’s a good rule to follow those around you, especially the elders at the table.

5) Avoid taking a drink alone. Only drink with the group. Never singularly – Western style. You should wait until a toast is given and then drink with the group. Or, wait until someone decides to toast you. Or, if you’re thirsty and really want the drink, try to find someone who you think is probably on, or below, your ‘social level’ (for example, a similar or lower rank in the company or of similar age in a social circle) and toast them.

6) You’ll want to avoid, at first ,toasting people significantly higher in rank, or older, than you as this can be seen as disrespectful (see #2). Unlike in the West, toasting the senior, important members of a group is not necessarily taken as a token of respect from the toaster to the toastee, but instead a slightly disrespectful gesture that implies you feel you are more important than he/she is. If you’re brand new to the group and you have no idea who anyone’s position is and you accidentally toast the boss at the beginning of the evening, it will usually be seen as humorous and you’ll get a pass for being a foreigner who didn’t know better. As the night wears on, it will become more acceptable to toast those of higher rank and age if you choose to do so.

Bosses, and Leaders can initiate toasts.

Friends and colleagues can toast to each other.

Avoid toasting upwards. You toast on your own stratified level, and only toast upwards when invited.

7) Use your right hand to hold your glass when toasting and drinking. You can place your left hand under the glass to show greater respect while someone is giving a toast if you would like. It’s a two-handed toast, and very respectful.

8) When you clink glasses together, always lower yours and clink the top of your glass a bit lower than the person(s) you are toasting – this shows respect. You won’t be thrown out on your keister for accidentally clinking your glass higher than theirs, but you’ll get bonus points for properly following the cultural norms.

When clinking glasses, the junior people should always hold their glass lower than those of senior folks. This not only applies to business situations, but also to family dinners (i.e. son-in-law will hold his glass lower than father-in-law).

If you are late to the party, you are expected to punish yourself by drinking. Most latecomers actually enjoy the “punishment,” as it allows them to catch up to the rest of the people at the party.

Whoever proposes a toast is always expected to finish his or her glass. 

Lastly, it is considered extremely rude to refuse a drink after someone toasts you. The amount you drink after someone toasts you is tied to the amount of respect you are showing them. Of course, “drying your glass” is considered the utmost respect at the dinner table.

Getting down to business

In many western countries, people often do business sober, or mostly sober, and then get inebriated afterwards to celebrate.

China kind of does this in reverse.

Drinking, especially drinking to the point of getting drunk, is a way to establish trust between individuals or groups. Without it, most Chinese feel uncomfortable moving forward with people/a person who they don’t trust. It’s a big NO-NO when doing any kind of business, or having personal relationships inside of China.

So, a question many westerns have is, “When should I get down to business?” Well, don’t do it at the table. You do not do it there. And you don’t even start considering this issue until everyone is good and drunk and the boss (hosting the event) shows his opinion of you up-front. Usually that means buying you a girl or two, and going to a KTV.

Lonely and shunned. — Non-drinkers in China are shunned.

The Chinese drinking table is not the same as a London or NYC lunch booth.

Think of the table as merely the interview. You’re being sized up. You’re being evaluated on a wide range of different aspects. Mostly, people are just wondering can they trust you.

Although you may hint or lightly touch on business issues at the table, the drinking session is mostly to form a human bond for doing business later — perhaps even at the late-night karaoke joint across the street. So, just relax, enjoy yourself, focus on making strong social connections, and remember that here, business can wait. Furthermore, for obvious reasons, the drinking table is not the place to sign contracts or make critical decisions.

Status symbol – there’s no such thing as “the cheap stuff”

With alcohol being such a status and power symbol, it’s not easy to find inexpensive bottles of wine and hard liquor (unless you want Baijiu).

Good stuff. — 53% alcohol – the “good” stuff.

A lot of the consumption is at the higher end of the scale with some parties resembling a club table of big name NBA or Hip-Hop stars. Some wines are proudly displayed and consumed that run tens of thousands of dollars per bottle.

This only occurs of course in the richest of social circles, but if you’re lucky, you may get an exclusive invite to one of these gatherings which means that one glass of something you’re drinking may cost more than your entire trip, and the whole bottle could easily be worth more than your car.

Baijiu 白酒 (bái jiǔ) – Also called sorghum wine, Baijiu is the drink of choice for business dinners in China. This clear liquor is as intoxicating as tequila, with the added burning stench of rubbing alcohol. The most popular brand of Baijiu is Maotai, which can be as strong as 60% alcohol-by-volume (compared to an average vodka at 40% ABV.)

Red Wine 红酒 (hóng jiǔ) – Red wine has increased in popularity at Chinese dinner tables in recent years along with the rising interest in luxury goods. Popular choices include top French wines such as Lafit or Latour.

Beer – 啤酒 (pí jiǔ)Popular Chinese beer brands include Tsingtao and Harbin Beer, which are crisp, refreshing lagers that can cool the burning sensations from drinking Baijiu.

(Some speciality alcohols may be consumed on certain holidays, such as huangjiu during DuanWu Festival. Chinese minorities also often have their own unique fermentation processes for different wines and spirits.)

Specific Alcohols

The Chinese have their own phonetically-similar versions of most English-named drinks, so make sure you know your drink names or you may end up with something that you did not order!

Chinese	Pinyin	English
威士忌	wēishìjì	Whiskey
伏特加	fútèjiā	Vodka
約翰走路	yuēhànzǒulù	Johnny Walker
香槟	xiângbîn	Champagne
白兰地	báilándì	Brandy
贝利尼	bèilìní	Bellini
玛格丽特	mǎgélìtè	Margarita
蓝色夏威夷	lánsèxiàwēiyí	Blue Hawaii
曼哈顿	mànhādùn	Manhattan
黑色露西亚	hēisèlòuxīyà	Black Russian
白俄罗斯	báièluósī	White Russian
马蒂尼	mǎdìní	Martini
金汤力	jīntānglì	Gin and tonic
威士忌可乐	wēishìjìkělè	Whiskey coke
血腥玛丽	xuèxīngmǎlì	Bloody Mary
莫吉托	mòjítuō	Mojito

Other tips

1) There are no spouses at formal business dinners. Business may eventually be conducted at some point in the night and those talks alone may be uninteresting to your spouse.

2) The party doesn’t always end at the restaurant. It often continues to other places that are, let’s say, not exactly appropriate for taking a spouse. Many westerns would be surprised at how much business gets done in a sauna or while laying on your stomach getting a massage – neither place, in China, would be the type of place where most people would want to take their spouses.

Actually, I would say that about 90% of the time the after dinner is at a "Business KTV" with Long-time and short-time girls. The remaining 10% is a mixture of venues that can include a massage or sauna (with long-time and short-time girls).

3) No Tipping. Tipping is not the norm in China and your host will probably cover the check, so no need to leave a tip or offer to “chip in.”

Everyone drinks. — Everyone in China drinks alcohol. To reject the offer to drink alcohol is an insult to the person, their culture and to their way of life. DON’T DO IT!

Chui Niu, AKA Dice

A staple of bars and KTV joints across the country, Chui Niu, known to foreigners simply as Dice, is perhaps China’s favorite drinking game. Though the rules are simple, the results are dangerous, so make sure you know your limits when attempting this game.

Each player begins with a cup and five six-sided dice. When it is your turn, you shake your dice in the cup and look at the result surreptitiously. Then, you must say the total number of dice of a certain figure, for example “three threes,” that you believe are contained under the sum of everyone’s cups. This continues in a circle, with each subsequent player upping the ante – that is, you cannot guess twos after fives have already been spoken for. So you can say “two sixes” after someone has said “four fives,” but you cannot say “six twos” after someone has said “five fours.”

Drinking in China. — If you cannot drink alcohol in China, you will be considered a misfit and a loser.

The game is about pushing your luck and calling people out on their bullshit. When you think someone has said an impossible figure, you can shout “bu xing,” meaning “not possible,” and everyone must show their dice. If the player who said the number guessed less than or exactly the correct number, the person who shouted “bu xing” must drink.

If the guesser was above the correct number, however, he or she is the one who must drink.

So you played some dice, what’s next?

If invited to KTV, you’re pretty much expected to sing, regardless of your ability (or lack of). If someone in the room has the voice of an angel – or is borderline blackout drunk – you can expect them to take the standing mic at the front of the room and throw a few shapes while they’re immersed in the moment.

The audience typically claps and cheers no matter how good or painful the entertainment, and this tends to magnify as the evening wears on and alcohol consumption peaks.

No one gives a rat’s ass if you can sing or not. If you want to give and maintain face you MUST appear to be enjoying the entire evening.

As the average KTV room is ridiculously loud, chatting is practically impossible. Therefore, expect personal distance to go out of the window as mouth-to-ear conversation becomes the norm.

Chinese version of a successful businessman.

How to KTV

1) Drink some booze and grow a pair

2) Think of a song/ an artist

3) Select the English interface unless your zhōngwén is hěn lìhài

4) If it’s a song name you’re after, type the first letter of each word from the song title (e.g. ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ would be ‘d-l-b-i-a’). If it’s an artist or band, start typing their name and it should pop up

5) Select and queue the song

6) Choose to sing with either the original song playing, half-solo (faint lyrics) or solo

7) Put on a good show for your audience

Drinking at the table. — Why are you in China if you are not going to embrace the culture and experience life?

Song Genres

The availability of English songs is reflected by the price and reputation of the KTV facility. Practically all KTVs stock some classic English hits, while upscale KTVs (such as 纯K) have plenty of modern tracks to choose from. Expect to see a plethora of English and American pop and rock songs from the likes of The Wanted, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, Jason Mraz, Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga.

Sing a song or two, then Genbei a round or two. Then back to your girl and pick up the plastic cup. You might want to play an American version of the dice…

The American Game with Five Dice

This is an American game, but seemingly adapts well to a Chinese KTV. The gals won’t understand what you are saying, but they will get the gist of the game and you all will have a rocking good time playing it.

I will honestly say that this is the most popular game in China that I have played and almost every gal understands how to play it.

To communicate that you want to play this game you simply take three dice. Show the four, the five, and the six in a lineup together. They almost always nod their heads in understanding.

Five dice game. — American style five dice game.

Players take turns rolling all five dice.

Now it’s your turn.

What you are trying to do is get a 6-5-4 combination.

Three dice. — You are trying to get one (four) + one (five) + one (six)

You are permitted three tries.

If, after three tries, you just cannot get a “4 + 5 + 6”, then you must drink. And the game proceeds to the next person. Who then starts his / her turn.

But more often than not, you will be successful in getting this roll.

So, if all three appear on the first roll, the player’s “point” is the sum of the remaining two dice. Here’s some examples…

Die 1	Die 2	Die 3	Die 4	Die 5	Score
4	5	6	1	1	1+1=2
4	5	6	2	3	2+3=5
4	5	6	4	4	4+4=8
4	5	6	5	3	5+3=8
4	5	6	6	6	6+6=12

Examples of play combinations

OK. So now, you have a score.

It’s the next person’s turn.

You compare the scores. The low score drinks.

So, how do you keep track of each other's score? You leave the score dice as they fell in place. Then you compare them. It's much easier that way.

…

But wait!

[1] You can try to get a better score by rolling again. You have up to three rolls, so theoretically, if you scored a 4+5+6 on the first roll, you can get as many as two other tries to better your score. But, you MUST take the score(s) from the earlier 4+5+6 rolls and include them in your latest score.

Example…

Die 1	Die 2	Die 3	Die 4	Die 5	Score
1	2	5	3	4	0
4	5	6	1	1	1+1=[2]
4	5	6	3	2	[2]+3+2=7

Example of a play combination

[2] If a 6 or a 6 and a 5 appear on the first roll (but no 4), they are set aside. You can use them to get a better score on the next roll.

Example…

Die 1	Die 2	Die 3	Die 4	Die 5	Score
5	6	1	1	1	0
[5]	[6]	1	2	3	0
[5]	[6]	4	2	3	2+3=5

An example of carry-over play.

It is entirely possible for a player to roll three times and get no point because the 6-5-4 was never made. The player with the highest point wins.

The preferred choice of alcohol (in China) is baijiu. Baijiu is high proof, and because drinking in China has been categorized as masculine, most men tend to drink it. Though there are times when they tend to drink beer or wine, nothing shows your masculinity like baijiu. 

However, it’s not always about finishing your shot of baijiu before anyone else. There’s an etiquette to drinking when you find yourself sharing drinks with business associates, be mindful of how you behave.

When someone toasts, it is expected of you to finish your cup, or ganbei. When people do toast, be sure to clink your glass against everyone’s. If the person you’re toasting against is your superior, be sure to bring your glass lower than theirs when you clink glasses. 

But beware, if you clink glasses, it means you want to go bottoms up! If you’re not sure how to work yourself into the Chinese drinking culture, just be sure to use both hands when offering, receiving, or drinking your beverage.

-Idigculture

So, for the non-drinkers out there…

So you are reading this, and you say “Hey! I don’t drink alcohol, and I am a better person for it!” To which I reply “good for you!”. But don’t come to China.

That is like saying to an American,

"Hey! I like American and respect all Americans except... 

I hate pizza, hate hamburgers, and hotdogs. 

I do not like the American flag, and football, baseball, and cars. 

But aside from that, America is great. 

Just don't shoot off any fireworks, play rock music, and I despise country and western music. But yeah. I love America. Oh, and by the way, I hate cars! And your "news" sucks, and the idea that people love football is disgusting to me. I think all football fans belong in a mental hospital!

But, yeah, America is great!"

And if you are like that, well… we all know what kind of a person you actually are. Don’t we?

Alternative dice games

Back to the games.

If you are up to it, you might want to try, or be taught, some of the more popular dice games in China. I’m sure that the gals will be able to teach you. One of the most popular is Liar Dice.

Liar Dice – Chui Niu, 吹牛

Liar’s Dice is, as the name implies, is a game that encourages bluffing. Each player shakes a cup containing five dice. Without revealing their roll, each player in turn must call out their prediction for the total number of a certain face-value (such as 5 x 6s) for all the dice on the table, including their own. The next player must either up the bid or call the previous player a liar. The aim of the game is to avoid being called out on your bluff and losing, which inevitably leads to the downing whatever is in your glass. If you’ve never player before, don’t worry. It sounds way more complicated than it actually is.

-eChinaCities

Over time this game has gained a lot of popularity among the locals. It has stood the test of time as one of the best and most thrilling dice game that one can enjoy in China.

The rules are simple, two or more players seated at a table making bids and rolling the dice. Well, albeit you are wondering what the fun is in such a setting. Well, bluffing and wit are the primary attributes that you need to sit at this table. Bluffing and counter-bluffing are merely ways for the players to display courage and challenge each other to a duel of rolling the dice. If your opponents make a bid, you can raise the stakes even higher, or declare it to be a bluff.

There is a need for strategy and tact when playing the game.

When playing Liar dice, you have to be vigilant. It’s a good source for an adrenaline rush, not knowing what is coming your way keeps your senses heightened. At the end of it all, emerging as the winner is the best feeling anyone can have and you will quickly realize why the locals hold the game in such high regard.

It is not for the faint-hearted, but for the strong-spirited. That said when in China you cannot afford to sit out of a game of Liar dice. It is on such tables that you will make long lasting international friendships and get a glimpse of the fun side of China. In short popular dice games in China is a real glimpse into the Chinese culture.

Liar’s dice is by far the most popular dice game in almost all cultures. This game can be played with as many players as there are dice to go around and requires focus and strategy. Although the gambling aspect of this game can be stressful, it is also what makes it the most fun. (Warning: Do not begin playing this game without perfecting your poker face. The bluff is probably the only place where a language barrier comes in handy.)

Need: At Least 2 People, 5 die per person and 1 cup per person

Objective: You want to be the last person in the game with any amount of die in your cup.

Rules:

Everyone sits in a circle in order to have as much privacy as possible
Each round consists of a dice shake up and a cup flip.
When you flip your cup only open it up enough for yourself to see what kind of hand you rolled at first.
The first person to speak is whoever lost the last game first or whoever just lost the last round.
The number one is a wildcard and can count as any number.
When the first person speaks, they use the dice they have to estimate how many of a certain number there will be amongst all of the players dice.

For example the first player will start out by saying: There are eight threes amongst all of us (including the 1’s in their calculation, which would count as threes).

Then when it’s the next person’s turn they are allowed to do one of the following:

a. Call that person’s bluff

b. Up the ante by saying that they believe there are one or higher of that same number amongst all of them. For example: There are nine threes amongst all of us.

c. Up the ante by saying that they believe there are either the same amount or higher of a number that is higher than the original number being estimated about. For example: there are eight fours amongst all of us.

You cannot however, guess a lower amount of the original number or estimate a higher amount of a number lower than the original.
The estimations will carry on and increase in one number or another until eventually someone is forced to call someone’s bluff.
In the case of calling someone’s bluff, everyone must open their cups and put the dice that are relevant to the last guess on top of their upside down cup (so if the last call was eight fours, each player must put all their fours and ones on top of their upside down cup). If there are in fact less than what the player estimated of that certain number then they will lose a die. However, if they are equal to or more of the number (including ones) that the player estimated then the person calling the bluff would lose a die.
After someone loses a die a new round is begun and people must adjust their estimates based on the new odds with the lost die accounted for.
When one loses all of their die then they are out of the game.
The final two people in the game will battle it out until one of them is the only person left with any number of die in their cup.

To make this into a drinking game: Instead of making the person who guesses wrong lose a dice, have them take a drink. By playing this way the odds will remain the same but the more drinking that occurs will only lead to a snowball effect of bad guesses and more drinking.

Strategy:

Always account for the number of dice left in the game, do not make estimations based on the original number because odds dwindle fast.
Attempt to make a guess that is high enough to force one of your competitors to call another competitor’s bluff before it is your turn to guess again. The later you guess in a round the more likely you will be to fail.
Don’t forget about the ones!! They can be your best friend and worst enemy in any round. Make sure they are accounted for!
Beware of dice flippers!
This game is particularly easy in loud clubs as you can just use your hands to show “eight fours”. Learning how to count to ten with one hand in Chinese is important here, so learn the hand signals here.

What if you are too drunk to play?

In Chinese culture, people show great respect to elders and authorities, and it may also be applied to the Chinese drinking culture, just hold the glass lower than them when clinking glasses. What’s more, you’d better finish your glass.

-TopChinaTravel

Bad move. You shoul be drinking beer in the KTV. This is like water. It’s often under 5% alcohol, and you should be able to handle it. But if you are unable, try this game, after you belt out another song or two…

大话 (big talk, bluff, boast)

Alcohol, being the bedrock of Chinese society that it is, is a very important social tool. But this tool itself is not just limited to just a beverage and container. It’s the mind.

The rules of 大话 (big talk, bluff, boast) can sound fairly complicated, but once you have played a couple of times, it is fairly simple and intuitive.

OVERVIEW

Each player has 5 dice and one cup with which they use to shake and cover the dice. The object of the game is to carefully predict the total number of dice with one particular face value rolled without going over. Oh, and “1” is a wild card.

Players take turns calling, with each call needing to have a higher value than the previous one.

Calls are made in the form of two numbers, for example “five 2s”. The first number indicates the quantity, the second indicates the face value of the dice. For the first call of each game, the minimum the first number in the pair can be is the number of players plus one. To increase the value for the next call, you simply treat it the pair of numbers as one number. For example, “five 4s” would be bigger than “five 2s” but smaller than “six 3s”.

EXAMPLE OF PLAY ADVANCEMENT

Take a game with two players. This means that the total number of dice in play will be 10. They both roll and take a look at their dice.

Player A has dice with face values of 1, 3, 3, 5, 6.

Player B has dice with face values of 2, 3, 5, 5, 5.

Player A starts the game by calling “three 3s”. This indicates that A estimates that there are at least three dice with a value of 3 on the table. A can complete this condition with just his own dice because 1s are wild.

Player B calls “three 5s”. B has to increase the value of the call, so to be safe B decides to call something that is certain to be correct—because B has three himself.

A calls “four 3s”.

B calls “four 5s”.

A calls “five 3s”.

B stops the game.

DECIDING THE WINNER

The winner is decided when one player no longer believes that the last call made is possible and actively stops the game. The players then show their dice and tally up the total. If the call is sufficient, then the one who made the last call is declared the winner. If the call is insufficient, the the one who ended the game is the winner.

In the above example, B would be the winner.

VARIATIONS

There are many variations that can be implemented. Adding more players means that the total number of dice in the game increases and with it the minimum call must be raised.

It is possible to call 1s. If this happens then 1s are no longer wild and they have the highest dice value (you can call them after 6s). This normally happens with the first call.

Some people may make a call followed by the word 斋 (zhāi). This also means that 1s are no longer wild. To put the wilds back into play, a player must increase the quantity of the next call (the first number) by two.

Hope that all made sense. If it didn’t then just try play a few times and you’ll master the strategy in no time.

Still too drunk?

How to survive from Chinese drinking frenzy? If you’re going to a Chinese meal, you can hardly get rid of drinking. By knowing some tips, you may enjoy the meal better.

Never be late. You will be “punished” for more glasses of wine if you’re the last one for the party.

Be aware that you may need a couple of hours until the end. Make sure you eat some food, and remember to take less Baijiu. If you really have to drink, you can choose beer instead.

Once you’re in, you’re in. If you don’t refuse at the beginning of the dinner, maybe you will be encouraged to drink more till the end. You can wisely pretend that you can’t drink and politely request a pot of tea, so that you could participate in the toasts and cheers.
 
Take it easy. Your Chinese friends won’t blame on you if you’re unable to drink, but you’d better let them know the fact at the very beginning. They care more about whether you enjoy the time with them.

-TopChinaTravel

Prepare to get sloshed. — Welcome to my world.

Try this next game… It’s so simple that it is ridiculous!

One and Six (Yi Liu, 一六)

Although Liar Dice is a favorite game, there are other alternatives you explore. With two cups, ten dice and at least two players it is possible to participate in a game of One And Six. Unlike Liar Dice, the game is more laid-back. There is no need for strategy as it is merely won by luck and skill.

With One And Six it is easy to chat and socialize at the same time. The truth is if you are one of those people who loves a more subtle environment, a night out playing One And Six might simply be what you need. There may not be any need for strategy, but like with any game the winner is always the person who had the best plan. The beauty of this game lies in its simplicity.

Introduction: One & Six is a dice game that involves absolutely no strategy and at least two people with five die each. This game is the most simple to play in social situations because not only does it involve zero focus but it also clearly decides a winner.

Need: At least 2 players, 2 Cups & 10 Die (5 per cup)

Objective: Be the first person without any dice in your cup.

Rules:

Each round consists of a dice shake up and a cup flip.
When you flip your cup, flip it downwards and pry it open to reveal what numbers you rolled.
If you role a one, remove that die from your cup and put it out of bounds. That die has been lost from the game. Continue rolling with the remaining dice.
If you role a six, remove that die from your cup and give it to the person on your right.
If you role neither a six nor a one then wait to see what your opposition rolled and do nothing.
Continue shaking and flipping the remaining dice until one of you has no die left in your cup.

As a drinking game: Whoever runs out of dice last must drink for the number of seconds that there are dice left in their cup.

Strategy: None besides being Irish.

The Game with Three Dice

This game is played with three dice instead of five, and it is really simple. If you are really drunk, sick with simple.

The three dice game is called Cee-Lo. It is apparently derived from an ancient Chinese dice game. And it is well known in hip hop culture.

Any number can play but the game consists of a series of battles between two players.
Each player in the pair rolls all three dice until one of four recognized combinations appears. A 4-5-6 combination is the best combination.
A “trip” is all three dice the same and is the next best combination.
Next comes a pair with one die different. The different die becomes the “point.” The worst possible combination is 1-2-3, which always loses.

SZ’ ‘NG LUK

This is a game of gambling, and is a great way to lose money. Don’t gamble in a KTV, and keep focused on why you are there. But if you don’t want to heed my advice, then here are the rules…

This game is called sz’ ‘ng luk, ‘four, five, six’, commonly contracted to sing luk.

It is played with three dice…

The throws in it in the order of their rank are:

Any three alike, from three ‘sixes’ down, called wai⁵
‘Four, five, six’ called sing luk, or ch‘un fa⁶
Two alike, the odd die counting, from six down to ace, the last throw being called yat fat, ‘ace negative’
‘One, two, three’ called mò lung, ‘dancing dragon’ or shé tsai, ‘little snake’.

The first player is determined, on throwing around, to be the one who throws the highest number of red spots.

The first player throws until he makes one of the above mentioned casts.

If he throws sing luk (four, five, six); three alike; or two alike, six high, each of the players at once drink to him.

But if he throws mò lung or yat fat, he drinks instead.

If he throws two alike, five, four, three, or two high, the next player on his left throws.

If the latter makes a higher cast, the first player must drink to him, but if a lower cast, he must drink to the first player.

The third player throws in the same way, and the game is continued until the first player is out-thrown.

Another game similar to this is…

KON MÍN YÉUNG

Kon mín yéung, ‘pursuing sheep’, is played with six dice.

It is typically a game played for small stakes, usually for something to eat, and is seldom resorted to by professional gamblers. In it the player throws until he gets three alike, when the sum of the spots on the other dice is counted. The throws in the order of their rank are:

Six 6’s called tái mín yéung, ‘large sheep’
Six 5’s, 4’s, 3’s, 2’s, or 1’s called mín yéung kung, ‘rams’
Three alike and 6, 6, 5 called mín yéung ná, the ‘ewe’
Three alike, and the other throws than the above. These are designated by the number representing the sum of the throws with the three odd dice.

The throws, tái mín yéung and mín yéung kung, take all the stakes.

If mín yéung ná, or any other cast of three alike, is made, the next player throws until he gets three alike, when he pays if his throw is lower, or is paid if it is higher, as in sing luk.

The throw of three 4’s is called wong p‘ang fúi.

‘A boy and a girl were betrothed by their parents. The girl's father died, and the family having been reduced to poverty, her brother sold the girl to become a prostitute. 

This she resented, and anxious to find her betrothed, whose face she well remembered, she caused it to be advertised that she would yield herself to the man who could throw three 4’s with the dice. 

Many, attracted by her beauty, tried and failed, until her husband, Wong p‘ang fúi, who had obtained the rank of a senior wrangler at the provincial examination, presented himself. 

For him she substituted loaded dice, with which he threw three 4’s whereupon she disclosed herself, and they were happily united.’

How to survive a Chinese drinking frenzy

The following is from a CNN article titled ” How to survive a Chinese drinking frenzy” By Trista Baldwin 22 February, 2012. Posted as found with very little editing. All credit to the original author.

If you thought shotgunning a beer in under five seconds back in uni was the pinnacle of drinking prowess, you’ve probably never been properly ganbei’d.
China’s version of “down the hatch” is a bit like the Power Hour, which involves repeated and prolonged shooting of small amounts of alcohol -- red wine if you’re lucky, baijiu if you’re not.

Though observed in all social circles, ganbei is particularly prominent in China’s formal banquet culture, where business suits and government officials rub elbows, talk business and get completely sloshed.

Shanghai-based food and wine critic Lawrence Lo and a few seasoned ganbei-ers, shared the secrets of this thoroughly intoxicating custom.

1. You’re in, or you’re out
While you’re not obliged to chug the night away, it is tacitly expected at a business banquet.

“There’s probably more pressure to drink than there is on your 21st birthday,” says a senior accountant who prefers the name Will Thomas. In his early 30s, Canadian Thomas attends regular company banquets with suppliers and other accountants in Shanghai.

If you are going to pass, “set your rule at the beginning,” advises Hong Kong-born Lawrence Lo, 39, who also runs LHY Etiquette Consultancy to gap the Chinese and Western drinking culture. “Because once you’re in, you’re in. There's no room for flip-flopping.”

Q: The question is -- how to get out?

A: Make an excuse

All is fair in love and ganbei, and a white lie might save everyone's face. The best excuses are religious or health reasons, though be prepared for jovial ridicule.

What’s the best get-out-of-jail-free card? Pregnancy.

Either being on medication to get your wife pregnant, or, for women, being or trying to get pregnant (though be prepared for questions six months down the line), will do the trick.

2. Women get a free pass
“One of the reasons I like China is that if you have the title and the position, you’re treated as an equal and get the same title respect,” says a British lady, who prefer to be addressed as Lucy Morgan. Morgan has lived and worked in China in both the government and private sectors for more than 30 years.

Ironically, while you’ll be invited to the banquets, you won’t be expected to drink. However, if you choose to partake, rule number one applies.

Q: What is Rule #1 - Props for the female ganbei

A: “Women get double points for ganbei’ing,” says Will Thomas.

Some men may offer to do a full ganbei while you do a quarter or half ganbei, but quite often you’ll be expected to keep pace with the crowd. For Morgan, it’s about proving that if you’re an equal, you’re an equal.

“I wasn’t going to be seen as the ‘little girlie’ back then or the ‘older woman’ now,” she says, referring to her experience 15 years ago when she out-ganbei’d the vice-mayor of Chengdu with 12 shots of baijiu.

Whoever draws the short straw gets to be the next ganbei rep.

3. Elect a representative
Believe it or not, “if you need to represent your company at a banquet, you can bring someone along and delegate them to drink for you,” says Lo.

Talk about authority.

In Morgan's experience, she has rarely seen a woman elect a drinking buddy (as women aren’t expected to drink anyway) -- it’s usually older or weak-livered businessmen.

Q: If you go this route your fellow diners may jeer, but it does serve a purpose.

A: Saving company face

Joining in the inebriated merriment is in many ways viewed as a sign of goodwill and hospitality on the part of the company or organization you represent. In fact, this is often a sneaky way to get your best hitter up to the plate.

“The elected drinker is usually someone you do not want to drink with, because they can drink a lot," says Thomas. "They will probably deny that they can drink -- it's a lie.”

We're betting Bill opted for red wine over baijiu when going head-to-head with former Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

4. Pace yourself
It’s a long ride once you’re on the ganbei train.

“At a banquet, there are usually eight to 10 courses, and there will be a ganbei with each,” says Lo.

In addition, the host will usually toast the group and the guest of honor.
The second most senior host will toast the second most senior guest, and so on and so forth. It’s also not uncommon for challenges to strike up between tables.

Q: So, how can you last the night without bringing the banquet back up?

A: Be sneaky

Over the course of 30 years, Morgan has picked up a trick or two. One way to lower the intensity is to downgrade your poison -- switch from baijiu to wine, or ganbei beer instead. Although the idea of shooting wine is less than palatable for many, it's the lesser of two evils.

While at informal occasions you can ganbei non-alcoholic beverages, Morgan says, it’s highly unusual at formal occasions. Beer is as non-alcoholic as it gets.

Another trick? “Pour a bit of water in your wine,” she suggests, “or switch to a half-ganbei -- banbei ganbei.”

And lastly, humor. “If you get people laughing, they won’t care how much you drink.”

5. Don’t bring the spouse
Chinese banquets are primarily business affairs -- spouses are seldom invited to join.

“You should always check first [before bringing a spouse along],” advises Lo.
There are several reasons for this, the most compelling being that deals may not get closed over the course of the banquet.

The KTV close

“It’s still a very macho culture,” explains Lo. “Sometimes business is done [or concluded] away from the dinner table at KTVs or massage parlors."

The retreat to more “nefarious” locales, as Morgan jokes, or playing liar dice with pretty young girls selected for the occasion, is not a scene that spouses can readily partake in (and may disapprove of).

But, as Thomas points out: “It depends on who you’re with. Often you just go to a genuine karaoke -- and more drinking.”

So you don’t want to drink…

Some advice on how for those who want to be “the Ugly American”

I do not recommend being a non-drinker in China, and it is impossible to conduct business or integrate into Chinese society without drinking. So forget about playing dice, once you insult your hosts by not drinking, you won’t ever be asked out again. And if you truly want to be the ostracized loner inside of China, then read these suggestions.

So, what can you do if you don’t like drinking and still want to do business or have friends in China? Don’t lose hope, there are a few things you can do to diminish the negative consequences and unintentional insult from not drinking.

1) Avoid at all costs – On a personal note, I’m no teetotaler, but drinking isn’t my favorite social activity. So, on one of the dozen occasions per year I have a drink, it’s rarely more than a beer or glass of wine, and I avoid hard liquor at all costs. After living for many years in China, it’s safe to say that avoiding a drinking bash wasn’t easy.

My solution to the issue was to simply avoid all occasions where I’d be pressured to drink.

Luckily, my job didn’t necessitate the infamous Chinese business dinners, so my career didn’t suffer from my abstinence, but my social life did.

If you don’t need to close contracts or don’t mind having fewer friends and missing out on weddings and other special celebrations, this is the best course of action. On the bright side, if you’re not a big drinker then once you make friends with other non-big drinkers, you’ll have friendships that are more likely to last and be enjoyable.

2) Be all in or all out, no middle – If you need successful business dinners for your job or want to experience all the fun of semi-formal and formal social dinners, then from the beginning, you need to decide to be all in or all out.

Don’t try the middle ground of, “Ok, I’ll just have one/a little.”

There is no such thing (generally) as “a little” in China and you’ll later find yourself in the unfortunate position of offending your host when you can’t drink anymore or are in the fast lane to drunk-as-a-skunk-ville.

The better option is to make up an excuse of why you can’t touch alcohol at all – no beer, wine, or liquor.

Excuses that are usually accepted are:

a) religious reasons (for example, “I’m not allowed to drink because of my religion”, which isn’t actually far fetched as Islam and some sects of Protestantism do ban alcohol consumption);

b) health reasons (for example, “I have an alcohol allergy that can kill me or make my stomach bleed”);

c) have a Chinese friend give a heartfelt, long explanation on your behalf (if you’re lucky enough to be friends with a well-respected member of the group, or the host him/herself, then they may be able to interject on your behalf and explain to the group your preference for not drinking).

d) I’m pregnant (think about this one carefully if you’ll be in the same company of people in the next 6-12 months).

Options that don’t work so well are:

a) I’m in AA/a recovering alcoholic – China does not have the same familiarity, knowledge, and acceptance regarding recovery programs as in the West and thus it may be taken as a lie. Even if you are in a program, it may not be the best excuse to give.

b) I have to work early/get up early – this usually doesn’t stop the pressure to drink and you’ll be faced with having to insult your host by flat-out refusing.

c) my spouse doesn’t like it/let me – the same as in B.

d) I’m not feeling well tonight – same as in B.

e) I drank too much last night – This would only encourage more pressure to throw ‘em back.

f) anything that mentions the police or driving – sorry, that just doesn’t cut it, and the police mention may get you a hearty laugh.

China is not a "police state like the USA is. The police just leave you alone, and the Chinese have no concept of "sobriety checks" or "sobriety roadblocks".

Whatever excuse you choose, make it ironclad and make sure to stick to it.

Keep in mind, even with an ironclad excuse, there may still be some obvious, lingering awkwardness. While your hosts/coworkers/friends may not have taken a full-throated offence to your rejection of their toasts, even the best sounding excuses will put a barrier between you and the rest. You may save some face and prevent the insult, but you’ll have done little to make friends or business partners.

3)Being a women kinda gets you a pass, just being a foreigner doesn’t – Women are not expected to drink as much as men, and they usually don’t get as much pressure to drink as men, especially in a purely business setting (the operative word here is “usually”, not “always”).

So, practically this means that women may be able to get away with more excuses than men and not still get an onslaught of pressure. Casual settings can span the gambit from less pressure than usual to actually more pressure as your date, or friends, try to get you to ‘loosen up a little’.

Chinese girls can hold their own. — Chinese women are tigers in a kitten’s body.

Men, on the other hand, even foreign men, will still be pushed frequently to drink (unless you give one of those ironclad excuses listed in #2).

In fact, if you’re the sole foreigner at the table (or one of only a few), then you could easily be considered the de facto guest of honor and in such an honorable position, it’s an honor to get your glass filled – both for you and the person doing the filling.

The thought goes something like this: for the guest of honor, it’s “Look at me. I’m so popular, people can’t wait to fill my glass.”; and for the filler, it’s “Look at me.

This very important person is allowing me to fill their glass and then they’re drinking what I just gave them. I must be important if they’re accepting my gift because they wouldn’t accept this from just anyone.”

4) Pace yourself – if you decide to go for it and choose the “all in” option, make sure to pace yourself. These drinking affairs can easily go for +5 hours and occasionally turn into an all-night event (say 6pm to 6am).

Importantly, the drink of choice (as mentioned above) is the super strong, ultra fiery local spirit Baijiu.

It doesn’t take a Big Bang physicist to calculate how long you can last throwing back these puppies. Instead, you possibly can opt for something less strong – like beer or wine. While this may not always be an option, it’s usually acceptable and available (it’s a good idea to nonchalantly inquire about Baijiu alternatives before accepting an invitation.) It may feel awkward doing “shots” of wine, but it’s probably the lesser of two evils.

Another sneakier alternative is to water down your Baijiu shots. If you see other people doing this openly, then take it as the green light to follow suit. If you don’t, then you may have to break out your best James Bond skills.

Don't do this. I have NEVER seen this done. If you are caught doing it, your "face" will forever be ruined. You eaither act like a man and take it or decline. Don't be a coward and make matters worse by insulting your host.

-Metallicman

5) Food is your friend – Reaching deep into the bag of college drinking tricks, food can be your best friend. Full stomachs make alcohol take longer to be absorbed into the bloodstream, especially carbs and fat.

So, in preparation for your drinking adventure, fill up as close to the drinking hour as possible, on breads, noodles, rice, fatty meats, and skins (like chicken skin). If possible, try to keep eating as long as you’re drinking.

There is always plenty of food available at these dinners, but there will be a lot of vegetable dishes and seafood which do little to slow absorption and you may not really like the other food options. So, stuffing your backpack with granola or nut bars that you sneak into the bathroom isn’t a bad idea either.

6) Keep it light, Humor is a good friend too – If you’ve started down the drinking road and need to get off the highway, even if you’ve only taken a few sips or a few shots and just don’t want to drink anymore, keep in mind that humor can be a powerful friend.

Depending on your crowd, you may be able to deflect some pressure (and some extra shots) by being able to make jokes at your expense. Comments like, “Oh, I’m such a baby. I just can’t drink like you guys. Hahaha.” or “I’m _____ (clumsy, loud, etc.) enough when I’m not drinking, so I really can’t get drunk tonight.”

This may not completely stop the toasts and shots, but (again, depending on the crowd) it may decrease them and give you a moment to get your bearings.

7) A pinch … ‘drinker’ (borrowing from a baseball reference) – This one is a real “Are you serious??” moment.

If this is a business dinner and if you have some amount of authority within your company, you can actually assign a drinking rep to drink for you.

You should read that again and maybe pause before continuing, but it’s not a joke.

It’s a custom followed in China, as higher-level company authorities who don’t wish to get wasted but don’t want to offend their host, will attend the dinner and bring along a drinking rep to do all the drinking for them – and they of course assign some of the highest-tolerance people on the planet.

This option doesn’t really work though outside of a business-like setting.

Suggestions for a Fun KTV Evening

In my opinion, KTV is a really fun way to spend some hours doing something that is what millions of locals enjoy doing, so you can consider it an authentic cultural experience. I have many hours of KTV and karaoke under my belt so here are my suggestions for having a fun time, especially if you’re in a big group of people you might not know well.

Pick songs that are up-tempo. Nothing drags a KTV evening down like slow songs.
Find the “cancel” or “next” button on the song machine. Many songs have refrains that go on for-ev-er. Feel free to hit “next” to go to the next song (unless it’s your boss singing).
Choose songs that are fun to sing as a group.
Take some time to practice your own signature KTV song in the shower so you can really impress your friends with “Beat It!”. Include some key dance moves.

...for those who enjoy drinking, you can be very successful and happy in China. You’ll get bonus points for following along with the group and for making such a good effort at keeping up. In fact, anyone who at least tries hard to accept toasts, especially Baijiu toasts, will get some credit for doing so even if they have to bow out early and stop accepting every toast from every person.

You’ll also have a front row seat to a side of Chinese culture few get to experience and may end up having the time of your life. Afterall, the Chinese haven’t continued this tradition for 1000s of years because it’s dull and boring. For the more reluctant, maybe you can think of this using the age-old Las Vegas adage - what goes on in China, stays in China. 

For many adult travelers, a good ole Chinese drinking fest may be the perfect excuse to let loose and have some fun without your party antics necessarily ending up on someone’s Facebook feed (btw, Facebook is still banned in China).

For women, the bonus points multiply. A western woman who can keep up with everyone at the table, especially at a baijiu fest, and walk out on her own accord while many others are knocking glasses over and accidentally pulling tablecloths off, will usually win mad respect from literally everyone.

Also, these events don’t happen every weekend. As a visitor to China, you’ll be lucky to attend just one event like this. If you have to travel for extended periods on business or move to China on your own, these events may happen only once every couple of months.

-China Educational Tours

When I conduct business, I usually have business KTV’s and dinner events at least three to eight times a month when business is booming. During the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, hardly never. In fact, I only went out two time that entire year!!!!!

During the holiday, and of course, during Chinese New Year, for the three or four week long holiday, drinking and playing is just about every night.

Phew!

Don’t forget…!

Let’s do a quick review.

Drinking is very common inside of China. — Drinking in China is as common as eating a hamburger in America.

While in Western countries you simply clink and drink, in China there are a few more rules for drinking, whereby the most important rule is to give face. If you want to toast an important host or guest, be sure to take note of some basic guidelines:

• The first toast: If you are the guest, you shouldn’t initiate the very first toast as this is seen as impolite. It should always be made by the main host.

• To clink or not to clink: If the party is big and the table is wide, people usually prefer to clink glasses. But to show respect, make sure that the brink of your glass is lower than theirs. When the glasses clink, you’ll have to干杯 gānbēi, meaning literally ‘dry the cup’, or ‘bottoms up’. If your glasses don’t clink and only touch the other person’s cup with your fingers, you signal 随意 (suíyì), or ‘as you wish’, and you can drink whatever amount you want.

• Respectful toast: When you are offering to toast 敬酒 (jìngjiǔ), meaning respectful drink, you are putting yourself in an inferior position and so you might want to toast everyone who outranks you.

• Eat a lot: To avoid getting too drunk, the key is to eat. Usually there will be plenty of foods at a Chinese banquet, so there should be nothing to worry about. However keep in mind that with every course, there will of course be a ganbei with every guest!

Conclusion

I well remember when I met my wife’s grandmother. She was a short, short little frail ball of a woman. She smiled at me with little strands of grey hair sticking up on her head. She stood up to my lower chest in height (and I think that she was wearing high loafers). He poured me a full glass of 53% Baijiu in a tall tumbler. Then she poured herself the same size and raised it to me in a salute.

She then raised the glass to me, clinked my glass and said Ganbei so loud that the entire city could hear. You could feel the ground rumble at our feet. I was a little taken back that her voice was so breathtakingly loud.

And it was like time stopped.

You could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on me.

I could feel all 400 people watching my every move. Goose-pimples crawling up my arm, and I could feel my spine tingling. I glanced over at my wife, who was fully expecting me to “do the right thing”. And I looked about the room, and I could see such a wide range of emotions.

We both raised the glasses to our lips in unison, and together we emptied those two glasses. Then when emptied, she raised it up high and I did the same.

Everyone cheered.

Then I began going table to table…

… drinking the same amount to each of them…

…to all of the 24 tables in the room. Ugh!

Alcohol. — This is not water. This is a full tumbler of 53% alcohol. Are you up to the challenge?

Drinking alcohol is a vital part of Chinese custom and culture.  Those from northern China actually consider drinking and friendship the same thing because during business dinners for example, drinking can lead to friendship, sealing deals and developing better work relationships. Every shot of baijiu brings the business partners a little closer and so drinking is seen as a supplementary part of the working life.

Drinking to cement relationships has a long history in china.  Famous poets like 李白 (Lǐbái), have also praised alcohol multiple times in his poems, with one famous saying: 酒逢知己千杯少 (jiǔ féng zhī jǐ qiān bēi shǎo); “When one drinks with a friend, a thousand cups are not enough”.  

Of course, LiBai is talking about the 盅 (zhōng), which are the small cups traditionally used when drinking in China, but it emphasizes the importance of alcohol and relationships!

-Hutong school

A KTV, especially a business KTV is a very important institution within China. Most Westerners, and non-businessmen inside of China are unaware of the significance of this venue and the importance of maintaining face. Here we discuss some dice games so that the businessmen can play with the girl that he selected out of the line up.

Maintain your face, and give respect. Have fun and show it. You all will be just fine.

Drink or not, your choice. — In China, “good guys” and “powerful businessmen” drink alcohol. Outcasts, social misfits, and losers do not.

Do you want more?

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My experience at a Pennsylvania monastery and men’s retreat and how it relates to my present day affairs

This post is going to be a little bit different. Part of it, is in essence, a little bit about what it was like staying at Father Pete’s retreat. But the other part of it is about prayer, and intention campaigns. And some of it is about the non-physical reality that surrounds our physical reality. So it’s gonna be a big mish-mash of all kinds of stuff, that are all intrinsically connected, but to see the big picture and the over all relationships we need to look at the tiny bits and pieces.

Well, are you ready? Buckled up and all that?

Summer 2020

The Coronavirus is raging all over the globe. Industry has contracted. Many people live under lock down conditions, and the entire society all over the world is disrupted. Disruption of society…

…a perfect opportunity for the evil and maligned full of evil intent.

And as a result, bad people find opportunity.

And Metallicman was caught up in one of these evil snares. I was scammed. And I am still dealing with it, but that’s another story.

I own a house in Shenzhen. I bought it before I was retired, and thus I bought it very cheap. And while I was doing long time in Prison in Arkansas, my house was accruing in value. Each year, as Shenzhen grew in size, the value of the house grew as well. Then they put a subway under the house and it’s value sky-rocketed.

I’ve been renting my house out.

It’s been a good source of income for us.

But then Coronavirus hit. And our tenants moved out. And we needed to find new ones. Well, what do you know! This company offered to take care of our house for us. We just pay them one months rent and they handle everything else. They get the tenant, and handle all problems or issues that arise.

Good deal!

Coronavirus in China. — When the COVID-19, coronavirus hit China, it caused work stoppages and factory closures. Our tenants moved to return to their home towns, leaving our apartment empty.

So we paid the money and told them what our rent out requirements were. They agreed to manage everything. (Without getting involved in currency conversion and all that, let’s keep the numbers simple.)

Rent was $1000 / month. They agreed to it, and almost immediately said that they found someone. We signed the contract and that was that.

…oh, my goodness. So so quick.

One week later, we discovered that the company found tenants promising them a rent of $500 / month if they would pay two years up front. Now, naturally, that set alarm bells off, but the company paid us the first month rent of $1000. So we shrugged our shoulders and figured that who cares, as long as they paid us the agreed amount.

They agreed to it, and almost immediately said that they found someone. We signed the contract and that was that.

One month came and went. They didn’t pay us the second rent.

So we went to the office. It was all closed up and boarded up. WTF?

Long story short…

This guy set up the company. Operated the company in around 30 cities. Got about one or two thousands others like us, and rented out our houses at basement prices for advance payments. Then he skipped town.

…

(Tumbleweeds blowing in the street. Crickets chirping.)

…

It’s a criminal case and it is on-going. Our beef with the company is a civil case and we are suing them, but no action can occur until after the criminal case is resolved. And we are in the process of suing the current tenants to either pay us of leave. No squatters allowed.

Ok.

So what?

My Affirmation Campaign

I have not spent too much time on this particular bit of misfortune. I only added this line in my affirmation prayer campaign;

Those that have cheated and swindled me and my family this year has been identified and located. True and real justice upon these individuals is administered by those who have suffered from their activity. This justice is immediate and substantive.

Let’s talk about the non-physical reality

In this reality, thoughts create our reality. You think bad thoughts and bad things will happen. You think good thoughts, and good things will happen. If you don’t understand this, look up Quantum Physics 101.

Thoughts create reality. — Your thoughts create your reality.

Now, what do you think that 2000 angry families are thinking about this guy? Not just swindled, but swindled for one, two or even three years in the future! They will not be happy, and in China, if you piss off the wrong person, they will hunt you down and slaughter your ass, sure as shit.

All those bad evil brain waves…

Have you ever had someone so pissed off at you that they just beamed the hate right at you. Like they are trying to laser beam you to death? Well, imagine that multiplied by four (people per family) and again by 2000 (families affected). All these negative waves…

It will cause things to happen.

…

"Don't you hit me with those negative waves..." - Oddball (Kelly's Heroes) — “Don’t you hit me with those negative waves…” – Oddball (Kelly’s Heroes)

This is reality. They will hunt this guy down, and torture and kill him. If not personally, they will hire someone. It costs 25,000 RMB to hire an attorney like we did. But only 15,000 RMB to hunt this guy down and bring him to you.

…

Well, we moved on.

It crippled our finances. Coronavirus reduced our family income by 50%, while everything else and prices rose. But we survived, and are still squeaking by. It’s life. That’s what it is. You deal with it and move on.

You adapt. You grit your teeth. You carry on.

Then, in the middle of November 2020, my “situation board” lit up.

Alert to my “situation board”

Yah. Some explanation is required as to what the Hell I am talking about.

What is a gut feeling?

gut feeling. An intuition or instinct, as opposed to an opinion based on a logical analysis. Jennifer's mother had a gut feeling that something was wrong when her daughter wasn't home by 10 o'clock.

-Gut feeling - Idioms by The Free Dictionary

Women have “woman’s intuition”. Men have a “gut feeling”. I have a “situation board”. It’s a neural net of all our senses that combine to make an accurate appraisal of our situation at any given moment in time. By practicing and through alertness and discipline we can sharpen our senses, hone our abilities, so that our intuition, and feelings, or “situation board” becomes more accurate and useful.

David J. Schwartz once related a story in his book “The Magic of Thinking Big” about an event that he once experienced. He once secured a very, very large order with a big, big client. After he had dinner with the client and everyone shook hands and left, he remained and had a few drinks with his co-workers. All night they made fun of the new client. They made fun of his appearance, and of his dealings, of his company, and of his dress. They spent the entire night making fun of him.

It doesn’t make sense why they did, you would think that they would be happy and elated to secure such a big contract. But they did. I would well imagine that alcohol played a role in this event, but we don’t know for sure what happened.

The next day, while at work, he received a phone call from the client. He withdrew his offer. The client couldn’t give a good reason for doing so except to say “I have a very bad feeling about this”. Indeed.

I’m sure that he did.

Trust your instincts. Trust your gut feelings.

In the book 4,000 Days: My Life and Survival in a Bangkok Prison, the author relates what happened late at night just hours before the Thailand police busted into his hotel room and arrested him. He had this really awful feeling. He felt fearful and afraid and ugly. He wanted to ditch his illegal drugs right then and there, but he shrugged it off as his imagination.

It wasn’t.

Trust your instincts. Trust your gut feelings.

Before I was arrested for my heinous “crimes”, I too felt an awful, just awful dark icky feeling. It was like being dipped in molten hot dog shit, and it felt awful. I felt like gathering up everything and just bolting. Anywhere.

Looking back, maybe I should have…

Trusted my feelings.

Anyways, after that event, I decided that I would fully trust my “gut instincts” and be alert for the slightest change in my feelings and identify what is going on (to the best of my ability). I guess that it was easier for me as I have had years of world-line travel under my belt, and exposure to all sorts of strange things. So I pretty much knew what was going on. What I never thought about was honing my “gut feeling” abilities into a sense that I could rely upon.

I call this “practiced and cultivated skill” my “situation board”.

11 Signs Your Intuition Is Stronger Than Most People’s

My wife believes that my “situation board” is the same as every man’s “gut instinct”. Further she believes that “Woman’s intuition” is the same as a “man’s gut instinct”. I disagree. But many women can relate to this article below…

Reprinted from HERE. All credit to the original author. Edited to fit this venue.

You know the feeling. It starts somewhere in the gut. It usually blossoms from there when there is a decision to make. It could be a confrontation between two ice cream flavors or something bigger like what job offer to take. Often you might feel like you should fight it, battling it back down to the root. But, guys, you've heard your mothers and your grandmothers: follow your intuition. There are some signs your intuition is on point and reason to trust that gut feeling.

There are some times you feel like you just know something. You might also know that you're not a psychic and don't have the ability to tell people their fortune — but still, you know things. This is your intuition calling you. Maybe somebody's facial expression sparked a judgement in you telling you not to trust this person. There's some psychological science behind that ~feeling~. As Psychology Today explained on its site, "intuition is a mental matching game. The brain takes in a situation, does a very quick search of its files, and then finds its best analogue among the stored sprawl of memories and knowledge." From there, you're able to listen to intuition and develop a "hunch" about a certain situation.

You know when a question is asked in class, and you know the answer but you doubt yourself and don't raise your hand? Then, as it turns out, you were right? Your intuition is mostly likely always on point. It's just a matter of learning to trust it.

[1] You Have Vivid Dreams

Dreams and intuition are both from the same place. Your unconscious. If you have vivid dreams, there's a chance that your intuition is on point because you're getting a wave of information from your unconscious. It might be a little frightening at first, but, this wave of intuition can be helpful in your approach to waking life. Who do you need to get in touch with? Does someone close to you need to know that you love them? Keep a journal by your bedside!

[2] You Keep Catching The Clock At A Certain Time

You know when you go to look at the clock and everyday you seem to be catching the time at exactly 4:44 or another specific time? That could be your intuition as it relates to unconscious information your brain stores. "When a person catches a clock at a certain time, and you feel that perhaps a message is attached from a loved one who has passed, saying hello, or providing an answer to a question you have been pondering, then that 'knowing' is something inside yourself that you intuitively understand without needing to hash it out with another person," Licensed mental health counselor and wellness coach, Jill Sylvester tells Bustle. You just know when to look. And you know you have all the answers you're looking for within you.

[3] You're Empathetic

MindBodyGreen listed empathy as a sign of an intuitive person: "you're highly sensitive to what others are feeling." Everybody gives off a certain amount of energy — either negative or positive. If you're intuitive, you may have empathetic tendencies and actually be able to feel how someone else is feeling. And, if you're in tune to what people feel, you're more likely to pick up on how to act and how to handle certain situations.

[4] You Can See Through People

You might be out on a date or hanging out with new friends who seems charming, but your intuition is totally on point if you can see through the smiles and wit. Of course everybody deserves a chance, but maybe a snide remark registers and it'll make you feel like a person is performing as someone they're not. "Your intuition is strong when you might experience a negative or positive emotion, in the presence of someone or something that may not be healthy for you or may be exactly who and what you need at this time. It’s a sense. A feeling. A trusting," Sylvester, author of Trust Your Intuition, tells Bustle.

[5] You're In Tune With Your Body

Sometimes you just know when your body needs to rest. Maybe you haven't started even sniffling yet, but you can feel that your body is getting worn down. Listen to this! It's important to trust that you know when something is feeling off. Give yourself a break. "Intuition is strongest when you know something inside yourself without needing it to be validated by another person," Sylvester explains to Bustle. You should totally seek a medical opinion if you're not feeling well, but trust your gut when you know something is off and it's time to see the doctor.

[6] You Pick Up The Phone When Someone Is About To Call

You know when you're thinking of someone? And then you think about maybe calling them? And then you do? And they pick up and are like, "I was just going to call you!" Or maybe you're reaching for the phone when they call you? That is your intuition being totally ON POINT. Call it a connection between best friends, but something registered to pick up the phone and get on a call.

[7] You Analyze Your Safety

The one thing you should probably never doubt is the gut feeling that you aren't safe. On a recent night walk in a new city, my maps app directed me down a rather concerning path alongside a river that had no lights. As I began to walk, something in my gut — be it my mother or my intuition — screamed, "not today, no thank you." And I chose to listen. I made it safely to my destination, relieved I didn't advance further on the path. If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, trust your gut and do not proceed.

[8] You Pick Activities Up

You know the saying: it's like riding a bike. You just know how to do something. As reported by Experience Life, an study by the University of Chicago showed, "while novice golfers did better when they thought carefully about their putts, the performance of more experienced golfers got much worse when they reflected on what they were doing." Basically, if you're an expert at something, you've developed instinct and muscle memory. Don't overthink it. Just trust your gut.

I bake pies. When I'm trying too hard to impress someone, I typically always burn the pie or undercook it by overanalyzing everything. But when I turn on a playlist and trust my instinct and intuition, they turn out just the way I wanted them.

[9] You Hire and Let Go Of The Right People

In an interview with Forbes, Shelley Row, the author of Think Less Live More: Lessons From A Recovering Over-Thinker, said, "Intuition plays an essential role for decision-making in rapidly changing environments; if there are contradictions in the data; ambiguity due to lack of data; or decisions that center on people (hiring, firing, or political decisions)." While in business you can make logical decisions based on data collected, when it comes to a changing environment and what's right for your team, that comes from the gut.

[10] You Show Up At Specific Times

Sometimes you just have that feeling that the train is going to be late or the friend you're meeting will arrive early. This goes back to the idea that the feeling in our gut is attached to information stored in our brain. "Experience is encoded in our brains as a web of fact and feeling. When a new experience calls up a similar pattern, it doesn't unleash just stored knowledge but also an emotional state of mind and a predisposition to respond in a certain way," Psychology Today wrote on its site.
You probably have registered that that specific train is always running 10 minutes late and your friend is always 15 minutes early. And so you show up to scheduled appointments and hang outs perfectly on time. Nevertheless, your cognition intuition is on point.

[11] You Predict Someone's Reaction

Sometimes you don't know how someone will react to finding out that you're moving or you got a new job or you can't make the party. But, because you most likely have had experiences with the people you're telling this to, you can probably predict how they'll react. Even, sometimes what they'll say. Ever caught yourself saying, "I knew you were going to say that!"? This is because the brain stores information that become a navigational point of emotional reference for the future. In other words, that's your intuition being on point.

I really don’t know how accurate these 11 points are.

I just cannot do any of them.

I think instead, it’s a measure of one’s EQ rather than any thing else. But, I discussed this with my wife, and she seems to believe that these are all great indicators of ability and that I should include them here.

So I have.

What seems clear to me is that there is a fundamental understanding in the differences between “woman’s intuition” and a “man’s gut feeling”. We need to account for those differences when reading my narrative.

So what is the difference between my “gut feeling” and a “woman’s intuition”?

From the article titled “7 Gut Instincts You Should NEVER Ignore”, by Mateo Sol. Copied as found without editing aside to fit this venue. All credit to the author.

In order to fulfill your spiritual purpose in this life, you’ve got to walk the path less traveled. And to walk the path less traveled, you have to embrace your inner wolf. It is your inner lone wolf that will guard, guide, and protect you with courage, integrity, and intelligence.

But here’s the thing: in order to embrace your inner wolf, you’ve got to listen to your gut instinct.

The problem is that our gut instincts are often polluted by fears, prejudice, and mental clutter. In this article, I want to share with you the seven gut instincts you should never ignore. You’ll also learn how to differentiate the voice of fear from the voice of primal wisdom.

What is the Gut Instinct?

Your gut instinct is the physical reaction you have to the world around and inside of you.

When you experience an overwhelming “gut feeling,” your body is carrying out a primal response to subconscious information. The ultimate purpose of your gut instinct is to protect you. As your gut instinct is the most ancient and primal “sixth sense” you have, it is the one you can rely upon the most.

One example of your gut instinct in action would be deciding to spontaneously avoid walking down a road at night because something “feels off.” That feeling is your gut instinct warning you that danger is afoot. You may then glimpse an intimidating gang of men down the street as you hurry by – your gut instinct has just saved you from potentially being robbed, beaten up, raped, or worse.

Put simply, your body is like the television screen on which your subconscious (the radio waves) transmits its information. When you can learn to read your body, you can learn to accurately tune in to your gut instinct.

We human beings like to believe ourselves to be separate from animals. Yes, we might be more sophisticated. But at our core, we are still animals – human animals. Our primal impulses and evolutionary origins don’t just disappear because we sit and read the newspaper each morning or wipe our asses with lavender-scented toilet paper.

As noted by anthropologist Clifford Geertz:

… man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun.

Rather than get hoity-toity about the fact that we’re only really advanced animals, why not embrace it? By honoring the wisdom of the subconscious mind and its impact on the body to produce ‘gut instinct’ we can save ourselves from a lot of suffering. (This has been proven by the way.)

What’s the Difference Between Gut Instinct and Intuition?

Gut instinct and intuition are often used synonymously. And, yes, they are interconnected. But they aren’t quite the same.

So what’s the difference?

Put simply, gut instinct is your primal wisdom. Intuition is your spiritual wisdom. We need both if we are to walk our spiritual paths with courage and intelligence.

Intuition is very cerebral – it is a calm and clear sense of “knowing.” On the other hand, gut instinct is very visceral and physical – you feel it in your body.

Intuition can be expressed through the body, and the gut instinct can be expressed through intuitive knowing. But generally, both are clearly discernable and strikingly different in their experience. Also, gut instinct is much more emotional and reactive (as it is wired in the primal brain), whereas intuition is more neutral and calm.

Examples of Gut Instinct

Some call it a “hunch,” others an “inkling,” but in this article, we’ll refer to it as the gut instinct. Here are some examples that are taken from the animal kingdom and human (animal) behavior of gut instinct:

A herd of zebra sense danger while grazing. They cannot see the lions lurking in the surrounding savannah, but something is distinctly “off.” One zebra whinnies and the herd begins galloping away vigorously.
A herd of elephants meander through the deserts in search of water. Instinctively they know what direction to move in to find their sustenance.
A cat sits on the edge of a three-story house and wants to find a way down. She slinks over to the edge and stares at the ground apparently about to jump – but then changes her mind. She climbs down to the first story roof and then makes the jump, apparently aware on an instinctual level that jumping from any higher distance would injure her.
A person approaches you at a bar wanting to flirt with you. You start reciprocating, but something feels wrong. You sense a predatory quality about this person. You don’t trust them. You excuse yourself and leave.
Two hikers get lost on a trail within the mountains. Without a compass or any way to determine a direction back to camp, they sit silently and tune into the surrounding trees. Suddenly one of them points to the west, “I have a feeling that is the way back!” An hour later they have made it back to home base.
You’re driving down a highway at night. Suddenly, the impulse overtakes you to change lanes immediately. You obey the impulse, and a couple of seconds later miss a large spike of glass that could have punctured your tire and rendered you stranded on the side of the road.
A young woman is sitting in class at college. Out of the blue, she feels the strange impulse to return home. She ditches the class and catches a taxi, a pit of dread looming in her stomach. When she arrives home, she finds her mother on the floor having a heart attack. If she had ignored her gut instinct, her mother would have most likely died alone.
A man has two job offers. One of them pays less, and the other pays more. Logically he would choose the job that pays more, but he can’t shake the knot of dread that forms in his stomach every time he considers accepting the higher paying offer. He decides to choose the job that pays less. Two months later, he is relieved that he chose the right offer as the higher paying company went out of business due to a high profile lawsuit.

I hope you now have a good idea of how the gut instinct operates!

Signs You’ve Experienced a Gut Instinct

Pay attention to these signs:

A sudden feeling of dread or fear (that is out of context)
A strong urge to do something (feels like an inner nudge or pull)
Full-body chills, goosebumps or “tingles” up the spine
Nausea or physical uneasiness
Sudden hypervigilance (or being on “high alert”)
A clear and firm voice within you instructing you to do/not do something

You might experience all of these signs at once or only one or two of them.

Is it Fear? Or is it Your Gut Instinct?

Don’t get them confused!

But also, don’t worry if you have already. Chances are you were never taught about the difference between superficial mental fears and true gut instinct.

The mind can easily fool us, particularly when it comes to gut instinct. After all, we feel our emotions within our body. When you’re scared, you most likely get clammy hands, butterflies, and an increase in heart rate, right?

In a similar fashion, when we experience a gut instinct, we also receive physical sensations.

So how on earth can we distinguish between the two?

My response is to pay attention to your mind. What is the quality of your thoughts? Is your mind racing, frantic, or chaotic? If so, you are experiencing fear.

On the other hand, if your mind is relatively neutral, but your body is experiencing strong reactions (like a sense of impending doom for instance), you are experiencing a gut instinct.

In other words, when you need to distinguish between the voice of fear and your gut instincts, always turn your attention to your mind.

Why?

Gut instincts are spontaneous – they arise out of the blue. They don’t have time to build-up in the brain, therefore, the brain is relatively still and neutral. There is no “hmm, should I? Shouldn’t I?” going on. There is just an immediate DO THIS/DON’T DO THIS.

Fears, on the other hand, build-up. They are typically more vague, nagging, unclear, and tumultuous. If your mind is spinning, if your thoughts are everywhere, you are experiencing fear, not gut instinct.

7 Gut Instincts You Should NEVER Ignore

Obviously, you must be the judge. But there are some situations in life where your gut instincts shine the most.

While it’s easy to brush off most nagging sensations, please never ignore the following ones:

1. “I’m in danger”

Remember that your gut instincts reflect what your subconscious mind already knows. Although you may not be able to pinpoint what exactly the danger is, please listen to this inner warning. It could be the difference between life and death.

2. “They’re in danger”

Yes, you might sound like a lunatic. Yes, you might feel embarrassed or perplexed. But if you genuinely feel that someone is in danger, tell them. You have nothing to lose. You might just prevent the person from making a big mistake or endangering themselves.

3. “This isn’t the right choice”

If you get a strong and clear feeling that what you’re doing isn’t right, pay attention. Even if there is no moral or logical reason why you should be feeling that way, take heed.

4. “I need help”

Your gut instinct doesn’t only warn you of danger, it also helps to preserve your emotional well being. If you receive a strong sensation that you need help (whether physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually), seek it out. Don’t linger.

5. “I need to help them”

At some point in our lives, the overwhelming desire to help someone will arise. There may not be any rational reason why. The other person may appear to be perfectly fine on the surface. But don’t let appearances deceive you. Have a conversation with the person. Ask them how they are. This might make you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable, but you will at the very least make the person feel special, and at the most potentially save their lives.

6. “Something feels off in my body”

Unless you’re a hypochondriac (which is unlikely), your gut instincts rarely lie about the state of your health. If a sudden strong and clear desire arises to see a medical professional, do it. Get a full health assessment, and even if nothing comes up, feel proud of yourself for practicing self-care.

7. “This is it!”

Often when the perfect life calling, spiritual path, job, house, decision, option, etc. comes along, your gut instinct will immediately notify you. If you receive a strong and clear feeling that practically screams “YES” don’t ignore it! This is one of the most important reasons why it’s essential to listen to your gut instinct. It could be the difference between making a life-fulfilling choice and a soul-starving decision.

Trust Your Gut

So long as you’re able to distinguish between the voice of fear and the spontaneous feelings of your gut instinct, it is safe to trust your gut.

Trusting your instincts is an invaluable life skill and one that will tremendously benefit you on the spiritual path. After all, this instinct is built into our very DNA, so why not make the most use out of it?

As a final recommendation, I suggest practicing mindfulness meditation if you struggle to trust your gut. Mindfulness meditation will help you to become aware of your thoughts and body sensations. The more awareness you can develop, the easier it will be to make the distinction – it will become second-nature to you.

How was I able to cultivate my latent and inherent ability?

After I left Prison, I was able to leave the Hard Labor Facility at ADC “Brickey’s” East Arkansas Regional Unit and stay with family on parole. Parole is the “rehabilitation” part of my five year sentence.

For reasons that are not really important right now at this point in my narrative, it become prudent for me to move to a monastery, or a “men’s retreat” to help stabilize my return to society. This was a suggestion by my parole officer, and he was right. I needed something that my biological family was unable to provide at that time.

This is important after enduring the “punishment” part of the Hard Labor sentence.

Brickeys. — East Arkansas Regional Unit.

The monastery, or a “men’s retreat”, was a great place to center myself and slow down…way down from all the changes over the last few years. It pretty much consisted of an arrangement of various small farms. Each one with a building set up to house around 20 to 30 men in small cubicles.

Each cubicle was a very small bedroom. It held a very lumpy bed, a easy chair to sit on. A small side table with a lamp, and a bible. It was really nice, if a bit primitive.

At the monastery. — That’s me at the monastery in my bedroom. Photo was taken by my father before he passed on. The cat is the monastery mouser, and took a shine to me and a few others as long as we let him come and go as he pleased.

We worked the farm. Took care of the plants, the livestock and worked together communally to fend for the needs of the community. Between the work tasks were long period of quiet meditation, prayer, and similar activities.

The first week was a shock. And it took me three weeks to get used to the really, really, really slow pace of life. But then, once I adjusted, it was really nice. I was able to calm down and do well.

Warren Pennsylvania. — The monastery, or a “men’s retreat”, was in an isolated area that was hilly and wooded.

The farms were in the middle of no-where. You could spend days walking down the roads and see nothing except trees. Not even isolated farm houses. We were “in the sticks” most certainly. Isolated wasn’t even the word for it. There was zero television and radio reception. You couldn’t even get AM radio. That’s how isolated the place was.

Anyways…

There was plenty of time to contemplate life and mistakes. And I contemplated quite a bit. Part of what I did was totally revamp my prayer affirmation campaign styles and methodology. But another thing that I did was try to home my “gut instincts”, or as I call it my “situation board”.

The monastery, or a "men's retreat", was a great place to center myself and slow down...way down from all the changes over the last few years. — The monastery, or a “men’s retreat”, was a great place to center myself and slow down…way down from all the changes over the last few years.

I personally believe that everyone needs to do this. But you just cannot devote a few minutes here or there. You need bulk periods of free time. Free time as in zero interruptions, and distractions. Only you. And I was able to do it at “Father Pete’s”. And it was glorious.

What is the “situation board”

The big change in how I dealt with things was that I now recognize that the physical world is a trivial image of a much larger non-physical reality. And I am constantly alert for changes in my personal “feelings”. The slightest change and I start looking for reasons for the incident. Was it something physical? Something that I ate? Or something that I did? Or is is associated with something non-physical.

Since then I have been busy mapping out “flags” or “tell-tales” (to use a nautical term) to help me identify what non-physical things that I am sensing.

Sometimes I am very accurate. Eerily accurate. And other times, I am way off track. I am not that good identifying everything that is going on. My ability is dependent upon the strength of the effect and the feeling. So to simplify things, I classify how strongly I perceive the non-physical events with an accuracy reading.

Minor, light, unusual.
Buggy, nagging, pestering.
Abrupt, clear, and strong.
Very strong and powerful. Full body effect.

In my “situation board”, I view the minor things of no consequence and try to ignore them. They might mean that something is actually going on, but I really can’t tell what. So I just have to wait to see what will happen. My personal experience is that in three days something will manifest. And I’ll end up slapping my forehead saying “so THAT is what this is all about“.

Of course, I already related the Very Strong and powerful Full-Body effect that I felt prior to my arrest. That’s a great example. And luckily, it’s a preciously rare event for me to “feel”.

And abrupt, strong and clear “feeling”

It has been my experience that when I have an abrupt strong and clear “feeling” on my “situation board” that is is actually occurring. I can give and provide numerous examples, but you all should realize by now that this isn’t necessary. If I feel something, then I feel it.

Which brings me back to the story about my house in Shenzhen. Remember that?

Yeah and the guy who swindled me, and a few thousand others out of our rental income for years so that he could “run away” with our earnings.

And you know, he only thought about the physical. getting the money so that he can enjoy the physical life. he never gave a thought about the non-physical. All he thought about was himself in his little physical world. And never to the consequences of his actions.

Scene from the movie schrooged. — Scene from the movie “Schrooged”. Here an Angel is showing Bill Murray (the tough asshole businessman executive) how his actions affect the world around him.

In the middle of November, I was in my house (not in Shenzhen, my other house in Zhuhai) and I was in the study. Oh, getting some things, I don’t remember what I was doing specifically, when suddenly my “situation board” all lit up in blinding and bright colors…

I "felt" that there was a strange youngish man (late 20's to middle 30's) in my room with another entity. A guide, or a mentor, or a agent of some sort. This young man had a real "chip on his shoulder", a very bad and angry attitude, and was condescending of everything around him.

The entity was explaining to the young man something along the lines of "...and look at how your actions affected this family and the hardships that you imposed on them by your actions...".

And his response, was "oh, boo hoo. Too bad. So what's the deal..."

And then the image dissolved and I "felt" them move out and on-wards.

Just my feelings. Eh?

Yeah.

Maybe.

A ghost has Bill Murry confront his life, his past, present and future. Scene from the movie "Schrooged". — A ghost has Bill Murry confront his life, his past, present and future. Scene from the movie “Schrooged”.

Don’t let anyone ever tell you that we (in the non-physical bodies) don’t ever learn, or review our life and the good and bad things that we have been involved in. Some people might call this being an angel with a ghost. To me, they are two non-physical beings…

This week

Welcome to this week. It’s the last week in November, and I am writing this on Thanksgiving. Which is an American holiday that celebrates… who knows what it actually celebrates anymore? Different cultures coming together? Family and friends? The end of a crappy-tastic year?

And on this Thanksgiving day, I lived my normal day to day life, and I didn’t even bother to celebrate it. Finding a turkey in China is damn near impossible. Though I was tempted to go to KFC for some fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Anyways…

We decided to check in with our attorney. When we called the attorney that was dealing with our lawsuit against the company that swindled us, he told us that there has been a complication in the entire process.

The owner of the company that swindled us “had an event”. And will be unable to testify or resolve the issue(s) at hand.

As a result, other methods of restitution and other processes must now come into play regarding resolution of our legal issues.

…

The evil SOB that swindled us and thousands of other families had "an accident". — The evil SOB that swindled us and thousands of other families had “an event”.

Conclusion

I strongly believe, in my very bones, that the physical world that we experience is just a vector of world-line travel.

Once we finish our path, our consciousness leaves the physical and enters the non-physical realm.

And in this realm is so much, much, much more than what we know of and realize about. I believe that it is important to keep this awareness alive and at the top of our minds always.

Always keep this reality at the top of your mind. Even when you are getting drunk, cavorting with pretty girls and eating all those fine, and delicious foods. Realize where you are.

An Angel has a real heart-to-heart understanding with Bill Murry.

I also strongly believe that as long as we are true to our natural selves, and are not tricked or seduced by others towards a love of things, or abuse of vices…

… or get involved in any of the many, many sidetracks in this physical realm…

… that we will ride out our earth-side reality experiences and end up living a full and productive life.

It is a life with love, happiness, care, and shared experiences with others.

You don’t have to believe my experiences. For they are very personal and unique to myself. You, might have other experiences, and some might be very difficult to relate or strange for others to understand. But please just be the best you can be. Don’t try to trick, or hurt others, and be a good contributing member of your society. And everything will turn out just fine.

Be a good person. It’s not too late, and if you start now, today, you can erase decades of bad behavior through active efforts at resolution and perhaps personal restitution.

Do you want more?

Then check out my Intention Prayer Index here…

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How to disable, or take down, a technical using a hunting rifle while under concealed cover

This post is exactly what the title says. It discusses ways and techniques for a single person to disable an armed technical using only a hunting rifle. It requires the use of stealth so that the shooter can extract a clip of ammo and then egress out of the area immediately afterwards. This is part of my SHTF series, and discusses techniques and means that a person can survive when their entire world is turned upside-down.

Again, this is a post by request. I want to get off the SHTF nonsense, but I find that one of my posts hit the American prepper blog-a-sphere and went exceptional. Since then, I have been getting some requests. So I'm dusting off a few misc post that I need to push out there. I guess that now is the time. I guess.

People!

Keep in mind that most Americans are good. It is an illusion that those at the other side of the political spectrum are evil, or that Chinese are evil, or that Russians are evil. Most people are not. Those that are pushing for a war... 

...they are the evil ones.

You all should stop contemplating fighting each other, and both gang up against the wealthy oligarchy playing you all as fools. They are the ones driving this entire nightmare and pushing it to it's ultimate conclusion.

The world turning upside-down is in process right now. Some areas are worse than others, but the United States is pretty much a “basket case”.

We need to look at other places, other times, other events from the lens of history. And much of what we must read is from sources outside the United States. For the United States media has created insulated “echo chambers” fully intending to keep Americans like mushrooms; in the dark.

Learn from the events outside of the USA, and discard that very popular saying that “America is special, it is exceptional, it is different”. It’s a lie. America is not immune to change. And it is long overdue. Change is coming and you all had best gather all your strength to deal with it.

Learn from other nations and what they have experienced.

Businessman shot and killed by gunfire in the early days of the Bosnian conflict.

You need to be prepared. No one can predict the future, and it is my sincere hope that history does not repeat itself. Bu you all should be well aware of history and of similar situations that seem to resemble what is now building up inside of America today.

You need to be prepared.

Know your history.

Ad hoc road block established to thwart an attack.

Be prepared. Part of that is personal. With food, gun training, ammo, and contingency plans. But part of it goes beyond that. Clan up with a group. Know your neighbors in a good and strong way. Identify who will collect your name on a list and be very wary of them. Identify what your weaknesses are and mitigate your concerns.

Do not be like the Bosnian’s who fled their villages for the woods, and then who were hunted down over the next few months by aggressive and very motivated irregulars. It didn’t work out well for them. Don’t allow history to repeat itself.

Don't be like the villagers in Bosnia who fled and ran into the woods when troops came to collect the women and take them to the new rape complexes in the cities. — Don’t be like the villagers in Bosnia who fled and ran into the woods when troops came to collect the women and take them to the (newly established) rape complexes in the cities.

One of the most important things that you can do is know how to suppress a technical. Their role is to suppress you, and others while active regulars go house to house seizing people.

If you can take down a technical, you will go a long way to suppress their activity, and even gain control of the situation. Realize that the technical is the major source of power in these excursions. Take out the technical, and the leadership and the attack and assault will more than likely break.

What is a “technical”

A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck. It is usually an open-backed civilian pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle mounting a machine gun, light anti-aircraft gun, recoilless rifle, or other support weapon.

Usually it consists of a medium machine gun to heavy machine gun mounted on the bed of a small pickup truck. The vehicle is usually (mostly) unarmored, and the advantage of the technical is rapid mobility while producing substantial small arms firepower.

A basic "technical" vehicle. — A basic “technical” vehicle.

The Toyota pickup truck seems to be a very common platform from which to mount medium and heavy machine guns. Notice that aside from the gun mount, there is very little other modifications. There might be a large ammo box in the bed of the truck for ammo, and maybe a gas can or two, but that is about it. Usually the vehicles aren’t even painted.

Here’s another technical that is very similar to the photo above. But if you look closely you can see differences. And you all should know that one is in Syria while the other was in Libya.

Another basic "Technical" vehicle. — Another basic “Technical” vehicle.

These next two technical vehicles both have an armored shield mounted with the machine gun. They offer protection from defensive fire that originates from the target. In most cases the weapon of choice will be a medium to heavy machine gun, and supports, or is supported by a squad of regulars.

Notice that the technical would typically include a crew of three.

A driver.
A machine gunner.
And someone riding “shotgun”.

Cautions and limitations

Just because you see something on the internet doesn’t mean that it is wholly and completely accurate. Every person, every situation, every location, and every war is different. You just can’t simply rely on MM here to provide accurate life or death intel. And so don’t. This is just and only an introduction. If you have nothing else to go on, you can use what is printed herein as a guide to help illuminate a path to take to resolve a problem that could very well occur.

Just keep in mind that were a SHTF event to occur, it is highly likely that technicals will be involved. Being a “lone wolf” defending your homestead without a clan or a group of people for support will be lethal. A technical will be used to frighten, harass, scare, threaten, and destroy from a distance. It is not something that you can view as an after thought. It is something that you need to prepare for.

When a technical rolls into you small town or hamlet, will you be able and equipped to suppress it and immobilize it?

How they are used

In an anticipated North American SHTF situation (which is pretty much why we are discussing this) these vehicles will more than likely used by progressive Marxists to suppress the countryside. As such they will be used to…

Secure major intersections, bridges, and points of interest.
Secure “high ground” prior to a larger assault.
Capture or suppress key minor-defended targets.

Which should not be a real surprise. Of course they will be used in this role to provide quick and mobile weapons platforms. But what most civilians will need to be concerned about is as a supporting role in local assaults in small villages and hamlets.

Harass the civilian population. Cause them to break and be unable to provide a strong unified defense.

The technicals would be used to scare and chase away civilians and cause them to scatter in the directions that they choose. Eventually rounding up and herding the populace towards collection points where others would secure the people for relocation to “safe areas”. You can well guess what these “safe areas” are.

If you can, avoid boarding the trucks to take you to a "safe area". History clearly shows that the likelihood of you and your family surviving in those conditions is small. — If you can, avoid boarding the trucks to take you to a “safe area”. History clearly shows that the likelihood of you and your family surviving in those conditions is small.

You don’t want to board the cattle cars, hop into the trucks, or be in any way carted off by agents of the enemy.

When Bosnian Serb forces broke through two years later, about 15,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys fled into the woods. And twice as many terrified residents rushed to the U.N. compound in what was formerly an industrial zone at the entrance to town, in the hope that Dutch U.N. peacekeepers would protect them.

However, the outgunned peacekeepers watched helplessly as Serb troops took around 2,000 men and boys from the compound for execution...

... while bussing the women and young girls to Bosnian government-held territory. 

Meanwhile, in the woods around Srebrenica, Serb soldiers hunted the fleeing Bosniaks, as Bosnian Muslims are otherwise known, killing them one by one.

The killers sought to hide evidence of the genocide, piling most of the bodies into hastily made mass graves, which they subsequently dug up with bulldozers and scattered the bodies across numerous burial sites.

In the years since, bodies have been unearthed and the victims identified through DNA testing. About 1,000 victims remain to be found.

A special U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague and courts in the Balkans have sentenced close to 50 Bosnian Serbs, including their top civilian war-time leader, Radovan Karadzic, and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, to more than 700 years in prison for Srebrenica crimes.

-Seattle Times

British forces helping collect women and loading them into trucks "for their protection". Of course, we all know the price that the young women had to pay for that kind of safety. — British forces helping collect women and loading them into trucks “for their protection”. Of course, we all know the price that the young women had to pay for that kind of safety.

An estimated 30,000 Muslim refugees packed around the Dutch peacekeeping base in Potocari, just north of Srebrenica, after Bosnian Serb forces seized the 'safe area'. Mladic sought to calm them, telling the crowd they did not need to be afraid.

Bosnian Serb forces put the frightened refugees on to buses to leave. Many of the refugees were evacuated to Kladanj, 30 miles away on the edge of government-held territory.

The UN noticed that most of the refugees arriving from Srebrenica were women, children, and the elderly and became concerned about the fate of the men.

Over the week that followed the fall of Srebrenica, a total of about 8,000 men and boys from the enclave are estimated to have been killed by Bosnian Serb forces in detention or while trying to flee through the woods.

Men were crammed into warehouses, schools and barns in the area outside Srebrenica. They were shot and their bodies were dumped in mass graves. Serb forces subsequently dug up the bodies and scattered them in a systematic effort to conceal the crime. UN war crimes investigators later excavated the mass graves, but over 1,000 bodies are still missing.

-Srebrenica massacre anniversary: Europe's worst atrocity since the Nazis

During this up coming SHTF event, it would be prudent to trust no-one. Absolutely trust no one. Instead rely on your wits, family and closest friends. In times like these betrayal becomes normal. Expect it.

The After Picture.

Remains of the men who obeyed the troops, the police, and the advise of the political personages that were directing the entire situation "to keep order". — Remains of the men who obeyed the troops, the police, and the advise of the political personages that were directing the entire situation “to keep order”.

Now that you have seen the “after” pictures, let me present to you the “before” pictures. They say that a picture can say a 1000 words. Well, these two pictures taken together should speak volumes. Do not let, or allow, anyone to take you or your family to a “safe area”. No matter what it is called. FEMA camp, “holding area”, “rest area”, “UN compound”, just don’t allow it to happen.

The “before” picture. How the men were rounded up and led to a place for their protection…

The before picture. The round-up of men and women will be orderly. They will say that they will take you to a safe area; an area of peace and quiet. You know one that they have the control and you do not.

In order for you to avoid the “after picture”, you need to avoid the “before picture“. Don’t you agree?

Other Applications

These technical vehicles can often hold much larger weapons. Typically they are anti-aircraft guns, and other such weapons. They will be able to reduce a house to rubble. We need not quibble about the size of the weapon, or predict what will be made available when. What we do know is that powerful forces are accumulating large stocks of military grade weapons for the progressive Marxists to use. My guess is that this is going to be much more than rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers.

The prepared prepper needs to be ready for anything.

Technical with a mounted anti-aircraft platform.

And let’s not get all too hung up on terminology either.

A technical is a light improvised fighting vehicle, typically an open-backed civilian pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle mounting a heavy weapon, such as a machine gun, anti-aircraft gun, rotary cannon, anti-tank weapon, anti-tank gun, ATGM, mortar, howitzer, multiple rocket launcher, or recoilless rifle, operating similar to a light (unarmored) military gun truck.

-wikipedia

Light improvised fighting vehicles date back to the first use of automobiles, and to the horse-drawn tachankas mounting machine guns in eastern Europe and Russia.

Machine guns are commonly mounted on fast attack vehicles such as technicals to provide heavy mobile firepower, armored vehicles such as tanks for engaging targets too small to justify use of the primary weaponry or too fast to effectively engage with it, and on aircraft as defensive armament or for strafing ground targets, though on fighter aircraft true machine guns have mostly been supplanted by large-caliber rotary guns.

Technicals are typically fitted with heavy machine guns (especially the DShK and M2 Browning).

Also mounted are anti-aircraft artillery (usually the ZPU or ZU-23-2) AA guns.

It is not uncommon to see recoilless rifles (usually the SPG-9 or M40 recoilless rifle) on such vehicles, as they now become able to take down light armored vehicles and provide HE rounds to destroy houses and fortifications.

Additionally, multiple rocket launchers (such as the Type 63 multiple rocket launcher or the M-63 Plamen) have been seen on these vehicles.

In the 2012 Syrian civil war, the Syrian government said rebels used the gun mounted on cars.

Technical mounting a quad rocket launcher.

Here’s a great PDF writeup on having mounted rocket launchers on technicals.

Makeshift rocket launchers, whether converted from existing rocket pods or of an entirely improvised design, have featured in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, Georgia, Libya and, most recently, the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Most prominent amongst the rockets used in this manner are those of the Soviet (later Russian) S-5 series.

Over the past half a century, these rockets became one of the standard weapons for the majority of Soviet and later Russian combat aircraft and helicopters. Although Soviet forces began to supplement, and in some cases replace, S-5 rockets in many roles with the larger 80 mm S-8 series in the 1970s, the S-5 remains commonplace amongst the armed forces of many countries, particularly in the developing world.

S-5 rockets continue to be used in both the conventional manner and in improvised launchers. In many cases, improvised systems based around surface-to-air rockets are employed as makeshift multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), often in a standalone manner.

Launchers in this configuration appear to be used predominantly for indirect fire support, and make use of improvised weapons mounts allowing high elevation.

In other cases, such systems are employed in the direct fire support role. In these cases, the weapons may be used to supplement existing vehicle armaments, or in a standalone fashion.

Launchers used like this are often pintle-mounted, or mounted in a fixed or coaxial position. In at least one documented example, an improvised S-5 system was claimed to be used in an anti-helicopter role. It is also important to note the existence of other systems, including both towed and immobile launchers, remotely-operated systems mounted on radio-controlled vehicles, and man-portable single-tube launchers, including shoulder-fired examples.

Why is is important?

Well, unless you are able to respond back to an aggressive force strongly, they will destroy everything. Then, they will come back and collect the survivors. And the results will not be pretty.

Arkan's Tigers kill Bosnian Muslim civilians during the first battle for Bosnia in Bijeljina, Bosnia, March 31, 1992. The Serbian paramilitary unit was responsible for killing thousands of people during the Bosnian war, and Arkan was later indicted for war crimes. This image and the series that accompanies it were used for evidence in the International War Crimes Tribunal for the indictment and conviction of Serbian leaders. — Arkan’s Tigers kill Bosnian Muslim civilians during the first battle for Bosnia in Bijeljina, Bosnia, March 31, 1992. The Serbian paramilitary unit was responsible for killing thousands of people during the Bosnian war, and Arkan was later indicted for war crimes. This image and the series that accompanies it were used for evidence in the International War Crimes Tribunal for the indictment and conviction of Serbian leaders.

When you encounter an armed aggressive force using technicals, understand that it will involve groups of armed insurgents, of which the technical will provide a supporting role. You will need to be calm, steely, and composed. Then you need to carefully identify your targets and with a fixed mind eliminate them.

There will be bedlam everywhere. Shooting, screaming, cries, explosions, fires and smoke. Do not be shaken.

Some technicals will typically fitted with heavy machine guns (especially the DShK and M2 Browning), anti-aircraft artillery (usually the ZPU or ZU-23-2), recoilless rifles (usually the SPG-9 or M40 recoilless rifle), or multiple rocket launchers (such as the Type 63 multiple rocket launcher or the M-63 Plamen).

They can completely and absolutely destroy a small town or community. Being a lone wolf will be lethal.

Burning homes in Bosina. The rural areas were terribly exposed. The aggressors would go after people on a list that they compiled, and if that person was in a small town or hamlet, they completely gutted the entire area.

The SPG-9 can typically be found mounted on a wide variety of vehicles known as “technicals” in Somalia.

Great resources on this matter

There are military handbooks for this kind of thing. If you have the ability, I would strongly urge you to read and consult those handbooks if you can find them.

A Muslim in Bijelina, Bosnia begs for his life after capture by Arkan's Tigers in the spring of 1992. — A Muslim in Bijelina, Bosnia begs for his life after capture by Arkan’s Tigers in the spring of 1992.

The suggested methods

Remember that during this period of time, long before any shooting starts, the intention of a technical in your region is to kill.

That is it’s primary purpose. It’s secondary purpose is to destroy, and the third purpose is to intimidate.

Technicals are often used to transport people when not engaged as a weapons platform.

Your ideal situation is to disable the technical before it gets into a position of control. What ever that might be. If you can disable the technical before it can get to a staging location, or set up a firing zone, then you have completely thrown a “monkey wrench” into the assault plans. You want this.

There are numerous was to disable a technical. In no particular order they are;

Immobilize it. (Shoot off it’s tires, destroy the radiator, muck up the gas, destroy the battery.)
Kill or disable the driver. While anyone can drive a pickup truck, if you steal the keys, it will be rather hard to move the vehicle.
Render the weapon inoperable. Either deny it ammo, remove the firing mechanism or clog the barrel.
Kill or disable the gunner. Again, you might need to eliminate numerous people, as one person after the other might attempt to man the gun.

Yah, I get it. Duh!

Now, reread the list. Remember DO NOT ALLOW THE ENEMY to define the time, or the place, or the rules of engagement. When you do, you provide him the keys to success. Do not fight a defensive war. Fight an offensive war.

You have an opportunity during the beginning stages of a conflict to disable the weapons systems, and the techinicals that you enemy is planning on using. It is at this time that he is vulnerable. He is not expecting anything. You need to eliminate the treat, or mitigate the enormity of the threat long before it manifests.

Read that list again.

If you have failed, and the enemy has decided to attack your community with technicals, then you need to still play offense. But only it will be much harder. You will need to have the technical say in a fixed location for enough time for you to attack it. And then, again, disable it so that it cannot move, and then once disabled, attack the gunner.

Do not be intimidated by the presence of this vehicle. Because that is it’s intended purpose.

Advisement’s for America during SHTF

We cannot predict what will happen in the United States. Certainly one half of the nation if pitted against the other half. And both are being gloated on by wealthy interests. Bu I would advised to shake off all of your misconceptions about who the “enemy” is. They are wrong.

Do not expect that the vehicles rolling into your hamlet will be machine-shop modified technicals. They might be pristine, off the factory floor, custom designed technicals designed for the American battle arena. Be wary. Be frosty.

Conclusion

It is highly likely that if a SHTF event were to occur in the United States, that urban youth would stream out from “blue controlled” areas and invade the surrounding countryside.

They will have lists and will target those on the lists as their key focus of attacks.

Then they would take on a secondary role. This would be to round up all the people and stream them towards “safe areas” which they control.

Only they won’t really be safe. They will be traps and those going there will expect historically bad treatment, and death.

Technicals form the core "heart" of an insurgency movement. It is used for transport as well as a gun platform. By taking it out, you are best able to gain control of the situation. — Technicals form the core “heart” of an insurgency movement. It is used for transport as well as a gun platform. By taking it out, you are best able to gain control of the situation.

To control the countryside they will use either existing armored vehicles as part of the DHS, and other alphabet organizations, or “home grown” technicals.

This article focuses on the technical, which is a lightly armored weapons platform that is key to controlling wide areas of contentious population. And remember…

People!

Keep in mind that most Americans are good. It is an illusion that those at the other side of the political spectrum are evil, or that Chinese are evil, or that Russians are evil. Most people are not. Those that are pushing for a war... they are the evil ones.

You all should stop contemplating fighting each other, and both gang up against the wealthy oligarchy playing you all as fools.

Alt-Right are not evil.
Alt-Left are not evil.

Those that are pushing hatred towards others that have different views from you; they are the evil ones!

And one last point…

Perhaps Mike Pompeo would be less inclined to start and fight a war, if he took a couple of tabs of acid, drank some icy cold beers, and sat down and talked deeply about the purpose of life with one of his “enemies”. We all need to chill out, and communicate. That’s a fact, Jack.

Idea: In a small scale social experiment by Heineken, as part of their ad campaign, 3 pairs of complete strangers with (secretly) wildly-differing views went to a warehouse. There, they built various constructions in pairs and asked each other questions that were prepared in advance by the event organizers. In the end, everyone finds out that their partner had completely opposite beliefs than their own. Everyone then decides if they want to talk to their partner over a bottle of beer.

Result: Among the 3 pairs of participants there was a supporter of the climate change theory and an skeptic; a feminist and a man holding conservative views; and a transgender individual, as well as a man against gender reassignment. In the end, friendship and curiosity prevailed, as every single person decided to drink a beer together, chatted, got to know each other, and deepened their knowledge about the questions they thought they had all figured out.

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The differences between Texas and Taiwan

One of the big (intentionally fabricated) misunderstandings within America today is that Taiwan is an “independent” nation. It is not independent. It is a province of China. And has been so for some time, around fifty years.

But the drum beat for war against China continues, and the idea that it is “independent” is one that must be drilled over and over in the heads of Americans.

It’s necessary, don’t you see? How else can America justify a war? The argument must be hammered over and over again to make Americans believe that American marines must land on Taiwan to “save it”! Just like American had to invade Kuwait, Panama, Yemen, and Syria.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo gave a radio interview to Hugh Hewitt and said, 'Taiwan is not a part of China'."

Mike Pompeo's Taiwan remarks

But, we know that this is all just part of the CIA “fire hose of disinformation”. It’s the usual build of of anti-nation propaganda that always proceeds an American invasion force.

And Taiwan…?

Taiwan is very much like Texas. It is, in that it has subverted it’s independence to become part of something bigger. Texas, which was once fully independent, became a member state of the United States, and now operates as a semi-autonomous member of the union.

This is exactly the case of Taiwan. And here, we are going to discuss the similarities and the differences between Texas and Taiwan.

This is a just a quick post that I threw together. I tire to trying to explain what the fuck is going on in China to people who have never been there, and just simply regurgitate the "fire hose of disinformation" that Mike Pompeo has established regarding China.

Bottom line, American ignorance in matters outside America is astounding. Just friggin' out-of-this-world insane. Thus this post.

Introduction

It serves the interests of the oligarchy-run American government to keep the American citizenry ill-informed, and ignorant. That is why the government controls 99% of the American media. This means all of the alternative media source, not just the mainstream media. But also the government controls both the alt-Left and the alt-Right media.

In effect, creating three separate “echo chambers” that they control.

Alt-Left echo chamber.
Mainsteam “news” echo chamber.
Alt-Right echo chamber.

And the Trump / Neocon cabal has been desirous of a hot war with China to [1] “make America great again”, and [2] unify the nation, while at the same time [3] generating the reelection of Trump in 2020 as a “war President”.

And to this end, they have unleashed a torrent of anti-China propaganda that is astounding in it’s depth, quantity, persistence, and just the lies. It’s just (chuckle) fucking amazing.

Because people are a lot more likely to click, read and share information which validates their pre-existing opinions and follow people who do the same, social media is notorious for the way it creates tightly insulated echo chambers which masturbate our confirmation bias and hide any information which might cause us cognitive dissonance by contradicting it.

-This Is Your Brain On Echo Chambers: Right Calls Biden A Xi Puppet As He Packs His Cabinet With China Hawks

One of the big lies is that Taiwan is a tiny isolated nation that is under the shadow of near-by China. And that it is too fearful to do anything. It needs American military support to defend it! It needs protection! For liberty ^TM! And for democracy ^TM!

It’s all bullshit.

Here we are gonna compare Texas with Taiwan. Hopefully this simple comparison will help the reader understand Taiwan better than any of the voluminous bullshit out of the American media.

Ties to the “parent nation”

Texas stopped being an independent nation (independent Republic of Texas) and became a United States client state on December 29, 1845 by Annexation. It is the 28th State of the United States.

Taiwan stopped being an independent nation, and became a Chinese client state in 1972 by [1] The Shanghai Communiqué and the 1982 [2] Joint Communiqué and [3] the August 17 Communiqué. It’s the 23rd province of China.

All of this his was codified and made permanent on October 1971, when the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, which recognized the government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China at the United Nations and established the One-China Principle.

From the ice-breaking visit to the normalization of relations and to the establishment of diplomatic ties, leaders and statesmen of the elder generation in China and the U.S., Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping on the Chinese side, and Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger on the American side, acted in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and made the political decision of historic significance with their exceptional strategic vision and political courage to rise above the differences in ideology and social systems. 

The Shanghai Communiqué, the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, and the 1982 Joint Communiqué that focused on addressing the question of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, something left over from history, identified the One China principle and established the principles of mutual respect, equality and seeking common ground while putting aside differences as the guiding principles in conducting China-U.S. relations.

-Full text: Yang Jiechi's signed article on China-U.S. relations

And…

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 was passed in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 that required any change in China's representation in the UN be determined by a two-thirds vote referring to Article 18 of the UN Charter. 

The resolution, passed on 25 October 1971, recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations" and...

...removed the collective representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (Taiwan) from the United Nations.

-United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758

Links on Taiwan, China and USA agreements

The USA and the Taiwan issue

But facts don’t matter to the brutish and the idiots that follow them. That is why people die in wars. The UN doesn’t matter to the American Alt-Right political machinery. Nor does any Chinese agreements, or Taiwan agreements. Agreements are meaningless to Trump and his cabal of neocons.

Don’t scream at me. I don’t make the rules. I’m only reporting on it.

The UN and treaties are meaningless unless they benefit America. Other than that, you can ignore them.

Falsehoods, repeatedly and endlessly repeated, create a narrative and a justification for action. And smart people, and sincere people, and real true believers in ideals and truth follow these false narratives…

…and historically the results are always painful.

*Gott* *mit* *uns* is a *phrase* *commonly* *used* in *heraldry* in *Prussia* *and* *later* by *the* *German* *military* *during* *the* *periods* *spanning* *the* *German* *Empire*, *the* *Third* *Reich*, *and* *the* *early* *years* of *West* *Germany*. It *was* *also* *commonly* *used* by *Sweden* in *most* of *its* *wars* *and* *especially* as a *warcry* *during* *the* *Thirty* *Years*‘ *War*.

So who’s side was God on? The Nazi Germans or the Proud Patriotic Americans? When you are led by a madman, or a crazed sociopath, you don’t know what is real or what is a lie. Even though, yourself, you might be pure and innocent of the true state of affairs.

Speaking recently about the Trump administration’s policy toward China, United States Vice President Mike Pence accused China of pressuring three Latin American nations to sever ties with Taipei and to recognize Beijing. He condemned these alleged actions, which he said “threaten the stability of the Taiwan Strait.” His claim reveals his ignorance of history.

Put simply, there is only one China, and Taiwan is an integral part of China’s territory.

This has been widely accepted since October 1971, when the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, which recognized the government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China at the United Nations and established the One-China Principle.

El Salvador became the 177th country this year (2020) to adopt Resolution 2758 when President Salvador Sánchez Cerén recognized that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China, and that Taiwan is an integral part of China’s territory.

Decades ago, when the United States established formal ties with China, they recognized the One-China Principle.

The three joint communiqués that established formal China-U.S. relations, namely the Shanghai Communiqué, the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and the August 17 Communiqué, all affirmed the One-China Principle.

American adherence to the three joint communiqués and the One-China Principle, and its cooperation with China on restraining Taiwan independence forces, are part of the political foundations of healthy China-U.S. relations.

From time to time, some voices in the United States call on the government there to abandon the promises it made all those years ago. And some go so far as to call for the government to interfere in China’s domestic affairs in relation to Taiwan. Mike Pence, an avowed Christian, would be well aware of the Bible’s admonishment: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

-When it comes to Taiwan, America should reflect on its own history

With all that being said, let’s compare Texas with Taiwan and see how they “stack up” comparatively.

stack up against, to

To compare the worth or power of something. This term comes from poker and alludes to how one player’s chips, representing money, compare to another’s. The higher the stack in front of a player, the more money he or she has.

Military

Texas has it’s own military. It uses United States supplied weapons and training. And the forces are all United States trained. They are under the control of the United States.

Taiwan has it’s own military. It uses United States supplied weapons and training. And the forces are all Taiwan trained. They are under the control of the local Taiwan government.

Language

In Texas, the schools teach in English and in the local Spanish. All official government dealings is in English, while on the very local regional level, Spanish is often used. Most residents of Texas can speak English fluently, and most can speak some Spanish.

In Taiwan, the schools teach in Chinese and in the local Taiwan language. All official government dealings is in Chinese, while on the very local regional level, Taiwan language is often used. Most residents of Taiwan can speak Chinese fluently, and most can speak some local Taiwan language.

Passports and Travel

In Texas, the people use United States passports to travel internationally. They do not need personal papers to travel in the United States.

In Taiwan, the people have both Taiwan and Chinese passports. They can use either to travel internationally. Travel to China is simple, all they do is show their Chinese passports.

Culture / Society

The people of Texas celebrate United States holidays. They speak the local language at home. They obey the local religions. They participate in United States (typical) hobbies, watch United States sports, and listen / read United States news.

The people of Taiwan celebrate Chinese holidays. They speak the local language at home. They obey the local religions. They participate in Chinese (typical) hobbies, watch Chinese sports, and listen / read Chinese news.

Trade

Texas trades with the United States. Texans own factories that operate within the United States, and people in Texas buy products that are made in the USA and vice versa.

Taiwan trades with China. The Taiwanese own factories that operate within China, and people in Taiwan buy products that are made in China and vice versa.

Food

Texans enjoy American food, however personally they also enjoy Mexican food. Thus creating their own style of food known as Tex-Mex.

Taiwanese enjoy Chinese food, however personally they also enjoy local food. Thus creating their own style of food known as Taipei Cuisine.

What about International Intervention?

Texas cannot invite The Chinese military without repercussions. In Texas, if the local Texas Congress invited the Chinese military to come in, train, equip and set up a base on Texas soil, the United States Federal government would consider it an invasion and would respond militarily.

Taiwan cannot invite The United States military without repercussions. In Taiwan, if the local Taiwan Congress invited the American military to come in, train, equip and set up a base on Taiwan soil, the Chinese would consider it an invasion and would respond militarily.

Conclusions

There is an American narrative (actually alt-Right) that has really been heavily promoted during the four years of the Donald Trump Presidency, that America must “DO SOMETHING” about Taiwan.

The over all strategy is to establish American military bases and a presence on the island, and then, eventually use it as a staging location for a military confrontation and invasion of mainland China.

It’s a crazy, no it’s an INSANE, pipe-dream.

American cities would all be smoldering radioactive ruins were that to be attempted. China does not play.

Hopefully, this post explains why.

One last point…

You know, it is in China’s interests for America to supply Taiwan with it’s latest technology, ships and aircraft. This is because inside Taiwan, there is a small “cottage industry” that gets the parts, reverses engineers them and send the data to the engineers and designers inside of China. It’s a great system. Very mature. Well perfected.

This is precisely why China’s Navy is peer capable with America’s.

Or, perhaps you think that 60 years of technical innovation just happened in a span of ten years? Of that China was able to match and duplicate American electronics and sensing systems alone without feedback? They are either geniuses, or able to copy extremely well.

You decide.

China is using the American Alt-Right to provide them with the technical expertise and technology it needs to build up it’s military. Great work Mike Pompeo! Great work Mike Pence! Great work Donald Trump!

Here is an excerpt from “The Unconquered”…

"Deng opened the doors for the great Land of the Orient to do business with America and the rest of the world. It was however not without risks. The West led by the U.S. wrote the modern rules of the game—rules such as Bretton Woods, Plaza Accord, Washington Consensus, WTO, Petrodollar, World Bank, IMF, the Fed, LIBOR, SWIFT, et cetera, et cetera. These are cold and calculated capitalist rules.

As the rule-maker, the West can also change the rules, ignore the rules, or unilaterally abrogate the rules if they so wish. Rules are made for the weak. The West had all the game pieces while China had none. Those pieces weren’t free. China must pay to play. The West on the other hand could, when necessary, conjure up any number of game pieces out of thin air.

Furthermore, the West has a favorite move known as All Options Are on the Table, which would cause weaker players to concede right away, considering the alternative would be at least a black eye, a bloody nose, and several dislodged teeth accompanied by the loss of face. For the impertinent and recalcitrant, it could be much worse. It’s a game the West does not play to lose.

Put yourself in Deng’s shoes. What choices did he have? Deng might have been a communist but he was also a realist. China had very little resources except a billion penurious people, most of whom half-literate peasants. In order to survive in the world, China must play the only game in town.

As a big country, China could endure the usual insults, even absorb a punch now and then, but it could also learn to play the game, and over time improve the lives of its people.

That’s the ultimate goal of the Chinese government—whose motto is “Serve the People”—in fact of any government that purports to serve its constituents.

Who cares what color cats others may think the Chinese are keeping? As quantum physicists well know, Schrödinger’s cats are simultaneously black and white, especially when no one is watching."

...

“The impossible becomes reality because the Chinese Communist never gives up,” David told Victoria while the two stood among the throng that listened to Chairman Mao’s declaration of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China at Tiananmen Square.

“China’s independence and its right of self-determination are not gained by rabid barking nor through a master’s largesse, but by blood and sacrifice, lest anyone forgets.”

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Some SHTF survival techniques that preppers should be made aware of

I’m going to lay off this stuff about the American shit-a-storm a-brewing. It’s a real drag don’t ya know. So this will be my last post on it for a couple of weeks. Instead, I will get back to more positive and productive posts like time-travel, sex at KTV’s, delicious bacon vodka, as well as art, and literature. I’ll bet you all were afraid that I fell into a black hole on all this crap, eh?

Yeah.

I am writing this by request. I sincerely wish that none of this ever comes to pass. Sincerely. I mean, why can't we all get along together. We're all Americans we need to act like it.

There is a movement (political) that is well funded, and organized. They are an offensive movement. That is to say that they want to go on the offensive to enact their desires. It represents about 5% of the population. These are hard-core, alt-Left progressive socialists.

There is a counter movement (political) that is grass-roots and unorganized. They are a defensive movement. They consist of preppers and other survivalists. They have a few organizations, but are pretty disorganized. They are on the defensive. They represent about 5% of the population. They are known as Alt-Right, or Hard-Right or preppers.

Then there is everyone else. And everyone else is being forced to pick sides. I think most people want to be left alone, go to work, and just a return to "normality" what ever that is. This post is for the vast bulk of people who really don't want to align themselves with any movement, just defend their family, and live a quiet life outside the fray. But you know, just because you don't want to partake in politics, doesn't mean that it doesn't want to partake in you.

So, there is a buildup and a gathering storm. You can run and hide, but powerful, wealthy, interests are seemingly desirous of hunting you all down and rooting you all out. And thus this post.

These are defensive techniques for use during a SHTF event and should not be considered to be anything else.

Remember that if all you do is "play defense" you will never "win the game". You must have a strong offensive strategy.

And, if you have the means, go to a nice safe and calm place. I'm thinking Greenland. Don't you know.

You can go ahead and visit numerous prepping and survival websites for advice and recommendations on what to do during a SHTF event. They offer good, solid and reliable information for the well-prepared survivalist. Here, I want to add some of my thoughts into the mix. And rather than duplicate the excellent advice given by others, I will concentrate on other things that might not be so well known.

I have some general knowledge and advice. Some of which might be buried inside some prepper sites, and others that might not be obvious.

Again, the best preparation that you can have is to associate yourself with a community where you are respected and one where you contribute. If that means that you need to become a Mennonite, and change your entire standard and way of living, then make it so. You need to be part of something. Being a “lone wolf” during this anticipated SHTF event is likely to be lethal.

The future will belong to the builders, the creators, the fluid and the flexible, and those that can fit into society. If you cannot, you will not do well in the coming years of shit-storm-a-thon.

Why this now?

From whatdoesitmean.com

Though to reach the point of a Contingent Election needing to occur, the United States would have to be at or near the point of a violent rebellion—a point now more than reached by the nearly 71-million people who voted for President Trump, fully 70% of whom believe this election was neither free or fair—whose beliefs are substantiated by the massive growing list of voter fraud committed by socialist Democrats to steal this election from President Trump.

With no democratic nation being able to survive in an environment where half of its citizens have completely lost faith in the election process, every historical example of this occurring has ultimately led to civil war

—with the last time this occurred in the United States being the 1860 Presidential Election

—whose end result of was the American Civil War that killed up 1-million of its citizens.

And exactly like what occurred in 1860, the divisions between the Republicans and socialist Democrats today are intractable and irreconcilable

—as neither of these two forces have compatible ideologies or visions for the future direction their nation needs to take

—neither of whom will ever accept being led by the leader of the opposing party they fear, hate and despise

—all of which are the ingredients called for in the recipe to make war. 

A war under The Constitution of the United States that is only permitted to be declared by the US Congress

—which is why the American Civil War was never a “declared war”, as it was single-handedly waged by President Abraham Lincoln using his powers as Commander

-In-Chief over all American military forces

—and in waging the most bloody conflict in American history, that cost more lives than all of that nation’s other wars all put together, saw what President Lincoln was actually doing was fulfilling his oath of office that demanded his only duty was to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.

The significance of which means that President Trump has had to determine if the socialist Democrats are a threat to the Constitution

—and if he determined that they are, means he is left with no choice other than to wage war against them as his oath of office demands he do.

Which is why the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU) continuously monitors and documents what President Trump is doing, as wars such as this have to be strategically prepared for

—war preparations GRU military intelligence analysts have documented now include the over 31-million guns secreted away during the past four years at an underground “Q” base

—guns suspected to have been purchased by the United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

—that is one of the most powerful secret banks in the world having tens-of-billions of dollars in assets and offices throughout America, as well as in London and Frankfurt

—and was founded by an elite group of US Army officers under the name United States Army Automobile Association in 1924.

A powerful and secretive US Army

-linked bank one of whose past leader of was former US Army intelligence officer Dan Brouillette

—who is now United States Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, and is the top “Q Clearance” holder in America

—and last week saw Secretary Brouillette forcing from power Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, who oversaw America’s entire nuclear weapons stockpile

—a war move best understood when noticing the stunning historic announcement made last month that the US Army and US Air Force had merged together into a single war time fighting force

—that now sees the Army's Project Convergence artificial intelligence system linking to the Air Force and Space Force's artificial intelligence system called the Advanced Battlefield Management System

—that was joined by the US Army announcing that it has discontinued its Rapid Equipping Force set up during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to get urgently needed capabilities into the field in 180-days or less, as well as its saying it has now disbanded its Asymmetric Warfare Group.

Was preparations being made by President Trump whose purpose for came into sharper focus yesterday

—a day that began with President Trump firing Secretary of Defense Mark Esper—that was followed shortly afterwards by reports that United States Attorney General William Barr walked into a secretive meeting with Republican Party US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

—a meeting Senate Majority Leader McConnell emerged from to walk to the floor of the US Senate and declare: “President Trump is 100 percent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options…Let’s not have any lectures about how the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election results from the same characters who just spent four years refusing to accept the validity of the last election”

—a declaration quickly followed by Attorney General Barr announcing that he had authorized federal prosecutors to investigate “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities in last week’s election.

The furious Deep State backlash to saw Department of Justice official Richard Pilger, who handled voter fraud investigations and persecuted Republicans during the Obama-Biden Regime, handing in his immediate resignation

—that was followed by disgraced former CIA Director John Brennan screaming that if the Cabinet “had a spine and patriotism” they’d immediately throw President Trump from office using the 25^th Amendment

—both of whom were followed by the release of an article, wherein just before he was fired saw Defense Secretary Esper fearfully saying: “Who’s going to come in behind me?...It’s going to be a real yes man…And then God help us”.

And whose terror being exhibited by these Deep State traitors is due to their knowing the definition of what a true “Citizen Soldier” is

—which is most apt term to describe whom President Trump has just chosen to be his acting-Secretary of Defense

—whose name is Christopher C. Miller, and began his military career as a low ranking enlisted soldier in the US Army in 1983

—who rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated US Army Green Beret combat veteran officer

—saw him becoming the US Army’s top expert on low-intensity conflict

—which is why before President Trump made him Secretary of Defense yesterday, he was Director Christopher Miller overseeing the National Counterterrorism Center

—that in 2012, then United States Attorney General Eric Holder granted the authority to collect, store, and analyze extensive data collections on US citizens compiled from governmental and non-governmental sources for suspicious behavior through pattern analysis

—thus making now acting-Secretary of Defense Miller the exact military leader President Trump needs to effectively and successfully wage war against the socialist Democrat Party forces trying to destroy American and its Constitution.  [Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]

Militia networks arming for ‘Civil War’…

Here’s my thoughts on alternative tools that one can use when going into a defensive posture during an extreme societal upset.

Line Of Sight

LOS, or Line of Sight, refers to the simple belief that you need to see something to shoot and hit it. It’s pretty basic, actually. The only way around this is to use really large explosive ordinance, that do not require precision placement.

Selco tells a story about the difficulty in obtaining water. And there was a stream (a river actually) that people would try to go down to to fetch some water. The problem was that it was frequented by snipers, and those that went looking for water often died and stayed there.

If you need to make a water run, wouldn't it be nice to have a two person team do it. One to get the water, and the other to blind all snipers with something. Whether it is smoke, haze, fog, or blinding flashes of light?

This idea that you need to be able to see something to hit it is the reason why there is camouflage clothing, and the like. A good survivalist realizes this and makes sure that he / she is out of sight. “Out of sight, out of mind” as we used to say in Pennsylvania.

But you know, there are other techniques that you can use that will keep you all “out of sight”. And they are not that obvious. The following is something that was used during the Portland Rioters. They would blast these high intensity pulsed strobe lights at the police, effectively blinding them and making it impossible to target anything.

So, legit, we walked into this thing blind, in hindsight it was stupid on our part, I had no idea that they were like that. If it had been a full-blown riot we would not have gone. Bottom line, man, if you had ever given me a scenario like this and said hey, you’re sober, and you have a gun, and somebody is hitting you with a bat and throwing rocks at you that could kill you or put you in a coma, you try to get away but they cut you off with a convoy of vehicles and the assault starts again. They impede your movement and beat you with bats…
Would you shoot?

I’d be like, yeah what fucking planet are you from?

But in all the training that I’ve been through my life, I’ve never been in one where in the first five seconds of the scenario you’re blinded with a strobe light and sprayed with pepper spray…. That changes everything.

They were throwing these rocks from 15 feet back in the crowd, you couldn’t see who the fuck through it, etc. things like that…. It’s just a good talking point for guys that carry concealed, but you need to think through all these different scenarios.

It got way worse after that video ended, they chased us for 11 city blocks. They had a convoy of about 25 vehicles that cut us off at the next intersection, They had scouts on the corner with radios, they had a drone following us, they had a bull horn calling us Nazis, and the crowd was following a red strobe light that was up in the air on a stick, so they would announce Nazis and then people would follow the red strobe light, That video is just the beginning, I’ve got a fucking fractured hand from a baton, everyone of us has black and blue bruises up and down their legs and back, I had a guy spit in my face from 6 inches away, call me a pussy and a coward for not doing anything about it, and then tell me that he was going to find where I live, rape my mother, rape my children in front of me and then kill me.

I’ve never been more angry about something in my fucking life, the level of restraint that it took for us to not fight back in any capacity whether that was with a gun or fists is incredible.

-2020 is the year that the American Civil War got “real”. With shootings, military tactics, and armed insurrection.

The idea here is that the enemy knows that you are in the vicinity. They want to box you in, hit you with bullets, and make it difficult for you to fire back. Rather than use smoke, you would disable their ability to target you with a high-intensity beam of light. I would like to introduce the reader to the High-intensity, Multi-function Portable Strobe Light.

High intensity strobe light. — Industrial grade high intensity strobe light.

Strobe lights are used in industry, in photography, and for special purposes. What you want is a portable unit, battery powered. You want one that cycles rather rapidly, at least once a second. Though, I suppose that once every three seconds might actually work. If you can find a sharpshooter that can locate you and target you under three seconds then you are in trouble.

If you are on a budget, you can even make your own.

The basic circuit is really super simple, with a single IC chip. You would need to construct the housing and make it shoot out a matrix array of perhaps fifty LED’s, focuses behind a lens. It requires a basic skill level in soldering electronics, but it doable, that is for certain.

Strobe circuit. — Here is a simple circuit for a single LED, run off a single tiny 6V battery. If you wanted to scale it up you would multiply the (resistor + LED) by fifty, and put them in parallel, and then from pin #3 (Q) it would control the gate on a transistor or FET.

To control a large array of LED lights, you would take the output of the IC chip at pin #3 (Q) and run it to a FET, and have the power to the LED array handled separately like this…

FET driver circuit. — Where LOAD is the 50 LED array with one resistor to each LED. Q, from pin #3 would come in from the left and enter R. So you would have a 6V battery to operate the strobe, and a 12V batter operate the lights from the strobe. Of course it is super easy to have the 12 V batter run everything, but most of my readership are probably not up to the challenge.

DIY Claymore

Everyone is seemingly in love with the idea of using a nice sleek expensive bullet firing gun during a SHTF event. I call it the Hollywood effect. Here’s a hint; it’s all bullshit.

A gun is useless unless you know how to use it; and use it well under very adverse conditions. People will not start dropping like flies with single shots to the head when you spray an area with suppressive fire. If you believe that, then you are deluding yourself.

You need to hide, be low key, and be part of a crew, or a clan that works together. Then, and only then, you fight as it is necessary. And you fight as a last resort. And you never, ever, go out looking for a fight unless it is absolutely necessary.

But here, we are going to discuss something that is quite different. We are going to discuss “home made claymores”.

Designed to counter human-wave assaults, the Claymore uses a shaped C-4 charge to fire several hundred steel balls into a designated 55-yard killing zone. (Illustration by Gregory Proch)

In the lead-up to World War II József Misznay, a Hungarian army officer and ballistics expert, and German physicist Hubert Schardin formulated the Misznay-Schardin effect, a phenomenon in which the blast from the face of an explosive sheet expands perpendicularly from its surface. Nazi Chancellor Adolf Hitler was particularly interested when fellow Austrian Franz Rudolf Thomanek applied this principle to design shaped charges to defeat tanks and fortifications.

The war ended before Thomanek could perfect his weapon, and information on the Misznay-Schardin effect fell into American hands. Explosives researcher Norman A. MacLeod used it to design a weapon to counter human-wave assaults, such as those waged by Chinese soldiers against Americans in the Korean War. He named his antipersonnel mine the claymore, after the two-handed sword wielded by his Scottish ancestors. The device weighed 5 pounds and shot 700 steel cubes 40 feet.

The U.S. Army wanted something lighter, more efficient and more powerful. Responding to its 1954 request for proposal, researchers at Aerojet Corp. collaborated on a weapon whose C-4 charge could shoot steel balls to an effective range of 55 yards. The Army accepted the claymore in 1956, and factories produced 80,000 per month during the Vietnam War. U.S. soldiers first used them to devastating effect against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese human-wave assaults.

-M18A1 Claymore Mine: Enemy Troops Fall to Pieces

Designed to counter human-wave assaults, the Claymore uses a shaped C-4 charge to fire several hundred steel balls into a designated 55-yard killing zone. (Illustration by Gregory Proch)

Essentially, this weapon is a steel box with a directional charge. The munitions are placed on one side, and the gun-power on the other, so that when ignited, the gunpowder detonates and showers the area with devastation.

I will not get into the details of such a mechanism. You can figure it out on your own, and after a few tries and experimentation you can come up with innovations ranging from electrical denotation, to movement actuated detonation, to time delay activation. It’s all in the electrical circuits, and it’s all very easy to make.

And the decision to use electronics to ignite it isn’t all that difficult either. It’s rather standard stuff. In fact, you can buy off-the-shelf hardware used for home-security systems to trigger the mine is a door is opened, light is turned on, there is motion in front of the area, etc.

A DIY claymore is rather simple to construct, but does require a handyman with some basic skills to fabricate.

Cheap DIY claymore

Here is a description on how to construct a DIY claymore out of a spring loaded rat-trap. It’s found on an Airsoft site, but it works just as well with gunpowder as it does with colored paint.

Rat trap to claymore. — DIY claymore on the cheap.

I'm cheap, and curious, so rather then spending over $100 on a claymore, I made my own.

Materials required:
Victor Rat trap x2
Victor Mouse trap x1
Small hinge x2
Strong Rip-stop cloth 50cmx 6.5cm (20"x 3")
Wooden shelf 16cm deep by at least 50cm long (6"x 20")
Wood screws (1.5" long)
Green braided fishing line (not mono-filament)
Straight braces X2 (optional)

I used a press-board shelf as that's what I had on hand. If i were to do this again I would definitely suggest a solid wood shelf instead.

Step 1
Prepare the 2 rat traps as follows,
Remove the trigger and trigger arm circled in green
Cut the wooden base at the red marks

BE CAREFUL, these traps are powerful.

Step 2
Rip the length of the shelf to give you pieces as follows,
2x 'A' x 'B' (Pieces 3&4)
2x 'A' x shelf width -'B' (pieces 1&2)
'B' should be equal to the width of the rat trap plus 2x the thickness of the shelf
'A' should be 25cm

Step 3
Assemble the rat traps and Pieces 1&2 ontop of Piece 3 as in the above image. Use screws to fasten in place. The traps will be placed so that they snap outwards. When the trap is armed the bar should be in the center. Leave a space between the two traps. Once you have the traps fastened down cut a piece of scrap from one of the traps to fill in 1cm at the bottom of the gap between the traps.

You can also cut any scrap pieces of wood to fill in the gaps at the ends, this is optional but will give the claymore a little more strength.

Step 4 (optional but highly recommended)
To make safety bars straighten out the trigger bars that you removed in Step 1. Now drill holes in pieces 1&2 so the safety bars can go from top to bottom and hold the bars on the traps in a compressed position.

Step 5
With the traps compressed and the safety bars in place thread the strip of cloth through the traps so that it makes a single loop around both bars. Sew this firmly. I used mono-filament fishing line to do this. The claymore should now look something like this:

Step 6
Fasten Piece 4 on the front of the claymore using the 2 hinges to connect it at the bottom to Piece 2. Put one of the 1.5" screws into Piece 4, 2cm from the top and centered. The screw should be almost all the way through but not quite.

Step 7(Optional)
Fasten the 2 brackets onto the sides of the claymore and sharpen the ends so you can jab it into the ground

Step 8
Now for the part that took me the most time to figure out. How to make a trigger that's secure, but sensitive enough to be used as with a trip wire.
Remove the trigger bar from the mouse trap. Bend a loop into it so that it looks as below.
Use a second piece of wire from the mouse trap to make a small tripwire piece as below.

Use a screw and couple washers to attach the trigger bar to the top of the trap. The screw will go through the loop in the trigger bar. One washer goes below, one above, tighten enough to hold in place but not to impede movement of the trigger bar.

Put the two staples that held the rat trap trigger plates side by side at the end of the long arm of the trigger bar as you can see in this image:

Step9
Attach a small loop of fishing line to the loop on the end of the long arm of the trigger bar. (note, I used twine but found it's wearing out very quickly)
Attach another loop of fishing line to the screw on Piece 4. This loop needs to be just long enough to reach the small arm of the trigger bar.

Attach a long piece of fishing line to the screw on Piece 4. Attach the tripwire piece about 25cm (10") along this line. Tie it on firmly so it won't move at all. I tied the rest of this to the wooden part of the mouse trap and wrapped it around so I had my tripwire and it wouldn't get tangled

Step 10 ARMING THE CLAYMORE

a) Compress the rat traps and install the safety bars.
b) Spread the cloth out and press the center into the gap between the rat traps. Fill it with BBs and fold the excess on top of them to hold them in place.
c) Place the loop of fishing line on Piece 4 over the small arm of the trigger bar.
d) Put the small loop on the long arm of the trigger bar between the two staples.
e) Put the tripwire piece under the staples and through the loop.
f) Place your claymore and run the trip wire, fasten the end of it, or leave it loose so you can pull it by hand.
g) double check the trigger and remove the safety bars

Step 11
Enjoy the surprised yelp as your unseen claymore springs open on some unsuspecting victim.

-Airsoft Canada

Bullet Matchbox

Let’s keep things really simple, we have an even simpler design a “bullet matchbox”.

This mechanism is much simpler. Instead of having to mix and pack gunpowder into a box and then hand-load the projectiles in the front, you simply make a steel box that sits a carton of ammo. Behind the ammo is a striking mechanism. This mechanism can be a simple solenoid, or a spring loaded trigger. And when it is depressed, all the bullets will ignite simultaneously devastating the intruders in front of it.

It does not need any barrels, as this is not precision mechanism. It’s a last ditch emergency device.

And of course, it need not be carefully and precisely manufactured. Any household rat trap will have enough force to hit the pins on the bullets and let fly an arsenal of death.

Infrared viewscopes

We’ve all heard of night vision scopes, but what about infrared vision? These high-tech devices enable you to find camouflaged people regardless as to how well concealed they appear. But what is unknown is how (relatively) inexpensive they have become.

Night Vision

If we’re being technical, this type of night vision scope is called image intensification, or just I2. Obviously, this kind of technology only works at night. This scope gives you the gray and green images you’re used to seeing in movies and television.

It captures bits of light from the environment, such as the moon and stars, and uses a special, electronic tube to magnify that light and project it onto your lens. This is the green image you see.

The images from these scopes are varying shades of green because the human eye can see more shades of green than any other color. This means that green imaging gives you the best, most detailed vision.

The most important thing to remember about night vision is that it won’t work in total darkness. It needs a little bit of light to work its magic, no matter which generation you choose.

– Gen 1 units typically need an infrared illuminator to be useful. These are the least precise, and images are often cloudy and noisy.

– Gen 2 units are better quality and produce brighter, clearer images than Gen 1. These have a short depth of field, however, so you may have to spend time adjusting focus when targets move.

– Gen 3 is the highest quality and offers the best focus and clarity. These are used by law enforcement and some military operations.

A few of the best include:
– ATN X-Sight II 5-20 Smart Riflescope
– Armasight Nemesis6x-SD Gen 2+ Rifle Scope
– ATN Gen 2+ Night Arrow 4-2 Weapon Sight

Infrared and Thermal Scopes

Even though you might see infrared and thermal vision talked about as two separate things, when you’re looking for a scope, they’re basically the same. Most quality scopes will be labeled with “thermal imaging” or something similar, so that’s what you should look for when you’re shopping.

“Night vision” is not the same as “thermal vision”.

A thermal scope works by capturing heat from the environment instead of light. This heat is actually infrared energy, which is why you’ll see both terms used sometimes. Everything in the world produces at least a little bit of infrared energy, so it’s easy to get a clear view of your environment with infrared technology.

Thermal imaging uses a special lens that focuses on infrared light and creates a thermogram. The thermogram is then turned into electrical impulses that become a picture on the screen. The cool thing about thermals is that they can detect the heat given off by any living object.

As opposed to night vision, they do not require ambient light to work. However, they do not require darkness to function either! This means thermals can be used during the day or night as opposed to the other type of optic.

Low End Thermal Imaging

When you view something hot, like humans, animals or running machinery, the image will show up in shades of gray and white with the lightest areas being the hottest or vice versa depending on the scope. Things like trees or buildings will show up as “cooler” images because there is not much energy release happening.

Thermal imaging is very detailed and doesn’t need light to work.

Comparison. — Night vision vs. Thermal imaging.

The most basic thermals have a range of 300 yards for a man-sized heat signature. Mid-level detectors typically have a 500 yard range, and an extender can lengthen that range to 900 yards. The upper-tier, military and law enforcement-grade ones can accurately detect heat over half a mile away.

A few of the best include:
– ATN ThOR HD 384 Smart Thermal Riflescope
– Armasight Zeus 336 Thermal Imaging Weapon Sight
– IR Hunter Mark II Thermal Rifle Scope

High End Thermal Imaging

The High end version of thermal imaging systems display colors. This is very useful in discordant and contentious environments when bursts of clarity are required in a survival situation.

Drones

You can buy drones and they are very useful. They are used now, during riots, as surveillance devices, and mobile place-markers. But they have other uses as well.

Remote-controlled aerial bomb.
Mobile strobe to disorient the enemy.
Recon.
Distraction device. (Speakers, smoke, flashes.)

Additionally, the Chinese have perfected swarm drones.

These are available all over China and are used for impressive night-time displays instead of, or in association with, fireworks. America is a bit “behind the ball on this”, and it’s playing a game of “catch up”. As I know, no swarm drones are available to the American citizen as of this writing.

Some general links…

Wounding as opposed to killing

In a SHTF situation, the likelihood of antibiotics and medical care being available is going to be hit and miss. It might be more prudent, in the long term, to equip yourself with weapons that are cheap and easy to provides cuts and holes rather than expensive knock-down ammo. Then when a person has a .22 sized hole in their arm, they will need to deal with infection when there are no antibiotic medications around.

Rather than trying to purchase the biggest and most dangerous weapons you can find, in the belief that stopping power is most important, you should play the “long game”. If it really comes down to a SHTF situation, then there will be two things that will not be available. That is food and medical care. All it takes is for someone with a cut or a bruise to get infected, and they will die. We take antibiotics for granted. We never think about what it would be like when they are unavailable.

Antibiotics can be purchased on line inexpensively.

I would advise a small stockpile just in case.

Antibiotic online. It is possible to buy antibiotics at any time and in any place with the Internet access. Placing an order you will need to indicate your address for the delivery of the drug. Medications are delivered to any place of the planet in no time and there is no need to leave your house in order to get your package.

-Generic Antibiotic Online With No Prescription

Microwave cannons

Sounds like science fiction, eh? Well it’s not, really. The only issue is the range of application. These little monsters will cook a person alive. And are very lethal.

If you can get a hold of a microwave based radar system from an airplane junk yard, it will not be all that difficult to construct your own microwave cannon. The range will be longer, and the effects devastating.

When I was in the Navy I watched a video showing a person walking in front of a jet with it's radar accidentally turned on. That person was fried alive. Just because you cannot see it does not mean that it doesn't exist.

Aircraft radar. — Microwave radar from the front of a military jet.

You can also make you own, though with a pretty short range, out of old microwaves from the kitchen. There’s a reason why the box and front door are shielded like they are.

Vapor Cloud Explosives (VCEs)

Here’s a great technique if you want to create a very, well really big bomb. You detonate an expanding cloud of gas, and then (a second or so later) you ignite it. It’s called a Vapor Cloud Explosive (VCE).

Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCEs) The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines this phenomenon as : An outdoor vapor cloud explosion is the result of the release of gas, vapor, or mist into the atmosphere, forming a cloud within the fuel’s flammable limits and causing subsequent ignition.

-Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCEs)

Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCEs) The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines this phenomenon as : An outdoor vapor cloud explosion is the result of the release of gas, vapor, or mist into the atmosphere, forming a cloud within the fuel’s flammable limits and causing subsequent ignition.
Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCEs) — Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCEs)

In military parlance these are called Fuel-Air Explosives [FAE].

Fuel-Air Explosives [FAE] disperse an aerosol cloud of fuel which is ignited by an embedded detonator to produce an explosion. The rapidly expanding wave front due to overpressure flattens all objects within close proximity of the epicenter of the aerosol fuel cloud, and produces debilitating damage well beyond the flattened area. The main destructive force of FAE is high overpressure, useful against soft targets such as minefields, armored vehicles, aircraft parked in the open, and bunkers.

The Marine Corps and Navy withdrew their remaining fuel-air munitions from operational service following Operation Desert Storm. By 1996, the Army’s Operations Support Command transfered the CBU-55 and CBU-72 to demilitarization, and by mid-2001 only a few hundred remained to be demilitarized.

Russia used such “thermobaric” weapons sparingly during the 1994-1996 war in Chechnya. These were employed outside the city of Grozny against villages and mountain positions. Only the RPO-A flame thrower, which has a thermobaric round, was used in fighting in Grozny itself.

When the fighting rekindled in the fall of 1999, Russian forces bombarded some villages in Dagestan with thermobaric bombs, but initially limited their use. When the Russian Army was committed, it slowly advanced across Chechnya’s plains, preceded by conventional artillery fire. The advance, however, stalled when it finally reached Grozny and the mountains.

Conventional artillery could not force out the Chechens and the Russian Army looked for other ways to move them. Two methods were apparently opposed-chemical weapons and thermobaric weapons. The Russian political leadership apparently vetoed the use of chemical weapons, but allowed the use of ground-delivered themobaric weapons. Air-delivered thermobaric systems were only used outside the city.

Fuel/air explosive represent the military application of the vapor cloud explosions and dust explosions accidents that have long bedeviled a variety of industries.

Accidental vapor cloud explosion hazards are of great concern to the refining and chemical processing industry, and a number of catastrophic explosion accidents have had significant consequences in terms of injury, property damage, business interruption, loss of goodwill, and environmental impact.
Every year, many serious explosions and fires occur in industrial plants as a result of dust. Many materials form dust clouds that can easily ignite and explode, injuring personnel and damaging plant. This is a well-known phenomenon in the coal mining, grain storage, and the woodworking and paper industries.

Many miners have been killed and injured and massive production losses have resulted from coal dust explosions in underground coal mining operations. Of the 129 grain dust explosions that occurred nationwide between 1987 and 1997, about half involved corn. Eleven were caused by wheat dust and 10 by dust from soybeans. Billions of tiny, highly combustible particles of grain are generated by grain kernels rubbing together as they move along conveyer belts and shifted between bins. Inside the enclosed chambers, those particles rise in a cloud. When the dust gets in with the right mixture of oxygen and comes in contact with a spark or even an overheated bearing on a conveyer belt, it is extremely explosive.

Almost all organic material in the form of a dust cloud will ignite at temperatures below 500 ^oC - approximately the same temperature as a newly extinguished match. Cotton, plastics and foodstuffs such as sugar, flour and cocoa can also, under the right conditions, act as explosives. In order for a dust explosion to take place, the dust particles must be of a certain size and the amount of finely granulated material per unit of volume must lie within certain critical values. There is generally a direct correlation between particle size and explosive hazard. The smaller the particle, the more reactive the dust. As the materials become smaller, they disperse and remain suspended more easily, increasing the potential for ignition and propagation of the reaction. Industrial explosion prevention measures include, where possible, providing nitrogen gas purging to ensure that the oxygen concentration is kept below that required for combustion.

For vapor cloud explosion there is a minimum ratio of fuel vapor to air below which ignition will not occur. Alternately, there is also a maximum ratio of fuel vapor to air, at which ignition will not occur. These limits are termed the lower and upper explosive limits. For gasoline vapor, the explosive range is from 1.3 to 6.0% vapor to air, and for methane this range is 5 to 15%. Many parameters contribute to the potential damage from a vapor cloud explosion, including the mass and type of material released, the strength of ignition source, the nature of the release event (e.g., turbulent jet release), and turbulence induced in the cloud (e.g., from ambient obstructions).

TNT generates well over 4,000 psi overpressure in close proximity to the source of the explosion, along with significant radiant heat effects from the explosion's fireball. Conventional high explosive munitions also produce fragments from the munition case, as well as fragments from material in the target area that is broken loose by the high blast overpressures.

Peak pressures created within the detonated fuel-air cloud reach 300 pounds per square inch (psi). Fuel-air munitions create large area loading on a structure as compared to localized loadings caused by an equal weight high explosive charge. High temperatures ignite flammable materials.

There are dramatic differences between explosions involving vapor clouds and high explosives at close distances. For the same amount of energy, the high explosive blast overpressure is much higher and the blast impulse is much lower than that from a vapor cloud explosion. The shock wave from a TNT explosion is of relatively short duration, while the blast wave produced by an explosion of hydrocarbon material displays a relatively long duration. The duration of the positive phase of a shock wave is an important parameter in the response of structures to a blast.

Although the detonation combustion mode produces the most severe damage, fast deflagrations of the cloud can result from flame acceleration under confined and congested conditions. Flame propagation speed has a significant influence on the blast parameters both inside and outside the source volume.

The blast effects from vapor cloud explosions are determined not only by the amount of fuel, but more importantly by the combustion mode of the cloud. Significant overpressures can be generated by both detonations and deflagrations. Most vapor cloud explosions are deflagrations, not detonations.

Flame speed of a deflagration is subsonic, with flame speed increasing in restricted areas and decreasing in open areas. Significantly, a detonation is supersonic, and will proceed through almost all of the available flammable vapor at the detonation reaction rate. This creates far more severe peak over-pressures and much higher amounts of blast energy. The speed of the flame front movement is directly proportional to the amount of blast over-pressure. A wide spectrum of flame speeds may result from flame acceleration under various conditions. High flame front speeds and resulting high blast over pressures are seen in accidental vapor cloud explosions where there is a significant amount of confinement and congestion that limits flame front expansion and increases flame turbulence. These conditions are evidently more difficult to achieve in the unconfined environment in which military fuel-air explosives are intended to operate.

Based on the known properties of flammable substances and explosives, it is possible to use conservative assumptions and calculate the maximum distance at which an overpressure or heat effect of concern can be detected. Distances for potential impacts could be derived using the following calculation method [described in Flammable Gases and Liquids and Their Hazards]:

D = C x (nE)1/3

where D is the distance in meters to a 1 psi overpressure; C is a constant for damages associated with 1 psi overpressures or 0.15, n is a yield factor of the vapor cloud explosion derived from the mechanical yield of the combustion and is assumed to be 10 percent (or 0.1) and E is the energy content of the explosive part of the cloud in Joules. E can be calculated from the mass of substance in kilograms times the heat of combustion (hc) in Joules per kilogram as follows:

E = mass x hc

Combining these two equations gives:

D = 0.15 x (0.1 x mass x hc)1/3

Vapor cloud explosion modeling historically has been subject to large uncertainties resulting from inadequate understanding of deflagrative effects. According to current single-degree of freedom models, blast damage/injury can be represented by Pressure-Impulse (P-I) diagrams, which include the effects of overpressure, dynamic pressure, impulse, and pulse duration.

The peak overpressure and duration are used to calculate the impulse from shock waves. Even some advanced explosion models ignore the effects of blast wave reflection off structures, which can produce misleading results over- or under-estimating the vulnerability of a structure. Sophisticated software used to produce three-dimensional models of the effects of vapor cloud explosions allows the evaluation of damage experienced by each structure within a facility as a result of a primary explosion and any accompanying secondary explosions produced by vapor clouds.

-GlobalSecurity

There is evidence that the 2020 Beriut explosion was either a micro nuke or a FAE. One thing is certain, it was devastating.

Beirut thermobaric bomb before and after pictures. Look at the size of that crater!

Trump Warns “This May Be The Last Time You See Me For A While” As Lebanon
Admits Beirut Hit By Bomb
By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

A mind-blowing new Security Council (SC) report circulating in the Kremlin today noting the Emergencies Ministry having established an airmobile hospital in Beirut able to receive 200 patients a day, says the shocking damage caused by the massive explosion crippling this city now sees Lebanon having reached a critical point that challenges its survival as a sovereign state—a grave situation discussed between President Putin and Lebanese President Michel Aoun—a discussion followed by Russia warning Israel it could face “dangerous consequences” if it continues targeting Syria with airstrikes—a first ever warning to Israel, as Russia’s military involvement in Syria is a declared “Holy War” to protect Christian peoples, not the Syrian regime, and is why no such warning has ever been issued before—but is now justified due to the facts showing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out to the United Nations General Assembly forum the warehouse that exploded on 4 August 2020 as a Hezbollah arms depot on 27 September 2018—a fact followed this past January, which was when Israel struck the Syrian countryside with a new missile having a tactical nuclear component in its warhead that causes a smoke mushroom characteristic of nuclear weapons—an explosion the likes of which have never been before until 4 August when the exact Beirut warehouse Netanyahu pointed out in the UN exploded and took the city of Beirut down with it—a reality being gravely acknowledged by Lebanese President Aoun, who has just declared to the world: “There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act”—and after being briefed on these facts and realities yesterday, saw President Donald Trump addressing a gathering of his top Republican Party officials and cryptically telling them: “I Have a Lot of Enemies…This May Be the Last Time You’ll See Me for a While”. [Watch video HERE at 1:15:30 time mark]  

According to this report, with Beirut having been attacked with a weapon having a tactical nuclear component in its warhead that causes a smoke mushroom cloud characteristic of nuclear weapons, though obviously not an atomic bomb in the strategic sense, left undetermined at this time is what type of delivery system was used (e.g.: rocket, bomb, vehicle, etc.) and who deployed it—as even though this weapon was previously detonated by Israel in the Syrian countryside and Persian Gulf in its first tests this past January, it could have been used by any of Israel’s allies that it was given to.

As previously noted by the Security Council, however, this report details, the destruction of Beirut immediately followed Pakistan making a nuclear strike threat against both Israel and the United States

—that itself was then followed by President Trump breaking the “Taiwan Tripwire” to enrage Communist China

—war moves now being followed by United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper slamming Communist China yesterday for their “destabilizing” activity near Taiwan and the South China Sea, as well as for their lack of transparency about the COVID-19 virus

—and in the past few hours, saw Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono joining with Defense Secretary Esper to warn that Communist China risks paying a “high cost” for its South China Sea intimidation.

A “high cost” being prepared for by elite US military forces on their Pacific Ocean base of Guam, this report notes, who just completed their combat training “to open an airfield in a hostile and contested environment”—an airfield in a hostile environment that could very well be used by the vast armada of warplanes.

The US Air Force has just revealed have just completed a huge war exercise—a massive war exercise that contained a wide variety of different stealthy aircraft, including F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, F-22 Raptors, and a B-2A Spirit stealth bomber, and most notably, at least one RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone from the service's top-secret 44th Reconnaissance Squadron—and are being joined by the Taiwan F-16 fighter aircraft that are now flying patrols against Communist China with live Harpoon anti-ship missiles—all of which are under the direct command and control of a President Trump that has just warned 

“I have a lot of enemies out there…This may be the last time you see me for a while”—and most critical to notice about after President Trump issued this warning, it was followed within hours by two articles meant to terrify Communist China titled “Trump Advisers Hesitated To Give Military Options And Warned Adversaries Over Fears He Might Start A War” and “Donald Trump Has the Sole Authority to Blow Up the World. It is Madness to Let Him Keep It”.

[Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]

Home made explosives from mouthwash

I just had to add this. Hydrogen peroxide (yes, that stuff that you can buy on the bottom shelf under the mouthwash section) is violently explosive when in the presence of copper. Even a very tiny section of a copper wire will cause it to ignite violently and dangerously.

This is, by the way, the explosive warhead on numerous Russian torpedoes, and one of the reasons why the Kursk was sunk.

A huge explosion sank the giant nuclear-powered submarine Kursk, killing most of its crew and stranding nearly two dozen survivors hundreds of feet underwater. An international rescue team assembled to save the sailors, but was unable to reach them in time.

-The True Story of the Russian Kursk Submarine Disaster

The remains of the Kursk after a front-end torpedo was accidentally detonated. The entire front end has been ripped to shreds.

This type of munition is just a volatile as it is dangerous. You have to be precise in making the triggering mechanism and you must be very careful in handling it. The slightest contact between the two elements will be explosive.

Hydrogen peroxide is not considered an explosive. However, when it is mixed with organic substances at significant concentrations, hazardous impact-sensitive compounds may result. Small amounts of other materials that contain catalysts (silver, lead, copper, chromium, mercury, and iron oxide rust) can cause rapid decomposition and an explosive pressure rupture of the containing vessel if it is not properly vented.

In addition to accelerated decomposition through contamination, the decomposition rate of hydrogen peroxide is increased with alkalinity, contact with certain materials of construction, and increasing temperatures. The rate of decomposition increases approximately 2.2 times for each 10 degrees C rise in temperature in the range from 20 degrees C to 100 degrees C, or 1.5 times for each 10 degrees F rise from 68 degrees F to 212 degrees F.

Decreasing temperatures have little effect on hydrogen peroxide until they drop substantially below 0 degrees C. Crystals do not begin to appear in 35% and 50% solutions until -33C (-27.4F) and -52.2C (-62F), respectively.

-Hydrogen Peroxide Safe Handling | USP Technologies

Most of what you can purchase off the shelf in America is diluted hydrogen peroxide solution. So you would need to have a higher concentration of the material from a warehouse.

"Set up your demonstration in an area that will be easy to clean up. A 30% hydrogen peroxide will make the most impressive explosion."

All this is nasty stuff

Yes it is. Its terrible and ugly.

I feel “icky” writing about this. I left my weapons development days a long time ago. And I really don’t want to revisit that situation. I really don’t.

From my point of view, you all should scram and get out of the line of fire. Why spend $2000 on a nice semi-auto weapon when you could (just as easily) spend the money on a round trip ticket to another part of the world and live off the remaining half in cheap hotels eating cheap food while you search for a local chick to shack up with.

But that’s just me.

The smart man avoids war, and gets way, far away, from any conflict. The sly man tries to get a technical advantage over his foes. The brutish man tries to fight his foes directly on their turf and under their terms.

Be the smart man, and head for the hills!

Escape!

I have. I’m not fucking around. Dangerous times are ahead, and it’s not going to be waving a flag for this side of that side. You all are being played by a wealthy oligarchy who treats you all like dirt. Nope, no me. Tell you what, I’m gonna be quaffing some nice icy beers and cavorting with pretty girls instead. I recommend that you all do as well. Life is too short to fuck around.

Now, if you decide to stick around, here’s my advice;

You can never win a war alone.
You can never win a war if you play defense all the time.
You can never win a war if your enemies decide the terms of engagement (time, location, and weapons.)

Being an individual will be lethal if you stick around. Clan up or leave.

Anticipate back-stabbing and betrayal.
The “news” won’t report jack-shit.
Things will be going down, long before you are aware of it.

Do you want to see similar posts?

I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…

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As Trump leaves the Presidency, America’s Geo-Political relationships (and future) lay in ruins

Love him or hate him, President Trump has severely altered the geography of the American domestic political scene. He has also severely altered the international relationships that America has with other nations; friend and foe. (Well documented.) Some people laud this as beneficial, while others decry this as something horrible. For me, personally, it’s a “mixed bag”.

"a mixed bag"
COMMON IDIOM

If something is a mixed bag, it contains things that are of very different types or qualities. The newspapers carry a mixed bag of stories on their front pages. The programmes are a mixed bag as they have to cater for all tastes. Note: The bag referred to here is a hunting bag containing the different kinds of animals and birds that the hunter has shot.

-The Free Dictionary

On one hand, it was a relief to see an “outsider” enter Washington, DC and “shake things up”. I was getting tired of feeling like no one in government cared about me, or my problems and issues. Trump entered office and acted like a “big wrecking ball”. He “shook things up”, and really “upset the apple cart”. That was a relief. It gave me hope that real change in America was possible.

shake something up
to cause changes to something, esp. in order to make improvements.

upset the apple cart
wreck an advantageous project or disturb the status quo. 

go under the wrecking ball
To be destroyed or demolished.
Fig. to be wrecked or torn down.

But on the other hand, he and his small army of neocon conservatives completely demolished whatever international standing that America has held. They (the neocons) were under the delusion that somehow 2020 was actually 1960, and that America was a vibrant and healthy nation, a manufacturing powerhouse, and beloved all over the world. All of which was false.

And in their glee to “reestablish America as a global leader – 1960s style” they torn down all the Agreements that America was part of. They did so in the belief that better, more pro-America agreements would be put in their places. And sadly, that has not been the case.

Now a new President will come into office; Mr. Biden.

I cannot predict what will happen. Actually. I know that the American “news” organizations are flooding the internet with stories about how [1] Biden will be tougher on China than Trump, [2] that Biden is going to issue forth Marxism in the United States, [3] Ban Guns, and [4] so on and so forth… But no one really knows what will happen.

It could become a complete police state, but jeeze guys, isn’t that what it is already?

America today. — America is a military empire and it’s citizens live within a Police State.

Anyways, I find that this fascinating.

Why?

Two reasons.

[1] The American government owns all mainstream, alt-Left and Alt-Right media. They are pushing these narratives. Why? Why are they doing it?

That’s right. I can see an anti-China propaganda campaign as a lead up to a hot war. That always happens. That is what happened with Syria and what happened with Vietnam. But if there is no hot war, or the intention of going into a hot war, then why do it?

What is the purpose of the devotion of time, money, and resources to get Americans all riled up against a common enemy if it is not war? Why is the media (Alt-Left, Alt-Right and mainstream) all geared up so that just about every second or third article is Hate-China?

It’s getting to be that Americans are becoming fearful of the most popular, and the most populous nation on the planet. Why? (You might want to see what the rest of the world thinks about America today.)

Who and what really controls the American "news". — Who and what really controls the American “news”.

[2] Both the Democrat Party and the Republican Party are a uni-party. They show different faces to the electorate, but actually are in the same club.

The uni-party are the same with only very minor differences in ideology. That is true. Look at the voting records. Not the individual votes. But rather the final votes when the votes have been counted.

Oh, sure, Congressman Royalasshole decided to vote “no” on congressional resolution Fuck-Americans-in-the-ass, but his party did. Oh, by just one or two votes. Imagine that! Back-door dealings…

Hey Congressman Smartlydressedolderdickhead made the arrangements. Most could vote to please their constituents, but, as long as the party voted as the oligarchy favored, then all was well.

It’s a uni-party.

So what is actually going on?

My personal belief is that President Trump was an intentional plant. He was popularly elected, but it was intended for him to be elected. Hillary Clinton was a very polarizing figure, ran a weak election campaign, and lost.

I believe that it was intended for him to be elected over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Further, that it was intended for him to has a short four year term in office, intentionally. Leading up to Biden who is the intentional follow-up President that came into office.

From my point of view, as an outsider – I no longer live inside the American media echo chamber, it appears to be crystal clear that America is being run as a big Ponzi scheme and that the entire election process is just one big hoax. No citizens have any control over anything.

And you are free to agree or disagree. But it really seems to me that the forces aligned for a Biden win, whether legitimate or not, are aligned that way intentionally.

The arrival was foretold in the ancient murals. — Very powerful force, with very powerful resources, are manipulating American citizenry in very precise and elaborate ways. The outcome, no matter how you look at it, is planned.

What is going on?

I personally believe that most people are good. And that most American are good. That they live in a nation that has become hostile to them in various ways. For some, it dates way back decades or centuries, for others it is recent. But both sides of the political spectrum see America a very sick and in need of change. The difference is that both sides see different ways of accomplishing that objective.

Far Left = Marxism is the solution.
Mainstream = The status quo is perfect as it is.
Far Right = A return to a Republic is the solution

All are false.

It is no secret (but not at all publicized in the United States) that China threw away it’s mantle of Marxist Communism back in the 1970’s. It nearly destroyed the nation, and torn it apart in ways that Americans have a hard time understanding. Over 30 million people died under Chinese Marxism. And the Chinese leadership said “never again” and changed the government.

Someone should have woken up the neocons and got them out of their comfortable echo chamber. Their narrative about what China is hasn’t been updated since the 1970’s and they are spouting nonsense that anyone outside of the USA can see clearly. China is many things, but Marxist Communist it is not.

No. American Marxism will not be an improvement. It will be a disaster.

Likewise, a return to a Republic is not the solution either. We know from history how the American Republic turned into a Democracy. How it became an Oligarchy, and then evolved into a Military Empire. Trying to hit a “reset button” in the hope of a return to what was intended is a mistake. It’s just going to allow others to establish a better, stronger and more powerful oligarchy.

No. A return to the past is not the solution either.

Now, I advocate something radical.

I strongly suggest that the federal government be dissolved. It be destroyed and the individual States regain their sovereign identities.

I think that the citizens will have better control over their lives and that the benefits that the Federal Government provides won’t even be noticed when it is gone. In fact, I argue that the benefits of having a Federal Government is actually tiny on a vast majority of folk in the United States today.

How are the citizens of West Virginia benefiting from the war in Yemen?
How do the people in Tennessee benefit for the billions of federal taxes for a High Speed Train in California?
In what way does the ATF benefit the people of North Dakota?

Flags. — Selected flags of the various States.

Rather than fight each other over ideology, I argue that now is the time for Americans to come together and forge a new government, and stop looking to the past for answers. Whether it is Marxism, or a 1776 Republic.

While everyone might have different personal ideologies, I argue that most people want to be left alone. they want to work, play, and raise their families. And that they really don’t care all that much about who is doing what in Washington DC.

So What is the Big Picture?

Provided that I am correct, that it’s all a big show for the masses, then what is actually going on? What is the big plan?

Well, by looking at the results of the Trump Administration’s actions on an international scale, it seems rather obvious. He has pretty much torn up almost all the agreements, trampled on our relationships with long-term allies, and has engaged on a war footing with the largest and most important nation on the planet. Why?

Look what he is doing…

Isolate America from the rest of the world.
Contain any upset and internal turmoil domestically to American shores.
Minimize the economic “footprint” of any economic collapse that will happen inside of America.
Limit any external damage that might occur as the American monster empire goes into it’s death throes.

America & International Relations

That is the only thing that makes sense when you look at things objectively. And not from some kind of partisan divide.

American news. — Don’t believe ANYTHING out of the American “news”. Both the Alt-Left and the Alt-Right are controlled by the American State Department. They push narratives to control the citizenry.

Why is this going on?

Well, it seems obvious. The United States is long, long over due for a reset. And no matter how you look at it; it is going to occur.

Theories of Collapse

It is going to occur. The reset will happen. The oligarchy realizes this. So they have planned accordingly. From their point of view, it is best to let the trends run their course, but in such a way that they control the outcome. And that is why all this is going on.

The Climax of the Fourth Turning in 2025.

Jim Quinn at The Burning Platform sees a catastrophic end to the ongoing disintegration :

The dichotomy between what is happening in the real world and what is happening in the world of the financiers will lead to violent upheaval on a timeline not anticipated by the ruling class. There is a good reason gun stores were overwhelmed with business at the outset of this over-hyped flu pandemic. Trust in the government, central bankers, the corporate media, and “experts” is disintegrating rapidly. The anger and disillusionment grows by the day and pockets of resistance are propagating throughout the country...

The only thing that matters is we will experience a disastrous outcome in the very near future from this reckless issuance of debt. The civic decay has entered the confrontational stage, with sides taken, weapons at the ready, awaiting the spark which will ignite the dynamite.

Reopen the nation, American Thinker – Hundreds of thousands of businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy and permanent closure. 33+ million are unemployed, and the federal government is creating massive unsustainable debt. This nation has made the biggest blunder in its history. The time has come for the politicians from the President to the Governors and Mayors to stop hiding behind the scientist/bureaucrats and fully reopen the nation. Focus on that segment of the population most at risk, without compulsory isolation or de facto imprisonment. And restore the civil liberties that have been wantonly eroded.

Know your history. — Spicy times ahead. Read some history.

Picture above; as the Ottoman empire started to collapse, they disarmed the citizenry. Then found scapegoats or villains. They collected them, marched them off and killed them.

Spicy times ahead.

The importance of isolating America from the rest of the world

America is being isolated in so many, many ways. Most Americans are unaware of this, as they do not live internationally. But what is actually happening is that President Trump’s policies have make it very “uncool” to have anything to do with America.

Global stability is maintained by strong routes of communication, give and take, and trade. This ensures that countries can address concerns early on before things get blown out of control, and spiral down a dangerous path towards war. It’s a very human thing, this idea of clear communications and open productive dialog.

It’s like a family. What happens when one member decides to stop talking, starts doing what they please without the consent of others in the family? What happens when they arbitrarily decide to eat what they want and spend the family budget as they feel fit, without input form the rest of the family?

But when you have a problematic family member, one with a mental illness, and alcohol addiction, or problems with the police, the family has a responsibly to isolate him/her and get them help where their problems can be resolved. For some this is a 12-step program, for others it is incarceration in a jail or a mental hospital. But no matter what the situation, the person needs to be placed in a “safe place”, isolated and attended to by experts.

Other nations do not want “spill over” from American domestic turmoil to affect their economies. They collectively desire to minimize the effects of any problems.

That is what the United States is being set up for now.

And people are noticing.

From the woodpile report; July will tell the truth about the economy. I’ve chosen November as the month of general truth, whether the years following will be of manageable coping, of unexampled disaster, or something in between.

We could see a return to pre-Covid conditions, the economy revive, preps largely unneeded. Or hard times will persist but get no worse than they are now, with normalcy slowly returning, preps helpful but not critical. Or daily life could worsen long term and become the new normal, modest preps necessary but sufficient until a slow turnaround takes hold some years out.

Or systemic disruption and shortages could multiply, the recession deepen into a depression  , extensive preps needed to make it from one month to the next. Or it could become a general disaster with outright starvation, government rule by decree, cities uninhabitable, regional withdrawals into fiefdoms, and only extensive preps being enough to avoid personal catastrophe. Or we'll see a rapid and unstoppable national and global collapse, criminal raids on a regional scale, rule by force, preps depleted or confiscated and the widespread rise of outright survivalism.

Preppers attempt to maintain some or most of their present circumstances in tough times. The survivalist has his own definition of preps. He practices to survive by anticipating and training for the worst of the possibilities. 

Survivalism comes first, not last, because in the end preps assume the prepper survives to use them.

There are entirely reasonable variations on these themes. This is merely my personal arrangement.

He also goes on to say…

It appears we're at the start of an economic collapse similar to that of 1929 and into the 1930s. What we're seeing in Minneapolis and  elsewhere appears to add the danger of organized violence.

A widespread decampment from big cities began some time ago and appears to be accelerating. Bloomberg reports RV sales are up 30%  in some urban places. 

The causes are fascinating but in the end what matters is how their migration to the "flyover country" they so despise may affect your personal plans.

July, when the long term direction of the economy will be plain to see, may be your last opportunity to shape your preparations more exactly, meaning food, shelter and protection. November is the month of the presidential election, when all sides reveal their intentions and one is chosen. It's also when winter weather begins. 

Time is running out.

The alarm bells are ringing all over the United States…

Lockdowns, Mises Institute – Those who have claimed that lockdowns are “the only option” had virtually no evidence at all to support their position. Indeed, such extreme over-the-top measures such as the general lockdowns required an extreme level of high-quality, nearly irrefutable evidence that lockdowns would work and were necessary in the face of a disease with an extremely high fatality rate. But the only “data” the prolockdown people could offer was speculation and hyperbolic predictions of bodies piling up in the streets. The lockdown crowd destroyed the lives of millions to satisfy the hunches of a tiny handful of politicians and technocrats.

Peter Grant at Bayou Renaissance Man mentions the unmentionable in his essay, Bailing out the states: the momentum and the prospect for violence builds. Excerpts:

If their residents find that government largesse is no longer flowing; and if they believe that they're entitled to such largesse; then they're going to get out of control and try to take what they want. The results are likely to be catastrophic for law and order, and civil society.

I think the ordinary people of America realize this. After all, that's why they bought more guns in March than any other month in previous US history. They're getting ready to defend what's theirs—and I believe they're right in anticipating the need to do so...

You want to know why my friends want me to upgrade their rifles? You want to know why I've been warning about COVID-19 as a threat to personal security, and suggesting ways to keep your shooting skills honed, even during the lockdown? ... Look no further.

American Gun News – Another Maryland Man Red-Flagged to Death by the Cops … cops shot him through a window while asleep in bed. They also shot his pregnant girlfriend

Power grab, Sovereign Man – If you think about 9/11 in particular, its remarkable how much power the government grabbed, and how many freedoms they took away. What I’m most concerned about at this point is not the virus, nor even the economic devastation.They have us all cowering in our homes, stripped of the most basic freedoms to do just about anything. People are being thrown off their own private property because they’re not an ‘official resident’ of the town. Others have been arrested for attending a funeral. Others threatened with jail for their social media posts. There’s going to be a huge impact on our freedom from this astonishing growth of unchecked government power.

…

The oligarchy, and I mean the top most, highest levels of the 1%, are aware of all these trends and they expect things to get worse. They see and view what America is entering as something that is unavoidable, but can be controlled somewhat.

The most important thing for them is to limit the damage.

Keep it on a local scale within America. Try to avoid spillover to the rest of the world. And that requires that America be isolated to various degrees from the rest of the world. Disentangled.

Isolation

As I see it, there is an effort for complete isolation.

When I mean complete isolation, I am referring to [1] a drop in international obligations and trades as well as [2] a long drawn-out rise in being fearful of other nations. Treaties would be torn up or ignored. All done to “improve” America. And news would make Americans fearful, afraid, and full of hate towards other nations, and other peoples.

You simply cannot deny this.

The year of 2020 has been a non-stop China-hate-fest. Every other article is China doing something wrong, and how dangerous they are. Coupled with that is systems of isolation and a break-up of channels of communication. Students are no longer permitted in the USA, Chinese applications and communication channels are banned (such as QQ, Wechat, and Tiktok) plus an onslaught on the American means of communication. Zoom now requires the Chinese to pay a hefty fee to use it, and Skype is putting access limitations on it’s use within China.

Americans have been so dumbed down that they don’t even realize it is happening. You would think that they would at least ask themselves “Why this flood of anti-China articles now? What happened to the most favored trading nation status?”

America is so dumbed down that this is what passes for "news" in the United States today. — America is so dumbed down that this is what passes for “news” in the United States today.

You can argue the Mike Pompeo narrative; “China IS bad. So all this is necessary”. But I argue that it’s a big lie. It’s all part of a large orchestrated effort to isolate America from the rest of the world.

What follows is a brief compilation of the many, many treaties that President Trump and his small band of neocons have broken, collapsed, argued for re-posturing, or simply abandoned and no longer functionally obeys the Agreements that the United States has already signed. Combined, it paints a damning picture of intentional isolation from the global, and Geo-Political landscape.

Broken Treaties leading towards American isolation.

Let’s walk down the long hallway of broken treaties, collapsed agreements, and ignored responsibilities. Let’s look down that hallway and see whether or not the United States people are being screwed by it’s leadership… all in the name of “Making America Strong Again”.

As we walk down this hallway, let's look for clues to see whether or not Americans are being screwed by the oligarchy as part of their long term plan. — As we walk down this hallway, let’s look for clues to see whether or not Americans are being screwed by the oligarchy as part of their long term plan.

President Donald Trump's decision to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty will end an arms control agreement with Russia that has been a centerpiece of European security since the Cold War.

The move, meant to penalize Russia for noncompliance, is likely to alarm the international community, particularly Europe, and cause fears that the US and Russia could enter a new nuclear arms race.

Trump's time in office has seen the President remove the US from multiple international organizations and has not hidden his frustration with international trade groups and security alliances. 

-CNN

China

China really doesn’t figure strongly here. Trump has made it clear that he wants to sever all ties with China, and isolate them. To this end he has constructed the ‘QUAD” to encircle China and threaten them with military support. It’s sort of like this…

Trump’s long list of global trade deals, agreements exited or renegotiated

President Donald Trump campaigned on deals. Making deals — like an Israel-Palestine peace accord. And breaking deals — like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran Deal, both of which he labeled disasters.

Since entering the Oval Office in 2016, Trump — a self-professed negotiator —has delivered on many of his promises to abandon international pacts that previous administrations had authorized.

KORUS

The Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) went into effect on March 15, 2012. Most Korean industrial and consumer goods currently enter the United States free of duty and the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and by 2016 that figure grew to over 95 percent.

Then Trump ended it as soon as he came to office.

He renegotiated in such a way that South Korea will no longer have the United States as it’s largest export target. Instead there are limits to what South Korea can ship to America. That way, when or if, America collapses, the economy of South Korea will not be so broadly affected.

This makes sense from an Oligarchy point of view. Not so much for a MAGA (Make America Great Again) point of view.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership

KORUS wasn’t the only treaty that Trump broke as soon as he came to office.

Just days after assuming office, Trump delivered on a campaign promise and announced that the U.S. would be pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries that took seven years to negotiate and was signed by then-President Barack Obama in his second term. Its goals were to boost exports, remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and open access to more markets.

It was a turn toward protectionist measures. By abandoning a deal that would give American companies an opportunity to seek cheap labor abroad, Trump signaled that his priority is to reduce the number of jobs leaving the country.

In a memorandum announcing the move, Trump favored bilateral negations and said they were to be pursued whenever possible to “promote American industry, protect American workers, and raise American wages.”

The end result was that the huge trade connections that America has had with 11 other nations collapsed. The trade back and forth between these countries started to decline and now are only a fraction of what they once were.

If Trump did nothing, and TPP stayed intact, a collapse of the American economy as a result of internal turmoil or economic malfeasance would result in economic turmoil in those 11 nations as well. Pulling out provides a “safety valve” for those nations so that if anything were to happen to the USA, the damage would be domestic and not international in scope.

The Paris Agreement

On June 1, 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, an international climate accord that the U.S. signed under the Obama administration that aims to combat global warming by gradually reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which come from the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.

Trump cited “onerous energy restriction” on the U.S. and the possible job losses it could cost as reasons for dropping out of the deal. Industrial sectors such as cement, coal, and iron and steel, Trump said, could be affected by America’s inclusion in the accord. He said there were plans to begin negotiations to reenter the deal or enter an “entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers.”

Trump said the deal “punishes the United States,” which he claimed was the world leader in environmental protection, without imposing any “meaningful obligations” on the world’s leading polluters. Historically, the U.S. has ranked as one of the worst emitters of carbon dioxide, but it’s been noted as recently as this year that its contribution to CO2 levels globally has been on the decline.

After Syria signed on to the accord in 2017, the U.S. became the only country in the world that wasn’t a party to the landmark deal.

What is not spoken of isn’t anything regarding climate, or the environment. There are two impacts that this has that are significant here;

American influence in an entire slew of subsequent treaties will be absent.
Other nations will not be economically dependent on this treaty as a source of income.

People all over the world rely on American funding through treaty. Trump has gone about severing as many of those ties as possible.

The Iran Deal

Throughout the 2016 presidential election campaign, then-candidate Trump promised that once he was in office he would tear up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran — better known as the Iran nuclear deal. The president called it the “worst deal ever.” Pushed into passage by the Obama Administration, the Iran nuclear deal reduced economic sanctions against Iran as long as the country ended its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

In May, the White House announced that because the JCPOA “failed to protect America’s national security interests” it would be pulling out of the historic deal.

The White House accused the Iranian regime of archiving its past nuclear weapons work and continuing to enrich uranium and develop ballistic missiles. The administration left some room for a new deal to be struck but said that a return to the negotiating table would depend on a number of preconditions such as the Iranian regime completely abandoning their intent to develop nuclear weapons—something Trump alleges they never stopped pursuing.

In the meantime, the administration has renewed sanctions against Iran. These measures, according to the White House, would target several of the country’s economic sectors such as energy, petrochemical, and finance.

So what? What does this matter?

Iran who is one of the leading economic influences int he Middle East will continue to be economically removed from the United States. People! This is not about nuclear weapons, bombs or war. This is about preventing the entire Middle East from getting economically entangled with the United States when it is on the verge of a major shut-down.

G7

The Group of Seven (G-7) is an intergovernmental organization that meets periodically to address international economic and monetary issues. G-7 countries consist of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan.

This is an important group. It discusses international trade, money and related issues. Trump is not pulling out of it, as it really doesn’t make trade decisions, but it is very noteworthy that Trump has insisted that Russia be part of it, and China be out of it.

What is he thinking? What is on his mind?

UNESCO

In Oct. 2017, the State Department announced that the U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO, which serves a number of functions around the globe such as promoting literacy and protecting historic and cultural sites through the World Heritage Center.

It was a symbolic gesture on part of the Trump administration, seeing as the Obama White House cut off funding for UNESCO in 2011, after the group voted to include Palestine as a member. The reasons the State Department gave for leaving the organization include what it views as mounting debt within the organization, a need for “fundamental reform,” and continuing bias against Israel.

Again, America’s ties to major world organizations is being severely reduced, curtailed and severed.

NAFTA

On Aug. 27, President Trump ended nearly 25 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, the trade pact linking U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He announced a new, bilateral agreement with Mexico known as the U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement.

Canada was initially left out of the new deal, which was designed to replace the NAFTA, an agreement that Trump says carried bad connotations. Signed in 1993, NAFTA eliminated tariffs on most goods traded among the continent’s three largest countries and made it easier for companies in those countries to move goods across borders. The old trade pact is often blamed for the flight of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico and the deindustrialization of the American economy.

The new deal includes controversial stipulations such as the “rule of origin,” which requires that cars must be built with at least 75 percent parts made in North America (up from 62.5 percent under NAFTA) and that 40 to 45 percent of an automobile must be manufactured by employees earning at least $16 an hour.

This is a mixed bag. I see the economic ties to Mexico loosened, but not severed. Any collapse of America will affect Mexico. But not as terribly as before.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

On Oct. 20, Trump announced to reporters his intention to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a 1987 pact between the United States and Russia that required both countries to destroy ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 310 and 3,400 miles, along with any supporting equipment.

Nuclear detonation. — Nothing quite ruins your day like global thermonuclear war.

Trump claims that Russia has violated the Cold War-era treaty, set to expire in two years, and said that the U.S. will begin weapons development unless Russia and China—who is not a party to the pact—agree to a new deal.

Days after the announcement, White House National Security Advisor John Bolton met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and said there was no chance the Trump administration would reverse its decision. Bolton suggested the INF treaty was outmoded.

“There’s a new strategic reality out there,” Bolton said. “This is a cold war bilateral ballistic-missile-related treaty — in a multipolar ballistic-missile world.”

The USA has 6000+ nuclear weapons. Russia has 7000+ nuclear weapons. But it’s a multipolar because China has 300. What the fuck?

Including China guarantees that this treaty will die. China wants no part of nuclear negotiations. (Their weapons are just enough to deter, not to MAD smash.) Knowing this, Trump has set the treaty to end. Why?

Why?

United Nations Human Rights Council

Calling it a “cesspool of political bias,” Nikki Haley, then-Ambassador to the United Nations, announced in June that the United States was pulling out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, leaving the U.S. without a vote and sidelined from the Geneva-based group that aims to promote human rights around the world.

The Trump administration made the move amid criticism surrounding its practice of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border. The Human Rights Council called on the White House to end the practice because it “runs counter to human rights standards.”

Again, severing the agreements with other nations. Closing of economic ties and destruction of lines of communication.

UNRWA

In August, the Trump Administration said that it would halt U.S. contributions to the United Nations’ aid program for Palestinian refugees. The decision is part of the administration’s efforts to rein in foreign aid and restrict assistance to the West Bank and Gaza. The move came one week after the White House revoked more than $200 million in economic aid to the Palestinian territories.

The U.S. is “no longer willing to shoulder the very disproportionate share of the burden of UNRWA’s costs,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The U.N. agency provides health care to approximately 3 million Palestinians, education assistance to 500,000 children, micro-loans to another 400,000 beneficiaries, among other aid.

Again, severing the agreements with other nations. Closing of economic ties and destruction of lines of communication.

WTO

The World Trade Organization is a global organization made up of 164 member countries that deals with the rules of trade between nations. Its goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly and predictably as possible.

As part of his broader attempts to renegotiate the United States’ global trade deals, President Trump has threatened to withdraw from the WTO, calling it a “disaster.”23 If the U.S. were to withdraw, trillions of dollars in global trade would be disrupted.

Again, severing the agreements with other nations. Closing of economic ties and destruction of lines of communication.

WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) was first proposed in 1945 as a public health agency to be formed as part of the United Nations. WHO’s constitution was ratified on April 7, 1948, marking its official establishment.

WHO categorizes its work into three broad areas of focus:

Advocating for universal health coverage
Preparing for public health emergencies and coordinating a global response
Serving vulnerable populations

As an agency of the United Nations, WHO’s governing body – the World Health Assembly (WHA) – includes representatives of every United Nations Member State. WHO’s structure includes an executive board comprised of 34 technically qualified representatives from the various Member States. These members generally possess an extensive background in clinical or public health.

The WHA currently consists of 194 members, one designee from each Member State. Meetings of the WHA and Executive Board may be attended by “non-State actors” (non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, philanthropic organizations, and others) who may observe and make statements to the body, but cannot vote.

During the middle of a global pandemic that is crushing the United States, Trump pulls out of the very agency set up to deal with this problem.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 28 countries that border the North Atlantic Ocean. The Alliance includes the United States, most European Union members, Canada, and Turkey. The United States contributes three-fourths of NATO’s budget.

Again, severing the agreements with other nations. Closing of economic ties and destruction of lines of communication.

Open Skies

**BREAKING**

The United States will officially pull out of another arms control pact with Russia on Sunday, marking the end of a six-month notification process informing Moscow, U.S. officials told Fox News. -FOX News 22NOV20

The Trump administration is set to pull out of the Open Skies Treaty, which was signed between former Cold War foes in 1992 to set up unarmed, reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory to collect data on military forces.

However, the U.S. has accused Russia of violating the agreement for years, barring flights over Russian territory, including Kaliningrad where nuclear weapons are suspected of being present and in range of major European capitals.

Conclusion

As I see it, there are no “real” political parties. Just actors playing a role. And who would be best at playing this particular role, right now, than a reality show television star and casino owner; Donald Trump. He plays a role. He is an actor. And people are treating him as “the real thing”, when all he is is just a puppet for the oligarchy.

We need to be careful and see things as they really are.

Do not be confused. — You need to be careful not to confuse who you are dealing with or what they actually are.

Instead of thinking Progressive Marxists vs. Traditional Conservatives, perhaps we should be thinking in terms of …

… serfs vs. the massive oligarchy.

A reset is in process. It is going to happen whether you want it to or not. The only thing that you can do is escape to safe havens (like the oligarchy did, or what I did), or hunker down and steel-yourself for some discomfort.

I have mapped out, here, what I believe is going on.

The oligarchy realizes that the United States is due for a most contentious clamorous collapse. It will not be uniform. Some areas will remain unscathed, while other areas will be dangerous, even lethal. 

As the USA collapses like a big, dangerous out of control monster, it will thrash about and cause all sorts of discord. This is what the oligarchy fears.

And so, President Trump, their "plant" has set up systems so that the collapse of the United States will be isolated to America (as much as possible). 

Now, President Biden will try to calm things down, perhaps do his best to control the hard-Left, and the minor oligarchy members (Congress and other billionaires; the PTB) from aggravating the hard-right. He will have a tough time at it. 

But you will probably see him trying to settle and calm things, rather than to stir things up.

Predictions;

America will undergo a reset. 2023 to 2025 at it’s peak, with a long slow return to stability starting to manifest around 2030.
Some areas will be affected terribly, others no so badly.
Internationally, it will have an effect on the globe, but not as terrible as one might fear.
A hot war with a major nuclear-armed power is a strong possibility. I believe that it will be Russia.
China will get some dings. But it will not be anything like what will happen to America.
If a hot war occurs, the United States (as we know it) will be no longer.
What will replace America could be anything. Though my bets are on a fractured nation into five or more separate nations, all tied together by treaty. Each one with it’s own laws and ways of doing things.

Remember boys and girls, America can’t build a simple wall on it’s territory, spend 77 billion dollars for s simple train line, or keep the COVID-19 in check. What makes anyone think that it can rebuild after a devastating nuclear war? It cannot.

The loss and destruction of America will not any sense, but that is the human species for you. You need not be surprised.

Do you want to see similar posts?

I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…

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The truth about our reality; we are corralled animals being farmed for our sentience

How about that for a title? Yah, it’s probably going to get exactly zero hits on Google, don’t you know. But after all, everyone just “knows” what the universe is, and what our role in it is, right? We all know.

Or do we?

Is all we see, all that there is? Is all the rumors about UFO’s, little green men, and strange being that walk in and out of our reality just some kind of Hollywood fiction? Is the idea that we can buy our way into “forgiveness” and “Heaven” possible if we donate enough money to charity and large churches? Is wealth the sole method to determine whether or not you lead a successful life?

What is real, and what is not?

What is important, and what is trivial?

What is actual, and what is a lie?

Here we are going to discuss what our reality actually is. And while I have (in other posts) discussed the nature of our universe, and the nature of our reality, here is where “I bring it home” and discuss it on a very up-front and personal way.

"Bringing It Home" "Bringing it home" is making something more clear by seeing the situation more closely. 

Example: "Taking care of my grandfather is really bringing home the importance of good health care." When one thing happens which shows you that some thing is real, that "brings it home".

-GoEnglish.com Idioms

Quick Overview

The universe doesn’t look like anything that we are taught in school or in our religions. It does not at all resemble our physical reality. It is something quite different. So to enter this discussion you all need to be made aware of that.

Is the perception of our reality the same thing as the actual reality?

Our universe is actually something else.

And because we don’t have the proper vocabulary to describe it, we will overuse some terms with will tend to add confusion. That is something that we do not want.

Definition of universe

1 : the whole body of things and phenomena observed or postulated : cosmos: such as a : a systematic whole held to arise by and persist through the direct intervention of divine power 

b : the world of human experience 
c

(1) : the entire celestial cosmos
(2) : milky way galaxy
(3) : an aggregate of stars comparable to the Milky Way galaxy

2 : a distinct field or province of thought or reality that forms a closed system or self-inclusive and independent organization

3 : population sense 4

4 : a set that contains all elements relevant to a particular discussion or problem

5 : a great number or quantity

Phew!

First off, we all exist within a time-less void.

Within this void, are multiple universes. There are a large number of them. Maybe infinite. Who actually knows?

We, our consciousness, come from one of these universes.

We have a name for it. We call it “Heaven”.

But what about us?

Sure there is a Heaven. It is a “place”. But what about us?

Our consciousness is part of a group of quanta that we call a soul.

And thus, yes, souls reside within Heaven. And they create these objects known as “consciousness”.

And you, who are reading this, are one such being; one such consciousness.

…

Is there anything that is too difficult to understand? It should be pretty clear. Most religions pretty much maintain this belief structure, more or less. Of course, they don’t refer to a consciousness as being a part of soul. Or that you are a being of consciousness. But aside from that, that’s the basics of the void that we call “the universe”.

…

Now, as you all might be aware, you and I are not dwelling within Heaven. We are somewhere else. If we were inside of Heaven things would be quite different. Indeed, and you all can well imagine what the differences would be.

Instead, we are conscious that dwells somewhere else. Not in Heaven. Somewhere else.

We call this other place “reality”.

It is our reality. And that is where our consciousness dwells while our bodies are alive and functioning. And when we die, our consciousness leaves our reality and returns to Heaven.

…

Again, this shouldn’t be too difficult to understand either. Most religions have some idea or concept of this. We live on the Earth, and then we die and return to Heaven. Many religions refer to this as soul, but that is not completely accurate.

Soul stays within Heaven. It is the universe that the soul occupies. It never leaves that universe.

Instead it creates a “vehicle”, known as consciousness, which it uses to acquire experiences with. These experiences are like a giant vacuum cleaner, and it collects all sorts of new, interesting, and curious experiences with it. These experiences are when quanta interact together, and in that interaction they create associations. These associations become building blocks. And those building blocks are what the soul uses to grow.

Phew!

But where does consciousness go to collect those experiences?

It enters another universe.

This other universe is called “reality”.

…

This is a slightly different version than what most religions teach. The Buddhists believe that suffering is the path to enlightenment, and I suppose that you could say that suffering is a sub-set of experiences. 

The Christian religions teach that we are born corrupted and that we must cleanse ourselves though pious actions in order to qualify to return to Heaven. Again, not so different.  

Our actions, and the experiences associated with them, observe the needs that the consciousness has to build up quantum relationships for soul.

All this I pretty much covered in other posts, describing the “shaft or cylinder of light” that the consciousness passes through to get to Heaven and all that.

But now we are going to diverge a little away from what most religions teach.

…

Our reality is not like Heaven. Each universe is completely different in construction and appearance. And I am very limited in what I can say about Heaven. Though I have written about the geography of Heaven in other posts. The “reality universe” that we (our consciousness) inhabits is not as it appears. The reality is that our reality universe is a very large collection of “frozen moments in time”.

It is a near infinite collection of “snap-shots”.

There is a snap-shot of the moment when you were born. There is a snap-shot of when the dinosaurs became extinct. There is a snap-shot of when the pyramids were built in Egypt. There is a snap-shot of when man walked on the moon, and there is a snap shot of the forest fires of 2134. There is a snap-shot of every moment in time.

Additionally there is a snap-shot of “alternative universes”. There is a snap-shot of when George Washington betrayed the American revolution and became king of France. There is a snap-shot of when the Incas invaded Spain, and a snap-shot of Hillary Clinton winning the 2016 election.

Each snap-shot is a three dimensional reality. With sights, sounds, emotions, feelings, thoughts, and colors.

Now, what happens is that our consciousness moves from one snap-shot to another. And since it moves we experience time. We experience “the arrow of time”. And it seems that the world around us moves. But in reality it is our consciousness is what is moving. Not everything else.

It’s like a movie projector in a movie theater. Each “snap-shot” is a frame in the film. And we, as consciousness experience this movement as “real life”.

Now, for the “head blown” realization…

…each “snap shot” is an individual “world-line”.

Coordinates of location

Since each moment is frozen in time, you can associate it with coordinates.

These are coordinates of location.

The best and most effective way of doing so is with gravity readings.

Each world-line or snap-shot in time has it’s own unique set of coordinates. And if you add geographical coordinates of where your consciousness happens to be, you will have a complete set of coordinates that describes your position in all the universe at any given frozen moment in time.

It is by accessing these coordinates of location that you are able to conduct world-line travel and apparent time-travel. You might want to see my construction notes on my DIY teleportation mechanism or egress portal. HERE.

Dimensional portal showing magnetic field generator. — Dimensional portal showing magnetic field generator, and the “air gap” that the traveler must pass through to use the mechanism. This post discusses the geometry of this “air gap”.

A life time of experiences

Now the way that our consciousness travels this group of world-lines is pretty much fixed. It’s almost like it is pre-ordained or fated.

…

The moment that you, as consciousness, tries to deviate from your path, something will happen that will snap you back on that path.

…

But…

Since thoughts change reality, we can use our thoughts to navigate the various world-lines at will. I have devoted an entire section on this called Intention Campaigns.

That’s the good news.

Now for the bad news.

Evil or selfish people use popular media, news, or industry to control the thoughts of others. They flood the airwaves and media with narrative to make people think in certain ways. These patterns of mutated mass-thought is very dangerous. And is the source of many of the problems that we humans are experiencing today. I have also covered this in other posts. With an entire index devoted to the collapse of the United States.

This is a big ol’ subject and you just will not find it anywhere else. But this is how the universe works pretty much.

Now, let’s get to the “brass tacks”, or the real purpose of this post.

A Sentience Nursery

Humans are a very, very young species. Heck we are under 30,000 years old, and our written history only goes back 6,000 years. Pro-humans have been around longer, but not much longer. Maybe 300,000 years.

Older, more mature species have long colonized and settled our galaxy (a collection of solar systems) within our “reality universe”. And they have set aside enclaves, or preserves used for the incubation and growth of new emerging species.

There are five such sentience nurseries in our general geographic region of space.

I do not know much about what lies outside our immediate region of space. I have written some very detailed posts about this subject and our galaxy and if you are really interested, you might want to check them out.

This is where we are protected, and nurtured and lead to “growing up” and becoming a productive species within our galaxy.

Once we “graduate”, our RNA will be altered (with some modifications of our DNA as well) and the human species will become something else.

Our RNA / DNA will be such that it fits an approved archetype. And once that is completed, we (the survivors) will collectively fit within an ecological niche within the galaxy.

You can see what happened with a much older species that already graduated from our sentience nursery; the Cephalopods.

The Guardian Angels

Our “sentience nursery” is tended to by a species that everyone is pretty much aware of known as the “greys”. I refer to them as the “Type-1 greys” because that was the first species that I met when I joined MAJestic.

I have things to say about this species, and things that I am limited to discuss. This is my attempt to add some clarity on this issue, in the midst of all the massive disinformation out there off in internet land.

And where they are from. Nope they are not from Zeta Reticuli. They are from some place nearer…

And… how near, you might ask…

And how long have they been involved with the earth…

And, if they are so prevalent all over the earth, then where is their bases of operation? The sightings are global, and constant and consistent. But Google Earth doesn’t indicate any extraterrestrial bases or housing structures.

Where are they…

And maybe a little bit about how they started interacting with humans.

They pretty much police this entire environment and make sure that the humans are tended to and don’t get into too much trouble. They occupy both the physical reality, and the non-physical reality within this “reality universe”.

Much of what is written about them is much maligned nonsense. They are desirous of humans to get a service-to-self sentience. But aside from that, don’t really care one way or the other about what happens. They are objectively neutral.

But, that’s not really true regarding our protectors.

And it is our protectors that make sure that the Type-1 greys behave themselves.

The human species themselves are tended to by the very first intelligent species to graduate from this sentience nursery. They are a species that dwells within the non-physical reality and performs autonomous world-line travel operations for the human body automatically without human consciousness interaction. They are known as the Mantids. They act as our guardian angels. Because that is what they are, more or less.

Before they took on their role, they evolved naturally on this earth in the physical. As such, they have left behind some relics…

Mystery of the oil lamp found inside a block of coal.

I have much to say about them, and I will get to that once, I establish commonality of dialog about the non-physical realities.

Crazy stuff!

You betya. The world that you think you know isn’t even close to what the actual reality is. Now, can you just believe that this is all just an introduction? Yup it is.

Because right now I’m going to tell you what this “sentience nursery” actually is, and I will try to describe it in ways so that everyone can understand.

Think of a farm. Let’s suppose the farm is raising horses. These are special Arabian horses known for special beauty and personality. And the farm is run by a loving and caring family that loves those horses. They hire people to take care of the horses, and care for them. These caretakers mend the fences and make sure that no one will break in the farm and steal the horses. They also make sure that none of the horses escape the farm. They are very good at what they do, but to them, it’s just a job; a paycheck.

A beautiful horse farm. — A horse farm can be a very beautiful place.

Well…

Consider the Earth to be the same as the farm. You can consider humans to be the special horses being groomed and cared for. And you can consider the Mantids to be the farmer and his family that love and care for the horses. Finally, you can consider the Type-1 greys to be the farm-hands that maintain the farm and keep everything working and in order.

Now…

There are five other farms in the county. They are all raising horses. But each farm raises a different breed. And that is the way that our section of galaxy works.

Keeping the horses corralled

But how do they do it? How does the type-1 greys keep the horses in their pens, on their learning tracks, keeping them well fed, and steering them away from the gate that will let them out of the farm where they can roam freely?

Cowboys control and patrol. — Type-1 Grey “cowboys” keep the human herds under control..

They use numerous techniques.

The gates are hidden from view. The horses cannot see the gates, and do not know where they are.
The keys to open the gates are never discussed or told to the horses, they wouldn’t know how to open the gates, even if they were right in front of them.
The horses are kept busy and distracted by certain other horses that are intentionally agitated, and are used to distract attention away from the gates.
They also use other animals (dogs) to help keep the horses in their place.

Other Animals

These guardians, or “cowboys”, use “helpers” to help put the humans “in their place” and control them.

This includes the MAJestic organization, and one of the roles that I participated in was as a “cowboy for the human race“. If you all don’t know what I am specifically referring to, then you should read this post…

You see, and this is specifically directed to long time readers to MM, the longer you read, the more articles you absorb, the more “puzzle pieces” that fall into place.

The Gates

In our human reality, the gates are absolutely hidden.

We need to be able to map the coordinates of location, then use a high flux egress portal to assign new coordinates that lead outside of our nursery.

The keys are the specific coordinates that the traveler must use to egress, and that come either from long periods of experimentation, or being told what coordinates to use.

Finally, certain individuals within our human reality are intentionally creating disruptions. These disruptions keep the human species “on our toes” and distracted in such a way that we don’t have the time nor inclination to egress our of our reality.

And that is the way it is.

Cowboy and his dogs. — Cowboy with his cowboy dogs.

Cowboy movement

Because the gates are hidden, the caretakers can enter and leave our apparent reality at will. It doesn’t matter what world-line we are on, they can find us through the coordinates of location and the impression that the quanta associated with our consciousness makes.

When you watch them enter, it is like they are coming out of nowhere, and that they leave just as easily. And these gates can open up just about anywhere, but you all would be surprised that there is an entire non-physical reality that lies outside our physical reality. And our caretakers and guardian angels tend to be in that realm at various states of energy.

They rarely enter the physical realm. That is where the livestock roam.

Conclusion

You are not in Kansas anymore.

We’re not in Kansas anymore is a phrase that means we have stepped outside of what is considered normal, we have entered a place or circumstance that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable, we have found ourselves in a strange situation. 

The idiom we’re not in Kansas anymore was first used in the movie The Wizard of Oz, a 1939 film based on the L. Frank Baum book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. In the story, Dorothy Gale is caught in a tornado that transports her and her dog, Toto, into a magical land called Oz. 

The line, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” summed up the fact that not only did Dorothy travel away from home physically, but she had traveled to a new reality where anything was possible. 

Though the movie premiered in 1939, it was a staple of holiday programming on television through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s in America. The idiom we’re not in Kansas anymore did not become popular until the 1980s.

-We’re not in Kansas anymore Idiom Definition – Grammarist

The world that we live in is not what it seems.

If you are a new comer to this MM website then all this will seem strange, upsetting and not make any sense to you. Which is why I have an entire series devoted to teach it in great detail, but in stages.

Most people who follow the lesson plan agree that there is a lot here, but once they follow the step plan, it all becomes crystal clear and they see their life, and their role within it, in crystal clarity.

Yes, we talk about world-lines, other species, little “green” men, high technology, and secrets. Strange, and a little crazy, eh? Ah. It’s all American as “Apple Pie”, isn’t it?

Let’s hope that someone else benefits from this information.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my MAJestic Index here…

MAJestic

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To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
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The great danger of electronic books. Heed this warning.

One of the “givens” that I pretty much have come to accept as normal is the belief that if you bought something, you owned it. If you bought a pair of shoes, it was yours and you could do what ever you wanted with it. If you bought a pack of cigarettes, you could smoke them or throw them away. It was your possession and you could do what you wanted with it. Unfortunately, this is no longer true in the United States.

It all began with housing. The days of full-ownership of a house in America are long, long over. And I am not talking about a mortgage either. I am talking about taxes, and regulations, and fees and requirements. If you have to ask permission, then you don’t own it. If you have to pay more money on it, you don’t own it. If someone can change it or alter it without your permission you don’t own it.

Ownership is the bedrock of freedom.

Unfortunately it no longer exists in the United States.

And what is much sadder is that all Americans don’t realize this loss; this loss in the ability to own things, and to use them as you feel fit. They see it as normal. “Of course, you need to ask the local Home Owners Association permission to remodel your house.” “Of course, you cannot smoke cigarettes in a restaurant, or on the street or in a park…” “Of course, you need to pay the upgrade fee on your software program. You don’t really own it, don’t you know.”

This encroachment is sickening to me.

People! If you cannot own things, you are not free. Do you know who else cannot own things?

Slaves.

That’s who.

Back in the day, I had a library of books. No, I am not exaggerating. I had my walls plastered floor to ceiling with books, and my entire house was cluttered with my tomes and books. I loved those things, and I lost them. This story of how they came to disappear is noteworthy in-itself, but, let’s not get sidetracked. With the advent of computerized software, you can have entire libraries that can fit inside an object no bigger than the palm of your hand. Great huh?

Maybe not so.

I once had a iPod with perhaps 10,000 songs on it. I had collected music from all over the internet, mostly “Limewire”, but I also used other services. Then one day, the system reset for a software update. It erased my entire collection! Why? Why in God’s name did this happen?

I will tell you why.

I did not buy the songs from iTunes. (Which is the monopoly that Apple has constructed around it’s iPod platform.)

Was the iPod my property?

Apparently not.

Now the purist might say that I needed to read the fine print in my purchaser’s agreement. And to that I must counter… with this…

You do not own anything that requires that you read “fine print” that defines how you must use that object.

Ah. Let that sink in.

Remember that personal ownership is a fundamental pillar of freedom. If you cannot own things, free and clear, you are just renting them on loan.

And it’s not just me speaking. The United States government and the courts have reinforced this belief. You don’t own much of anything. In fact, it is even against the law to collect rainwater! I mean there is something seriously wrong if you cannot own the rain that falls on you from the skies above.

Let’s talk about books.

Paper Books Can’t Be Shut Off from Afar

“The idea that the books I buy can be relegated to some kind of fucking software license is the most grotesque and awful thing I can imagine,” Doctorow said.

This is a reprint of the great article titled “Paper Books Can’t Be Shut Off from Afar”. Published on Jun 30, 2019 12:00PM EDT Maria Bustillos. All credit to the author.

Private ownership—in particular the private ownership of books, software, music and other cultural information—is the linchpin of a free society. Having many copies of works of art, music and literature distributed widely (e.g., many copies of the same book among many private owners, or many copies of the same audio files, torrents or blockchain ledger entries on many private computers) protects a culture against corruption and censorship. Decentralization strategies like these help to preserve press freedom, and individual freedom. The widespread private ownership of cultural artifacts guarantees civil liberties, and draws people into their culture immanently, persistently, giving it life and power.

Cory Doctorow’s comment on Friday at BoingBoing regarding private ownership of books is well worth reading; he wrote it because Microsoft is shutting down its e-books service, and all the DRM books people bought from them will thus vanish into thin air. Microsoft will provide refunds to those affected, but that isn’t remotely the point. The point is that all their users’ books are to be shut off with a single poof! on Microsoft’s say-so. That is a button that nobody, no corporation and no government agency, should be ever permitted to have.

“The idea that the books I buy can be relegated to some kind of fucking software license is the most grotesque and awful thing I can imagine,” Doctorow said.

At this very moment, governments are forbidding millions of people, Chinese people, Cubans, Belarusians and Egyptians and Hungarians and many, many others all over this world, from reading whatever they want.

So if there is to be a fear of the increasing adoption of e-books such as those offered by Microsoft, and to a far greater degree, Amazon, that’s by far the scariest thing about it. Because if you were to keep all your books in a remotely controlled place, some villain really could come along one day and pretty much flip the switch and take them all away — and not just yours but everyone’s, all at once. What if we had some species of Trump deciding to take action against the despicable, dangerous pointy-heads he is forever railing against?

Boom! Nothing left to read but The Art of the Deal.

I don’t intend on shutting up about this ever, and I’m sure Doctorow won’t either, bless him.

In 2010, techno-utopianism was in full swing, with e.g. Nick Negroponte going around saying that physical books would be mass-produced for only maybe another five years (yeah, sorry guy). His reasoning seems to have had something to do with the fact that books are hard to send to Africa.

Anyway my husband gave me a Kindle for my birthday that year, and I loved it a lot. Thousands and thousands of books fit on this pretty, if potentially sinister, little machine. I’d just go over to Project Gutenberg and vacuum stuff up every which way, because I have no literary discernment whatsoever and will gladly spend the afternoon reading Agatha Christie or really, literally almost anything.

Project Gutenberg is now up to more than 59,500 free e-books, all out of copyright and so classics, mostly. And no need to feel the least bit guilty as you might even at a thrift shop, where whatever you buy, it’s going to take up room on bookshelves that you know you don’t have; these books took up no extra room at all.

I bet you will be surprised to hear when Project Gutenberg first started. 1971 (!) is the true answer, and could they ever destroy every Final Jeopardy contestant with that one, I bet.

Its founder, Michael Hart, was a most unusual and interesting man. The ultimate anti-corporatist. Like Yoda, Mr. Hart doesn’t appear to have possessed much glamour or power on the outside, but he was brimming with these and other virtues on the inside.

He didn’t care two pins about money, wouldn’t take a salary for years and years, and acquired the few bits of stuff he seemed to need at garage sales.

In the 1970s, nobody knew that computers would eventually be used for the mass storage of culture. It hadn’t occurred to anyone yet that the computer would be useful for anything aside from just computation. It was so shockingly, incredibly good at that! There was such a lot of computation that needed doing, so computation was first in line.

Now it is clear as day that whoever controls computer storage will effectively control the media commons.

There are a lot of champions in this fight, but Michael Hart saw it all coming about half a century ago and started typing his fool head off, dozens and dozens of whole books, long before OCR was a gleam in a programmer’s eye.

Hart did more to secure the future of the public domain than anyone else in the world, I believe. Project Gutenberg’s widely distributed books cannot be taken away—and when they’re downloaded and stored on private devices and media, it’s like insurance for Western Civ.

My first few times on Project Gutenberg I downloaded a lot of rare early Wodehouse (highly recommended: The Swoop! or, How Clarence Saved England) and also a lot of Thackeray, Gibbon, pretty much all of Mrs. Gaskell and, just by accident, Émile Gaboriau’s La Vie Infernale — the fruitiest, most marvelous 19th-c. French melodrama (in two parts: The Count’s Millions and Baron Trigault’s Vengeance. I just love those.) Plus Shakespeare and the King James Bible and that sort of stuff.

I am no fan of Amazon, and even back then I resisted spending money there, but I did buy an e-book copy of Infinite Jest, which is far and away my favorite modern novel.

A few days later, I was having a little dispute with my husband over whether or not Wallace misuses the word “ilk” in that book, which with the Kindle’s search feature took about twenty seconds to settle (A: not really; the solecism appears just once, in the quoted speech of Madame Psychosis.)

It’s all thrillingly searchable, and browsable, plus once you get a book on your Kindle (or Nook, or equiv.) you can highlight things and also make your own notes. By now scholars, researchers, historians and journalists will want both a searchable ebook copy and a paper copy, I would think, of anything they’re really interested in.

I also learned that having an e-reader meant that one might quite easily wind up buying more books than before, if anything, because the getting of books was on one’s mind more.

So all that is the upside of owning e-books.

But my Fahrenheit-451-paranoia was fanned into a giant flaming ball of fear-napalm when I looked into the personal ownership of the files and books on my own Kindle. And things have only gotten a lot worse since then.

Almost exactly ten years ago, you may remember, Amazon came stealthily along and deleted e-copies of 1984 (no seriously, they did) and Animal Farm from people’s Kindles — copies they’d already paid for and downloaded — because it turned out that there was a rights problem with the e-publisher.

Jeff Bezos wound up apologizing all over himself and taking it all back and promising never to do that ever again, but the fact remains that Amazon has some kind of access to your Kindle files and can literally remove them, if they feel like it, which is downright creepy, and if it were your computer you would not like it one little bit.

Having learned this, I went along and had a closer look at the then-current Kindle License Agreement.

There was some simply petrifying stuff on there. For starters, then as now, you don’t “own” Kindle books, you’re basically renting them. (“Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider.”)

Amazon’s current terms of use now specify explicitly that they can look over your shoulder while you read. Check this out!

Information Provided to Amazon. The Kindle Application will provide Amazon with information about use of your Kindle Application and its interaction with Kindle Content and the Service (such as last page read, content archiving, available memory, up-time, log files, and signal strength).

They can change the software on you whenever they like, or just shut it down completely, without so much as a by your leave:

Changes to Service; Amendments. We may change, suspend, or discontinue the Service, in whole or in part, including adding or removing Subscription Content from a Service, at any time without notice.

That is how a totalitarian state might go about confiscating books, if they wanted to. There is nothing in this agreement to stop Amazon from modifying the Kindle software to make it impossible for you to read any of your own files on the device.

Such a step is not forbidden to Amazon by this agreement; they are under no apparent obligation to protect any data you might be storing. That’s not to say that there aren’t laws, at least in some states, that might allow you to sue for damages; I don’t know. I’m just saying, this agreement doesn’t require Amazon to protect your data.

A bad government could just grab the controls from them and have at it.

Changes to Service; Amendments.We may change, suspend, or discontinue the Service, in whole or in part, including adding or removing Subscription Content from a Service, at any time without notice. We may amend any of this Agreement’s terms at our sole discretion by posting the revised terms on the Amazon.com website.

Or they might decide to shut just your account down:

Termination. Your rights under this Agreement will automatically terminate if you fail to comply with any term of this Agreement. In case of such termination, you must cease all use of the Service, and Amazon may immediately revoke your access to the Service without refund of any fees.

Keep in mind these are your books that you bought or collected. Can you imagine a bookseller or publisher asserting rights over the contents of your bookshelves in your house? That’s basically what we’re talking about, here.

After reading all this back in 2010, I rang the (excellent, and very polite) Kindle customer service up to learn more, especially about privacy issues. One thing I wanted to know was exactly how much access Amazon had to my private, personal Kindle files (such as .txt and .pdf files that I’d made myself.) But after being bumped up through a couple of layers of supervisors, I didn’t get very clear answers. For instance, on the question of Amazon’s remote access to my personal stuff. “We don’t have access to your files,” I was first told. But can you see my personal files? And if you wanted to delete my personal files, as was done with the Orwell books, could you do it?

“We don’t do that.”

Eight or nine years down the road, we can be pretty sure that if a tech behemoth suddenly feels like doing something horrible, they just will do it. Please buy paper books.

A portion of this piece appeared in somewhat different form in 2010 at The Awl.

Conclusion

I used to have an account on Tumblr. I enjoyed it for the strange and beautiful pictures that I would collect there, and when people started to use it to distribute some high quality porn, I collected those images as well. I really liked that webpage and social network.

Then it was bought up or sold to Yahoo!. Every assurance was made that promised that nothing would ever change and that the private collections of pictures would remain intact.

Then came the war on porn. Yahoo! suddenly, yes after saying that they wouldn’t, decided to wholesale delete images, accounts, data and histories. And all my lovely photos about America in the 1930’s, pictures of military conflicts, fantastic and unusual works of art, and yes my on-line porn collection was vaporized in a nanosecond.

Foolish me.

I believed that when a company promised to do something that they would at least try to keep their word.

Three years ago, was my twenty year anniversary of my membership on the Free Republic website. Over the twenty years that I was a member I was one of the most prolific posters with over 10,000 articles that I had posted (and which readied me for the role that this Metallicman venue provides). And then, one of my articles did not meet the desires of one of their censors, and without notice, and any kind of appreciation they deleted my entire account. Jim Robinson probably didn’t have any idea that they did it. But there it was. All my FR contacts, my notes, my articles (no backups either) and my opinions and comments, all deleted.

Poof.

Gone.

Look. I get it. I’m a “big boy”. I should have known better than to put my trust and faith in others. I should have made complete hard-paper backups, and had electronic versions in portable storage media. I was naive.

And when I was “retired” and saw what happened to my life, my possessions and my histories, I saw that I was a “big nothing”. I only existed at the pleasure of others. I only lived in whatever lifestyle that I could scrounge up at the pleasure of others, and what I owned, down to my underwear was all at the mercy of what others might decide to do.

The only way to change this course that the United States is on is to terminate it’s existence catastrophically. It needs to be sudden, and abrupt and a replacement government needs to take it’s place. This sounds so awful, but it need not be.

I advocate that the Federal government be abolished. And the individual states regain their original roles, and maintain their original existence as it was initially intended prior to 1776.

We can let the individual citizens of any given state decide what limits that they want to place on the ownership of property. Not those in California, or Washington DC. And people would no longer be citizens of the United States of America, but would be the sovereign citizen of Pennsylvania, or of Maryland, or of Colorado, or of Wyoming.

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose grouping of American litigants, commentators, tax protesters, and financial-scheme promoters. 

Self-described "sovereign citizens" see themselves as answerable only to their particular interpretations of the common law and as not subject to any government statutes or proceedings. 

In the United States, they do not recognize U.S. currency and maintain that they are "free of any legal constraints". They especially reject most forms of taxation as illegitimate. 

Participants in the movement argue this concept in opposition to the idea of "federal citizens", who, they say, have unknowingly forfeited their rights by accepting some aspect of federal law. The doctrines of the movement resemble those of the freemen on the land movement more commonly found in the Commonwealth, such as Australia and Canada.

-Wikipedia

So says Wikipedia.

For now.

Then they will arbitrarily change it yet again.

But, you know, it’s so easy to be misunderstood. And for me, it’s better not to “fight city hall”, or “beat a dead horse”. You live life to the best of your ability, and if you find that you are not able to live life to your satisfaction then you “move to greener pastures”.

Which is what I did.

I live in China, and I do own my houses. I don’t rent them. I don’t have mortgages on them. I never pay taxes on them, and I am not subject to any rules or regulations regarding them. Nor do I need to ask permission to renovate them.

That is what freedom is.

Stop.

Take a realistic appraisal of what you really own. Do not include anything that requires payments, fees, regulations that you must abide by, or that is subject to inspections, or random investigations. If you are an American you will discover that you actually own very little.

You own, functionally, just about the same as what a Roman slave would own.

Do you want to see similar posts?

I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…

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Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.

Part ten – Calculating the geometry of the DIY dimensional portal egress station.

This post we will look at the general considerations for the design of the egress portal itself.

This is part of the DIY series in making your very own dimensional portal. The geometry of the egress station will stay the same regardless of how you use this dimensional portal. Whether it is intended as a “time machine”, a mechanism to traverse the “what if” worlds, or just something you want to use to improve your physical appearance, the geometry will not change.

Basic Introduction

Note that this is an article that is part of a long series of posts on DIY construction of a dimensional portal. 

This technology will permit a person to move anywhere in the universe geographically, move through time, and more in and out of different world-lines.

This page is part of a collection of my writings on how to make a home-made dimensional portal that actually works. This portal is a “poor man’s” version of the MAJestic dimensional portal that was present in NAS NASC Pensacola Florida back in 1981.

This particular post covers the geometry of the portal itself’ the “air gap” or region that that traveled must walk through in order to travel the various world-lines.

Teleportation is a proven fact, and is well understood in the quantum physics world. It has been demonstrated continuously and repeatedly in the laboratory as well. 

Though public demonstration of large objects is not available and considered "far fetched", the fact is this is a mature technology.

This technology has been in possession of the United States Navy's ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) branch of high technology MAJestic branch, of which I was a part of.

Overall, this post is part of a much larger series of posts. All of which describe a rather comprehensive DIY project. Within it is everything that you need to construct your very own dimensional portal. The big missing gap is the mapping of the dimensional coordinates. Because unless you are able to lay out a destination coordinate, you will have little use for this mechanism.

The equations tend to be a tad esoteric, but it’s nothing too difficult as long as you know some basic mathematics. Just follow the narrative and the instructions and you will be just fine.

This is part 10. The calculations and equations related to the actual portal geometry.

You are here.

I always like it when you are lost in a big museum, hospital or factory, and you come up to a big sign on the wall; a map really, that says “You are here.”. It helps you figure out where you are relative to the over all scheme of things.

Let’s see where this post fits into the big scheme of things.

Essentially, the idea is quite simple, really. [1] You generate a massive, simply massive; “big honker” electromagnet. In it is [2] this “air gap” or a gap large enough for a person to walk though. [3] The magnetic field generated in the electromagnet is enormous. It is [4] strong enough to “erase” or “obscure” your current “coordinates” associated with this world-line and your life. Then, [5] new coordinates are over-laid over your body, [6] using frequency generation techniques, and [7] when the magnetic field collapses you “snap” right to the new reality or dimensions that you have imprinted.

It’s rather simple. The issues are in the implementation of the various steps.

You need to [8] measure the frequencies of location with extreme precision. You need [9] to be able to functionally understand how to change them to take you where ever you want to go. You need [10] to pulse the electromagnet into sine wave configuration, and [11] you need to have the traveler become brainwave neutral during the egress operation.

I’ve covered those steps elsewhere.

Here we will concentrate on the geometry of the “air gap” that the person (traveler) will walk into. It is section #2, above and highlighted in BOLD.

With this in mind, let’s crack open our electromagnetic handbooks and review just how a magnet works and how we can apply that knowledge to our particular application.

The design of magnets and electromagnets is a mature technology. I personally find it fascinating. As it is just a very interesting subject that I have taken a shine to. You can find all sorts of texts, websites, and papers written about this technology. And anything listed herein can be found elsewhere if you were so inclined to research elsewhere.

In this post, I am going to take this very interesting technology and break it down into a very simple format, so that anyone trying to (or who desires of) building their own dimensional portal can understand the issues involved.

Air Gap

This is the “interface” where the traveler enters the transport mechanism. It is an open area. It is a space, and since it contains air, it is known as a “air gap” as it is typically a gap within a large metal ring.

Air gap, is a non-magnetic part of a magnetic circuit.

It is usually connected magnetically in series with the rest of the circuit, so that a substantial part of the magnetic flux flows through the gap. Here’s a three dimensional diagram of an air gap in a magnetic circuit…

S. Zurek, Encyclopedia Magnetica, CC-BY-3.0.

Depending on application, air gap may be filled with a non-magnetic material such as gas, water, vacuum, plastic, wood etc. and not necessarily just with air.³⁾⁴⁾

So we can say that if the device were enclosed within a pool of water, the person could swim though the gap and teleport to a new location. But why bother, right? We live and breathe and walk in air.

Flux Fringing

Due to increased reluctance of an air gap the flux spreads into the surrounding medium.

Think of water in a tube, as long as the tube keeps the water inside the tube, it flows forward without any loss or leakage. But the moment that you add a hole, or series of holes in the tube, you will have leaks. Water will squirt out, and as it does so, it will “take away” from the smooth flow of the rest of the water in the tube.

When you add an air gap to increase the reluctance of the core then it is almost as if you have decreased its permeability, and thereby lowered the inductance of a winding on it. Indeed, when you buy a core with a pre-fabricated gap then the manufacturer may specify what is called the effective permeability of the core, μ e.

-Air gapped magnetic cores

This spreading eventually causes an ‘effect” known as the “flux fringing effect.”

Flux fringing - a phenomenon in which the magnetic flux flowing in a magnetic core spreads out (or fringes out) into the surrounding medium, for example in the vicinity of an air gap. 

-Flux fringing [Encyclopedia of magnetics and electromagneti…

The point behind this is that we need a gap for the traveler to walk through, but the mere presence of the gap will “take away” or detract from the energy, power and efficiency of the magnetic flux in that gap.

In order to quantify how much magnetic flux you will lose, you need to calculate it. This is done by observing the “eddy current loss”.

Eddy Current Loss

Flux Fringing is generally an unwanted phenomenon which usually increases proximity and eddy current loss in conductors located in the vicinity of the air gap. To simplify; the “flux fringing” phenomenon subtracts away from the strength of the magnetic flux inside the air gap.

A sectional view of the magnetic core is shown in the figure above. When the changing flux links with the core itself, it induces emf in the core which in turns sets up the circulating current called Eddy Current. And these current in return produces a loss called eddy current loss or (I²R) loss, where I is the value of the current and R is the resistance of the eddy current path.

The strength and the magnitude of the loss of magnetic flux is a function of the geometry of the air gap and the over-all magnitude of the flux itself.

Reducing the Eddy Current Loss

If the core is made up of solid iron of larger cross-sectional area, the magnitude of I (current) will be very large and hence losses will be high. To reduce the eddy current loss mainly there are two methods.

By reducing the magnitude of the eddy current.

The magnitude of the current can be reduced by splitting the solid core into thin sheets called laminations, in the plane parallel to the magnetic field. Each lamination is insulated from the other by a thin layer of coating of varnish or oxide film.

Instead of a solid metal core, if you make it out of thin lamination’s, you will be able to be able to control eddy current loss.

By laminating the core.

By laminating the core, the area of each section is reduced and hence the induced emf also reduces. As the area through which the current is passed is smaller, the resistance of eddy current path increases.

Diagram showing how laminated cores operate within an magnetic field environment.

Influence on B-H loop

The B-H loop of a magnetic circuit is affected by the presence of an air gap. This is an important characteristic of the environment inside of the air gap.

The B-H loop is produced by measuring the magnetic flux (B) of a ferromagnetic material when the applied magnetizing force is changed (H). A ferromagnetic material which has been never before magnetized or demagnetized ferromagnetic material will trail the dashed line (see the figure) as magnetizing force (H) is increased.

Permeability of non-magnetic material is low (such as air) and therefore it requires greater values of to obtain the same value of as compared with magnetically soft materials (such as iron). Here is a more detailed image of a typical B-H Loop showing key features of it.

With the introduction of an air gap the B-H loop of a magnetic circuit gets “sheared” (slanted), hence the value of its slope proportional to the effective permeability is reduced.

Effective magnetic permeability (also apparent magnetic permeability¹⁾), often denoted as μ_e, μ_eff or μ_a - a term used in analysis of magnetic performance of gapped cores. For a non-homogeneous core (e.g. gapped or composed of powder-like particles) this would be the value of magnetic permeability of a hypothetical homogeneous material which would exhibit the same permeability.

The amount of “shearing” is proportional to the length of the air gap – the larger the air gap the lower the slope. For our application, this air gap is quite large; it is the height of a human being.

For air core coil (no magnetic material present) the B-H characteristics become by definition the same as for the non-magnetic material encircled by the winding (e.g. air).

The influence of air gap on the shape of B-H loop for a cut core is shown below…

B-H loops (hysteresis loops) measured on a toroidal core, made from grain-oriented electrical steel grade M4. The core was cut and lapped. Blue curve shows the B-H loop with the lapped faces touching. Red curve shows data measured for the same core, with an air gap of 0.07 mm (plastic shim) introduced between the lapped faces. B-H loops measured at 1.7T, 50Hz. Power loss was 1.49 W/kg without air gap, and 1.45 W/kg with the air gap, so very little change comparing to great changes of the shape of the loop.

^{by S. Zurek, Encyclopedia Magnetica, CC-BY-3.0}

Changes of effective permeability and linearisation of the B-H loops caused by increasing the air gap …

A comparative graph showing the influence of increasing air gap in a magnetic core. The numbers denote the unitless ratio lg/lc, where: lg - length of gap and lc - length of core.

Drawing based on: G.B. Finke, Gapped magnetic core structures, Magnetic Metals Corporation, {accessed 17 Jun 2013}. — A comparative graph showing the influence of increasing air gap in a magnetic core. The numbers denote the unitless ratio lg/lc, where: lg – length of gap and lc – length of core.
Drawing based on: G.B. Finke, Gapped magnetic core structures, Magnetic Metals Corporation, {accessed 17 Jun 2013}.

^{by S. Zurek, Encyclopedia Magnetica, CC-BY-3.0}

Conversely, if no air gap is present then the slope becomes as steep as possible, and the B-H loop will represent the closest approximation of the characteristic of the magnetic material (for a given shape of the magnetic circuit). For our egress portal design, the B-H Loop is very, extremely slanted. It is nearly horizontal. And that does pose some design challenges.

The creation of a workable “air gap” can be achieved for instance by careful polishing or lapping of the flat faces, in order to reduce the surface roughness and the amount of space between the magnetic surfaces. ⁵⁾

Calculator of effective magnetic permeability from air gap

For a magnetic circuit with uniform cross-section the value of effective permeability μ_eff can be calculated if the lengths and permeabilities of both part of the circuit are known.

The equation is valid only for a simple magnetic circuit, made out of bulk material, for relative permeability if lcore >> lgap, and if µcore >> 1. — *The equation is valid only for a simple magnetic circuit, made out of bulk material, for relative permeability if l_core >> l_gap, and if µ_core >> 1.*

Gapped core. — Gapped core with: total magnetic path length l (orange), length of core l_core (blue) and length of air gap(red)

I find this all very interesting. But you know, many people cannot visualize the differences between a small model and the actual real object. It’s like that scene from the Movie Hangover III. Where the one character looks at the model of an estate, and comments, (more or less)…

[to Phil and Stu]
Alan: You guys know what’s going on, right?
Phil: What do you mean?
Alan: Well…
[to Chow]
Alan: And please correct me if I’m wrong.
[pointing to the miniature villa]
Alan: We’re not breaking into this house, this house is too small. We’re breaking into another house. This is just a model, right, Chow?
Mr. Chow: What?

In short, if we use the simpler, most basic design for this electromagnet, then the magnet will have to be huge. You would take the picture of the above magnet, and scale it up. So the air gap which is perhaps 1/8 of an inch wide, would actually be six or seven feet tall.

Thus making the entire magnet building-sized.

Gapped and air-cored inductors

To understand other alternatives to this design and style of an electromagnet, we need to understand what options that we have. And, lucky for us, there are many. We can use the technologies involved in inductors to help us work out more “reasonable” solutions that won’t require us to get a building permit to create a five story tall electromagnet.

Now, fundamentally, the presence of the air-gap will change the ability of the electromagnet to work efficiently. From it’s initial conception through to utility, the entire system is fraught with inefficiencies. Never the less, use of it in our application is guaranteed to work provided that the magnetic flux is large enough.

Energy storing inductors

Air gaps are an integral part of gapped inductors.

An analogy of the movement of magnetic flux within an air-gapped inductor and that of an electrical circuit.

The gap reduces effective permeability of a given magnetic circuit and allows storing much greater energy before saturation is reached.

Effective magnetic permeability (also apparent magnetic permeability), often denoted as μ_e, μ_eff or μ_a - a term used in analysis of magnetic performance of gapped cores. For a non-homogeneous core (e.g. gapped or composed of powder-like particles) this would be the value of magnetic permeability of a hypothetical homogeneous material which would exhibit the same permeability.

Increasing the gap reduces the inductance, so the winding must have more turns to compensate accordingly.¹²⁾

The larger the air-gap, the more turns of wire that must be used in the electro-magnet.

For a given size of inductor the amount of stored energy versus applied air gap can be represented by a Hanna curve.¹³⁾

If operation with high currents is required then the air gap might be very large, so that the magnetic circuit is quite “open”.

For instance, a common design for electronic chokes is to place a winding on a magnetic rod. The magnetic field lines must close through the surrounding air (outside of the winding), so the length of the air gap is comparable with the length of the rod.¹⁴⁾

In some cases the currents are so high that it is very difficult or cost prohibitive to design the inductor with a magnetic core. In such case a so-called “air core” is used, where the windings are supported by a non-magnetic structure, and the whole magnetic circuit is effectively one big air gap.

The distribution of air gap can be also extended even further. There are magnetic materials, which are made from small particles (mostly based on powder iron, sendust or moly permalloy powder) bound together in such a way as to contain certain percentage of non-magnetic volume in them.

Sendust
Sendust is a magnetic metal powder that was invented by Hakaru Masumoto at Tohoku Imperial University in Sendai, Japan, about 1936 as an alternative to permalloy in inductor applications for telephone networks. Sendust composition is typically 85% iron, 9% silicon and 6% aluminum. The powder is sintered into cores to manufacture inductors. Sendust cores have high magnetic permeability (up to 140 000), low loss, low coercivity (5 A/m) good temperature stability and saturation flux density up to 1 T.

Moly Permalloy . 
An alloy with exceptionally high magnetic permeability, very low coercive force, very low core losses, and low remnance by magnetic field annealing. The alloy finds application in magnetic shielding where fields much less than the Earth’s magnetic field are required. The highest volume applications using laminations or tape wound cores today are ground fault interrupter and modem transformer cores. The alloy is used as well in a variety of other high performance transformer core applications such as tape recorder heads and audio transformers. Control of the cooling rate during heat treatment and superimposition of various customer bake treatments are used to develop the most suitable magnetic quality for the application

The resultant effective permeability is much lower, but the air gap is uniformly distributed throughout the whole material.¹⁶⁾ The fringing effect and leakage flux is greatly reduced, which is especially important for high-frequency applications.

Electromagnets

If the idea of creating a building-sized electromagnet is not appealing, there are other ways of conducting and producing electromagnets. Such as this one. Large electromagnet with a 200 mm long air gap..

Large semi-industrial DC electromagnet, made by Magneto (and co-designed by Stan Zurek). The air gap allows exposing objects 20 x 20 x 20 cm to flux density 0.4 T and higher.

^{by S. Zurek, Encyclopedia Magnetica, CC-BY-3.0}

A common performance expected from an electromagnet is to generate magnetic field within a given volume of an air gap.

The purpose of an electromagnet is to generate a strong magnetic field within the air gap.

This could be done for a number of tasks, for instance:

to exert mechanical force on a designed part – this operation is similar to electromagnetic actuators
to exert mechanical force on inclusions or other elements suspended in non-magnetic matter – a principle used in magnetic separators⁴²⁾, recording of shapes on magnetic film⁴³⁾ and some medical applications (e.g. guiding particles inside of blood vessels)⁴⁴⁾
to provide magnetic field required for material processing⁴⁵⁾⁴⁶⁾

And this is exactly what our use of this system is for.

Of the shelf designs for experimentation purposes.

Why go straight to the creation of large (building sized) electromagnets, when there are well made, smaller, units available? You can buy these smaller units, and run tests and experiments using them. You will be able to do everything that a big electromagnet can do, except send a human-sized object to another dimension.

Here is one such product…

DXSBV Double-Yoke Single-Tuning Adjustable Air Gap Electromagnet
Double-yoke electromagnet, whose magnetic pole pieces stay vertically to the ground, with downward magnetic pole piece to be fixed, topside magnetic pole piece and air gap to be adjustable, the magnetic field is vertical with the ground. The main feature is easy to place and remove the sample, which is suitable for repeated measurement, widely used in magnetic materials testing.

And here are some specifications for some of the models that this company produces…

The inspired DIY dimensional experimenter might be interested in following up with this at the company website HERE.

Energy stored in air gap

A magnetic circuit behaves like a “conductor” so that the magnetic field can be efficiently guided along desired path. If a high-permeability material is used then very little energy will be stored in the magnetic core. However, an air gap introduces a discontinuity and due to its low permeability stores significant amount of magnetic energy, as compared to the same volume of magnetic core.

This energy storing property is utilized, for instance, in energy storing inductors and flyback transformers, in which air gap in a pivotal design parameter. On the one hand, the air gap is used for storing the actual energy, but on the other it changes operating characteristics of the B-H curve and allows driving the inductor at higher currents hence higher magnetic field strength thus extending the range before magnetic saturation occurs.

For a simple magnetic circuit with a single air gap (see the first image at the top), for which the core is made out of high-permeability material such that , with the air gap itself and the flux density in the air gap being uniform, and if the flux fringing can be neglected, it can be derived that the stored energy is: ⁴⁷⁾

where: – stored energy (J), – flux density in the air gap (T), – volume of the air gap (m³),
– permeability of free space (H/m).

This equation is our GOLD STANDARD from which to calculate the air gap dimensions.

Air Gap Dimensions

Here is what I would suggest to use as the volume and the dimensions for the air gap.

Flux fringing

Flux fringing (red arc) around an air gap in magnetic core

An FEM simulation of a gapped inductor. The field lines show the magnetic flux. In the air gap the green trajectory (between the poles) is the desired path for flux, but the red one shows fringing flux. S. Zurek, Encyclopedia Magnetica, CC-BY-3.0 — An FEM simulation of a gapped inductor. The field lines show the magnetic flux. In the air gap the green trajectory (between the poles) is the desired path for flux, but the red one shows fringing flux.

^{by S. Zurek, Encyclopedia Magnetica, CC-BY-3.0}

Flux fringing is caused by the fact that the reluctance of the concentrated air gap is much greater than that of the core. The flux tries to spread as wide as possible in order to minimise the drop of magnetomotive force across the air gap. As a result of flux fringing the total reluctance of the circuit is somewhat lower. This has several major effects.

In energy-storing inductors the inductance is related to the reluctance of the air gap. The fringing lowers the overall reluctance, so that the resulting inductance is somewhat higher. This needs to be taken into account so that the inductance value is appropriate for a given design. There are various empirical equations suggested in literature for calculating the correction of this effect.

McLyman

For instance McLyman suggest the following “flux fringing factor” ():⁴⁸⁾

where: F – factor by which the inductance is increased (unitless),l_gap– length of the air gap (m),A – cross-section area of the core (m²), l_window— length of the inside (in the window) of the core leg in which the gap is present (m).

Rectangular Cross Section

Another example is when the area of the air gap is scaled according to its length. For instance if the magnetic core cross-section is a rectangle the following calculation can be used: ⁴⁹⁾

Hurley and Wölfle

Yet another approximating equation is given by Hurley and Wölfle⁵⁰⁾

However, all such equations are only approximate, and usually work only under the assumption that the length of the air gap is much smaller than any of the dimensions of the core.

Additional Copper Loss

The second effect is additional copper loss due to the fact that fringing flux “bulges away” from the air gap. Usually most of the core window is occupied by windings and if they are exposed to fast-changing fringing flux (e.g. in flyback transformers) this causes additional eddy current losses in the windings.⁵¹⁾

Entry Angle

The third effect is that the fringing flux enters the core perpendicularly to the normal flow of magnetic field. In soft ferrites this is not a problem. But in laminated cores this flux does not travel along the laminations, but enters them perpendicularly to their surface, resulting in a large value of normal component, inducing elevated eddy currents and thus additional iron loss. A distributed air gap is employed in order to reduce this effect (see next section).

References

Here’s some reference for further research.

Conclusion

The first step in building this DIY teleportation / dimensional egress portal is to construct the electromagnet that will be used to erase the universal location frequencies of the traveler. Any strong and powerful enough magnetic field will do, but in this post we discuss using electomagnets with an enormous air gap to provide this ability.

Further, commercially available systems (of a much smaller scale) are available for purchase and use for experimentation purposes, and for purposes of obtaining location frequency data, and that associated with time, and location.

Do you want more?

I’d hope so. I have more posts in my DIY dimensional Portal Index here…

DIY Dimensional Portal

Articles & Links

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
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Many US Agencies have their own “Big Brother” autonomous person monitoring programs

Fourth amendment? What's a "fourth amendment"?

-Joe Average American Citizen

This is a compilation of articles, thoughts, information and data that I threw together for my personal use. It dates from the time period of 2013 through to 2018, and has not really been updated to account to the enormous expansion of the surveillance capabilities of the various alphabet organizations under President Trump.

Essentially, it became too overwhelming. It was impossible to keep up with the massive effort under-weigh to convert the United States government into a totalitarian utopia for the oligarchy.

Looking at the sole enormity of this information shows an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that the United States is not only no longer “free”, but that it has become a prison-state. It somehow by-passed or slid past the military totalitarian state mode and went straight to wall-less prison.

“Im just setting up a barebones linux laptop to go to Panama with.  All the essentials will be kept on an encrypted thumb drive just incase I need to access client machines.  Installed Skype, remote software and password safe, but the data is on the thumbdrive that gets wiped after 10 tries at the password.  Its a shame that americans have to be like this for doing nothing illegal.”

-Skype message to the Author on 13JAN18.

We are witnessing the integration of spying on two levels, the government level (federal, state and local) and the corporate level (via telecom providers, web services and credit card companies). It’s “Full Metal” Orwell.

The term "full metal Orwell" is a play on words.

Full Metal
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 British-American war film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Kubrick, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford was based on Hasford's novel The Short-Timers (1979). Its storyline follows a platoon of U.S. Marines through their training, primarily focusing on two privates, Joker and Pyle, who struggle to get through camp under their foul-mouthed drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, and the experiences of two of the platoon's Marines in the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. The film's title refers to the full metal jacket bullet used by soldiers. The film was released in the United States on June 26, 1987. In slang the term “full metal” means “to go into combat or to fight”.

Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often published as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English novelist George Orwell.It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, Nineteen Eighty-Four centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of persons

If you are a user of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Craigslist or another popular site, the U.S. security state is watching you. An increasing number of federal agencies are employing sophisticated means to monitor Americans’ use of social networking sites.

1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual.

Federal entities from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Defense Department to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are involved in developing programs to track the American public online.

Criminals are running the United States government; call them what you will, but they all serve their own interests. 

“There’s nothing more destructive to a society than the institutionalization of immunity for elite criminals, yet that’s exactly what’s happened since the financial crisis. Top tier predators, whether they operate within government or mega corporations, recognize that the system they control will never hold them accountable for anything they do.” 

Read more here; https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2018/01/22/we-can-do-a-lot-better-than-this/

This is not, not, NOT how a function government acts. Not how ANY functioning goverment acts. Let alone one that was set up as a “Republic” for the people, by the people.

“Today the path to total dictatorship in the U.S. can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheard by Congress, the President, or the people. 

Outwardly we have a Constitutional government. 

We have operating within our government and political system … a well-organized political-action group in this country, determined to destroy our Constitution and establish a one-party state.... 

The important point to remember about this group is not its ideology but its organization… 

It operates secretly, silently, continuously to transform our Government.... 

This group ... is answerable neither to the President, the Congress, nor the courts. It is practically irremovable.”

— Senator William Jenner, 1954 speech

This corruption of what the United States is has many facets. But in this article we will look at a very specific, tiny portion of this corruption. It is, to put it in a nutshell, the abrogation of the powers of Congress to agencies; the “alphabet organizations”. And the powers that they have grabbed for themselves when Congress stopped policing their behaviors.

In short, Congress has created numerous “Frakenstein monsters”. (Named CIA, FBI, IRS, ATF, DHS, etc…)

A metaphorical Frankenstein monster is a situation —political, financial, ecclesiastical, or domestic—which has been created through folly, and which has become so potent and uncontrollable that it is now a menace to social stability.

Meaning of “A Frankenstein Monster” phrase of Idiom

To each one they granted it their own regulation-making and law-making powers. And to each one they allowed it to grow and get big with no limits on behaviors, no oversight in what they were doing, and no controls or rules over their ability to run “roughshod” over the Bill of Rights.

Particuliarly the 9th and the 4th amendments.

The Ninth Amendment was James Madison’s attempt to ensure that the Bill of Rights was not seen as granting to the people of the United States only the specific rights it addressed. In recent years, some have interpreted it as affirming the existence of such “unenumerated” rights outside those expressly protected by the Bill of Rights.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. It prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition, it sets requirements for issuing warrants: warrants must be issued by a judge or magistrate, justified by probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and must particularly describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Here is a brief summary of some of the programs that now exist un-constitutionally within the alphabet organizations that Congress has created.

WARNING: Specific examples come from both Conservative and Progressive websites. There, apparently, is more conservative examples of progressive abuses being illustrated than the other way around. Sorry about that. I use what is available to me.

Let it be well understood that the two political parties are both THE SAME PARTY. It is the party of the rich and powerful. They conduct theater to keep you and I occupied while they rob us blind. So do not get all caught up on “he did this”, or “she was innocent”, nonsense.

The examples used are illustrative only. So please do not be offended that I am using Hillary Clinton as an example, or Donald Trump as an example. Stop thinking of them as being the “flag bearers” of your own personal ideology.

They are both actors playing a role. Nothing more.

Justice Department

“To block exposure of their misdeeds, these officials falsely claimed that national security would be damaged.”

-Michael Goodwin

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released a report from the DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property section, “Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Networking Sites,” that describes how evidence from social networking sites can reveal personal communications that might help “establish motives and personal relationships.”

It reports that monitored data from such sites can provide location information and “prove and disprove alibis.”

Perhaps most illuminating, it advises agents that “going undercover” on social media sites can enable law enforcement to communicate with suspects and targets, gain access to nonpublic information and map social relationships.

The DOJ document notes that Twitter retains the last login IP address, but does not preserve data unless legally required to do so. However, that means nothing. Twitter censors, deletes, and fabricates lies to meet whatever objective that it deems appropriate.

It was in 2016, when angry tweeters alleged that Jack Dorsey et al., were purposefully censoring and "suppressing" certain content on Twitter, 

[1] namely anything to do with the leaked DNC and John Podesta emails, as well as 

[2] hashtags critical of Hillary Clinton 

[3] while "shadow-banning" pro-Donald Trump content. (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-31/twitter-shadow-banning-donald-trump) 

We can now confirm that at least one part of the above was true, because during the late 2017 Senate hearing, Twitter admitted it "buried", which is another word for censored, significant portions of tweets related to hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta in the months heading into the 2016 presidential campaign. 

Twitter’s systems hid 48 percent of tweets using the #DNCLeak hashtag and 25 percent of tweets using #PodestaEmails, Twitter general counsel Sean Edgett said in his written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Twitter.

Can you just imagine all the issues related to twitter with Donald trump? Oi Vey! I’ll tell youse guys. You are either convinced that there is no such thing as freedom of speech or not. It’s not my job to prove it to anyone.

“While the FISA court’s activities are secret, the court did admit in 2013 that it had, during its several decades in existence, approved over 99.9 percent of the US government’s surveillance requests.”

-Adam Dick via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity


There is an American idiom for this. It is known as “rubber stamping” something. It means to approve something without any consideration, as a formality.  Obviously any court that approves 99.97 percent of anything isn't doing jack shit as far as doing its job is concerned. 

Hence, rubber stamps became one of the symbols of excessive bureaucracy, and a rubber stamp, in your sentence, would be someone whose role was merely to signify their approval of something, to endorse uncritically. The OED says of "rubber stamp" as a verb: "To endorse or approve uncritically; to pass routinely or automatically."

Rubber stamp - phrase meaning and origin

The IRS

“The gov is so rotten that it’s going to take an incredible, massive, long effort to expose, indict, charge, try, convict, and sentence the evil doers. It won’t always be pretty. But it HAS to be done.”

-2/8/2018, 5:24:35 AM by little jeremiah

The IRS uses a variety of social media sites like Facebook, Google, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and Second Life to investigate taxpayers.

It seems to have started this practice in 2009 (shortly after Obama became President), providing agents with special training on social networking operations, and user habits. The EFF posted the IRS’ 38-page training that offers detailed tips to agents on how to conduct searches, locate relevant taxpayer information, narrow down and refine results.

Some Links:

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence

This office is seeking a tool that integrates all online information, including web searches, Wikipedia edits and traffic webcams.

The DOD Social Media Strategic Communications Program (SMISC).

The Defense Department has solicited proposals through DARPA for a $42 million “Social Media Strategic Communications” (SMISC) program, a tool that tracks social media and weeds out information.

It has set four goals for the project: [1] to detect, classify and measure the development of ideas, concepts in hidden social media messages; [2] specify the structure of the campaign and influence in social media sites and the community they create; [3] identify the participants and intention in conducting a social media campaign of persuasion and measure its effect; and [4] develop an effective counter-message to an identified campaign carried out against the enemy.

The FBI

If not, we are no longer America. We are a banana republic where it’s acceptable for the government to use its police powers against political opponents.”

-Michael Goodwin

There should be no doubt in the mind of the reader as to just how corrupt the FBI has become. Permitting serial felonious treason, while at the same time operating “secret societies” within the government, are all crystal clear indicators of dangerous behaviors. Behaviors that can turn on the American people at any time for any reason.

“Earlier this morning, I examined the classified, four-page memo from @HouseIntelComm regarding the FBI, DOJ, and the so-called #RussianCollusion. To put it simply, “WOW.” I joined the call to #ReleaseTheMemo. Americans deserve truth and transparency. pic.twitter.com/r2RJnLNaUL”

— Rep. Jody Hice (@CongressmanHice) January 19, 2018

The FBI has become a dangerous and out of control anti-American organization.

“Several other GOP Congressmembers have weighed in. "I have read the memo," tweeted Rep. Steve King (R-IA), adding "The sickening reality has set in. I no longer hold out hope there is an innocent explanation for the information the public has seen. I have long said it is worse than Watergate. It was #neverTrump & #alwaysHillary. #releasethememo."

Along with the four-page memo, Congressional investigators learned from a new batch of text messages between anti-Trump FBI investigators that several individuals within the Department of Justice and the FBI may have come together in the "immediate aftermath" of the 2016 election to undermine President Trump, according to Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) who has reviewed the texts.”

-From the article; “Comey, Rosenstein, McCabe All Named In FISA Memo, First Leak Reveals”

Unfortunately, for all the scandal, most people watching the mainstream media (run by the oligarchy) would be unaware of the turmoil inside of the FBI.

The FBI operates as a secret police. They are completely armed with military grade weapons, and they have their own secret court system. They do not follow the rule of law, and make it up as it suits them. It has gotten worse over time, and most alarming (after “upgrading” by President Obama) they have become dangerously political.

We can only imagine the terrible capabilities that they must now have after a Trump Presidency, and a Mike Pompeo Secretary of State.

This is pretty darn sad.

“So it was — and, look, this is scary stuff, right? I mean, these are secret courts. And I have long supported these because it’s mainly to go after terrorists and people abroad who are looking to do bad things. Never did I think that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act would be used to go after a political campaign. And, you know, there’s gonna have to be some major reforms done to these programs. And what shocks me is that the people at these institutions aren’t worried about this.

I mean, you know, we have a hard enough time, Rush, trying to track down terrorists and bad guys around the world. And just the fact that they would have wasted our intelligence agencies’ time to go after somebody like Carter Page to try to get into the Trump campaign is really scary stuff and really a waste of taxpayer money, and I think every American should be concerned about this no matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat or don’t even pay attention to politics, you ought to care about this.”

- Congressman Devin Nunes of California (chairman of the House Intelligence Committee) discussing the abuse by the FBI and how it was weaponized by Hillary Clinton for political purposes to attack American citizens.

The truth is, that today, the FBI was involved in activities more suited to Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, China under Mr. Mao, and Cuba under Fidel Castro than their constitutionally stated purpose.

They not only went far and above the law, they created their own internal “secret society”.

While the "secret society" reference may have been in jest, a “whistleblower” has (allegedly) confirmed the existence of clandestine meetings. Of which high ranking U.S. intelligence officials met "offsite" to conspire against a sitting President. 

This is according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).

“...we have an informant talking about a group holding secret meetings off-site,” Johnson said. “We have to continue to dig into it,” he added. “This is not a distraction. This is biased, potentially corruption at the highest levels of the FBI.” 

-The Hill

On the night of 22JAN18, Reps. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and Trey Gowdy (R-SC) told Fox News what they had learned from a batch of communications between two FBI investigators. These FBI communications were contained within a 384-page batch of text messages that were delivered to Congress from the DOJ on 19JAN18.

Of particular note is that Ratcliffe says that Strzok and Page were included in the clandestine anti-Trump cabal. This was at the highest levels of the American intelligence community. This is disturbing stuff no doubt.

These meetings are evidence of a secret society, or club. It’s a secret society where they gathered together and determined how to achieve their own internally-determined objectives. Often, if not always, that ran counter to the needs of the American people.

I wonder if they wore robes, had secret handshakes, and performed satanic rituals…

“The thousands of texts @TGowdySC and I reviewed today revealed manifest bias among top FBI officials against @realDonaldTrump. 

The texts between Strzok and Page referenced a "secret society."”

— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) January 23, 2018

It is critical to the “powers that be” that this information be kept secret and hidden from the American people.

Therefore, of course, the oligarchy is fighting back hard.

Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Schiff urged Facebook and Twitter to investigate involvement of Russian bots in pushing "Release the Memo" campaign:"

If these reports are accurate, we are witnessing an ongoing attack by the Russian government through Kremlin-linked social media actors." pic.twitter.com/SkAci5NefK” (https://t.co/SkAci5NefK)

— ABC News (@ABC) January 23, 2018 (https://twitter.com/ABC/status/955830690381254659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The letter's claims were immediately shot down by Facebook, which told the Daily Beast (https://www.thedailybeast.com/source-twitter-pins-releasethememo-on-republicans-not-russia/) that #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag has been pushed by actual Americans. 

A knowledgeable source says that Twitter’s internal analysis has thus far found that authentic American accounts, and not Russian imposters or automated bots, are driving #ReleaseTheMemo. 

There are no preliminary indications that the Twitter activity either driving the hashtag or engaging with it is either predominantly Russian. 

In short, according to this source, who would not speak to The Daily Beast for attribution, the retweets are coming from inside the country.

The PTB, and their oligarchy, simply just doesn’t want to lose their grip on power. They need the FBI, CIA, DHS, IRS, and the DOJ on “their side”. Or else they risk swinging from nooses on scaffolding.

It appears Billionaire (Democrat mega-donor) and Rabid-Clintonite Tom Steyer (D) is surprised that the nationwide ad campaign he bankrolled to urge members of Congress to impeach President Trump hasn’t yielded any results. 

Steyer went off on both Republicans and Democrats in January 2018 after a House vote on articles of impeachment garnered a paltry 66 votes.

"This vote is not a reflection of whether or not Trump has passed the threshold for impeachment, which he did months ago, it is a failure by members of Congress to do what’s right to keep the American people safe."

- Steyer stated on Friday 12JAN18 in a press statement after the Congressional vote.

Steyer, a billionaire (former) hedge fund manager from California, launched his ‘Need to Impeach’ movement in October of 2017. While more than four million people have signed his petition, Democrats aren’t particularly happy with the initiative. Democratic leaders believe pushing for impeachment could hurt their party’s chances in the midterms later this year. 

Steyer underscored his campaign by sending copies of Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury” to every lawmaker. 

Check out this video; https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-21/democratic-megadonor-launches-campaign-impeach-mentally-unstable-trump

To anyone reading these references, they seem so out-of-date, and boring. It’s “old news” the argument goes. Or, “Hey! it’s the democrats”, or “Hey! It’s the Republicans!” That’s not the point.

That’s not the point.

It’s both “parties”.

It’s a club and you ain’t a part of it.

Look at what is beginning to go on after the 2020 election, it’s all the same “song and dance”. It’s not to amuse Americans. It’s to control them.

Any idea of transparency in government is a FARCE.

As these dated examples indicate.

So to recap: not only were high level intelligence officials allegedly involved in clandestine meetings in which they conspired to “impair” Donald Trump, this leak in conjunction of the four-page GOP memo confirms what many have suspected all along; a highly illegal operation was conducted against a sitting President (President Trump) which goes all the way to the top of the U.S. government.

It’s a club, and you are not part of it. If you are an “outsider”, you will have zero support, and every method will be used to remove you.

“Stop and think what really happened here. We have a political candidate who lost the election. (Then) commissions an opposition research document, the Steele dossier. Which is then packaged and presented as legitimate intelligence (gathered by respected intelligence agents the world over). And it features such shocking details as the golden showers story.

We find out that Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the DNC paid for this, $10 million. We find out that Steele did not even talk to these people in Russia in person on the phone.

We then find out that the FBI uses this to get a warrant, as you say, to spy on Carter Page. They did NOT tell the court that this was a political document. This is the kind of thing that movie scripts contain and are made of.

It’s hard to get my arms around comprehending the number of people that had to be in on this and their motivation. Now, you may be nervous about going into motivation. To me, that is everything. Why? What’s the purpose here?”

-Rush Limbaugh talking to Congressman Devin Nunes of California (chairman of the House Intelligence Committee) discussing the abuse by the FBI and how it was weaponized by Hillary Clinton for political purposes to attack American citizens.

It’s a private club. It’s a “secret organization” that floats in the upper percentages of the United States population. The entire American government, all that juicy “freedom” and “mouth-watering “democracy” are just lies used to manipulate and control the American people from rising up from their roles as cash-cows under a feudal serfdom.

Bread and circuses A phrase used by a Roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the Roman Empire began: “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.” The government kept the Roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles.

So, they must do everything in their power to keep their actions secret. For their actions are illegal and against the Constitution, and ultimately the citizens of the United States. They absolutely MUST keep things secret.

“In Comey's testimony where he said he did not determine not to recommend Hillary for indictment before her interrogation was held he asked that if any FBI person thought he was lying they should contact him privately before stating their opinion.

I thought that was a very odd thing to say.”

-Lostinfortwalton Jan 25, 2018 8:00 AM Permalink


A former Federal Prosecutor sat down with The Daily Caller (http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/20/obama-administration-plot-exonerate-hillary/) to give perhaps the most comprehensive rundown of the Obama Administration's "brazen plot to exonerate Hillary Clinton" and "frame an incoming president with a false Russian conspiracy."

“The FBI used to spy on Russians. This time they spied on us.

(This is) what this story is about - a brazen plot (by the FBI) to exonerate (Democrat Presidential Candidate) Hillary Clinton from a clear violation of the law with regard to the way she handled classified information with her classified (secretive) server.

(This was) Absolutely a crime, absolutely a felony.

It's about finding out why (as the Inspector General is doing at the department of justice) why Comey (head of the FBI) and the senior DOJ officials conducted a fake criminal investigation of (to exonerate) Hillary Clinton.
(They) ...

[1] Followed none of the regular rules, 
[2] gave her every break in the book, 
[3] immunized all kinds of people, 
[4] allowed the destruction of evidence, 
[5] no grand jury, 
[6] no subpoenas, 
[7]no search warrant(s).

That's not an investigation, that's a Potemkin village. It's a farce. 

And everybody knew it was a farce.

The problem was, she didn't win (the 2016 Presidential election).

And because she didn't win, the farce became a very serious opera. It wasn't a comic opera anymore, it was a tragic opera. And she was going to be the focus. 

What this is about, this is about a lavabo, a cleansing of FBI and the upper echelons of the Department of Justice. 

We're going to discover that the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch (under President Obama), her deputy Sally Yates, the head of the national security division John Carlin (under President Obama), Bruce Ohr and other senior DOJ officials, and regrettably, lying attorneys (were ALL involved in this effort).
People who were senior career civil servants violated the law, perhaps committed crimes, and covered up crimes by a presidential candidate (Hillary Clinton)

But (it was) more than that, they tried to frame an incoming president with a false Russian conspiracy that never existed, and they knew it, and they plotted to ruin him as a candidate and then destroy him as a president.

That's why this is important. That's why connecting the dots is important. 

DiGenova condemned the FBI for working so closely with the controversial Fusion GPS, a political hit squad paid by the DNC and Clinton campaign to create and spread the discredited Steele dossier about President Donald Trump.

Without a justifiable law enforcement or national security reason, he says, the FBI “created false facts so that they could get surveillance warrants.

Those are ALL crimes.”

-Daily Caller

The FBI has become a very powerful police force run for and by the oligarchy.

It is used to keep the American people under control and “in line” while America undergoes a transformation to a “new” government structure –one that favors the elite oligarchy, and closes everyone else out.

This is not my opinion.

There proof of this is out there and obvious to all who is willing to face the ugly truth;

“The leadership of the FBI and DOJ behaved in a way we would expect of the former Soviet Union, not the United States of America. I applaud Representative Nunes and other Republican members of the House Intel Committee for fighting and exposing corruption.

Americans are tired of corrupt bureaucrats and their career politician enablers.

If powerful leaders are not held accountable, the American people will never regain faith in the institutions meant to protect us. Former FBI Director James Comey was entrusted with one of the most powerful positions in the world. Sadly, he intentionally abused his power in an effort to destroy Donald Trump’s presidency.

He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and sent to prison for his crimes. No one is above the law. No one.”

– Georgia GOP Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Michael Williams demanding the prosecution of (former) FBI Director Comey for his efforts related to treason.

The FBI is seriously corrupted, and works to further the agendas of others.

“III. Conclusion

We should all recognize the harm done to our rule of law when crimes go unpunished because government officials look the other way for the wealthy, famous, or powerful.

Americans rightly expect a single and impartial system of justice for all, not one for the well connected and a separate one for everyone else.

The information available to the Committee at this time raises serious questions about how the FBI applied the rule of law in its investigation of classified information on Secretary Clinton’s private email server. We know that:

• The FBI did not use a grand jury to compel testimony and obtain the vast majority of evidence, choosing instead to offer immunity deals and allow fact witnesses to join key interviews.

• There were substantial edits to Director Comey’s public statement that served to downplay the severity of Secretary Clinton’s actions, and that the first draft of the memo was distributed for editing two months before key witnesses were interviewed.

• Director Comey stated that he had not consulted with the Justice Department or White House, when text messages suggest otherwise.106 We have text messages in which two key investigators discuss an “insurance policy” against the “risk” of a Trump presidency, and “OUR task.”

• Messages discuss “unfinished business,” “an investigation leading to impeachment,” and “my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.”

• Senior FBI officials—likely including Deputy Director McCabe— knew about newly discovered emails on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner for almost a month before Director Comey notified Congress.

• Over the period of at least four months, the FBI did not recover five months’ worth of text messages requested by DOJ OIG and two Senate committees; however, when pressed, DOJ OIG was able to recover missing texts in less than one week.

Taken together, this information warrants further inquiry. While some may discount the investigation for political reasons, we all have a great interest in ensuring the public has confidence in the integrity and independence of the FBI, the preeminent law enforcement agency in the world. Unlike prosecutors or inspectors general, the primary goal of congressional oversight is full transparency in order to promote public awareness and confidence in federal agencies. For these reasons, our important work will continue.”

- THE CLINTON EMAIL SCANDAL AND THE FBI’S INVESTIGATION OF IT. An Interim Report.  A Majority Staff Report of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate. Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman

file:///C:/Users/Michael/Downloads/2018-02-07%20Interim%20Report_The%20Clinton%20Email%20Scandal%20and%20the%20FBI’s%20Investigation%20of%20It.pdf

To this end, the FBI has it’s hands in all kinds of ways to monitor (so they can control) Americans. Of course, we know that the 4^th amendment to the United States Constitution prevents them for collecting “unauthorized” information. They need a court document from a judge to do that. So what they are doing in the meantime (without going through a judge) is simply collecting the information…you know, “just in case”.

Democrats do it. Republicans do it. It is a policy that is rampant.

FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) system

The FBI’s NGI System was developed to expand the Bureau’s biometric identification capabilities, ultimately replacing the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) in addition to adding new services and capabilities.

-FBI Announces Full Operational Capability of the Next ...

As of 2016, the FBI has been soliciting a bid for a program that seems very similar to the DHS social-network monitoring program. Dubbed the “FBI Social Media Application,” the program would have

"[the ability] to rapidly assemble critical open source information and intelligence ... to quickly vet, identify and geo-locate breaking events, incidents and emerging threats."

In the FBI’s 12-page solicitation, it requests a program that can quickly identify, display and locate alerts on geo-spatial maps and enable users to summarize the “who, what, when, where and why” of specific threats and incidents.

Going further, it seeks to not simply detect “credible threats,” but to identify those organizing and taking part in gatherings and to predict upcoming events. According to the FBI,

"Social media will be a valued source of information to the SIOC [i.e., Strategic Information and Operations Center] intelligence analyst in a crisis because it will be both eyewitness and first response to the crisis."

An FBI spokesperson insisted,

"[We] will not focus on specific persons or protected groups, but on words that relate to 'events' and 'crisis' and activities constituting violations of federal criminal law or threats to national security. Examples of these words will include lockdown, bomb, suspicious package, white powder, active shoot, school lockdown, etc.”

Rest assured, much like the assurances voiced by the DHS, the FBI insists that its monitoring won’t be used to focus on specific individuals or groups.

The FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) system is made up of fingerprints, iris scans, faceprints, and other facial recognition data. As of 2016 EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) sued regarding the FBI’s plan to include tattoos and scars in the database.

According to EPIC:

“With NGI, the FBI will expand the number of uploaded photographs and provide investigators with ‘automated facial recognition search capability.’ The FBI intends to do this by eliminating restrictions on the number of submitted photographs (including photographs that are not accompanied by tenprint fingerprints) and allowing the submission of non-facial photographs (e.g. scars or tattoos).”

 “The FBI also widely disseminates this NGI data. According to the FBI’s latest NGI fact sheet, 24,510 local, state, tribal, federal and international partners submitted queries to NGI in September 2016.”

EPIC asked a judge to force the FBI to release records about its plan to share the biometric data with the U.S. Department of Defense. EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2015, but the FBI has so far refused to release the 35 pages of responsive records.

EPIC and privacy advocates are concerned about the potential for cases of mistaken identity and abuse of the collected data. EPIC also argues

“the FBI stated that ‘increased collection and retention of personally identifiable information presents a correspondingly increased risk that the FBI will then be maintaining more information that might potentially be subject to loss or unauthorized use.”

Although very little is actually known about the database, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and EPIC have been able to uncover that the FBI would like to track every individual as they move from one location to another. In 2013, EPIC obtained a document that showed

“NGI shall return an incorrect candidate a maximum of 20% of the time.”

In 2011, EFF observed the growing biometrics trend:

"Once the collection of biometrics becomes standardized, it becomes much easier to locate and track someone across all aspects of their life. 

EFF believes that perfect tracking is inimical to a free society. 

A society in which everyone’s actions are tracked is not, in principle, free. It may be a livable society, but would not be our society.”

In 2014, EFF received documents from the FBI related to the NGI system.

Based on the records, EFF estimated the facial recognition component of NGI would include as many as 52 million face images by 2015. Indeed, the danger of abuse from facial recognition programs is on the rise.

Activist Post recently highlighted a new report from Georgetown Law University’s Center for Privacy and Technology that details how law enforcement is using facial recognition software without the knowledge or consent of the people. The report, “The Perpetual Line-Up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America,” examines several cases of misuse or abuse of facial recognition technology.

Facial recognition software is not the only type of surveillance tool the FBI has an interest in. The Bureau is reportedly set to sign a contract with Dataminr that will provide the feds with an upgrade to social media monitoring software.

According to the Federal Business Opportunities’ official government page, the contract will provide the FBI with around 200 licenses for Dataminr’s Advanced Alerting Tool. This upgrade “will permit the FBI to search the complete Twitter firehose, in near real-time, using customizable filters.”

The FBI claims to want the social media tool for detecting and catching terrorists, but it doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination to see how this could be applied to U.S. citizens.

The pursuit of facial recognition software and social media monitoring tools is just the latest step in the expanding war on privacy, which is itself a part of the eternal war on freedom.

This system has been in operation for a number of years now, and is toted as a success.

This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) covers the Next Generation Identification-Interstate Photo System (NGI-IPS), which serves as the FBI’s biometric identity and criminal history records system and maintains the fingerprints and associated identity information of individuals submitted to the FBI for authorized criminal justice, national security, and civil purposes.

-PIA: NGI-Interstate Photo Systen — FBI

Finally, let it be understood that the FBI’s Next Generation Identification system exempt from Privacy Act News roundup: The FBI Next Generation Identification biometrics database is exempt from the Privacy Act.

FBI’s Next Generation Identification system exempt from …

The FBI sweeps up all your Photographs

“From Rep. Adam Schiff’s increasingly desperate attempts to stonewall the truth to the FBI’s predictable appeals to secrecy from law enforcement to cover corruption, this memo is lifting the scales from the eyes of voters all over the country.

It’s telling them the cockroaches have run out of corners to hide in.
Time to put on our pointy shoes and start kickin’.

The reaction to this memo puts paid the classic libertarian critique that an organization’s highest priority is self-preservation.  Doing what you formed the organization to do comes a distant second.

Government creates organizations that are not directly accountable to the people who fund them and therefore can dig moats around themselves to ensure their survival no matter what.

This is the essence of corruption.  It is the essence of why the Swamp needs to be drained.

The FBI is a corrupt and venal organization of power-hungry, self-righteous arbiters of arbitrary justice.  Even the good agents are tainted by the organizational rot.  The same is true in every government department.
No one sees corruption like a government employee with half a conscience.

The pressure to not release this memo comes from formerly very powerful people – Obama and his staff, the Clintons, the DNC, etc. The fallout will be an overhaul from the ground up of multiple powerful agencies within the Federal Government.”

-Tom Luongo

It’s often the case that new technologies arrive on the scene faster than our society and its legal code can keep up. Sometimes this can be a good thing. For instance, 3D printing allows people to print out unregulated gun parts, thus allowing gun owners to circumvent the onerous laws of our government, which has struggled to come up with new laws to restrict the technology.

When technology advances at a breakneck pace however, it can also be quite dangerous for our liberties. This is especially true in regards to privacy. If a new technology makes it easy for the government to track us, you can bet that the government is going to take its sweet time updating the legal code in a way that will protect us from surveillance.

That certainly seems to be the case with facial recognition software. During a recent Congressional Oversight Committee hearing, members of both political parties sounded the alarm on the FBI’s use of the technology, and read the written testimony of Electronic Frontier Foundation senior staff attorney Jennifer Lynch:

Lynch detailed the stunning scope of the FBI’s photo collection. In addition to collecting criminal and civil mug shots, the agency currently has “memorandums of understanding” with 16 states that mean every driver’s license photo from those states is accessible to the agency—without the drivers’ consent. The FBI also has access to photos from the U.S. State Department’s passport and visa records.

 Lynch argued that “Americans should not be forced to submit to criminal face recognition searches merely because they want to drive a car. They shouldn’t have to worry their data will be misused by unethical government officials with unchecked access to face recognition databases. And they shouldn’t have to fear that their every move will be tracked if face recognition is linked to the networks of surveillance cameras that blanket many cities.”

 “But without meaningful legal protections, this is where we may be headed,” Lynch stated. “Without laws in place, it could be relatively easy for the government and private companies to amass databases of images of all Americans and use those databases to identify and track people in real time as they move from place to place throughout their daily lives.”

All told, law enforcement agencies around the country have access to 400 million photos in facial recognition databases, which are connected to roughly 50% of American adults. Most of these people have never committed a crime, and obviously haven’t given any consent to this.

At first glance it may sound harmless to be in one of these databases. Movies and TV shows make it sound like this technology can help law enforcement swiftly and precisely nab suspects. So what do you have to fear if you haven’t committed a crime? It turns out that in real life, facial recognition is far from perfect.

Internal FBI documents obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center indicate that the FBI’s own database, called the Next Generation Identification Interstate Photo System, or NGI-IPS, had an acceptable margin of error of 20 percent — that is, a 1-in-5 chance of “recognizing” the wrong person.

 And research published in the October 2015 issue of the scientific journal PLOS ONE by researchers at the universities of Sydney and New South Wales in Australia found that the humans who interpret such data build in an extra error margin approaching 30 percent.

If we ever allow our government to roll out facial recognition cameras on a wider scale, lots of innocent people are going to be hurt. Whether by mistake or by malice, it will become shockingly easy for law enforcement to identify ordinary people as criminals. The surveillance control grid will not only be inescapable, it will be unwieldy and rife with abuse.

It’s often said that you should never trade freedom for safety. In this case, we wouldn’t receive any kind of safety.

The FBI is operates as a “Secret Police”

In order to boost the credibility of the FBI’s investigations of the Trump team, much of the media is whitewashing the bureau’s entire history. But the FBI has been out of control almost since its birth. Here is a concise summary of some interesting history regarding this issue. Intelligence provided here was collected by James Bovard and all credit due to James Bovard.

1924

A 1924 American Civil Liberties Union report warned that the FBI had become “a secret police system of a political character.”

1930’s

In the 1930s, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court feared that the FBI had bugged the conference room where justices privately wrangled over landmark cases, as Tim Weiner noted in his “Enemies: A History of the FBI.”

1945

In 1945, President Harry Truman noted that “We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. FBI is tending in that direction.” Somehow, FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover compiled a list of 20,000 “potentially or actually dangerous” Americans who could be rounded up and locked away in one of the six detention camps the federal government secretly built in the 1950s.

1956 to 1971

From 1956 through 1971, the FBI’s COINTELPRO program conducted thousands of covert operations to incite street warfare between violent groups, to get people fired, to smear innocent people by portraying them as government informants, to sic the IRS on people, and to cripple or destroy left-wing, communist, white racist, antiwar, and black organizations (including Martin Luther King Jr.). These operations involved vast numbers of warrantless wiretaps and illicit break-ins and resulted in the murder of some black militants. A Senate Committee chaired by liberal Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) issued a damning report on FBI abuses of power that should be mandatory reading for anyone who believes the bureau deserves deference today.

1990’s

According to Politifact, the FBI is not a “secret police agency” because “the FBI is run by laws, not by whim.” But we learned five years ago that the FBI explicitly teaches its agents that “the FBI has the ability to bend or suspend the law to impinge on the freedom of others.” No FBI official was fired or punished when that factoid leaked out because this has been the Bureau’s tacit code for eons. Similarly, an FBI academy ethics course taught new agents that subjects of FBI investigations have “forfeited their right to the truth.” Are liberals so anxious to get Trump that they have swept under the rug the 2015 Washington Post bombshell about false FBI trial testimony that may have sentenced 32 innocent people to death?

Politifact absolved the bureau because “The FBI doesn’t torture or carry out extrajudicial executions.” Tell that to the Branch Davidians — 80 of whom died after the FBI assaulted their ramshackle home with tanks and pyrotechnic devices and collapsed much of the building on their heads even before fires burst out.

Politifact quotes a professor who asserts that “any use of unnecessary violence (by the FBI) would be met with the full force of the criminal law.” Is that why an internal FBI report claimed that every one of the 150 shootings by FBI agents between 1993 and 2011 was faultless?

FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi gunned down Vicki Weaver in 1992 as she stood in her Idaho cabin doorway holding her baby. After being accusing the FBI of a coverup in a Wall Street Journal oped, FBI chief Louis Freeh denounced Jim Bovard for twisting the truth. But after a confidential Justice Department report leaked out revealing the FBI’s deceits and unconstitutional rules of engagement, the feds paid a $3 million wrongful death settlement to the Weaver family. When an Idaho County sought to prosecute the FBI sniper, the Justice Department invoked the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution to torpedo the case. (Ah, the 9^th Circuit Court, rules in favor of the Progressive government.)

Politifact asserts that “just because the FBI sometimes operates in secret does not mean that it’s a ‘secret police.’” But the FBI’s secrecy is profoundly skewing American politics.

The so-called fact checkers insists that any comparison of the FBI and KGB is “ridiculous” because the FBI is “subject to the rule of law and is democratically accountable.” But there is little or no accountability when few members of Congress have the courage to openly criticize or vigorously cross-examine FBI officials. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs admitted in 1971 that Congress was afraid of the FBI:

“Our very fear of speaking out (against the FBI) ... has watered the roots and hastened the growth of a vine of tyranny ... which is ensnaring that Constitution and Bill of Rights which we are each sworn to uphold.”

The FBI is currently scorning almost every congressional attempt at oversight. Thus far, members of Congress have responded with nothing except press releases and talk show bluster.

Politifact repeatedly scoffs at the notion that the FBI is “a secret police agency such as the old KGB.” And since the FBI is not as bad as the KGB, let’s mosey along and pretend no good citizen has a right to complain. A similar standard could exonerate any American president who was not as bad as Stalin.

In the 1960s, some conservatives adorned their cars with “Support Your Local Sheriff” bumper stickers. How long until we see Priuses with “Support Your Secretive All-Powerful Federal Agents” bumper stickers? But those who forget or deny past oppression help forge new shackles for the American people.

The FBI can come after YOU!

This should be obvious, but it isn’t. Most Americans think that “it can never happen to me”. Ask anyone in prison. Life can change in a heartbeat. Especially when the corrupt and powerful is in control of your life.

“RUSH: And welcome back. We wrap up here with Congressman Nunes. I thought of one more thing I wanted to run by you during the break. And it was… I played the audio sound bite of this earlier. It’s a former CIA counterintelligence muckety-muck guy named Phillip Mudd, and there have been two other people like him over the weekend saying to President Trump, “You know what? If you’re gonna pick a fight with the FBI, you don’t want to make those guys mad.“They can really come after you.”

And I’ve heard that before. The same thing has been said by Chuck Schumer to President Trump about the CIA, the intelligence community. I’m sure you’re getting the same kind of insults. Now, with people saying, “You better not make the FBI mad! They could really come out and do you damage or come after you,” doesn’t that kind of validate what’s already going on, if we have people advocating that the FBI be used as a weapon against political opponents?

NUNES: Yeah. So those days are over, Rush. That is what they did in the Obama administration. These institutions became corrupt at the top, and it’s not just the FBI. It’s all of the departments who became just out of control. I mean, do we have to go back to Lois Lerner and the IRS and all of those games that were played?

RUSH: Right.

NUNES: And what’s happening here is that the first time in a long time Congress — which is a separate branch of government. We created the FBI.

RUSH: Right!

NUNES: We created the Department of Justice.

RUSH: You could abolish them if you want to!

NUNES: We could abolish them. We could cut their money off. But the bottom line is this. I said, “We’re done. You cross the rubicon. You abused the FISA court.” And, you know, I had to fight for these documents for months and months and months. We issued the original subpoenas back in August of last year, and it took until just a few weeks ago for us to finally put all the pieces together. So, you know, I’m not gonna take their crap. I’m not gonna be threatened. They tried to do an end run around me, and Speaker Paul Ryan said, “No. The Congress is gonna exert our authority.”

-Rush Limbaugh talking to Congressman Devin Nunes of California (chairman of the House Intelligence Committee) discussing the abuse by the FBI and how it was weaponized by Hillary Clinton for political purposes to attack American citizens.

It’s getting pretty serious. It is obvious that the FBI no longer serves the American people. It serves the oligarchy and itself only.

“I’ll tell you how serious it’s getting. Well, not how serious it’s getting. To illustrate for you just how even greater the divide is becoming, there’s a CIA analyst named Phil Mudd and we’ve got the audio sound bite coming up. This guy is on CNN, and he’s actually saying to Nunes and to Trump, “You know, you make these guys at the FBI mad at you, and they can come back and destroy you.”

What in the hell does that mean? You make these guys at the FBI mad, and they can really come get you. What is that supposed to mean? And he says that with approval and advocacy, like as though he’s in favor of the nation’s premier law enforcement agent targeting people for their politics. It’s like when Chuck Schumer warned Trump, “You better be careful of these guys in the intelligence community. They can wipe you out six ways from Sunday,” which we know to be the case, but to advocate for that.

And lest anybody have any doubt, I’m amazed at people who are just realizing this, but they are. I’ve read I don’t know how many pieces, media on our side — I’m talking about the conservative media, forget the left — who have come to a sudden shocking realization that the media is part of the establishment! I’m reading this, “Duh. You think that’s a revelation?” But, I mean, I’ll take it. I mean, the more people get it, the better.”

-Rush Limbaugh

The FBI Is Paying Geek Squad Members To Dig Around In Computers For Evidence

“Compared to the 18-minute “gap” in the White House tape during the Watergate scandal, this is the Grand Canyon^{^[i]}. So what does the Bureau have to say about it?

They blamed it on “misconfiguration issues related to rollouts, provisioning, and software upgrades.” Someone at the FBI actually wrote that.“

-Robert Knight - Sunday, January 28, 2018

[i] "The Grand Canyon". The pattern of alarming behavior at the FBI and the Justice Department deserves a recap:
On June 27, 2016, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch held a private meeting with Bill Clinton in a jet at the Phoenix airport, even though the FBI, a branch of the Justice Department, was investigating Mr. Clinton’s wife’s conduct as Secretary of State. A more glaring conflict of interest is hard to imagine.
A week later, on July 5, then-FBI Director James Comey released a report exonerating Mrs. Clinton. He criticized her misuse of emails, but described her violation of national security protocols as “extremely careless” instead of the criminally indictable “grossly negligent” in the original draft. The ever nimble Mr. Strzok has been credited with that edit.
Mr. Strzok also revealed in a text that the FBI team had removed a reference to President Obama as having received a text from Mrs. Clinton when one of them was “on the territory of sophisticated adversaries.” Was it Russia? Alabama?
To downplay the severity of the breach, the FBI report editors cleverly demoted Mr. Obama from president into just “another senior government official,” according to The Journal. The very next day after Mr. Comey’s press conference and release of the report, Ms. Lynch announced that no charges would be filed against Mrs. Clinton, to no great surprise.
Mr. Comey also drafted a statement closing the Clinton email investigation before the FBI even interviewed Mrs. Clinton or her staff. And, Mr. Comey leaked his own memo to a reporter about a conversation with President Trump in order to trigger the Mueller investigation. This all adds up to a disturbingly convincing scenario in which partisan FBI officials bent the law to protect Hillary Clinton, sully Donald Trump before the election, and destabilize his presidency afterward.
If something here isn’t a federal crime, I really don’t know what is.

Law enforcement has a number of informants working for it and the companies that already pay their paychecks, like UPS, for example. It also has a number of government employees working for the TSA, keeping their eyes peeled for “suspicious” amounts of cash it can swoop in and seize.

Unsurprisingly, the FBI also has a number of paid informants. Some of these informants apparently work at Best Buy — Geek Squad by day, government informants by… well, also by day.

According to court records, Geek Squad technician John "Trey" Westphal, an FBI informant, reported he accidentally located on Rettenmaier's computer an image of "a fully nude, white prepubescent female on her hands and knees on a bed, with a brown choker-type collar around her neck." 

Westphal notified his boss, Justin Meade, also an FBI informant, who alerted colleague Randall Ratliff, another FBI informant at Best Buy, as well as the FBI. Claiming the image met the definition of child pornography and was tied to a series of illicit pictures known as the "Jenny" shots, agent Tracey Riley seized the hard drive.

Not necessarily a problem, considering companies performing computer/electronic device repair are legally required to report discovered child porn to law enforcement.

The difference here is the paycheck.

This Geek Squad member had been paid $500 for digging around in customers’ computers and reporting his findings to the FBI. That changes the motivation from legal obligation to a chance to earn extra cash by digging around in files not essential to the repair work at hand.

More of a problem is the FBI’s tactics. While it possibly could have simply pointed to the legal obligation Best Buy has to report discovered child porn, it proactively destroyed this argument by apparently trying to cover up the origin of its investigation, as well as a couple of warrantless searches.

Setting aside the issue of whether the search of Rettenmaier's computer constituted an illegal search by private individuals acting as government agents, the FBI undertook a series of dishonest measures in hopes of building a case, according to James D. Riddet, Rettenmaier's San Clemente-based defense attorney. Riddet says agents conducted two additional searches of the computer without obtaining necessary warrants, lied to trick a federal magistrate judge into authorizing a search warrant, then tried to cover up their misdeeds by initially hiding records.

The “private search” issue is mentioned briefly in OC Weekly’s report, but should be examined more closely. Private searches are acceptable, but the introduction of cash payments, as well as the FBI having an official liaison with Best Buy suggests the searches aren’t really “private.” Instead, the FBI appears to be using private searches to route around warrant requirements. That’s not permissible and even the FBI’s belief that going after the “worst of worst” isn’t going to be enough to salvage these warrantless searches.

A bill that will allow homes to be searched without a warrant was passed with overwhelming support by the United States Congress.

It was signed into law by President Trump.

It happened silently with no media coverage and very little fanfare. 

On the surface, House Joint Resolution 76 looks harmless. The title of the bill claims that its purpose is “Granting the consent and approval of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into a compact relating to the establishment of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.” 

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/congress-passes-bill-allowing-homes-searched-without-warrant/

No 4th Amendment Protections!

As Andrew Fleischman points out at Fault Lines, the government’s spin on the paid “private search” issue — that it’s “wild speculation” the Best Buy employee was acting as a paid informant when he discovered the child porn — doesn’t hold up if the situation is reversed. AUSA Anthony Brown’s defensive statement is nothing more than the noise of a double standard being erected.

Flipping the script for a minute, would an AUSA say it was “wild speculation” that a man was a drug dealer when phone records showed he regularly contacted a distributor, he was listed as a drug dealer in a special book of drug dealers, and he had received $500.00 for drugs? Sorry to break it to you, Mr. Brown, but once you start getting paid for something, it’s tough to argue you’re just doing it for the love of the game.

In addition to these problems, the file discovered by the Best Buy tech was in unallocated space… something that points to almost nothing, legally-speaking.

In Rettenmaier's case, the alleged "Jenny" image was found on unallocated "trash" space, meaning it could only be retrieved by "carving" with costly, highly sophisticated forensics tools. 

In other words, it's arguable a computer's owner wouldn't know of its existence. (For example, malware can secretly implant files.) 

Worse for the FBI, a federal appellate court unequivocally declared in February 2011 (USA v. Andrew Flyer) that pictures found on unallocated space did not constitute knowing possession because it is impossible to determine when, why or who downloaded them.

This important detail was apparently glossed over in the FBI’s warrant application to search Rettenmaier’s home and personal devices.

In hopes of overcoming this obstacle, they performed a sleight-of-hand maneuver, according to Riddet. 

The agents simply didn't alert Judge Marc Goldman that the image in question had been buried in unallocated space and, thus, secured deceitful authorization for a February 2012 raid on Rettenmaier's Laguna Niguel residence.

Courts have shown an often-excessive amount of empathy for the government’s “outrageous” behavior when pursuing criminals. The fact that there’s child porn involved budges the needle in the government’s direction, but the obstacles the FBI has placed in its own way through its deceptive behavior may prevent it from salvaging this case.

The case is already on very shaky ground, with the presiding judge questioning agents’ “odd memory losses,” noting several discrepancies between the FBI’s reports and its testimony, and its “perplexing” opposition to turning over documents the defense has requested.

In any event, it appears the FBI has a vast network of informants — paid or otherwise — working for both private companies and the federal government. Considering the FBI is already the beneficiary of legal reporting requirements, this move seems ill-advised. It jeopardizes the legitimacy of the evidence, even before the FBI engages in the sort of self-sabotaging acts it appears to have done here.

Underneath it all is the perplexing and disturbing aversion[i] to adhering to the Fourth Amendment we’ve seen time and time again from law enforcement agencies, both at local and federal levels. Anything that can be done to avoid seeking a warrant, and anything that creates an obfuscatory paper trail, is deployed to make sure the accused faces an even more uphill battle once they arrive in court[ii].

The DHS Media Monitoring capability Program (MMC).

Department of Homeland Security. A more aggressive monitoring program was revealed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).

This occurred when it secured from the DHS a list of approximately 380 keywords that the agency tracks. The allegedly threatening terms were found in the DHS’ Analyst Desktop Binder, part of its 2011 Media Monitoring Capability (MMC) program.

A 2017 March update; https://tomfernandez28.com/2017/03/10/update-fbi-extensively-used-best-buy-geek-squad-for-secret-surveillance/

These terms are organized into nine categories:

Agencies – 26 terms, including “DHS,” “FBI”, “CIA,” “Air Marshal,” “United Nations” and “Red Cross”;
Domestic security – 52 terms, including “assassination,” “dirty bomb,” “crash,” “first responder,” “screening” and “death.”
Hazardous materials – 34 terms, including “hazmat,” “nuclear,” “leak,” “burn” and “cloud.”
Public health – 47 terms, including “ebola,” “contamination,” “wave,” “pork” and “agriculture.”
Infrastructure security – 35 terms, including “AMTRAK,” “airport,” “subway,” “port,” “electric” and “cancelled.”
Southwest border violence – 65 terms, including “drug cartel,” “decapitated,” “gunfight,” “marijuana,” “heroin,” “border” and “bust.”
Terrorism – 55 terms, including “Jihad,” “biological weapons,” “suicide attack,” “plot” and “pirates.”
Emergencies and weather – 41 terms, including “disaster,” “hurricane,” “power outage,” “ice,” “storm” and “help.”
Cyber security – 25 terms, including “cyber terror,” “malware,” “virus,” “hacker,” “worm,” “China” and “Trojan.”

The DHS has been engaged in monitoring social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and LinkedIn as well as blogs since at least 2010. Its effort is run through the Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS), National Operations Center (NOC), and is entitled “Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness (Initiative).” Its ostensible purpose is to provide situational awareness and strengthen its common operating picture.

The scope of DHS’ practice of social monitoring was unexpectedly revealed in a special congressional hearing, the House Subcommittee on Counterintelligence and Intelligence, headed by Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA), in February. Two DHS officials, Chief Privacy Officer Mary Ellen Callahan and Director of Operations Coordination and Planning Richard Chavez, raised the representatives’ ire by appearing to be deliberately stonewalling on the scope and practice of the agency’s social media surveillance.

Most disturbing, the DHS reps appeared unsure about the monitoring program’s goals, how the gathered information would be used and whether it would be shared with other agencies. In an unusual show of bipartisan unity, Reps. Billy Long (R-MO), Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) joined Rep. Meehan in chastising the DHS officials.

Under intense congressional probing, DHS reps revealed that the keywords chosen for monitoring were drawn from commercially available, off-the-shelf database programs that were customized to meet its specifications. The agency was particularly interested in determining first witnesses to breaking events like the 2011 Tucson shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and others and the January 2012 bomb threat at an Austin school.

The DHS reps insisted that data gathered was only used to confirm other news reports and that information on private citizens was not being collected. In addition, they claimed that that all personally identifying information was regularly scrubbed from the agency’s servers.

Few should feel comforted by the DHS assurances. At the House hearing, it was also revealed that the agency was involved in what appears to be an ongoing campaign to monitor the actions and beliefs of individual Americans engaged in community-based political activism. It compiled a report, “Residents Voice Opposition Over Possible Plan to Bring Guantanamo Detainees to Local Prison-Standish MI,” that tracked community reactions to the proposed location of Guantánamo detainees in a local Michigan prison.

The DHS report is part of the EPIC documents acquired through a Freedom of Information request. It details that information was gathered from a variety of sources, including newspaper articles and responses, blogs by local activists, and Twitter and Facebook posts.

The House hearing also shed light on the DHS practice of outsourcing keyword tracking of social media through a sole-source contract to the giant defense contractor, General Dynamics. In 2011, General Dynamics had revenues of $5.5 billion of which 84 percent ($4.6 bil) came from government contracts. Earlier it’s Advanced Information Systems division was awarded a $14 million DHS contract to (in the words of a press release) “provide constant and continual watch operations for critical communications to the agency’s National Coordinating Center.” In addition, it will “identify the possible impacts of potentially disruptive events.

In keeping with the prevailing ethos of corporate unaccountability, it turns out if the General Dynamics employees are found to have misused the information garnered from a social network user, including a journalist or public figure, the employee must take a training course or, worst case, lose his/her job. No criminal penalties are specified.

A word to the wise, Big Brother is watching you.

The US Ministry of Propaganda

In the last your of President Obama’s term of office, “a bill to implement the U.S.’ very own de facto Ministry of Truth had been quietly introduced in Congress.

As with any legislation attempting to dodge the public spotlight the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016 marks a further curtailment of press freedom and another avenue to stultify avenues of accurate information.

Introduced by Congressmen Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), H.R. 5181 seeks a “whole-government approach without the bureaucratic restrictions” to counter “foreign disinformation and manipulation,” which they believe threaten the world’s “security and stability.”

Creation

Also called the Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016 (S. 2692), when introduced in March by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the legislation represents a dramatic return to Cold War-era government propaganda battles.

“These countries spend vast sums of money on advanced broadcast and digital media capabilities, targeted campaigns, funding of foreign political movements, and other efforts to influence key audiences and populations,”

Portman explained, adding that while the U.S. spends a relatively small amount on its Voice of America, the Kremlin provides enormous funding for its news organization, RT. Portman stated,

“Surprisingly, there is currently no single U.S. governmental agency or department charged with the national level development, integration and synchronization of whole-of-government strategies to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation.”

Yah. Sure. What ever you say bub.

You ever hear of the NID, or the NED, or the “color revolutions” or the “Pro-Democracy” movements?

Long before the “fake news” meme became a daily topic of extensive conversation on such discredited mainstream portals as CNN and WaPo, H.R. 5181 would task the Secretary of State with coordinating the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to “establish a Center for Information Analysis and Response,” which will pinpoint sources of disinformation, analyze data, and — in true dystopic manner — ‘develop and disseminate’ “fact-based narratives” to counter effrontery propaganda.

In short, long before “fake news” became a major media topic, the US government was already planning its legally-backed crackdown on anything it would eventually label “fake news.”

Implementation

Fast forward to December 8, 2016 when the “Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act” passed in the Senate, quietly inserted inside the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report. And now, following Obama signing of the NDAA in the evening, the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act is now law.

+ + +

Here is the full statement issued by the generously funded Senator Rob Portman (R- Ohio) on the singing into law of a bill that further chips away at press liberties in the US, and which sets the stage for future which hunts and website shutdowns, purely as a result of an accusation that any one media outlet or site is considered as a source of “disinformation and propaganda” and is shut down by the government. Go Here to read about this historical event.

Portman-Murphy Bill Promotes Coordinated Strategy to Defend America, Allies Against Propaganda and Disinformation from Russia, China & Others

U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) today announced that their Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act – legislation designed to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations– has been signed into law as part of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report. The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Senators Portman and Murphy in March, will improve the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation from our enemies by establishing an interagency center housed at the State Department to coordinate and synchronize counter-propaganda efforts throughout the U.S. government. To support these efforts, the bill also creates a grant program for NGOs, think tanks, civil society and other experts outside government who are engaged in counter-propaganda related work. This will better leverage existing expertise and empower our allies overseas to defend themselves from foreign manipulation. It will also help foster a free and vibrant press and civil society overseas, which is critical to ensuring our allies have access to truthful information and inoculating people against foreign propaganda campaigns.

“Our enemies are using foreign propaganda and disinformation against us and our allies, and so far the U.S. government has been asleep at the wheel,” Portman said. “But today, the United States has taken a critical step towards confronting the extensive, and destabilizing, foreign propaganda and disinformation operations being waged against us by our enemies overseas. With this bill now law, we are finally signaling that enough is enough; the United States will no longer sit on the sidelines. We are going to confront this threat head-on. I am confident that, with the help of this bipartisan bill, the disinformation and propaganda used against us, our allies, and our interests will fail.”

“The use of propaganda to undermine democracy has hit a new low.But now we are finally in a position to confront this threat head on and get out the truth. By building up independent, objective journalism in places like eastern Europe, we can start to fight back by exposing these fake narratives and empowering local communities to protect themselves,” said Murphy. “I’m proud that our bill was signed into law, and I look forward to working with Senator Portman to make sure these tools and new resources are effectively used to get out the truth.”

Priorities

The bipartisan Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act is organized around two main priorities to help achieve the goal of combating the constantly evolving threat of foreign disinformation from our enemies:

The first priority is developing a whole-of-government strategy for countering THE foreign propaganda and disinformation being wages against us and our allies by our enemies. The bill would increase the authority, resources, and mandate of the Global Engagement Center to include state actors like Russia and China as well as non-state actors. The Center will be led by the State Department, but with the active senior level participation of the Department of Defense, USAID, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the Intelligence Community, and other relevant agencies. The Center will develop, integrate, and synchronize whole-of-government initiatives to expose and counter foreign disinformation operations by our enemies and proactively advance fact-based narratives that support U.S. allies and interests.
Second, the legislation seeks to leverage expertise from outside government to create more adaptive and responsive U.S. strategy options. The legislation establishes a fund to help train local journalists and provide grants and contracts to NGOs, civil society organizations, think tanks, private sector companies, media organizations, and other experts outside the U.S. government with experience in identifying and analyzing the latest trends in foreign government disinformation techniques. This fund will complement and support the Center’s role by integrating capabilities and expertise available outside the U.S. government into the strategy-making process. It will also empower a decentralized network of private sector experts and integrate their expertise into the strategy-making process.

And so, with the likes of WaPo having already primed the general public to equate “Russian Propaganda” with “fake news” (despite admitting after the fact their own report was essentially “fake”), while the US media has indoctrinated the public to assume that any information which is not in compliance with the official government narrative, or dares to criticize the establishment, is also “fake news” and thus falls under the “Russian propaganda” umbrella, the scene is now set for the US government to legally crack down on every media outlet that the government deems to be “foreign propaganda.”

Just like that, the US Ministry of Truth is officially born.

Impact

The Founding Fathers protected freedom of speech and freedom of the press as the most important liberties. They are protected in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. And as discussed below, the Founders recognized that the ability to speak freely was the foundation for all other freedoms. If you remove it, the other freedoms would fall. Thousands of years of history shows how rare and valuable such freedoms really are. Please consider…

Socrates

Socrates was killed in 399 BC for “failing to acknowledge the gods that the [government] acknowledges”.

Using the Printing Press

Before the invention of the movable type printing press by Gutenberg, the church controlled the production of books. Gutenberg’s invention allowed cheap production of books. This challenged the monopoly on books by the church, and thus allowed different viewpoints to be heard.

For example, when Martin Luther posted his “95 Theses” on a church door in Germany criticizing the corrupt Catholic practice of selling “indulgences” – paying the church in return for a reduction of your time in purgatory – the printing press spread his writings throughout all of Germany in 2 weeks, and throughout “all of Christendom” within a month. This launched the Protestant Reformation, and challenged the power of the Catholic church.

So Pope Alexander VI issued an edict against unlicensed printing in 1501.

And in 1535, Francis I of France prohibited – under penalty of death – the printing of any books.

William Tyndale

William Tyndale was killed in 1536 for translating the Bible into English so that everyone could read it for themselves, and no longer had to rely on the clergy to tell them what it said.

Unlicensed Printing

In 1585, the Star Chamber assumed the right to confine printing to London, Oxford and Cambridge, to limit the number of printers and presses, to prohibit all publications issued without proper license, and to enter houses to search for unlicensed presses and publications. The search for unlicensed presses or publications was entrusted to an officer called the ” messenger of the press.”

In 1557, Henry II made the collecting of prohibited books punishable by death or imprisonment. An in 1559, he made it punishable by death to print without royal authority.

Galileo

In 1616 and 1633, Galileo was tried for saying that the Earth revolves around the Sun, instead of agreeing with the church’s “mainstream” view that the Sun revolves around the Earth.

Heretics and Critics

Many people have been killed over the centuries for saying anything that the church authorities of the day disliked. And the British monarchy punished anyone caught with materials criticizing the monarchy, which they labeled as “libelous” or “scandalous”, even if what was written was true.

(Indeed, the ransacking of houses by authorities searching for “heretical” and “libelous” material was so common that it was the main reason the Founding Fathers wrote the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting unreasonable “search and seizure”).

Benjamin Franklin

In 1773, Ben Franklin was fired as colonial Postmaster General for informing the American Colonists about what the British were really doing.

Strongmen

Strongmen of all stripes have cracked down anyone who insults the strongman or criticizes his policies.

Book Burnings

In 1933, the Nazis carried out numerous book burnings of authors such as Einstein, Freud, Kafka, Hellen Keller, Jack London, Thomas Mann, Proust, Upon Sinclair and H.G. Wells because their writing book …

“acts subversively on our future or strikes at the root of German thought, the German home and the driving forces of our people…”

There have been many other book burnings throughout history.

Mussolini

Mussolini had around 2,000 people killed because they challenged the dictator.

Stalin and the Soviet Union

Stalin murdered or through into insane asylums countless people who criticized the Soviet government or Communism.

Other Communist Regimes

China’s Mao and other Communist leaders killed people who failed to sign the Great Leaders’ praise.

CIA

In 1972, CIA director Richard Helms relabeled dissenters as “terrorists”.

Reporters

The extremely popular tv personality Phil Donahue’s show – the most popular on MSNBC – was canceled for questioning the wisdom of the Iraq war. Indeed, many reporters have been fired, harassed, spied upon and even accused of terrorism for reporting stories critical of government actions or policies.

Protect What Makes Us American

Those in power are always tempted to censor and punish critical speech and reporting. George W. Bush said “You’re either with us or your against us”, and cracked down on criticism and protest. Most powerful Democrats now want to suppress right-wing speech. But freedom of speech and of the press – no matter how much we may disagree with and even hate what someone else says – is the bedrock of America.

If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

– George Washington

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”

– Ben Franklin

“Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.”

– U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo

“The framers of the constitution knew human nature as well as we do. They too had lived in dangerous days; they too knew the suffocating influence of orthodoxy and standardized thought. They weighed the compulsions for restrained speech and thought against the abuses of liberty. They chose liberty.”

-U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Douglass

“If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”

-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis

NGA

If you’re one of the countless Americans who was distraught to learn of the revelations made by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, the mere idea that there might be yet another agency out there – perhaps just as powerful and much more intrusive – should give you goosebumps.

Foreign Policy reports that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA, is an obscure spy agency former President Barack Obama had learned to love and appreciate. Like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), the NGA is an intelligence agency, but it also serves as a combat support institution that functions under the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

With headquarters bigger than the CIA’s, the building cost $1.4 billion to be completed in 2011. In 2016, the NGA bought an extra 99 acres in St. Louis, building additional structures that cost taxpayers an extra $1.75 billion. Enjoying the extra budget Obama threw at them, the NGA became one of the most obscure intelligence agencies precisely because it relies on the work of drones.

A partially redacted March 2016 report released by the Pentagon revealed that drones had already been used domestically on about 20 or fewer occasions between 2006 and 2015. Though some of these operations mostly involved natural disasters, National Guard training, and search and rescue missions, quotes from an Air Force law review article found their way into the report. In it, Dawn M. K. Zoldi wrote that technology designed to spy on targets abroad could soon be used against American citizens.

Use Foreign Intelligence to Collect Intel

.@Judgenap: Three intel sources have disclosed that Pres. Obama turned to British spies to get surveillance on Trump pic.twitter.com/IghCFm7qhO

— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) March 14, 2017

During the waning months of the Obama Administration, then President Obama used the British spy agency GCHQ to collect information on incoming President-elect Trump. This was because of both the constitutional limitations placed on him by law, as well as avoiding any connection to spying (and wiretaps like Richard Nixon had the unfortunate experience to endure) by using a “cat’s paw” to collect the intel.

MUSCULAR (DS-200B)

MUSCULAR (DS-200B), located in the United Kingdom, is the name of a surveillance programme jointly operated by Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) that was revealed by documents which were released by Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable officials.

GCHQ

GCHQ is the primary operator of the program.GCHQ and the National Security Agency have secretly broken into the main communications links that connect the data centers of Yahoo! and Google.Substantive information about the program was made public at the end of October 2013.

The programme is jointly run by:

Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) (United Kingdom)
U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)

MUSCULAR is one of at least four other similar programs that rely on a trusted 2nd party, programs which together are known as WINDSTOP. In a 30-day period from December 2012 to January 2013, MUSCULAR was responsible for collecting 181 million records. It was however dwarfed by another WINDSTOP program known (insofar) only by its code DS-300 and codename INCENSER, which collected over 14 billion records in the same period.

Figure 25. Menwith Hill

According to the leaked document the NSA’s acquisitions directorate sends millions of records every day from internal Yahoo! and Google networks to data warehouses at the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland. The programme operates via an access point known as DS-200B, which is outside the United States, and it relies on an unnamed telecommunications operator to provide secret access for the NSA and the GCHQ.

According to the Washington Post, the MUSCULAR program collects more than twice as many data points (“selectors” in NSA jargon) compared to the better known PRISM Unlike PRISM, the MUSCULAR program requires no (FISA or other type of) warrants.

Because of the huge amount of data involved, MUSCULAR has presented a special challenge to NSA’s Special Source Operations. For example, when Yahoo! decided to migrate a large amount of mailboxes between its data centers, the NSA’s PINWALE database (their primary analytical database for the Internet) was quickly overwhelmed with the data coming from MUSCULAR.

Closely related programmes are called INCENSER and TURMOIL. TURMOIL, belonging to the NSA, is a system for processing the data collected from MUSCULAR.

Blaming Others for Nefarious Activities

The WikiLeaks’ Vault 7 release contains a batch of documents, named ‘Marble’, which detail CIA hacking tactics and how they can misdirect forensic investigators from attributing viruses, trojans and hacking attacks to their agency by inserted code fragments in foreign languages. Per the WikiLeaks release:

"The source code shows that Marble has test examples not just in English but also in Chinese, Russian, Korean, Arabic and Farsi. This would permit a forensic attribution double game, for example by pretending that the spoken language of the malware creator was not American English, but Chinese, but then showing attempts to conceal the use of Chinese, drawing forensic investigators even more strongly to the wrong conclusion, --- but there are other possibilities, such as hiding fake error messages."RELEASE: CIA Vault 7 part 3 "Marble"

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 31, 2017

The latest release is said to potentially allow for ‘thousands’ of cyber attacks to be attributed to the CIA which were originally blamed on foreign governments.

WikiLeaks said Marble hides fragments of texts that would allow for the author of the malware to be identified. WikiLeaks stated the technique is the digital equivalent of a specialized CIA tool which disguises English language text on US produced weapons systems before they are provided to insurgents.

 It’s “designed to allow for flexible and easy-to-use obfuscation" as "string obfuscation algorithms” often link malware to a specific developer, according to the whistleblowing site.

The source code released reveals Marble contains test examples in Chinese, Russian, Korean, Arabic and Farsi.

 “This would permit a forensic attribution double game, for example by pretending that the spoken language of the malware creator was not American English, but Chinese, but then showing attempts to conceal the use of Chinese, drawing forensic investigators even more strongly to the wrong conclusion,” WikiLeaks explains, “But there are other possibilities, such as hiding fake error messages.”

 The code also contains a ‘deobfuscator’ which allows the CIA text obfuscation to be reversed. “Combined with the revealed obfuscation techniques, a pattern or signature emerges which can assist forensic investigators attribute previous hacking attacks and viruses to the CIA.”

 Previous Vault7 releases have referred to the CIA’s ability to mask its hacking fingerprints.

 WikiLeaks claims the latest release will allow for thousands of viruses and hacking attacks to be attributed to the CIA.

CIA's "Marble Framework" shows its hackers use potential decoy languages
Background: https://t.co/GsoN4BuyTz pic.twitter.com/ZT66doCnfY

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 31, 2017

Full release from WikiLeaks:

Today, March 31st 2017, WikiLeaks releases Vault 7 "Marble" -- 676 source code files for the CIA's secret anti-forensic Marble Framework. Marble is used to hamper forensic investigators and anti-virus companies from attributing viruses, trojans and hacking attacks to the CIA.

Marble does this by hiding ("obfuscating") text fragments used in CIA malware from visual inspection. This is the digital equivallent of a specalized CIA tool to place covers over the english language text on U.S. produced weapons systems before giving them to insurgents secretly backed by the CIA.

Marble forms part of the CIA's anti-forensics approach and the CIA's Core Library of malware code. It is "[D]esigned to allow for flexible and easy-to-use obfuscation" as "string obfuscation algorithms (especially those that are unique) are often used to link malware to a specific developer or development shop."

The Marble source code also includes a deobfuscator to reverse CIA text obfuscation. Combined with the revealed obfuscation techniques, a pattern or signature emerges which can assist forensic investigators attribute previous hacking attacks and viruses to the CIA. Marble was in use at the CIA during 2016. It reached 1.0 in 2015.

The source code shows that Marble has test examples not just in English but also in Chinese, Russian, Korean, Arabic and Farsi. This would permit a forensic attribution double game, for example by pretending that the spoken language of the malware creator was not American English, but Chinese, but then showing attempts to conceal the use of Chinese, drawing forensic investigators even more strongly to the wrong conclusion, --- but there are other possibilities, such as hiding fake error messages.

The Marble Framework is used for obfuscation only and does not contain any vulnerabilties or exploits by itself.

Intentional Fabrication of UFO lore.

And why not?

You see all the above examples, the many, many, many examples are mostly political, or used to add control “for natural security”. It’s all just excuses.

It’s not about “getting your political opponents”. Nor is it about “the children”, or “for national security”.

It’s all about control.

"I share your concern over the secrecy that continues to shroud our intelligence activities on this subject."

-Congressman Thomas L. Ashley in a letter to NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena) on the subject of UFOs.

Numerous government employees have been actively engaged in the creation of UFO / extraterrestrial lore. This involves various people in the military; including the leadership, various government employees of various agencies that includes both contractors and direct payroll staff, and even elected officials who do so for political purposes. The reasons behind why they were involved in such activities ran the gambit from governmental projects with intentional goals, to mere mischievous pranks. These individuals are now well known in their complicity to deflect, redirect, and discredit all extraterrestrial related study and lore.

One must give pause as to why the government would want to employ someone to do this full time.

A former Air Force special investigations officer named Richard Doty has admitted to having infiltrated UFO circles. As a UFO researcher says:

"Doty had this wonderful way to sell it – 'I'm with the government. You cooperate with us and I'm going to tell you what the government really knows about UFOs, deep down in those vaults.'"

Doty and his colleagues fed credulous ufologists lies and half-truths, knowing their fertile imaginations would do the rest. In return, they were apprised of chatter from the community, thus alerting the military when anyone was getting to close to their top-secret technology. And if the Soviets thought the US really was communing with aliens, all the better.

The classic case, well-known to conspiracy aficionados, is Paul Bennewitz, a successful electronics entrepreneur in New Mexico. In 1979, Bennewitz started seeing strange lights in the sky, and picking up weird transmissions on his amateur equipment. The fact that he lived just across the road from Kirtland air force base should have set alarm bells ringing, but Bennewitz was convinced these phenomena were of extraterrestrial origin. Being a good patriot, he contacted the Air Force, who realized that, far from eavesdropping on ET, Bennewitz was inadvertently eavesdropping on them. Instead of making him stop, though, Doty and other officers told Bennewitz they were interested in his findings. That encouraged Bennewitz to dig deeper. Within a few years, he was [1] interpreting alien languages, [2] spotting crashed alien craft in the hills from his plane (he was an amateur pilot), and [3] sounding the alert for a full-scale invasion. All the time, the investigators were watching him observe them. They gave Bennewitz computer software that “interpreted” the signals, and even dumped fake props for him to discover. The mania took over Bennewitz’s life. In 1988, his family checked him into a psychiatric facility.

There’s plenty of stories like this.

Many central tenets of the UFO belief system turn out to have far earthlier origins. Mysterious cattle mutilations in 1970s New Mexico turn out to have been officials furtively investigating radiation in livestock after they’d conducted an ill-advised experiment in underground “nuclear fracking”.

Test pilots for the military’s experimental silent helicopters admit to attaching flashing lights to their craft to fool civilians. Actual photos were doctored to appear that things were being hidden, while other actual pictures were lost in the static of confusion.

It is now easy for anyone to simply say;

“There are no aliens or extraterrestrials at all.  The government has been conducting a program to hid advanced research and development programs from the public.  They use the smoke-screen of extraterrestrial activity to stigmatize observers of such actions into passive silence.”

As that is, indeed, partly the case.

But I am here, and I am telling you otherwise. Oh, the extraterrestrial presence is real. The technology is real. The government cover-up is real.

But most of what you read on the Internet, and in books are but lies and fabrications. What you see on the television, and observe on the Internet are but cleverly orchestrated efforts used to manipulate group conventional thought and placate the populace for the purposes of the government.

Conclusion

Long and drawn out.

Boring. Old “news”.

Old “subjects”.

Yeah! I get it.

These articles dated to before the Trump Administration. Now, you can well imagine that things are much tighter, the controls more restrictive, exacting, and lethal to your supposed “freedom”. You all are just animals in a big “free ranging” field. Nothing more.

And please don’t get all “hung up” on the “political song and dance”; the “progressives vs. the conservatives”. It’s all just “bread and circuses” for the mindless masses.

bread and circuses A phrase used by a Roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the Roman Empire began: “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.” The government kept the Roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles.

-Bread and circuses | Definition of Bread and circuses

When Congress gave up it’s powers to the alphabet organizations, they did much more than create “Frankenstein Monsters”. They created an endless system that keep you within a stratified social construct. One that you must toil for the well-being of others, and by which you can be imprisoned and even killed if you fail to conform.

read and circuses A phrase used by a Roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the Roman Empire began: “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.” The government kept the Roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles.

This means a complete subversion of the systems that are intended to help you and your family in “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

The subversion is now complete. It is beyond redemption.

Key Point: The “fighting” for your Rights is all just a farce. The elections are all just theater. The systems are in place, and you are the cattle that toils for your new masters. Oh, the faces change on the “news” screens, but the takeover is complete. So any articles about “regaining” your “God given” Rights is just meaningless. You have NONE. It’s over. And nothing will be done when one party or the other takes power. It’s all just nonsense.

Anyone still sticking around in America is now trapped. It’s probably too late to escape. And if history has anything to say, it is that it’s only going to get worse.

Do you want more?

I have more posts like this in my Front Row Seat Index, though this could just as well fit under any other index as well.

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The final result of the enormous military armada sent to the South China Sea by Trump in 2020, and why no one is talking about the aftermath of it.

Yeah, here’s yet another one of those posts that you won’t find anywhere else. Like [1] the idea that COVID-19 was a bio-weapon, and [2] the details about what the Hybrid-war by Trump on China entailed. I mean, for Pete’s Sake’s everyone! Can’t anyone else put the details together? Why the fuck do I have to do it? Eh?

Putting “the pieces” together isn’t difficult. You just need to be aware, and be able to discern. You collect information from all over. You try to avoid “echo chambers”, no matter how interesting or “delicious” they are to your own personal view points. And you just start looking for patterns.

You look for patterns.

Then while others are busy studying with the pieces that they find the most interesting, you will have a much broader outlook, and one that tends to be accurate.

Sigh.

Where are those highly paid “journalists” from CNN, FOX or MSNBC? Where the fuck are they now? Yes, I know, I know, they are there to manipulate, not to “report news”, but for crying out loud, it’s NOT a difficult subject to report on.

A few billion dollars are used to “send a message” to China. The propaganda campaign against China was on full-swing, and the Internet (on the neocon and War-Hawk websites) that America was “gonna kick some slant-eyed ass”. Everywhere (on the Conservative, and Neocon websites) were discussions about how “Trump was finally doing something about the evil Chinese Communists”.

Then everything went quiet.

Quiet, as in “armada? What armada?” Quiet as “you can hear a pin drop”. Quiet as the darkest dead of night. Quiet as in “Hey! Wake up! Is anyone in the Pentagon Press Room?” Quiet. Hush.

…whisper…

This quiet is what is so very disturbing. This quiet is what is worrisome to me. This quiet is what speaks volumes. This quiet is what we should all pay attention to.

OK. Let’s keep this all short and sweet.

The Basics.

As China emerges as a leading Superpower, the established nation (the United States) attempts to prevent it’s rise.

There are all sorts of reasonings, and justifications for this.

And yes it is true, it would take years to go over everything in detail. But the simple fact behind this is that the Geo-political conflicts between the USA and China fall under the Thucydides trap.

The Thucydides Trap is a theory proposed by Graham Allison who postulates that war between a rising power and an established power is inevitable.

-What is Thucydides’s Trap?

Well, yeah.

The United States “fell” into this situation. And they followed the historical model. They didn’t even pause. The United States initiated a full-spectrum “hybrid” war against China, and has done absolutely everything within it’s power short of World War III with nuclear weapons.

I wrote about it HERE in great painstaking detail.

There are many, many aspects to this assault upon China, and they are all very interesting. Because the “wide spectrum” of assaults are spell-binding in their diversity, and stunning in their depth and scope.

However, this post is going to cover one very tiny and specific event.

This event is the Enormous US Navy led, Naval armada sent to engage China in the South China Sea during the late Summer of 2020.

Enormous.

United States led.

Seven, state of the art, Attack Battle Carriers and their air wings. It is the LARGEST armada in carriers ever.

Not even during World War II were there so many carriers massed in a armada to attack anything. At most, America put three in a armada. But seven! That is a world-record, and then some!

We are going to discuss this armada, and what happened. And maybe, just maybe, the reader can get a serious insight into what actually transpired while Trump danced and placed the entire world at the brink of Nuclear Armageddon.

The Armada

Let’s start with the armada. This is a large collection of flotillas (of military naval vessels) all involved in the South China Sea.

Definition of armada.

1 : a fleet of warships

A Spanish word that originally meant simply "armed", armada is now used in Spanish-speaking nations as the name of their national navies. In English, the word usually has historical overtones. The Great Armada of 1588 was a 120-ship fleet sent by Philip II of Spain in an attempt to invade Elizabethan England; it was defeated when British forces lit eight ships afire and sent them sailing into the Armada's midst, then blocked the passage to the south so that the remaining ships were forced to sail northward around Britain in order to return home, causing dozens more ships to be wrecked in the stormy northern seas. Today we sometimes use the word humorously for fleets of fishing boats, rowboats, or canoes.

-Armada | Definition of Armada by Merriam-Webster

Let’s look at a graphical representation of what was sent against China in the late Summer of 2020. Let’s look at all the aircraft carriers in the world, by all the Navies of the world and see what President Trump amassed…

The American led armada sent against China, by Donald Trump, during the Summer of 2020. The Trump Naval forces are encircled in red, while the Chinese forces are shown in blue. — The American led armada sent against China, by Donald Trump, during the Summer of 2020.
.
The Trump Naval forces are encircled in red, while the Chinese forces are shown in blue. The red “X” represents the mysterious fire that destroyed the aircraft carrier in harbor in San Diego, the *USS Bonhomme Richard*.

This armada consisted of Three (x3) American assault carrier battle groups and one British aircraft carrier battle group. The major vessels that the US mobilized were three aircraft carriers – USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan – supposedly to patrol the Indo-Pacific waters.

Additionally, each aircraft carrier was paired with a “minor” carrier.

And each aircraft carrier was surrounded by it’s own flotilla of support ships and destroyers to provide protection to the carriers.

Four Carrier Battle Groups

An aircraft carrier is extremely valuable.

And without protection, an aircraft carrier is extremely vulnerable.

That’s why aircraft carriers never leave home alone. They are always escorted by an extensive flotilla of other ships. The aircraft carrier plus the flotilla is known as the carrier battle group. A modern carrier battle group is nearly invincible.

The U.S. Navy forms carrier battle groups on an as-needed basis and assigns ships to the group based on the mission. Therefore, no two carrier battle groups are the same. However, a typical carrier battle group consists of the following ships:

The aircraft carrier itself
Two guided-missile cruisers (These are offensive ships loaded with cruise missiles.)
Two destroyers (Defensive role)
One frigate (Anti-submarine defense)
Two submarines
A supply ship.

To accomplish its mission, a carrier air wing typically consists of nine squadrons, with 70 to 80 total aircraft.

The British carrier group

The British was the only nation to join this armada.

While Mike Pompeo “invited” the Navies of India, Japan, Korea, and Australia to join, it was only Britain that agreed to actively place their military off the coast of China for the purposes of threatening China.

HMS Queen Elizabeth leads flotilla of ships as new carrier strike group assembles for first time

Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth leading the largest and most powerful task force assembled by a European Navy in almost 20 years.

What was the Royal Navy’s new Carrier Strike Group made up of?

HMS Queen Elizabeth – Royal Navy Aircraft carrier – Weighs: 65,000 tonnes, Length: 930 feet, Speed: 25+ knots, Use: Carries 65 aircraft at surge capacity

HMS Diamond – Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer – Weighs: 8,000 tonnes, Length: 500 feet, Speed: 30+ knots, Weapons: Fleet of helicopters, anti-air and anti-ship missiles 

HMS Defender – Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer – Weighs: 8,000 tonnes, Length: 500 feet, Speed: 30+ knots, Weapons: Fleet of helicopters, anti-air and anti-ship missiles

USS The Sullivans – US Navy Destroyer – Weighs: 6,900 tonnes, Length: 505 feet, Speed: 30 knots, Weapons: Guided missiles, with guns, torpedoes and two helicopters 

HMS Northumberland – Royal Navy Frigate – Weighs: 4,900 tonnes, Length: 435 feet, Speed: 28+ knots, Weapons: Torpedoes and missiles 

HMS Kent – Royal Navy Frigate – Weighs: 4,900 tonnes, Length: 435 feet, Speed: 28+ knots, Weapons: Torpedoes and missiles

HNLMS Eversten – Royal Netherlands Navy Frigate – Weighs: 6,000 tonnes, Length: 470 metres, Speed: 28+ knots, Weapons: Guns, missiles and helicopters

RFA Tideforce – Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships – Weighs: 37,000 tonnes, Length: 201 metres, Speed: 27+ knots, Weapons: Cannons, Primary Use: Replenishment tanker 

RFA Fort Victoria – Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships – Weighs: 37,000 tonnes, Length: 201 metres, Speed: 27+ knots, Weapons: Cannons, Primary Use: Replenishment tanker

The group also includes 15 fighter jets, 11 helicopters and 3,000 personnel from the UK, US and the Netherlands 

Meanwhile, HMS Queen Elizabeth embarked two squadrons of F-35B stealth jets, the UK’s 617 Squadron and US Marine Corps fighter attack squadron 211.
Alongside eight Merlin helicopters of 820 and 846 Naval Air Squadrons, it is the largest air group to operate from a Royal Navy carrier in more than thirty years, and the largest air group of fifth generation fighters at sea anywhere in the world, say the Royal Navy.

The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier led the flotilla of destroyers and frigates from the UK, US and the Netherlands, together with two Royal Fleet Auxiliaries

HMS Queen Elizabeth embarked two squadrons of F-35B stealth jets, the UK’s 617 Squadron and US Marine Corps fighter attack squadron 211

Yes, you read that right.

Not only was America sending multiple carriers off to the South China Sea to intimidate China, but the British carrier also carried American Navy and Marine aircraft and combat wings.

Most of the combat aircraft on the British Carrier were American, flown by Americans, and coordinated with American naval Forces.

The “minor carriers”

What is a “minor” carrier? This is a confusing term, because everyone has their own ideas of what it is. For our purposes herein, it is an aircraft carrier without a runway.

"VTOL" vessel is a vessel which can only deploy VTOL aircraft. "carrier" is a vessel a prime role of which is operating aircraft. "other-role" vessel is a vessel that is not a carrier.

-GlobalSecurity

These are NOT small ships. They are all quite enormous.

It is an aircraft carrier that focuses on helicopters, VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft and other aircraft that do not require a runway to land. By pairing a “major” carrier with these “minor” carriers, the Navy can increase the size of the hard and heavy attack and strike aircraft that the “major” carriers use.

Conventional take-off and landing [CTOL] and short take-off and landing [STOL] carriers share a common configuration: a hangar enclosed within a hull, a large flight deck on the hangar roof, take-off runway/s, landing runway/s and pad/s on that flight deck, lifts connecting the hangar and flight decks, and a superstructure off to one side of the flight deck. CTOL carriers such as the USS Nimitz have catapults, arresters and, usually, several runways, some angled. STOL carriers such as HMS Invincible usually have a single through runway serving as take-off runway, landing runway and pad; they usually also have a ski jump because in practice they only operate STOVL and VTOL aircraft. Some 1930s carriers also had an additional take-off runway located on the hangar deck before the hangar, the rear portion of this runway being enclosed under the forward part of the main flight deck.

Another carrier is known, this being a STOVL [short take-off / vertical landing] vessel without a landing runway: a large container ship on which containers stacked before the superstructure form a flight deck with a take-off runway, a pad and a ski jump. A STOVL vessel is an adequate carrier because even STOL vessels in practice only deploy STOVL and VTOL aircraft. VTOL [vertial take-off and landing] carriers are also known: some such as the French Jeanne d'Arc configured with a large hangar aft, a large pad atop it, and lifts connecting those decks; a carrier for V/STOL-as-VTOL aircraft with no pad but using a device developed by British Aerospace to release and recover hovering V/STOL-as-VTOL aircraft has also been proposed. Most VTOL vessels are not aircraft carriers per se, but are other-role ships, usually small, configured in one of two ways: with a hangar on the main deck abaft the superstructure and a pad abaft the hangar; with only an aft pad.

In contrast, CTOL, STOL and STOVL vessels are all large and, effectively, all aircaft carriers; this because all built or proposed have at least one of the following: a fore and aft flight deck with a superstructure beside it and therefore a wide beam; a heavy flight deck on the hangar roof and therefore a hangar of a construction sturdy enough to support it and a large hull to offset the resulting top-heaviness; a hangar enclosed in the hull and therefore a hull of wide beam; a hangar-deck with a take-off runway, that deck therefore being high above the waves; an in-line take-off runway and hangar or in-line take-off runway and superstructure and therefore a long hull; complex and/or heavy machinery like catapults, arresters and, especially, lifts.

-GlobalSecurity

The decision to add “minor” carriers to these deployed flotillas doubled the size of them. So the actual size of each of the three American Carrier Battle Groups consisted of…

The MAIN aircraft carrier
A VTOL / Helicopter “minor” carrier
Four guided-missile cruisers
Four destroyers (Defensive role)
Two frigates
Four submarines
One or two supply ships

These are truly formidable flotillas. They are historically the largest and most powerful flotillas in the history of mankind.

What is amazing is that President Trump sent FOUR of them to China.

Armada = Four (x4) Flotillas

If you read my post;

The USA and China are now entangled in the Thucydides Trap; this is the entire story.

You will be aware that this was planned and a time-table laid out back in 2016. With an invasion or an “incident” planned for late Summer 2020, within two to four months before the election.

An “incident” in the South China Sea in late Summer 2020.
To coincide with the other “color revolutions” in HK, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

Resulting in a [1] strengthening of the QUAD, [2] coordinating with the “fire hose of propaganda” making Americans “foam at the mouth” for a war in far-away China.

That it would be a success, and that the American media would promote it as Trump “spreading democracy” ^TM to the heathen evil “Chinese communists” ^TM for “freedom! and democracy!” ^TM.

Which not only would bolster his election chances immensely, but would accomplish his goals. Which are, of course, a complete suppression of all global trade, and a total reduction in the ability, power and might of China.

With a war or conflict to characterize much of his second term from 2020 into 2024, at which point a new conservative neocon would continue his efforts to “make America great again”.

My personal opinion is that Mike Pompeo is being groomed for this role; as President of the United States once President Trump completes his second term in office.

Just who is this “Mr. Mike Pompeo” and why is he pushing so insanely hard to start World War III with China?

Hasn’t he even thought out the consequences of a radioactive New York?

Answer; No he hasn’t.

Mike Pompeo is a neocon psychopath who is attempting to start a war with China for some reason.

In America, we have some very, very big problems.

For one thing, the economy was totally destroyed because of an idiotic flu hoax. When the government decides that it can no longer print unlimited money, we are going to have mass unemployment, mass homelessness, drug addiction, divorce, robbery, murder, and everything else.

Beyond that, we are in the middle of a total communist revolution. Virtually every major city in the country is being overwhelmed by a violent mob of black blasters and their screeching white female masters, as they proceed to tear down the entire civilization.

Many people do not think that now is the right time to start some insane world war with the Chinese in order to protect Hong Kong democracy or the Moslems or Vietnamese fishing waters or whatever the hell.

Many people, however, are not Mike Pompeo.

Mike Pompeo believes that right now is the perfect time to fight for democracy against the Chinese.

Mike Pompeo believes America is a country controlled by vicious Jews, and we need to do what slaves of Jews do best: fight random, confusing wars in the name of Israel.

----------

Reference CNN;

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued his rhetorical barrage against China as the top diplomat at the Chinese consulate in Houston suggested they may defy US orders to vacate.

Pompeo’s remarks at the Nixon Library Thursday, titled “Communist China and the Free World’s Future,” cast aspersions on Beijing and its relations with the US, nearly 50 years after President Richard Nixon became the first US president to travel to China.

“We must admit our truth that should guide us in the years and decades to come, that if we want to have a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century of which Xi Jinping dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won’t get it done,” he said. “We must not continue it and we must not return to it.”

He appeared to cast the US-China competition as a modern day Cold War, saying that “securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time and America is perfectly positioned to lead it.”

Pompeo delivered the speech on the heels of a US order to close the Chinese consulate in Houston — “because it was a hub of spying and intellectual property theft,” in his words. The order — the latest in a series of escalations between Washington and Beijing — demands that the Chinese shutter the property by Friday.

----------

Yes. They’re saying that they were using the Houston consulate to steal intellectual property.

Of course, he won’t ever explain what that means, because it makes no sense. It is just gibberish.

China is engaged in mass intellectual property theft – they do it in the factories that our companies moved to their country! It’s in the contracts that they’re allowed total access to these factories.

Why would they be stealing intellectual property in Houston? Where would they steal it from? What does this even mean?

Nothing. It means nothing.

This is simply a belligerent provocation against a major superpower.

We have a helluva lot of problems in this country, and the idea that China is even in the top 20 is absurd. And the top issue that relates to China is trade. What Pompeo is doing with this insane belligerence is making trade negotiation totally impossible.

----------

Reference CNN;

However, in an interview with Politico Thursday, Consul General Cai Wei suggested the diplomatic outpost may defy that order.

“Today we are still operating normally, so we will see what will happen tomorrow,” he told the news outlet, but did not elaborate further.

Chinese officials have urged the United States to reverse its decision and have threatened retaliation.

State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said that they “had to make the decision to close down this consulate due to this massive, massive theft of our research and our intellectual property.”

“We’ve uncovered spy rings,” she claimed in an interview with “Quest Means Business” Thursday.

“But most importantly, I think what has been very troubling to us is the theft of research from our universities, from our hospitals, the theft of intellectual property, the theft from technology companies. So the FBI and the Department of Justice have started to lay out the case and show the facts again,” she said.

A seven page document prepared by US law enforcement officials and shared across US government agencies details instances of covert People’s Liberation Army activity in the US, including details related to the Houston consulate specifically, according to the document reviewed by CNN.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied the allegations that the consulate was the “epicenter” of illicit activities.

----------

The transcript for the speech is not up yet on the State Department website.

I do NOT trust the Moron Brothers.

The reason that I was looking for the transcript is that I wanted to ctrl+f the word “free.” I think he must have said it 1,000 times in this speech. He said it in every single sentence.

It just makes me sick. It makes me nearly as sick as Angela Merkel saying anyone who questions the lockdown is a “fact-denier.”

America is not a free country.

It was a lunatic claim to make before the virus hoax, and at this point, anyone who says “America is a free country” belongs in a padded room. We are not only not free, we are the most un-free country in all of human history.

No people, ever, have been forced under threat of state violence to remain in their houses, having committed no crime.

No people have ever been forced to cover their faces in public.

No government has ever purposefully collapsed their nation’s economy, destroying millions of jobs and tens of thousands of small businesses.

These are all entirely new forms of oppression, invented by the 2020 United States government.

No one denies this.

They will just say, “but there’s a virus tho.”

Before the virus though, we still had nothing approaching the amount of freedom the people of China have.

Just look at freedom of speech.

In America, you are not allowed to:

Criticize Jews (the richest people in the country)
Criticize homosexuals
Criticize women
Criticize black people
Criticize immigration
Make fun of CNN
Question the veracity of theSandy Hook shooting
Say that men are not women

After the banning of QAnon memes from Twitter, it is unclear if
you are even allowed to support Donald Trump at all.

In China, you are not allowed to:

Denounce the government
Produce or distribute pornography
Promote homosexuality

It isn’t comparable.

In America, entire categories of thought are banned.

What’s more, the enforcement of speech violations is different.

In China, if you criticize the government after having been given a warning, you may get a fine.

In America, you can be hunted by a mob, and the government will not defend you. You can lose your job and not be able to get another job. Your family can be harassed. Intelligence agents will go see everyone you’ve ever met and threaten them, attempting to extort information about you from them.

What’s more, in America you don’t really even know what you’re allowed to say at any given moment. You can cross lines you didn’t know existed. In China, everyone who breaks speech rules knows what they’re doing before they hit “send.”

Furthermore, the US government has made it clear that protests that they don’t agree with are completely impossible. Three years ago, in Charlottesville, Virginia, Americans gathered to defend a statue commemorating a war our ancestors fought, and they were attacked by the police, driven into a violent mob of terrorists – then many of the protesters were charged with crimes, and sued. This was intended to send a message: the United States government will not tolerate dissent on the streets.

The pattern of allowing government-supporting terrorists to attack dissidents and then charging the victims with crimes has been well-established over the last four years. One high profile case involved the Proud Boys, who were stalked on the streets of New York by Antifa, and when they defended themselves, were arrested. The attackers refused to file charges because they wanted to keep their identities secret, so the city charged them with “rioting.”

In China you can protest freely.
No one attacks you. The cops do not gas you.

The US starting a war with China because they want to enforce freedom on them would be like China invading the US because they want to enforce good driving habits on us.

It is complete bullshit.

If we were invaded by the Chinese, there is zero chance that we would not have more freedom than we have right now in this country. People don’t like hearing that, but it is simply a fact.

I am not defending China. I do not support the Chinese system, and believe that the American Constitution is the very best system of government ever.

We are not operating under the system that was created by our Founding Fathers. Whatever you want to call this current system – “neoliberalism” seems to work, but take your pick, there isn’t really a word for it – it is totally unrelated to any previous system.

I do not want to be invaded and ruled by the Chinese. I want our own people to rule our own country.

I am just telling you what the situation is.

Shills on /pol/ are shilling this nonsense, just like they shilled the hell out of the coronavirus hoax.

What exactly are we even talking about here?

If China is threatening the United States, sure, let’s defend ourselves.

But they’re not threatening us.

They’re allegedly threatening Antifa rioters and Moslems in their own country, and a sea to the south of their country.

We have real problems. We should not even be talking about this.

-Pompeo the Hutt Signals a Desire for a War with the ..

A “fair warning” meeting of military leaders

Before the invasion flotilla and the supporting armadas left for China, military leaders from both China and the United States held a “meeting of the minds” in Hawaii.

China was fully willing and ready to discuss things, but the United States, Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo kept on postponing the meetings.

Often leaving the diplomats siting in bare, empty waiting rooms and lobby’s. It was entirely rude, very insulting, and set the tone for the events that followed.

When the meeting finally did occur, neither Donald Trump or Mike Pompeo attended. Just the Military “Brass” that was in charge of the Armada.

No one knows what was said. But knowing what I know about China, and my experience in the ONI, it was blunt, direct, to the point and very matter-of-fact.

My guess is that China told the Admirals and Military Leadership that any attack on any Chinese islands, ships, people or equipment will be met in similar fashion. And probably not to expect a “regional” conflict.

If America attacks China; Chinese soil and Chinese people….

China will attack America; American soil and American people.

The “News” Reports.

What is STUNNING is that very little of this was reported.

I mean, you have an armada the size of the D-Day invasion, and it was off the Chinese coast, so close that the people on the beaches could see the ships, and the pilots could oogle the girls in their swimsuits.

And it was RADIO SILENCE.

Sure there were articles. But if you try to find anything of substance, you will be sorely disappointed.

It’s all pretty much variations of the same theme;

China is a threat to democracy and “freedom” to shipping out of China. (Why China would ever want to destroy it’s own shipping venues is NEVER discussed.)
America must lead the world in “countering” China.
China is growing and must be stopped NOW!
America must respond militarily NOW, NOW, NOW!
If America does nothing, Communism will spread all over the globe.

Yeah. You get the idea.

Now as far as really specific details, they are no where to be found.

It’s buckets and buckets of non-essential data. But nothing regarding the actual actions, events, players, or events. The news as to what went on regarding the actual vessels during this period is very detailed, but doesn’t really say anything or provide any information.

As in what these following examples illustrate.

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)

There’s a ton of articles about this carrier, but little in the way of detail.

The US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 have finished carrier qualifications.

In this period, the CVN 71 qualified pilots from the Tomcatters of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, Golden Warriors of VFA-87, Blue Diamonds of VFA-146 and Black Knights of VFA-154.

Pilots from Liberty Bells of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 115, The Gray Wolves of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, and the Providers of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30 were also qualified.

In support of carrier qualifications, the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 and the Wolf Pack of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 also worked with the vessel.

US Navy Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 commander Captain Steve Jaureguizar said: “It is very gratifying to be able to return to our primary mission in the Indo-Pacific.

“The carrier air wing joined together with the carrier is the bedrock of naval aviation and power projection.”

During carrier qualifications, naval aviators sharpen their skills acquired during Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP).The operational relationship between CVW-11 and the Theodore Roosevelt is claimed to have been fortified by carrier qualifications.

-3JUN20 USS Theodore Roosevelt and CVW11 complete carrier qualifications

USS Nimitz

This is true for all the carriers involved. A great deal of information that pretty much says nothing. And for the USS Nimitz…

USS Nimitz, USS Ronald Reagan join for exercises in South China Sea
Josh Farley, Kitsap Sun 7/6/2020
   
SOUTH CHINA SEA — Fighter jets and other aircraft have launched around the clock on the USS Nimitz's flight deck in recent days as the Bremerton-based carrier performs a central role in the Navy's rare show of force in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. 

The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are conducting dual-carrier operations in the Indo-Pacific as the Nimitz CSF. The Nimitz and carrier USS Ronald Reagan have been performing exercises together to "strengthen warfighting readiness and proficiency," including simulations to strike enemy territory while in waters claimed by China and neighboring nations. 

Even a B-52 Stratofortress bomber flew a 28-hour mission from Louisiana to participate in the exercises, the Air Force announced separately.

"Dual carrier operations demonstrate unique U.S. capabilities, increase carrier strike force command and control experience, and show our commitment to regional allies," said Capt. Todd Cimicata, commander of the Nimitz-based Carrier Air Wing 17, in a news release. "Additionally, our operations reinforce the rights, freedoms, and lawful use of the sea and airspace guaranteed by international law."

It's been six years since the Navy has performed dual-carrier operations in the sea, a critical waterway for trillions of dollars in annual trade — and one claimed by China as its territory. But that claim was rebuked by an international tribunal in 2016. Five other countries, including the Philippines, have overlapping claims in the sea.

The Chinese government, which has continued to develop military defenses in the sea on both natural and manmade islands, was not pleased at the news of the exercises, even as its own military held exercises nearby around the Paracel Islands.

More: Nimitz at sea: Getting a new crew of sailors deployment ready
"The U.S. is disrupting peace and stability of the South China Sea and pushing for militarization by sending military forces for large-scale military exercises," China's Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Twitter Monday. 

The Nimitz left Bremerton in late April to complete the rest of its strike group training and head out on deployment. Some 8,000 personnel had been in quarantine for the bulk of the month and all were tested for COVID-19 prior to departure. 

In early June, with the completion of all of its pre-deployment training, the Nimitz charted a course across the Pacific with its strike group, including Everett-based ships. The carrier pulled into Guam for a port visit June 24, following dual-carrier operations with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which is back at sea following a coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship earlier this year.

While ashore at Guam, sailors from the Nimitz could go to designated beaches to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19. 

"The morale boost this gives to the hardworking and dedicated Sailors and Marines onboard Nimitz, many of whom have been embarked aboard ship for nearly three months, is immeasurable," Nimitz Commanding Officer Capt. Max Clark, said in a news release.

Days later, it entered the Philippine Sea, followed by the South China Sea, where it continues operations with the Yokosuka, Japan, forward-deployed Reagan and its strike group. The Nimitz isn't likely to return to Bremerton before 2021. 


-USS Nimitz, USS Ronald Reagan join for exercises in South ...

The USS Ronald Reagan

News on the USS Ronald Reagan…

USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan are now in the South China Sea for military drills, a U.S. Navy official confirms to Fox News.

"The purpose is to show an unambiguous signal to our partners and allies that we are committed to regional security and stability," Rear Adm. George Wikoff told the Wall Street Journal, which was the first media to report the exercises likely to irk Beijing.

The drills, to support a free and open Indo-Pacific and promote an international rules-based order, also included "round-the-clock flights testing the striking ability of carrier-based aircraft," he added.

The South China Sea is where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. The waters are a major shipping route for global commerce and are rich in fish and possible oil and gas reserves.

China’s People’s Liberation Army had been staging exercises off the Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea since July 1, angering the Philippines, and Chinese maritime officials have prohibited all vessels from navigating within the area of the maneuvers.

In another message to China, a B-52 bomber from Louisiana flew a 28-hour mission to train with jets from the aircraft carriers Reagan and Nimitz in the South China Sea, according to the Air Force.

-US, China ramp up South China Sea tension with new military drills

As you can see, the “news” doesn’t say much except…

Ships sent to the South China Sea.
Purpose is to show an “unambiguous signal” to China.
Running simulations to strike enemy territory while in waters claimed by China.
Practicing joint carrier operations.

The “news” reports on the armada, it’s size and scope has not been well reported.

All historical comparisons are missing.

Any exclamation to the size and the nature of the mission parameters and the vast number of ships and fleet integration issues are all missing. Apparently, this entire effort is not to be publicized to the English Speaking Audiences in America and the UK.

No where, any where, is there any mention of the SIZE of the armada, and all the simultaneous efforts that Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State) was doing to organize a military coalition against China.

This coalition is known as “The Quad”.

The QUAD

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), better known as "Quad," took another key step toward its key goal of becoming an anti-China military alliance with the signing by the United States and India of a military agreement to share spy satellite data.

-US, India Sign Military Agreement During Pompeo, Esper Trip

The Quad, QDS or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is an informal strategic assembly between four nations – The United States, India, Australia and Japan.

The forum was initiated as a dialogue in 2007 by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, with the support of Vice President Dick Cheney of the USA, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, and is maintained by meetings that occur on a semi-regular basis.

The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. It existed officially from 2007-2008, after which it was partially dissolved due to the Australian withdrawal from this forum under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

However, it was re-established in 2017, during the ASEAN Summits, with all four former members rejoined in negotiations to revive the quadrilateral alliance. The intention was to re-purpose the QUAD as an Asian “NATO”. Which is intended to be a large regional military force under the direct command of the United States military. All for the express purposes of “suppressing”, “countering”, China’s rise in the area.

Not at all discussed is the regional QUAD members being urged to support the UK/American Naval armada while running their exercises in the region.

By most accounts there were some pressures being placed on the various nations, but most (with the exception of Australia) declined to engage militarily against China in any way.

Australia has signed a joint military agreement with the United States, which includes allowing the United States Navy to operate a Naval base on Australian territory..

For the United States Navy to operate near China, it needs strong logistic support.

To this end, the Trump administration has been trying to obtain this support by resurrecting the QUAD.

It appears that Australia has agreed to that role. While the rest of the nations are maintaining a neutral presence.

The Time Period

Ever since President Trump was elected, the relationship went from “Most Favored Trade Partner” in 2016 to “enemy” in 2019.

This entire event sequence was planned before Trump was President.

It predates 2017.

Apparently, the American Naval forces were to have moved into place in March 2020, but they were postponed when the battle fleets ended up getting COVID-19 coronavirus and had to dock at remote American Naval bases to recover.

As best that I can determine, the armada was schedule to coincide with [1] an uncontrollable out-break of COVID-19B on Chinese soil, [2] a “fire hose” of anti-Chinese propaganda, [3] and intentional riots in Hong Kong.

COVID-19B is the very lethal strain of Coronavirus. It hit China, Iran, and North Korea simultaneously. It causes brain seizures, and collapse. It operates in stealth, and incubates and then hits very suddenly after it sheds to others.

COVID-19A is the "herd immunity" strain. It is very mild and gives people a sore throat, but conveys immunity to the lethal strain. It hit America, and the Trump administration insisted that no one wear masks so that the entire nation could get this strain. And thus have immunity.

But none of what was expect actually happened.

The battle armada was delayed by the coronavirus COVID-19A.
The Hong Kong riots were suppressed successfully (A first for the CIA sponsored NED / NID operations. These “color revolutions” are very difficult to control, and the United States has had decades perfecting the techniques and systems.)
And China went DEFCON ONE on CNY 2020, and completely suppressed the COVID-19B bio-weapons attack.

Thus the armada fleet was delayed by four months.

The timetable was rescheduled to late-summer starting in July, and forces were in the Chinese waters and the South China Sea during July, August and September 2020.

The armada steamed home in Late September, October 2020.

The Events

So what happened?

Subs to sink all global shipping out of China

We know that the United States moved hunter-killer subs to the South China Sea to threaten China and all shipping out of China. These ships are designed and are on a mission to threaten to sink all shipping traffic out of China. That would suppress global trade like nothing else;

Navy Sends Subs to Sea as Message to China

The US Naval submarine forces are being used like the German “Wolf Packs” of World War II; to sink shipping vessels. You remember, don’t you? Those diabolical Nazi Germans who were sinking ships left and right…

The Wolfpacks What is a Wolfpack? The wolfpacks, known to the Germans as Rudeltaktik, were created by Karl Donitz as a means to defeat the allied convoy system after his experiences as U-boat commander in World War 1. In June 1940 the first such operations were tried with the tactical control given to the senior officer of the group.

The Wolfpacks - German U-boat Operations - Kriegsmarine ...

.
Donald Trump threatens to end all global trade by making shipping by sea impossible. He placed hunter-killer subs on all the sea-lanes out of China.
.
He also sent Black-Ops submarines to the region as well…

American airborne forces practice invasion of islands and Chinese territory

We also know that the American Army has been practicing seizing islands by dropping paratroopers in practice runs.

U.S. Army Paratroopers Capturing Chinese Outposts? People’s Liberation Army Scoffs At The Idea

ICBM missiles being fired towards China as a show of strength

We know that America is flexing it’s muscles and firing ICBM missiles as a warning to China…

A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Wednesday 2SEP20 at 12:03 a.m. The test launch used an unarmed missile that traveled over 4,000 miles, at a speed of more than 15,000 mph.

And China responds…

China shows that it will respond with it’s own missiles

China launches four of it’s “Aircraft Carrier Killer Missiles” into the South China Sea. DoD can confirm that the Chinese military launched four medium-range missiles Wednesday from mainland China,” a defense official said.”The missiles impacted in the South China Sea between Hainan Island and the Paracel Islands,” the official added. “The launch appears to have been part of a previously announced exercise.”

But about the actual fleet operations…

Reports on what occurred during the American lead naval sortie in the South China Sea in late Summer 2020, are coming in…

… in drips and drabs.

Nothing much from America or the UK.

So what actually happened?

No one is speaking. It’s all “X Ray”.

Well we know the result of the armada adventure by what the Presidential Administration did next…

There is going to be a change in strategy. This new strategy would involve the use of AI controlled underwater weapons and drones. The use of a “traditional” assault force using a large force of carriers is not considered to be practical.
Huge Increase in R&D development. Additionally large boost to the black budget has been approved and moving forward.
The top military in charge of the operation were fired.

From the Chinese side, the reports are;

Chinese energy beam weapons have been used successfully to disable both aircraft and Naval vessels near China.
These energy beam weapons operate underwater as well as through the air.
Once disabled, the ships and aircraft lose full control, and all their anti-missile technology is useless.
Nuclear reactors on both aircraft carrier, and underwater submarines go “haywire” and have to manually SCRAM. All power is lost. All electronics fail, even on backup battery power. A nuclear meltdown is a serious risk.
Chinese munitions have successfully targeted, and locked on these defenseless vehicles. But none were fired.
Chinese naval advanced lasers have fired low-intensity beams at US Naval aircraft in the South China Sea. They were obviously meant as a warning, as their design specs are quite deadly.
The Chinese are able to de-cloak American stealth fighters and bombers.
The Chinese possess swarms of small robotic sharks that can mess up electronics and detonate as a bomb.
American electronic collection aircraft have been using fake civilian aircraft transponders to get near the mainland and probe the Chinese military defenses.
The location of all submarines, and naval vessels in the South China Sea have been tracked in real time using a very extensive system of redundant sensor systems. The entire South China Sea is arrayed in a very detailed, redundant and extensive multi-layered network of Chinese sensors.
The South China Sea is just swarming with Chinese advanced underwater drones with independent AI, and the ability to sink carrier-sized vessels.
CIA spies drowned on secret mission to track Chinese …

(Note; If it is reported, it's NOT secret) FOUR paramilitary CIA officers drowned while on a secret mission to plant an underwater pod intended to track the Chinese military in the South China Sea, it has emerged. The men were reportedly caught in a tropical storm while attempting to place the device, which had been disguised to resemble a rock, off the Philippine island of Luzon.

Meet the HN-1, China's New AI-Powered Underwater Drone. The battle for future undersea AI dominance is heating up and China’s ambitions are not small in this domain. — Meet the HN-1, China’s New AI-Powered Underwater Drone. The battle for future undersea AI dominance is heating up and China’s ambitions are not small in this domain.

The Chinese have intercepted clandestine troops in operations upon Chinese territory. It is unknown what has happened to them…

I wonder…

Curiously, from American Media…

There was an “accident” when American marine forces attempted a landing on “one of the islands off California”. All eight / nine of the soldiers are assumed dead. None were recovered. The justification is that the ocean is “too deep”, and they all died inside of an “amphibious tank”. But by looking at any oceanographic map of the islands off the California coast, we can see that this claim is simply not true.

Just keep in mind that there were many, many events and actions that were NOT reported to the public during this entire period of time.

Here is a nice interactive map of the (inferred) Chinese power projection in the South China Sea.

Since 2014, China has substantially expanded its ability to monitor and project power throughout the South China Sea via the construction of dual civilian-military bases at its outposts in the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands. These include new radar and communications arrays, airstrips and hangars to accommodate combat aircraft, and deployments of mobile surface-to-air and anti-ship cruise missile systems.

Strange Events in American military bases

Apparently, while the United States Navy was conducting “maneuvers” in the South China Sea, with the five carrier assault groups and Marine Landing / Attack forces, as well as with the entire British carrier fleet…

…something else was happening simultaneously.

Well reported in the mainstream press, but no one was putting “two plus two” together. These strange “tictac” shaped UFO’s started to appear and “move freely” all over American military bases inside of America. At THE SAME TIME as the American Navy was “probing the Chinese coastal defenses“.

Whether they are “aliens” or not is a good question.

One thing is for certain, and that is the technology involved in these craft are far up and above (perhaps centuries) more advanced than anything the United States has fielded. They can “pop” into existence out of no-where. They are immune to radar, and thermal signatures. They can accelerate to enormous speeds in a short period of time, and they are equally capable of underwater, air and space travel.

The American Navy, who has tracked and monitored these UFO’s, has strongly suggested that these “tictoc” vehicles are of Chinese manufacture and use.

Docs Show Navy Got 'UFO' Patent Granted By Warning Of Similar Chinese Tech Advances Patent documents indicate that the U.S. and China are actively developing radical new craft that seem eerily...

-Docs Show Navy Got 'UFO' Patent Granted By Warning Of Chinese Technology...

Maybe, just maybe, the narrative that this is “Chinese technology” isn’t so outlandish. It seems odd, don’t you think, that extraterrestrials would be interested in probing American military bases at the same time that the United States assembled a major armada probing China’s coastal water.

“Chinese Tictac” UFO that was buzzing and moving in and out of American military installations and airbases while the American Naval flotilla was busy probing the Chinese Coasts during the Summer of 2020.

There are all sort’s of strange things going on.

And it is difficult to see patterns unless you are active in researching and collecting the drips and drabs that land here and there from the various “media” sources.

So, consider this bit of curious “news”…

Strange Events resulting in the destruction of an American “minor carrier”.

An American VTOL carrier catches fire and burns up. Imagine that!

My personal belief is that this is a “tit for tat” response to a similar fire that broke out on the largest Chinese helicopter carrier while in dock. It was undetermined how the fire started, and the Chinese did not blame anyone.

So let’s look at this.

A mysterious fire breaks out and engulfs the newest and most advanced VTOL Chinese carrier.

April 2020

China’s first Type-075 amphibious assault carrier, designed for launching helicopters, caught fire last week while docked in Shanghai.

The fire broke out aboard the Chinese ship on April 11, Forbes reported. The blazing carrier was China’s first amphibious assault carrier and the ship was set to be sailed down a nearby waterway within days of when the fire broke out.

Photos and videos of the burning ship first circulated around Chinese social media, and eventually Twitter.

The fire appears to have spread within the hull of the ship and possibly in the ship’s aircraft hangar. Smoke could be seen billowing out of the ship’s aircraft lift elevators.

Forbes reported that the fires caused extensive smoke damage to the hull before they were eventually put out. Black smoke stains could be seen from the ship’s stern, though the full extent of the fire’s spread and ensuing damage are not known.

The Chinese assault carrier is similar in design to the U.S. Wasp- and America-class assault carriers, which are meant for launching helicopters and vertical takeoff aircraft in support of amphibious landing operations.

-China’s first helo assault carrier catches fire

But we can see this as one of many such efforts by the trump Administration to attack and probe Chinese defenses.

Then…

Out of the blue…

July 2020

The Navy’s USS Bonhomme Richard burned for days at its pier in San Diego. After the fire was put out, the Navy registered the destruction as “total” and wrote off the vessel as a total loss. No one claimed responsibility for the damage, and it is officially listed as “accidental” or “undefined”.

The two fires that burned Tuesday were at the front and rear of ship. The cause of the fire is unknown, although it appears to have started in a vast cargo area that is used to transport landing craft and equipment used by Marines when they assault a shore.

-USS Bonhomme Richard continues to burn Tuesday more than 48 hours after the fire broke out

Donald Trump did blame Iran in some of his tweets, and accused them of this or that. But he has a history of doing that. So you all cam pretty much discount that.

A brand new Chinese Navy Assault Helicopter / VTOL Carrier catches fire while at dock. It is unknown what caused the fire.

Two months later an American assault Helicopter / VTOL Carrier catches fire while at dock. It is unknown what caused the fire. Both ships are equivalent in mission capabilities, size and deployment capabilities.

The Results

If you were to sum up everything in a pithy saying, you might say this…

The neocon Trump administration has decided to wage a full-spectrum war with China, on Chinese soil. To this end, they assembled a historically massive Naval armada and threatened China in the hopes of provoking a military response.

They expected to encounter a military run by disillusioned communist conscripts using 1980’s level technology, Instead, they found themselves unmatched and confronted to a determined, talented, and well equipped force with technology that is decades more advanced that what the United States fields.

The military refused to engage the Chinese forces, and as a result, there was no war to rally the United States against a common enemy. Donald Trump was expecting to be re-elected as a “war president”, as historically, all “war presidents” are always re-elected. (Which pretty much explains the “fire hose” of anti-China propaganda throughout all of 2020.)

As a result, the lack of a “hot war” or “incident” showing American “strength” contributed to an election loss. Reeling from the defeat, and blaming it on the imission of key re-election criteria, Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper upon his defeat in the general presidential election.

And his supporters?

Well, they pretty much want to see the world burn.

A Final Note

Keep in mind that while the United States military, and it’s allies are in-love with big, costly and expensive military equipment, they require maintenance to work properly. They require skilled people to use, maintain, and operate.

People need more than just training. They need understanding of the full complexities of the systems that they are in charge of.

In the Western publications we often see successful test firings of missiles, and elaborate presentations at air shows, but anyone who actually works… hands-on… in the development of these systems (such as myself) can tell you, that for every successful firing, display or utilization of a system, are comparatively ten failures.

When you field these systems, you had best have well-educated, skilled people trained in their use. They must have above-average intelligence and able to react to changes in a very contentious, high stress environment. An environment where all normal means of operation, supply and communications are compromised. Having crew on Naval Vessels that got there by diversity scoring, waivers, and who are unable to pass the most basic physical fitness standards is a lethal decision during a hot war.

What is not shown to “Joe and Suzy Q Public”…

Do not be so sure that everything will work as perfectly as it seems on paper. It’s been my experience that things tend to go to Hell very, very quickly in dangers and contentious environments.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Trump Trade War Index here…

Trump Trade War

Articles & Links

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
You can find out more about the author HERE.
If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.

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Metallican comments on the 2020 Presidential Election

As an expat, and as a retired what-ever-you-wanna-call-it, I look at the USA today with a great deal of sadness. It pains me to watch the United States as it is today, and yearn for a simpler time where people followed the rules and got along. This is not going to be a long post. The United States is far too polarized to say anything without offending someone. Instead, I will display my feelings on this matter for all to see.

And that is that.

The 2020 election.

I think that there are others that must feel this same way.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Happiness Index here…

Life & Happiness

Articles & Links

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
You can find out more about the author HERE.
If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.

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A handbook or preparation checklist for a business KTV trip.

Heh, heh. Make no mistake, you will need to be prepared. And this post / article is my notes that I use to make sure that I am a well-prepared “boy scout” when I go off to one of these venues next time.

So, here is a handbook or a check list that I have made of what you should and should not do when going to a business KTV in China. This is also part story. It is a narrative of my latest excursion and the mistakes that I made there. Maybe an astute reader might learn a thing or two in the process.

If you all don’t know what all this is about, then I would suggest that you first read my series of posts on Business KTV’s in China and Asia. You can click on this link and go there directly.

Business KTV's

Warning. This is adult stuff for adults. It can be offensive to people with softer personalities. Read at your own risk.

Introduction

Ohhh. I am so sore.

It’s been three days now, and my body is still not up to par. I attribute it to massive quantities of fake Hennessy VSOP, and my age, and the over all stress of the long trip to and from the factory and the clubs. But next time, I will be better prepared. I’ll tell you what.

It’s day three, and I am still sore…

My arms feel like an elephant is squashing them.
My joints are all gritty and sandy.
My shoulders and neck are puffy and sore.
My stomach is slowly healing.

You know, I’m really pretty good with these kinds of adventures, but the last year (the year of the dog) 2020 was terrible. On all fronts, and in all areas, and the pandemic and the world-wide industrial / economic collapse was horrible for business, as well as for business trips to the KTV venues.

Seriously, I hadn’t gone to any of these venues for a long time. Maybe twelve months. And as such, I was not really ready for my lack of conditioning.

Blame the pandemic.

But…

Yeah. I take full responsibly for my lack of preparation and conditioning.

It’s like body building, or sports. You have to maintain a certain degree of exercise and stamina. You need to practice and give your body warm-up exercises and exercises so that you will be fit for the game or the event. And that is so true about working, and business KTV’s.

But next time…

Next time…

I will be far better prepared. And while you all might think that I am an expert in these matters (well, I am), I also make mistakes and have issues. And you all need to prepare for what you will expect, and how you can handle them. Let’s talk about these things right now.

Your health

If you are younger, say under 40 years old, your health will not be that much of an issue. You can be wildly out of shape, but still be able to enjoy a business outing and KTV venue. The problem comes when you start getting older.

I am in my 60’s. You can say that I am 60-ish. Heh heh, and I am no longer that young 20-year old stud full of piss and vinegar. So, this article is written for us older folk. maybe 35 and up who actually go to these venues. (After all, and you need to keep in mind, that most men who go to these venues are over 35 years old.)

So, I am going to be blunt.

Long before you start going to any of these business venues, you will need to perform daily exercises. If you are not moderately healthy, then these venues and a dinner and drinking will absolutely wreck havoc on your body. As I well am experiencing now. You must be moderately healthy. Moderately.

Try to do daily exercise.

It doesn’t have to be anything overly strenuous, but it should be some sit-ups, some pushups or some arm curls. Alternatively try some walking, or bicycle riding. All very important. Don’t put if off. It’s not to work out hard, the purpose is to maintain a moderately healthy lifestyle. A “couch potato” will never be able to enjoy one of these venues.

On the good side is that older men who exercise will see results faster than when they were young. So instead of needing to do 100 pushups when I was in my early 20's, I now only need to do 20.

On the negative side, it's much harder to do those few pushups. Yikes!

In general, I do eat well, and I walk most every day. But still one bad batch of fake hard alcohol can put me down “surer than shit”. I’ll tell you what.

It’s not that the other bosses know that the alcohol is fake. They thought that they were honoring me by giving me Hennessy, but it was fake. I can tell. I do know my whiskey and my VSOP. They just didn’t know, and they would lose their “face” if I told them. So when offered such a drink, you need to be prepared.

And if offered, you need to drink it.

When offered alcohol

Now, I have covered this before, but I will revise it to these new “rules of engagement”.

Suggest that you drink White Wine. Or, bring your own alcohol with you.

53 degree white wine is powerful and potent stuff for certain. But it is real. REAL. The really expensive stuff is good, and will not give you any head or muscle aches. But it is really pricey. So knowing that everyone will intend to get drunk, make sure that you are drinking real, and genuine alcohol. Not some kind of locomotive degreaser mixed with flavorings to approximate an expensive Western beverage.

And all Chinese know the differences between “good” white wine and “cheap” shit.

I am not being facetious.

Hennessy cognac
They say that sales of Hennessy cognac in the whole world exceeds its production by 3-4 times. This means that only every 3-4 bottle Hennessy – original cognac, and the volume of counterfeit reaches 80%.

However, this information is not confirmed. But, most likely, not very far from the truth.

One of the leaders in the number of counterfeits of course, is the Hennessy XO cognac to distinguish a fake, you need to pay attention to the following signs:

1. Volume of 0.5 liters. Hennessy XO Cognac in 0.5l. is performed. Original cognac is bottled only in bottles of 0.35 and 0.7 liters.;

2. Sheath tube. Original plug and the shell made with special technology (including laser engraving and hologram Holosleeve), very snug to the glass bottle. Casing should be reminiscent of the inexpensive wines produced domestically.

A very large number of fake accounts for the lion’s share of Hennessy VSOP cognac counterfeit accounts, bottled in the form of a jar, 0.5 liter. Therefore, we recommend absolutely refuse to buy a bottle of Hennessy VSOP in this form and volume. Better buy regular round bottle.

If no reasonable alternatives not, and buy a bottle of brandy-flask is inevitable, then you should pay attention to the following (they are similar to symptoms for Hennessy XO):

1. Cap. It should not resemble the usual vodka. Hennessy cognac house a lot of attention to producing jams and their protection, discussed above.

2. Relief image of a hand with a halberd. It must be present in the upper part of the front side of the bottle.

-How to verify the authenticity of the alcohol (10 pictures)

The best time to suggest this is before the dinner. If your hosts don’t have any bottles on hand, you go out ad buy some real stuff from a supermarket.

So make sure that you do so way before anyone goes into their office storage closet and pulls out some XO, VSOP or Whiskey from one of the cases in their stash. Ask for either real white wine, or real red wine.

Other than that, you stick with beer.

In this instance, the factory paid 1000 RMB for this bottle of fake Hennessy at a restaurant in a small village town. Of course it was fake. By the time it was purchased, it was too late to say no. Ugh!

Have your aide specify either white wine, or red wine. No hard alcohol.

The red wine is usually hit or miss. It depends on the size of the company and a little bit about the owners experience with wine. In general, I would say that about 70% of the time that the red wine would be real. But it’s the remaining 30% of the time that you got to watch out for.

My preference is always for red wine. It’s healthier for you, and will help us older guys in the bedroom.

But white wine is a guarantee that the alcohol is genuine.

Make sure that you specify either red or white wine, and stay away from hard alcohol if you are going to have any romping and play in a business KTV.

Avoid Fake or potentially fake alcohol

It’s not just the terrible side effects, fake alcohol can really harm you. It can damage your body and trigger cancer. Do not fuck with it.

Drinking alcohol containing these chemicals can cause nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, drowsiness and dizziness. It can also lead to kidney or liver problems and even coma. Methanol, a substance which can be used in fake vodka, may cause permanent blindness.

-The dangers of fake alcohol | Drinkaware

Some notes on the girls

This last trip I was offered three or even more girls to have fun with. They really wanted me to have a good time, and well, the more the merrier, right?

I was not thinking (all that fucking fake alcohol) and declined. I just settled on one chick.

What was I thinking? I told them my usual “I’m a man, not a machine”, but in hindsight, I was wrong.

This particular factory always offers me multiple girls to play with. Why did I decline? I don’t know. Maybe it’s my prudish side.

The first group(s) of girls were short-time girls. We told them to go away as we were only interested in long-time girls. Here we see the manager talking to the girls.

Next time, I’ll ask for a basketball team sized entourage of chicks and see what happens. Maybe they will get a volume-discount from the manager. LOL.

Have your aide specify that if possible, you are fine with multiple long-time girls.

And that’s another thing.

Why the Hell didn’t I get the name card of the manager. I must always get her card. You know, for future referrals. Ugh!

Have your aide get the business card of the Girl’s manager for you.

All in all

Over all, this last business trip was the first one that I had in over twelve months due to the fucking coronavirus.

Only one in twelve months!

Unbelievable!

Keep in mind that these excursions used to be from one to three times a week.

I blame it solidly on the coronavirus, and the fucking asshole who unleashed it on CNY 2020, Donald Trump and his army of neocon assholes.

RANT – WARNING – RANT -WARNING – RANT – WARNING

So, and a nice big FUCK YOU to Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo. I hope that you get a taste of the turmoil that you unleashed on the rest of the world.

In my view it is like America has had a massive case of diarrhea for the last forty years, and Donald Trump was the orifice that enabled it to spew forth. It’s just that he painted a big old bulls eye on me, my business, my family and my friends. FUCK HIM.

Let’s keep all that shit in the United States, ok? Let it rot and fester and get resolved THERE. Stop trying to release it upon the rest of the world. OK? Am I clear about this?

Anyways, I know that my strong opinions on Trump and his anti-China crusade is going to rankle the hides of my of my American readership. Sorry. But you were (for the last four years) just spectators.

You were spectators of the “news”. You read this article or that article, and you clapped with glee as he terrorized this other nation and that other nation. It was fun, because you weren’t affected. “Look at us! Woo Woo”

So what? You only had to pay 30% more for your appliances, and goods. No biggie! In your mind anything was fine just as long Donald Trump was “sticking it to” those hyper progressive Marxists. No more social-reengineering! That’s worth it, right?

America was a republic for less than 20 years, and then became a democracy. Democracies always become oligarchy-ruled military empires. The only way off this “merry-go-round” is either a complete collapse of the government or an evolution to some other kind of government structure. And, judging from the 2020 election, it seems that most American want Marxism. I think it’s stupid, and crazy, but who am I to say? Whatever floats your boat, eh?

Yeah. So, Trump, yeah, he built a wall. Didn’t he? And he put Hillary Clinton in prison. Right? That’s what he did, right? He got America back to working, and more restaurants and stores are open than ever before! He’s a genius!

Americans are now proud to be called Americans. Why; a whole two other nations in the entire world now accepts Americans! You can travel to West Gianna, and East Bumfuck without problem. All thanks to the reincarnation of Jesus Christ himself! And the great new realignments in the Geo-Political area that Mike Pompeo has mapped out.

Yeah. I get it.

I was like youse guys.

This God damn fucking clown painted a big red bullseye on China. Then this fucking jackass carpet bombed China with FUCKING seven (S-E-V-E-N) bio-weapons. First to destroy all the food, and then to destroy the Chinese people. All these honking big assed viral agents are so enormous that it takes weeks for them to dissipate under normal H-UV.

Then he steamed five carriers comprising three separate assault armadas to the South China Sea. Yeah, and you all laughed and clapped so happy that Donald was going to finally “teach China a lesson”. Woo Hoo! Weeeee!

Except it didn’t work out that way. Did it? Nope. The USA (and British) navies were thoroughly tromped by the Chinese, and the navies slithered back home. It was a MASSIVE DEFEAT. And I am going to write about it… soon. It’s a very interesting story. And one that you won’t read about anywhere else.

The USA got it’s ass handed to them. Bet ya didn’t read about it on FOX, CNN or MSN, did you?

You see, America is crude and judges by appearances only. And China presents a nice pleasant face while holding some very strong and powerful capabilities. It’s an often over looked aspect of China. One that only idiots and fools make.

Only fools misjudge by appearance.

Only an idiot would judge a person by it’s appearance. You need to see the entire picture in great detail. You do not make a cardboard cut-out, and throw darts at it. Thinking that there won’t be any repercussions. Oh there will be. And Trump has sent in motion some very long-term negatives for the people of the United States.

So. No. I’m not going to give him a pass. And neither is anyone else.

RANT – WARNING – RANT -WARNING – RANT – WARNING

Anyways… Phew! I’ve got off the subject again.

All in all, I was prepared. More or less. The news about the trip and the resulting plans were given to me the day before the event. Normally this would be considered “short notice”, but I was ready. And super willing, let me tell you.

It is no accident that I was ready and willing to visit a factory and talk with colleagues. This is, and has been, an important part of my life. What is a restaurant without customers? What is a hospital without patients? What is a pet store without pets? Meeting and talking about product design, development and manufacture is my life. And it has been asleep ever since Donald Trump decided to unleash the pandemic upon the world.

So when the time came, I was up for it.

And it pretty much went well.

The drive to the factory

Most of the factories are far away from where I live and my offices. Typically they are at least a one hour drive, and this one was a four hour drive. We hit the road and drove out of the various third tier cities until we hit real countryside, and then it was just the winding band of the highway rolling in and out through tunnels and over these enormous bridges.

Urination and smoke breaks were every hour or so. And we made good time. The rest areas were pretty much the same, though the pandemic had really put a “damper” on the travel plans of many a Chinese citizen, and so some of the normally open venues in the various plazas were shut down, with rolled corrugated doors locking things silent.

I would say about 20% of the stores and “fast food” establishments were shut down.

But the driving was nice. We drove through the green hills, under a nice blue sky with the mandatory or obligatory white cumulus clouds. It was fine, if long.

And it was great to see my friends and associates. They looked good. And it was great to sit down and drink tea, smoke some cigarettes with them, and generally deal with the matters at hand. On the work scene, it was great to get back to a factory, and the smells and the feeling of the environment really energized me.

After doing our business at the factory, we de-camped for the night’s festivities. Left left the car at the factory and then from that moment on, we were under the full hospitality of the factory and our fellow boss friends.

Dinner

Of course, the factory was in the more rural areas, and so we drove for about twenty minutes to a larger town. You might refer to it as fifth-tier city. And there we sat down on the veranda while the table was being laid out, and the alcohol was being decanted.

First Mistake

From now on, I will always insist on either White Wine or Red Wine. No "hard alcohol". This was a fake VSOP, and they offered it as homage to me, but I know fake, and fake alcohol is very bad for one's health.

This is an issue that should have been brought up by my aide while at the factory. As they discussed the drinking libations in the office over tea. I need to step up my game, I'll tell you what.

We had some delicious food. As you all can well see. It was some local Guangzhou fare with (hairy) crab, shrimp, fish, turtle, shellfish, and more.

Endowed with criss-crossing waterways on the Pearl River Delta and a meandering coastline along the South China Sea, Guangdong Province is a paradise for seafood lovers. Archaeologists suggest that the history of Cantonese seafood diet can be traced back to as early as 10,000 years ago. Today, fresh seafood still plays a prominent role in Cantonese culinary culture.

Steamed fish. — Fresh fish. Steamed with light local seasoning.

Guangzhou is the capital city of Guangdong, which is famous in China and throughout the world as the home of Cantonese food, known here locally as Yuecai or 粤菜. Cantonese food is perhaps the most famous Chinese food around the world, mainly because the first and second wave Chinese immigrants came from the south of China; Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan.

And it is a center of food. Well, we were in a small town of Gurandong, and the local regional tastes of the food were unique and special. Really special and very delicious.

Seafood in Cantonese cuisine is famous for its optimal preservation of authentic flavor and scintillating freshness. Steaming fish seasoned with light soy sauce, ginger and spring onions is one of the favorite dishes for Cantonese foodies. Only the freshest fish can be selected to cook in this fashion; otherwise, strong spices and juices are required to cover the repugnant odor. The time used to steam the fish also needs to be strictly controlled to ensure the perfect tenderness of the texture.

Guangzhou, near the sea, is rich in seafood, offering many delicious dishes. Reputable seafood dishes cover Salt and Pepper Shrimp, Salmon Sashimi, Steamed Scallops with Minced Garlic, Curry Crabs, Cheese Lobster, etc.

Deep-fried garlic with rice noodles is a widely accepted dressing for steamed shellfish such as scallops, oysters or prawns. Springy scallops or prawns are boiled and garnished with garlic and rice noodles. Cantonese people prefer the light and delicate dressing that brings out the natural sweetness of seafood.

Shellfish with garlic, ginger and peppers.

Historically, Cantonese foodies’ craving for seafood used to be largely constrained by poor storage conditions. But, you know, back in the 1980s, the seafood restaurants introduced fish tanks from which waiters would pull the still live animal, weigh it and send it to the chef to be cooked.

Today, such “cook-to-order” eateries are a popular and iconic practice in all Cantonese seafood restaurants.

Check out my hairy crab.

The hairy crab that I demolished. Delicious.

You know, all food aside, it was this decision to accept the fake alcohol that was the big mistake that affected the rest of the night.

Now, I was well prepared otherwise.

I had taken four capsules of the anti-alcohol herbal remedy twenty minutes before dinner, and then again about one and a half hours into the meal. The stuff works. You will feel the effects of the alcohol, but it won’t be all that bad.

Always take the JinBao medicine when engaged in these adventures.

The problem is that it doesn’t work with fake alcohol (locomotive degreaser). It only works with real potable alcohol.

Anti-alcohol absorption medicine. You take four capsules at least 20 minutes before drinking. It will greatly retard the absorption of the alcohol into your blood system.

So…

Well, I did take the medicine and it did help somewhat.

But the problem was that this stuff was fake. You could take it the moment you took a sip. Hennessy is smooth. This was like drinking gravel. While it is possible that it was just locally distilled spirits with a name of a well-beloved Western alcohol on it, it is just equally possible that it has other “alterations” and substances included to make it more “delicious”.

How to distinguish a fake from Hennessey original

Cork - sits tightly and does not "go" from side to side with a slight effort. It has a company logo and brand name.

Bottle and container - no damage, scuffs, cracks and so on are allowed.

The original cognac is produced in a more pot-bellied bottle. In addition, the capacity has a large width in comparison with a fake.

Fake Hennessy has the color of weak tea with lemon. The original features a rich cognac color.

The absence of an excise stamp is the brightest sign of a Hennessey fake. If the excise stamp has blurry letters or text in a foreign language, then this is also the most obvious sign of non-original products.

The original cognac has excise stampin which in Russian (in the case of Russia) the volume of the container, the name of the beverage and the duration of exposure are indicated

The bottle of original cognac is engraved in the form of clusters and grape leaves.

The front side of the original bottle has a sticker, on the back side of which there is a Hennessy brand logo.

The bottom of the original bottle has a clear symmetrical pattern.

In Russia, you can not buy Hennessy cognac volume of 0.5 liters. If you see a container of such a volume, before you - fake products.

-How to detect real Hennessy from fake. Cognac "Hennessy …

What ever those other things were, they pretty much gutted out this ol’ body of mine.

Medicine bag

Every traveler to China for business needs to carry with them some medications. You might never need them, but if you are an “old fart” like myself, you probably will need to have them on hand.

Of course, you need to be able to slow down the absorption of alcohol into your system. If you are over 40, this is mandatory. Thus the picture above of the Jiu Bao.

And, being older, you will probably need some kind of antacid. I was prepared in this area as well. I carried two different types. Both are similar to the TUMS that you can buy in the United States. Antacid is very important. Whether it is just a ton load of good alcohol, or a few glasses of fake alcohol, or seafood, or spicy food, or the side effects of ED medication, you will need to have something to control your stomach upset. Here’s what I brought…

antacids. — Antacids used during the next day on the trip back home.

Now you all shouldn’t misunderstand. The purpose of this business meeting and fun is to have and build a good and great relationship. This means that I must give the host the best face as possible. You do not, NOT, refuse anything.

In general, to avoid all these problems, you will need to really reduce your alcohol intake. Yet you must do so without losing face to the other bosses. The way to do this is to do something that I forgot to do. I needed to tell the other bosses that I have a “weak stomach” and that I couldn’t have anything spicy, or drink too much alcohol. And they would have honored me. I would tell them that I could drink jut a little bit, but if I drank too much, I might get really sick and then show them this bottle…

Do not drink too much. — My excuse to lower the amount of alcohol that I drink.

Now, most people who have never been to China won’t understand, and teetotalers won’t get it. Just like Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo couldn’t “get it”. In China you are judged by how much you drink. If you do not drink, you are not trusted.

Which pretty much doomed Donald Trump’s meetings in China from day one.

So what I should have done was drink some, and then refrain from serious drinking. I could participate on a few “bottoms ups”. But no more than ten. And then just sip on some sudsy beers in the KTV.

Then shown them this bottle of medicine to that they wouldn’t lose face. (The medicine is for hard drinkers who are starting to get alcohol-related tears or problems int heir stomachs. It’s worked for me before, but it’s been so long since I’ve done this that I had forgot the most basic rules for an older man going to a KTV; seriously reduce your alcohol content.

After the dinner and off to the KTV

Now, I knew that this particular visit would include a KTV visit, and this KTV visit would include girls. Every other time it did, and I have had some remarkable times at these establishments with these folk.

So, right off the bat, on the day of the trip I took a Cialis in the morning.

It is advertised that the Cialis would take at least three hours before it could even be considered to work, so why so early? Let me tell you a little story…

Just like there is fake VSOP, there is fake Cialis. Mostly, the fake Cialis is a mixture of Viagra (Sildenafil). Now, this is NOT what we want. The purpose of the Cialis is to "lay forth a ground work foundation" where my old-man body starts to respond to sex like it was 40 years old. And Sildenafil doesn't do that. It is an ED that gives you an erection that lasts for about 40 minutes, and then it is gone.

So that is what happened to me once. I am ready to go, and am heading out to the countryside, away from a pharmacy, and I plopped in this drug only to find myself getting an erection 15 minutes later is the car on the way to the factory. And then absolutely NOTHING when I really needed it, later on in the night.

So by taking the Cialis early on in the morning, you can see if it is fake or not. If it is fake, then you can troop over to a pharmacy and get something else. But at least you will be ready.

And for me, yeah. It did kick in when I needed it, but the fake booze was too strong and far too fake.

The KTV

Look, I’ve talked about the KTV before. Big room, singing and dancing and all that. This KTV was a big place with tons of girls, but a little tiny sign pointing to a parking garage. It was nice, and big and had all the trappings. Maybe not as nice as other venues that I have played in, but this one had a great an diverse selection of girls and the prices were really reasonable.

The first group of girls being trooped out were short-time girls. And my aides made it clear that I wanted long-time girls for the night. So they trooped out and a new batch after batch, after batch came out. Our factory sponsor got a free girl to play with, I guess that she was new and “learning the ropes”. And I was told to pick out two or three girls, and I declined. (What was I thinking?) and I settled on the first girl, in the first line up. WTF?

A pretty lass, for certain, but I was not up to my game.

Next time will be different.

Long time girls. — The long time girls trooped in in squads of eight or so, there must have been about twenty or so groups before we were satisfied.

And we played some dice, drank some beer, and then at 11:30 pm, my aide came and told me that it was “Cinderella time” and I and the chick were driven to our hotel for the night. This was not an accident. This is a SOP from now on. My aide stayed behind and got shitfaced drunk until 3am at the KTV with the other bosses and managers, while us top Bosses either went back home or went to the rooms with our gals.

Cinderella rules are in effect, and all arrangements must be pre-arranged.

Full time girls are multiple shots, but all I wanted to do was sleep. So we slept and got to play around at 7 in the morning the next day. And after she left for home, I started to compose some notes on what went right and what went wrong. And here they are…

What I did Right

Being myself, and having to wait for a long, long time for such an opportunity to be at a factory and to meet with other bosses was a great thing. And I made sure that I was ready. So I did many things right.

Brought and took the alcohol-reducing medicine. This helped a lot, but the medicine could not do anything about the fake booze. No matter what you take, the locomotive degreaser that you drink will mess up your body surer than shit.

I wore the appropriate clothing. I checked the weather reports for the regions we were going to. I dressed to fit my role and made sure that it was comfortable and appropriate for the venue.

I took Cialis in the morning. The only thing is that instead of three hours to work, it didn’t seem to do anything until 12 hours later. But it was “good” and “real” and it did it’s job. It’s just that I had to get a lot of the alcohol and locomotive degreaser out of my system first.

I brought Viagra and took it. But the timing was off. It did not start after 15 minutes. It is unknown why not. Maybe the fake alcohol. Instead, I couldn’t so anything. So we went to sleep. It took 3 hours to turn on. And we were both asleep, and by the time it finally did actually kick in, my chick didn’t want to have sex then. Now, I had taken the medicine at the right time, on the way to the hotel. But it did not actuate. In case anyone is aware, if you drink so heavily, and the Cialis is suppressed, a boost of Viagra will kick things in motion.

I brought extra condoms. Usually I rely on the girl to have the condoms. Don’t. If she runs out, then what? Always have some condoms on you. They are not expensive and you can select the size that you prefer. I didn’t need or use them in this instance, but I was a good boy-scout.

Left KTV early at 11:30pm. Me and the other boss went our own ways. This was pre-planned with my aide(s) and it makes life much simpler. In effect you box in the events of the day. You know when you will eat, party, and sleep. You have control over the timing, not your host.

Got a long-time girl, who was briefed in expectations. This was also pre-arranged. No short time girls. A long-time girl will spend the night and you will get the opportunity for multiple shots. You will also be able to rest. These meetings while there is a fun component to them are always stressful, as you can see by the medicines that I must take. What was she told? Multiple shots, all pre-paid, and not to bother me with tips or charges.

Brought antacid. Initially, I questioned myself, but figured better ready than sorry. And I was so very correct in bringing the medicine. I had terrible gas the next day, and my stomach was a gurgle all the next two days.

Brought stomach medicine to show as an excuse to control drinking. Yes I did, but I FORGOT to show it. WTF? So, even though I had it on me, with me, and ready to pull out my jacket pocket, I forgot all about it, and even when I saw them pull out the VSOP (which I knew was fake, from prior adventures) I still held back. Never again.

Brought a change of clothing. The days of an over-night business trip and returning home with the smoke-filled alcohol smelling clothing are over. I had brought a fresh change of comfortable clothing and it was really nice to put on the next day.

Selected a cheaper inexpensive hotel early on. I had previous adventures with this particular factory where the girls would select the hotel for us to stay at. Not us, and not the factory bosses. And the girls, well, they selected some really pricey ones, and the prices were so high, we suspected that they got a cut out of the rate. This time the factory boss selected the hotel based on our criteria and he handled all the details and got the room himself. So we did not need to deal with it.

What I did wrong

I did many things wrong, and they all detracted from my enjoyment, my health and my happiness. I tell you this that they will not be repeated. OMG! When I see a bottle of XO, VSOP or any other hard alcohol, the alarm bells should be ringing! “Do not touch that!”

I drank hard, fake alcohol. I should have shown the stomach medicine bottle and refrained from heavy drinking of hard, fake alcohol. I could, and should have drank only a sip. A sip as in a tea-spoon.

Moderation in smoking. I should have severely limited my cigarette intake. I needed to accept but only occasionally, and then only taken a few precious few puffs. Not more.

Tended to my ejaculation discipline. What is the point in getting a long-time girl if you cannot get multiple shots? Eh? My aide had specified 2 shot ejaculations. Before and after sleep. But I was not up for it. The fake alcohol tore me up. (And he was stunned that I did not take advantage of this opportunity.)

Brought a spare bottle of water. The two bottles in the hotel are never enough. After drinking you need water, and so you need to make sure that you bring an extra bottle with you to have on hand.

Brought some instant coffee. This is not a critical issue. But most hotels in China do not have coffee, or serve coffee, and if you get a breakfast (most of these kinds of establishments don’t offer that service) won’t have coffee. So you bring your own. I should of brought a few packets. Just keep them in my kit in case I needed them. It would have been nice.

Bring aspirin. What was I thinking? Always bring aspirin.

Bring / Use a cock-ring (even if it is homemade). A “cock ring” is a mechanical contrivance for older men, and for men with ED. Cock rings are rings that are worn around the base of the penis and sometimes the testicles to make erections harder, bigger, and longer-lasting. They come in different materials, from flexible silicone and rubber to leather and metal. A ring for ED works by slowing the blood flow back from the erect penis, allowing it to stay hard longer. It works best if you’re able to get a partial or full erection. The thing about this is that I have always considered this a sex toy, but now as an older man, I see it as a prosthetic to help me maintain an erection. Don’t be proud. If you need help in the bedroom, you need to get all the help you can. Make sure that the size fits you and make sure to wash the device afterwards.

Exercise (pushups, sit-ups and arm curls). For months prior to the trip, I had stopped exercising. When the time came for fun, I was out of the game. You need to make sure that you have a minimum level of physical exercise.

When offered multiple girls – accept. Uh. Duh! Do not let bad fake alcohol throw you for a loop. Keep with the plan. Be up to the task and make sure that you up your game.

Some final words

From a business point of view, the trip was a success. I had some gains, and I really enjoyed visiting the factory and meeting up with my friends and colleagues. It was really great. The food was outstanding, the friendships were strengthened, and I made some new friends in the process.

But, I made some mistakes. Mistakes that detracted from my enjoyment and pleasures, and possibly damaged my health. And I wasn’t the only one to notice this.

When I came home my wife was furious! “How stupid was I to let myself get so drunk that my weekend following the trip was so lame.? I should know better” And she was right. I do know better, and the Trump Pandemic interruption to my normal state of affairs is no excuse.

Don’t be like me.

Plan ahead.
Know what to expect.
Avoid fake and hard alcohol like your life depends on it.
Make sure your aide knows what arrangements to make.
Be healthy and maintain that health.
Remember that you have two tasks; conduct business, and maintain face.

Focus.

And hopefully you’ll all have a great time in your future adventures in a business KTV.

I’ve got another one coming up. Let’s see if I can handle it better. We will see.

Do you want more?

I have more posts on this subject in my Business KTV Index here…

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The mystery of the sunken Newfoundland armada.

One of my all time, favorite, websites is “Ancient Origins“. There, resides a repository of hundreds, if not thousands of articles, stories and editorials written by real experts in the fields of archaeology, sociology, anthropology, and the sciences. And their articles are interesting and fascinating, and I could read them for hours and hours, and hours.

ZHENG HE AND HIS TREASURE FLEET
During the reign of China’s Yongle Emperor in 1403, an imperial order was issued to begin the construction of a fleet of super-ships – vessels vastly bigger than anything ever seen before. Officially called Xiafan Guanjun (‘The Foreign Expeditionary Armada’), the behemoth boats would become better known as the Ming Empire’s treasure ships.

I’ve been wanting to reprint a few articles to MM, but haven’t had the time. I’ve chosen this beauty. And of course, It’ is reprinted exactly as found and all credit to the author. I only changed the formatting to fit this venue. This article can be found HERE, and I strongly urge the interested reader to bookmark this site and visit if often. It, like MM, has things that you will not find anywhere else, and that makes it precious.

Metallicaman Introduction

One of the things that really irks me is the statist belief that the entire American continent was populated by nomadic people from Asia that tromped over the Bering Straight on a “land bridge” and then head Southward to populate the Americas. There, they lived in peace and prosperity until the arrival of the Europeans.

And while that is certainly plausible, and does account for some dominant DNA persistence in the America’s, it is not the whole story.

The actual story is that the American continent has seen waves and waves of settlement. They came in various sizes and shapes over the years, and it was NEVER a wholly isolated and independent land-mass.

And every time I see evidence of this, whether a story here, or an article there, my “ears perk up” and I devour the article ravenously.

This is one of those articles.

And it is a great one, well researched, and of course, something that you won’t find anywhere else. If you want to know about how “Christopher Columbus discovered America” read CNN. But if you want to have some insight into the color, the passions and the life that colored the entire human existence, then by all means visit Ancient Origins. And is is just an amazing article…

Does Newfoundland Have the Oldest Intact Ancient Ships in the World?

31OCT20 by Ron Ryan

In relatively shallow ocean waters on the north east coast of Newfoundland Island there are the remains of several ships with the most unusual characteristics. It has been determined that these ships may be the oldest intact ships in the world. We constantly hear of discoveries of the remains of ancient ships and, maybe, because of that, assume that there must be oodles of ancient ships preserved the world over.

Such is not the case. In fact, the number of ships in the 200 – 400-year-old range, in any near-complete state of preservation, can be counted on one’s digits.

The Oldest Known real-ancient Ships

The oldest known real ancient ships are the Mary Rose (1509), a British warship that was sunk in action in 1545, and the Vasa (1628), a ship that did not make it out of Copenhagen harbor before rolling over.

It seems to be common knowledge in most historical circles now that the Chinese began a campaign, in the late 1300s, to build a large fleet and to attempt to exert its hegemony over the nations of south east Asia. A sub-objective of that initiative was to create a world map. There were so many ships in that enormous fleet that National Geographic Magazine called the great armada, “a massive shadow on the ocean that moved like a floating city that stretched across miles and miles of ocean.” (January 9, 2014). National Geographic also states that the Chinese emperor ordered the fleet to take to the ocean and “to sail to the ends of the earth.”

Indicative of their success, is evidence from recent scholarship that has determined that the Chinese had a world map

by 1430 AD, an achievement that could have resulted only from the Chinese fleets visiting virtually every point on earth, including Antarctica.

Kunyu Wanguo Quantu. Chinese world map, circa 1430. ( Public Domain )

Grand Admiral Zheng He’s Treasure Voyages

The Grand Admiral of this formidable armada was one Zheng He (variously spelled), a eunuch who was the favorite of the emperor, Zhu De, and who, although having the support and admiration of the palace eunuchs, had only the enmity of the mandarins who feared losing their power and influence. Apparently, around 1430, the mandarins had succeeded in convincing the sitting emperor to cease the “treasure voyages.”

The Treasure Fleet Sets Sail

Zheng He's most important role in his master's service was being the commander-in-chief of the new treasure fleet, which would serve as the emperor's principal envoy to the peoples of the Indian Ocean basin. The Yongle Emperor appointed him to head the massive fleet of 317 junks crewed by over 27,000 men that set out from Nanjing in the fall of 1405. At the age of 35, Zheng He had achieved the highest rank ever for a eunuch in Chinese history.

With a mandate to collect tribute and establish ties with rulers all around the Indian Ocean, Zheng He and his armada set forth for Calicut on India's western coast. It would be the first of seven total voyages of the treasure fleet, all commanded by Zheng He, between 1405 and 1432.

During his career as a naval commander, Zheng He negotiated trade pacts, fought pirates, installed puppet kings, and brought back tribute for the Yongle Emperor in the form of jewels, medicines, and exotic animals. He and his crew traveled and traded not only with the city-states of what are now Indonesia, Malaysia, Siam, and India, but also with the Arabian ports of modern-day Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Although Zheng He was raised Muslim and visited the shrines of Islamic holy men in Fujian Province and elsewhere, he also venerated Tianfei, the Celestial Consort and protector of sailors. Tianfei had been a mortal woman living in the 900s who achieved enlightenment as a teenager. Gifted with foresight, she was able to warn her brother of an approaching storm at sea, saving his life.

Final Voyages
In 1424, the Yongle Emperor passed away. Zheng He had made six voyages in his name and brought back countless emissaries from foreign lands to bow before him, but the cost of these excursions weighed heavily on the Chinese treasury. In addition, the Mongols and other nomadic peoples were a constant military threat along China's northern and western borders.

The Yongle Emperor's cautious and scholarly elder son, Zhu Gaozhi, became the Hongxi Emperor. During his nine-month rule, Zhu Gaozhi ordered an end to all treasure fleet construction and repairs. A Confucianist, he believed that the voyages drained too much money from the country. He preferred to spend on fending off the Mongols and feeding people in famine-ravaged provinces instead.

When the Hongxi Emperor died less than a year into his reign in 1426, his 26-year-old son became the Xuande Emperor. A happy medium between his proud, mercurial grandfather and his cautious, scholarly father, the Xuande Emperor decided to send Zheng He and the treasure fleet out again.

Death

In 1432, the 61-year-old Zheng He set out with his largest fleet ever for one final trip around the Indian Ocean, sailing all the way to Malindi on Kenya's east coast and stopping at trading ports along the way. On the return voyage, as the fleet sailed east from Calicut, Zheng He died. He was buried at sea, although legend says that the crew returned a braid of his hair and his shoes to Nanjing for burial.

-thought Co

It is not known who actually initiated the voyages. Although Emperor Zhu De gets the credit, the first of the ships were in the water in less than two years after Zhu De assumed the throne, an impossible miracle of construction attributed to the chief administrator, Zheng He, who was subsequently named the admiral of the enormous fleet.

Zheng He gloried in the strength and endurance capacities of his ships on the world’s oceans. Engraved on a tablet at Fujian is a quote attributed to the admiral :

“We have travelled more than 100,000 Li (Approximately 50 000 KM ) of immense water spaces and have witnessed in the ocean waves like mountains, while our sails, unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course like a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a city street…”

The Statue of Admiral Zheng He in Sam Poo Kong, Semarang city, Indonesia. ( diamirara /Adobe Stock)

Although there is very little sound information about the Chinese effort at hegemony, over the forty or so years from the late 1300s to about 1433, there seems little doubt that the Chinese treasure fleets did make seven or eight voyages from around 1401 to 1435. There is no definitive information to indicate exactly where ALL of the ships went.

It is not even known how many ships of each fleet arrived back in China or, indeed, when. Indeed, some people refer to the ships of these voyages as “Ghost Fleets” because the reliable information about them is so very sparse.

There seems to be little doubt that the Chinese constructed ships of such a size during the first quarter of the 15th Century, that they would not be rivalled for another 450 years.

Between 1405 and 1433, Ming China under the rule of Zhu Di, sent out enormous armadas of ships into the Indian Ocean commanded by the eunuch admiral Zheng He. The flagship and other largest treasure junks dwarfed European ships of that century; even Christopher Columbus's flagship, the "Santa Maria," was between 1/4 and 1/5 the size of Zheng He's.

Drastically changing the face of Indian Ocean trade and power, these fleets embarked on seven epic voyages under Zheng He's guidance, resulting in a rapid expansion of Ming China's control in the region, but also of their struggle to maintain it in years to come due to the financial burden of such endeavors.

Sizes According to Ming Chinese Measurements

All of the measurements in the remaining Ming Chinese records of the Treasure Fleet are in a unit called "zhang," which is made up of ten "chi" or "Chinese feet." Although the exact length of a zhang and chi has varied over time, the Ming chi was probably about 12.2 inches (31.1 centimeters) according to Edward Dreyer. For ease of comparison, the measurements below are given in English feet. One English foot is equivalent to 30.48 centimeters.

Incredibly, the largest ships in the fleet (called "baoshan," or "treasure ships") were likely between 440 and 538 feet long by 210 feet wide. The 4-decked baoshan had an estimated displacement of 20-30,000 tons, roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the displacement of modern American aircraft carriers. Each had nine masts on its deck, rigged with square sails that could be adjusted in series to maximize efficiency in different wind conditions.

The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of an amazing 62 or 63 such ships for Zheng He's first voyage, in 1405. Extant records show that another 48 were ordered in 1408, plus 41 more in 1419, along with 185 smaller ships throughout that time.

Zheng He's Smaller Ships

Along with dozens of baoshan, each armada included hundreds of smaller ships. The eight-masted ships, called "machuan" or "horse ships," were about 2/3 the size of the baoshan measuring approximately 340 feet by 138 feet. As indicated by the name, the machuan carried horses along with timber for repairs and tribute goods.

Seven-masted "liangchuan" or grain ships carried rice and other food for the crew and soldiers in the fleet. Liangchuan was about 257 feet by 115 feet in size. The next ships in descending order of size were the "zuochuan," or troopships, at 220 by 84 feet with each transport ship having six masts.

Finally, the small, five-masted warships or "zhanchuan," each about 165 feet long, were designed to be maneuverable in battle. Though tiny compared with the baochuan, the zhanchuan were more than twice as long as Christopher Columbus's flagship, the Santa Maria.

The Treasure Fleet's Crew

Why did Zheng He need so many huge ships? One reason, of course, was "shock and awe." The sight of these enormous ships appearing on the horizon one by one must have been truly incredible for the people all along the Indian Ocean's rim and would have enhanced Ming China's prestige immeasurably.

The other reason was that Zheng He traveled with an estimated 27,000 to 28,000 sailors, marines, translators and other crew members. Along with their horses, rice, drinking water, and trade goods, that number of people required a staggering amount of room aboard the ship. In addition, they had to make space for the emissaries, tribute goods and wild animals that went back to China.

-Thought Co.

Our interest here will focus on the voyage of 1433 – 1435.

At least six voyages of the Chinese Treasure Fleet seem to have been conducted successfully, and there are some records for some of the ships. Admiral Zheng He was in charge of at least some of the voyages. Moreover, there is no record in China of what Admiral Zheng He was doing during the 1417 – 1419 voyage.

Indeed, after the sixth voyage, related history is even more fuzzy. The eunuchs and the mandarins were vying for power and for influence. The old emperor, Zhu De, died; the next one died; the third, Xuan De, had acceded to the “Dragon Throne” and was persuaded by the mandarins that further voyages would be to China’s detriment.

Detail of the Fra Mauro map relating the travels of a junk into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. The ship also is illustrated above the text. ( Public Domain )

Moreover, it seems clear that the mandarins were fearful of Zheng He and wanted to get rid of this troublesome eunuch. Although Zheng He was a favorite of the first emperor, he was not favored by the second and third. However, the third emperor was reluctant to have Zheng He have a fatal “accident,” and the mandarins were afraid to dispatch Zheng He unless they had a clear understanding from the emperor.

The emperor realized that if Zheng He met with some accident, real or plotted, then the general finger would be pointed at the palace. Even if the emperor held “absolute power,” there were always war lords and other powerful officials ready – and willing – to exploit a judgment lapse. Not willing to risk the wrath of the Chinese people, the emperor appointed Zheng He to some menial administrative job, to get him out of the way. That did not satisfy the mandarins who were beginning to feel their power. They wanted Zheng He out of the picture, completely and permanently.

Besides, in the view of the palace mandarins, Zheng He, a renowned master of military tactics who had been instrumental in placing emperor Zhu De on the throne, was likely at precisely the right place and precisely the right time for him to nurture alliances with those who would be happy to have someone that they could manipulate on the throne. They were concerned at least as much about their heads as they were about their positions of power.

There is, however, no indication that Zheng He entertained any ambition in that direction. Indeed, although still a young man, about 60, apparently, he was ill.

The emperor was cautious. There were literally hundreds of ships out in the bay, riding at anchor. To the Chinese people these ships represented China’s pride. Why were the ships not gone on some important voyage? What is the use of ships, in port, at anchor, slowly rotting, and the reputation and power of the emperor slowly rotting along with them? The ships simply had to go, somewhere. The related optics were crucial!

What to do?

An ancient Chinese ship. ( Мария Тарасова /Adobe Stock)

Go away and NEVER come back.

The emperor recalled Zheng He to Nanjing, the then-capital. What actually happened between the Great Admiral and the emperor is not known. However, it is easy to guess: The emperor told Zheng He to crew all of the ships, to fill the ships, at the emperor’s expense, with everything Zheng He could possibly think of: soldiers, horses, armaments, gunpowder, priests (Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu), specialists of every kind, doctors and other medical personnel, medicines, preserved foods, seeds, root stalks, surveyors, technologists, craftspeople, prostitutes, animals (a veritable Noah’s Ark!), slaves, fine china, silks, and so on.

Then, the emperor had a private conference with Zheng He. The emperor said:

“You have everything you could possibly need. You have overseen everything yourself. You cannot blame me if you are missing something. Talk to your officers. Determine whether there is still something you need.”

Then, in a whisper so that none of the listeners could hear – and in the Emperor’s palace there were always listeners:

“Take the fleet. Go away. I don't care where you go. But, wherever you go, do NOT come back! NEVER come back! Do NOT let any of your officers or sailors come back. Nobody, except ....” and he explained the exception. “You have my best wishes. I never want to see you again! Be smart! Go!”

The carved and painted stern of the last ship had hardly disappeared over the horizon before the mandarins began collecting every last scrap of information that they could find about the fleets and about Zheng He.

Everything was burned, including ship logs, charts of the voyages, maps, architectural drawings of the various types of ships, ship models, tools, records of construction – in short, everything that they could get their hands on. Apparently, the world map was among the scraps of information that did survive, likely hidden by one of the eunuchs.

The fleet had gone for about a year.

Then, one day, a ship, much tattered, arrived back in the harbor. The captain went directly to the emperor. There had been several enormous tempests on the far oceans. Every last ship had been lost, and the grand admiral, himself, the beloved Zheng He, had gone to the bottom with the first tempest near Ceylon. The second tempest had taken the remainder of the fleet near Indonesia.

Woodblock print representing Zheng He’s ships. ( Public Domain )

The emperor then announced the sad news to a shocked and mournful nation. He ordered a tomb be built for the beloved Zheng He. In that tomb, they placed one of Zheng He’s robes, a pair of his slippers, and maybe a lock of the revered man’s hair.

What happened to Zheng He and the great fleet?

Nobody knows!

What is known is that not a single ship of that fleet, other that one messenger, ever made it back to China. Not a single marine officer, not a single craftsperson, prostitute, or sailor. NOTHING was ever heard from them again. Nothing!

For the most part, the myth of the death of Zheng He in India or Ceylon has been accepted in China as historical fact. There is little room in China for shades of grey, most things being black or white. Zheng He and the great fleet become part of the official national lore. The other aspect of the story, the tempests that took all of the ships, except one, to the bottom of the ocean is, likewise, the official story, it was not to be disputed and not to be questioned, at the peril of one’s head!

Zheng He’s tomb. Nanjing, China. ( Public Domain )

What happened to the ancient ships?

About 600 years later, two decades ago, China began to resurrect the story of Admiral Zheng He because it was politically convenient to do so, at least according to the detractors of China’s sometimes awkward diplomacy. Besides, the story of Zheng He and the “peaceful” fleets was a source of pride for China, something they could point to as an example of China’s friendly international intentions.

One of Zheng He's ships. — One of Zheng He’s ships.

Artifacts of the great fleet of 600 years ago would be of inestimable value to Chinese propaganda. Therefore, China entered into agreements with Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Kenya to find some of the remains of the great fleet. There just had to be thousands – if not millions – of artifacts, just lying on the bottom of the ocean awaiting retrieval by a grateful nation.

China has spent hundreds of millions of dollars, utilizing the latest underwater technologies of the Chinese navy, in an effort to retrieve the millions of artifacts. Plans for museums in China and other displays worldwide were in the planning stages. China was on the cusp of an enormous diplomatic and publicity coup!

What did they find?

After a decade or so of searching in the waters around Sri Lanka and Indonesia, what did they find? Nothing!

No ships, no ship remnants, no artifacts, no fine china, no amphora of preserved olives, no skeletons of Chinese sailors. Nothing!

Nothing!

But somehow – without, just now, having a complete narrative to explain it – at some time before recorded history in the annals of Newfoundland Island , the Chinese arrived. They called the island “Island like a Chinese garden” and mapped the whole north western area of the North Atlantic as far as into the Davis Strait and, indeed, according to Chinese sources, Hudson’s Bay. Indeed, the Matteo Ricci Map (Kunyu Universal Map) is a copy of a Chinese map (Kunyu Wanguo Quantu Map) that was completed by 1430, indicating that the voyages of the Chinese fleets from 1405 onward – or at some earlier time – were successful in “mapping the world” and that Zheng He would have had an almost complete map of the world by which to guide his last voyage, some of which – the north west North Atlantic seaboard – Zheng He, himself, had likely mapped during the 1417 – 1419 voyage.

Portion of Kunyu Wanguo Quantu map showing Newfoundland Island. The four ancient Chinese characters on the representation of Newfoundland Island read “Island like a Chinese Garden.’ (Public Domain )

The ancient Chinese ships in Newfoundland

At least two of these ships are on the ocean bottom in shallow water in a protected harbor on the rugged north east coast of Newfoundland Island. Other ships have been detected with sonic equipment, including one that appears to be 200 meters (656.17 ft.) long. Moreover, phenomena that has been interpreted as a “graveyard” of ships have been detected in another area of deep, cold water.

The two ships in shallow water have been known about for 350 years or more, from the time of the first European fishermen who arrived in the area and established themselves in what became the dozen or so coastal fishing villages in that area. These ships cannot be European or American. No country, other than China, built ships of this size until well past the mid-1800s. These ships were there before about 1650.

Besides all of that, China has no record of any kind related to the structural aspects of their ships of the Treasure Fleets , no drawings, no models, no descriptions, no images. What China has are the remains of the dockyards that built the ships, some tools, and a rudder that is about 13 – 14 meters (42.65-45.93 ft.) long. Although some marine historians and others have drawn speculative designs of what the ships of the Treasure fleet might have looked like, these drawings do NOT correspond with the ships that have been found in Canadian waters.

Zheng He ship blueprint. — Surviving blueprints for these ships are rare.

The only known intact examples of the Chinese ships associated with the great fleet are resting on the ocean bottom at the north east coast of Newfoundland Island. Nowhere else in the world are there, presently known, unmistakable large ships that might be identified as the ships of the great Chinese Treasure Fleet.

Based on the balance of probabilities, one would be confident in declaring that these ships are from the great Chinese fleet of 1405 – 1435.

To conclude, it seems clear that in the inner ocean waters on the north east coast of Newfoundland Island are the oldest decked ships in existence, and at least some of them are substantially intact.

By Ronald Lloyd Ryan, DA., PhD.

Model of some of the great Zheng He ships

These were enormous ships, able to have small farms on the deck and cattle pens. They were enormous by all accounts. As such, and as impressive as we can imagine, various people have made, and market scale models of what we can make a hypothesis on what these ships were like.

This model is made from the original drawings of the ship. And it is a beauty.

History of the Zheng He Treasure Ship
The Chinese Treasure Ship was a large wooden ship in the fleet of Admiral Zheng He, during the early 15^th century Ming Dynasty. He led 7 voyages.   There seems to be disagreement among scholars about the factual accuracy and correct interpretation of accounts of the treasure ship. Treasure ships were considered luxury ships rather than warships.

According to some records, Zheng He’s treasure ships were mammoth ships with 9 masts and 4 decks. Zheng He’s treasure ships could accommodate more than 500 passengers, as well as a massive amount of cargo.

Zheng He’s fleet consisted of 300 ships, including 62 treasure ships. Chinese records assert that Zheng He has traveled extensively, sailing as far as East Africa.

On the return of Zheng He’s last voyage, he found a new Emperor whose court was uninterested and even hostile toward the continuation of his naval adventures. Zheng He’s ships were decommissioned and sat in the harbor until they rotted away. Some scholars suggest that the Emperor ordered the treasure ships and records to be burned, although exact information on their fate is unknown.
A replica of Zheng He’s treasure ship was built in Nanking and was to be ready for sailing in 2013.

MM Thoughts

That was a great article, eh? You betya!

After reading the article, I went and conducted a preliminary Google search for “sunken Newfoundland ships” and came up with some interesting hits. Not really germane to this particular article (unfortunately), but really interesting never the less.

The Shipwrecks of Newfoundland and Labrador – …

The only problem that I have with this great story is a singular question. “What happened to the Chinese that scuttled the ships in Newfoundland?”

Where are the ruins, or remains?

Well…

Let’s deep-dive” into this with yet another article from Ancient Origins, and one by the same author;

The Beothuck Key: Finding a Lost Chinese-Norse Civilization in Canada

Two mysteries – one Oriental, one Western – have attracted considerable attention recently both in academic and popular spheres: [1] the disappearance of the Seventh Chinese Treasure Fleet and [2] the disappearance of the people of Greenland. Until now, people have not considered that the two stories might be somehow connected.

Indeed, although very much in retrospect, there were numerous pieces of evidence readily available that pointed to the two narratives possibly being associated, even if the key element were missing. However unlikely and counter-intuitive, it appears that key is in the much-disputed continuing existence of the Beothuck People of Newfoundland Island – without them neither of the mysteries would have been resolved.

Origins of the Beothuck People

The journey of discovery began quite by accident, when a Beothuck person observed some unusual artifacts at museums in China that seemed to be the analogues of artifacts of the Beothuck People.

The resulting investigation led to all known information about the Beothuck people being sifted and evaluated, with the conclusion being that the Beothuck People had Chinese origin.

The Beothuk are the aboriginal people of the island of Newfoundland. They were Algonkian-speaking hunter-gatherers who probably numbered less than a thousand people at the time of European contact. The Beothuk are the descendants of a Recent Indian culture called the Little Passage Complex.

...

By the beginning of the 19th century, the Beothuk were reduced to a small refugee population living along the Exploits River system and attempting to subsist on the inadequate resources of the interior. Although a succession of Newfoundland governors had, since the middle of the 18th century, attempted to establish friendly contact with the Beothuk, it was probably too late to change a pattern which had existed for perhaps 250 years. Shanawdithit, the last known Beothuk, died in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1829.

-The Beothuk People

Beothuk, North American Indian tribe of hunters and gatherers that resided on the island of Newfoundland; their language, Beothukan, may be related to Algonquian, but some authorities believe it to have been an independent language. When discovered by John Cabot in 1497 the tribe probably numbered no more than 500 persons; in the succeeding centuries the Beothuk were decimated by Europeans and by Mi’kmaq (Micmac) hunters crossing from Nova Scotia. A few survivors may have escaped to Labrador to intermarry with the Innu (Montagnais).

Little is known of Beothuk culture. The people were apparently divided into small bands of a few related families, each band having its own leader. Their skill as canoeists was noted by many early writers; they speared seals with primitive harpoons and fished for salmon and shellfish. Equally at home in the woods, they tracked deer with bow and arrow. Birch bark was used to make cooking vessels and wigwams. They smeared red ochre on their skin, apparently for both religious reasons and protection against insects; this habit is thought to be the source of the European reference to Native Americans as “red” people.

-Beothuk | people | Britannica

The considerable skepticism about the Chinese voyages seemed to be primarily because the idea of massive Chinese ships, as suggested by Menzies and Hudson was thoroughly doubted. Unfortunately, one could not appeal to China because that country has retained no information as to the design of such massive ships – no models, no sketches, no descriptions.

Curious genetic and ancestral stories of the Beothuck People led to an informal survey that revealed mtDNA of Celtic, Norse, and other Scandinavian/Baltic origin, leading to speculation that all of the people were descendants of the Norse from the time of the Viking Sagas.

However, that speculation was disabused by research reports to the effect that (a) Newfoundland Island had had several waves of occupation, and (b) there is a genetic discontinuity between the maternal lineages of the various occupation groups.

Moreover, historical reports indicate that whoever was on the island were substantially, or completely, killed off by some blight or combination thereof (plague, typhus, smallpox) between 1402 and 1404, which meant that as of that later date the island was effectively empty.

If that were true, then it meant that the Norse ancestors of the contemporary Beothuck must have colonized at least part of the island sometime after 1404 AD.

Ties to the People of Greenland

That led to a consideration of the story of the disappearance of the people of Greenland in the early 15th Century. There is no record of the people of Greenland going east, as some experts have speculated.

According to Catholic Church records, there had been as many as 5000 people in Greenland circa 1409. That’s a lot of people to account for.

In a pastoral letter from the Holy See addressed to the Bishops of Skalholt and Holar in Iceland, dated September 20, 1448, concern was expressed that Greenland had been raided by a “Fleet of heathens” some 30 years previously, and that all of the people had been taken.

It is not immediately clear how the Pope acquired that information.

Related to that was another piece of information: tributes began to arrive at Rome sometime in the early-1400s, from “ Vinland.” Clearly, a vector of communication existed from the “far western lands’ to Rome.

Recent research suggests that there was no violent confrontation in Greenland.

Indeed, everything points to a peaceful, organized departure of the people. The conclusion was that the people of Greenland, all 5000 of them, along with their priests and other religious people (monks and nuns), peacefully departed their homes sometime after 1409 and before about 1420.

The Mystery of the Beothuck Language

The language of the Beothuck has been something of an enduring mystery.

William Cormack is the only person whose report we have who actually spoke with the Beothuck. Cormack said that the Beothuck language had all of the sounds of Scandinavian languages, maybe Swedish.

Additionally, J. T. Mullock , Roman Catholic Bishop of St. John’s, Newfoundland, said that many people thought that the Beothuck had “Northmen” ancestry.

Moreover, Dr. John Cooper of Dalhousie University concluded that the language was at least 25% Gaelic and Norse. There was not, necessarily, much difference between Norse and Gaelic because, as Wallace says,

“... the Norse were mixed with Celts and Picts through intermarriage and slavery.”

Because Newfoundland Island was empty of people, say from around 1404, and because the people of Greenland departed their homes around 1418, and because a large number of people from Newfoundland Island has Norse ancestry from the forests of the island, it seemed reasonable to conclude that the Beothuck people were the descendants of the “missing” Norse of Greenland.

The notion of a fleet of ships, as per the Pope’s letter, was, to say the least, intriguing.

More on Beothuck Ancestry

The investigation has now arrived at the point where two phenomena seem to be supported: The Beothuck people had Chinese ancestry and the Beothuck people had Norse ancestry.

The local people in that remote and isolated geography, although having a high degree of illiteracy, had a rich oral tradition. For many generations these people, the European ancestors of whom came to the area around the mid-1700s or earlier, told stories of enormous ships that had been on the nearby ocean bottom since before their arrival. As late as 1890, people could easily see one massive ship in a sheltered harbor of relatively shallow water, and the mast of that ship – enormous, much larger than anything that they had ever seen or could imagine – protruded from the ocean surface. Moreover, at that time, they could see “dishes” and “jugs” on the ocean bottom near the ship.

The subsequent generation (circa 1930) contained a story that two teen boys had attempted to measure the ship and, being creative with fishing cords, estimated that one ship was about 400 ft. (130 meters) long.

After several months of searching with Google Earth, during 2017, two almost identical ships were located, each being about 450 ft. (150 meters) in length. Since then, several other equally large ships, seemingly intact, have been found resting on the ocean bottom. The only ships that fit the circumstances are those of the Chinese of the early 1400s. No European or American ship of the dimensions of the ships that were found would be constructed until after the mid-1800s.

At that point it is possible to suggest, at least, that the enormous fleet that had taken the people from Greenland had been a Chinese fleet. If that fleet brought the people of Greenland to Newfoundland Island sometime around 1418, that would explain the Norse and Chinese ancestry of the Beothuck People.

The Voyage from China and Links to Zheng He

The available information supports the following scenario: after leaving port in southern China the fleet would split into several flotillas, each expediting their individual appointed tasks, more or less, and reassembling later. One voyage took place during 1417 – 1419. The flotilla that had been assigned the task of mapping the western North Atlantic area – whatever the Chinese called it – was under the command of Admiral Zheng He .

It crossed the North Atlantic, discovered Newfoundland Island (1417), and, maybe the next year (1418), returning from mapping Hudson’s Bay, chanced upon the Norse of Greenland, in a state of destitution and at the cusp of starvation. The Chinese “rescued” these desperate people and transported them to Newfoundland island, the mythical Vinland of the Norse people. Zheng He returned to China, but came back to Newfoundland in 1435.

The Matteo Ricci (1552 – 1610) map of 1605 has the lands of the north west Atlantic identifiably drawn. Someone spent time charting the north west Atlantic area, did the cartography, and returned to China, writing four Chinese characters on the land that would be identified as Newfoundland Island: “Island like a Chinese garden.” According to Lee, the Ricci map is a copy of a Chinese map and that the Chinese had a complete map of the world by 1430, a map that included the northwest Atlantic area.

Did Zheng He know where he was going? Was the initial map-making done by a previous Chinese fleet and before 1418? Did Zheng He’s admirals do the charting of the northern lands? Who would have named Newfoundland Island so glowingly?

Wherever he was, the Great Admiral seems to have boasted:

We have traversed more than 100,000 li of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course. ..

That would have gotten him to Greenland and back in the 1417-1419 time frame of that voyage.

Signs of a Lost Settlement

As a confirmation exercise, Google earth was utilized to seek indicators of Norse and Chinese occupancy of Newfoundland Island. That investigation resulted in the identification of a ubiquitous pattern. It was determined that the pattern was communal housing – much as had been described by John Cabot in 1497 and Jacques Cartier in 1534.

These dwellings were as much as 164 ft. (50 meters) in diameter and contained 10 – 12 family cells around a central common area. These dwellings appeared to be one-story adaption of Hakka-Han TuLu in south east China of the time (which continues today), the area that was the origin of the Treasure Fleets. The basic Hakka housing pattern incorporated Norse features to accommodate winter conditions, those features that the Beothuck descendants had incorporated into their root-cellars, many of which still exist. (Incidentally, the Hakka Tulu figures in the recent movie, “Mulan.”)

Treks into the forest confirmed the speculations: patterns on the forest floor, now covered with trees, certainly still retained the discernible and recognizable communal Tulu pattern. A survey of the island with Google Earth Pro revealed literally thousands of these structures. An estimate related to the number of structures detected suggested dwellings of maybe as many as 300,000 people, an enormous number in comparison to the paltry several thousand that experts have been suggesting up to now.

Satellite imagery revealed structures that seemed to be defensive walls, and treks into the forest confirmed the existence of the artifacts, some of which were not completely occluded by vegetation overburden. One trek also resulted in the discovery of a carving of a three meter long hand, chiseled into a rock-face, with the letter “J” carved just above it, and a scepter carved along the wrist.

The next discoveries were towers and a wall, and, then, astonishingly, several Buddhist-type pyramids. About 12 miles (20 km) away, a set of buildings was discovered, including a three-tiered pagoda and an intact stone church, a basilica – a structure that is not in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador, and not in the history of the local Roman Catholic archdiocese.

The next astounding discovery was a set of massive bluff-carvings, the first found being a Chinese mythical dog, about 161 sq. ft. (15 sq. m.). The image is almost identical to that of a Chinese postage stamp for 2008 “The Year of the Dog.”

Above the dog carving, and about the same size, was the Monkey King, again from Chinese mythology. About a hundred carvings were found in all, ranging in size from 32 – 1640 ft. (10 – 500 meters) in length, the latter being a bird, 500 meters from beak to tail feathers, and about 656 ft. (200 meters) wingtip to wingtip.

The next mysterious phenomenon discovered was a boat, about 114 ft. (35 meters) long, that seems to have been under construction. Then, ten or so similar boats were discovered, all under construction, all in the forest well away from the coast.

A number of what were determined to be row boats, maybe water taxis, were located, still intact, preserved by the chemicals in the peat ponds where they have now lain for maybe as much as 400 years. Thus, it is possible to determine the design of these boats of so long ago. Why the boats were built in the location described is a mystery unto itself and has resulted in speculation that is tangential to this narrative.

Although some experts have written about the massive Chinese ships the fact is that the only existing more-or-less intact Chinese ships from the medieval Chinese period – and, indeed, any medieval period – and, thus, the only accurate information about these ships, there being next to nothing in China, are being preserved by the frigid ocean waters of north east Newfoundland Island. The next oldest existing ship from that period, worldwide, is the British warship, Mary Rose (Circa 1540), about 50% of which was recovered from her watery grave.

Compiling the Evidence in Newfoundland

Although Zheng He was erased from Chinese history shortly after 1433, he has been recently resurrected by China for, as some see it, a contemporary form of Chinese hegemony.

The accepted narrative, in China and south east Asia, of the demise of Zheng He and his enormous seventh fleet is that all succumbed to a typhoon somewhere near Sri Lanka or Malaysia. Virtually every country in south east Asia is seeking evidence that Zheng He and the remains of his seventh fleet is somewhere in their backyard. The Chinese government, believing their own myth, has recently spent hundreds of millions of dollars, with the help of the latest Chinese military technology, in the belief that they were destined to find the remains of their fleet. They have found nothing.

The research group on Newfoundland Island continues to make discovery after discovery that they associate with the Chinese-Norse civilization that began around 1420: fish weirs, harbor complexes, fish processing facilities, buildings (one with a discernible chimney), industrial structures (e.g., huge furnaces).

Moreover, now that considerable evidence and information has been compiled, it is possible to state that, on the balance of probabilities, the only people on the island as of 1450 were the Norse, the Chinese, and their progeny, who called themselves “BeiHanKe” but which was misunderstood as “Beothuck.”

The final conclusion is that the research group in that remote area has found the remains of a collapsed Chinese-Norse civilization of which the contemporary Beothuck are the remnants. Otherwise, they have stumbled on the remains of a collapsed civilization about which nothing else is known.

By Ronald Lloyd Ryan , PhD

Final Conclusions

There is strong reason to believe that Newfoundland was indeed settled by the Chinese. That they interacted, and perhaps forged alliances with local Indians and Vikings. Certainly there was a large city-sized community there in the land described as “Like a Chinese garden”.

No one know what happened to them, and how or why they died out, but it would most certainly make for some interesting reading. They seem to have merged with other migratory and ship-faring peoples, and weathered various periods of illness, natural disasters, and famine. Eventually, they packed up and left.

There is much that I would enjoy reading about these peoples. I look forward to further scholarly studies on this matter.

I firmly applaud Ronald Lloyd Ryan for his great work in this area, and I look forward to his many future discoveries. For this is an area of great interest to me personally.

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How discernment works when dealing with American and Western media.

This is something that I threw together after another mindless clone started repeating the Mike Pompeo “talking points” about China. I mistakenly tried to explain that he didn’t have all the information that he was coming to conclusions based on fraudulent and partial data sets. But, boy oh boy did that set him off! I should have known better, but whatever… it just serves me right for arguing with a fool; a manipulated fool, but a fool never-the-less.

So I threw this post together.

Personally, I believe that if you cannot make something simple to understand, then you either don't know how to communicate, or you simply don't understand the issues.

I suggested that he “discern” and “think”, and stop repeating the same tired narratives.

But that is not how the world actually works.

Most people are sheep. Humans are herd animals. Nothing more. And, in a way, you can say that this is bread into us intentionally.

So when I tell a person to “discern”, their minds switch off , and they don’t know what to say.

When I tell people to “discern”, or to use “discernment”, what I actually refer to is for them to see the full totality of any given issue. Not a little bit here, or some opinions there, but to look at a much, much larger picture.

This goes with just about everything.

Look at the bigger picture.

Always.

Look at the larger picture and then work your way down, cut through the bullshit and get to the rich nuggets at the bottom level.

Don’t just blunder about, repeating the choice bits of information that is shoveled to you in your trough and just regurgitate them at will.

Two Pigs Eating from a Trough - Charles Jacque. — Two Pigs Eating from a Trough – Charles Jacque

How to discern in the American Media

Let’s consider all “news”. But let’s really focus on “news” related to [1] politics (I will use the American media in this regards for illustration purposes) and [2] Top Secret disclosures (such as MAJestic) to [3] OOPARTS, and [4] social-cultural re-engineering efforts.

In all cases there are very vocal “camps” of believers or disbelievers of all types and “stripes” and pedigrees. They take their points of view, and violently stand by their opinions in the matter no matter what information or ideas that they are confronted with. I know. I was one of them.

They do so because they have accepted others as “gatekeepers” of “news”, and only listen to those “journalists” and “media outlets”. And that person, over time, becomes the sole source of “news” for them. “News” which they regurgitate verbatim as “the gospel”.

But there is a work around.

It’s quite simple, actually…

Provide some “news”, quite interesting and factual, that their approved news sources are not providing.
Then provide another, and then another…
Add those elements of “news” to the already robust collection of information that they have at hand.
Let them come to their own conclusions, and leave it at that.

In all cases we need to collect a very broad and wide-ranging assortment of ideas, facts, details and contexts, and then we need the intelligence to intentionally structure them together by sifting though the nonsense to get to the actual “juicy” bits of value.

Thus the first key to discernment is to recognize that the PTB are not concerned with what “news” is available. They are concerned with how it is disseminated to the population.

The PTB are not concerned with the details in the “news”. They are concerned with how it is disseminated.

And that is the key, as well as the reason why everyone is so contentious in America today.

The media don’t really care about what the actual “news” is, whether it is factually correct or not, or what the source of the information actually is. They are concerned with one thing, how to disseminate the “news” in a proper manner so as to manipulate and control it’s consumption.

So if you consider the “news” to be a hodge podge of information, you can consider it to be like an enormous puzzle box with millions of pieces. and Scattered in those pieces are fake “news” and lies. Or in other words, an entirely different puzzle, similar in appearance and puzzle-piece-part-size to the original puzzle, but intended to confuse.

But, what is “news”?

But, before we go any further let’s discuss what the “news” actually is, and what it isn’t.

The “news” is not what everyone thinks it is.

It’s a mixture of selected facts, and incident reports (traditional news), with great quantities of personal opinions, narratives, and theories interspersed, along with outright lies and deceptions. It hasn’t been pure and pristine unbiased reports for many, many decades, if not centuries. Instead, it’s just a mountain of information with zero quality control.

So the first thing you need to do in discernment, is become the QC manager for what you read and absorb.

Let’s continue with our analogy of a puzzle box.

Modern contemporaneous “news” is more like a couple of puzzles that are all mixed together. And the “journalists” concentrate on the individual pieces and they have no care if they are factual, truthful, actual, or beneficial. They just collect the “items”, package it for public consumption and then move on to the next “news item”.

Now, you all need to appreciate that almost all the puzzle pieces made in the world are cut out of the same cutting blades. A puzzle for dinosaurs uses the same cutting blade for a Walt Disney Princess puzzle. And because of this, the puzzle piece shapes are identical. If you are not careful, you can (if you were careless) mix the puzzle boxes together and create a mess.

When people try to fit separate groups of puzzle pieces together, they can fit, but the results are nonsensical. This happens often.

You would need to be very creative in assembling the puzzle. But no matter how hard you try, it will not be what was intended. And we see that all the time with some really bizarre stories that have been popularized in American media.

Such as…

Robert Kardashian and Ted Cruz are the same person.
5G will cause brain cancer.
Fossilized reptiles are on Mars and are being covered up by the US government.
Princess Di did not die and is a sexual slave in Saudi Arabia.

And thusly, that methodology is intentionally used when it comes to “news”.

It is important to the PTB that the people are herded together and allow to roam at will within the fencing that they have created. It is important to them that the people are given an overwhelming amount of information so that the people would never be able to see the real and accurate picture of what is going on. People are herd animals, and are being shepherded effectively by others at many levels.

So rather than try to control each and every item of information, real or not, the control lies in the dissemination of the news. The objective is to maintain a fragmentation of news so that it is difficult to piece together the actual situation(s) and what is going on.

How the “news” is disseminated

So, let’s consider how the “news” is disseminated.

In short, and in America, there are three major groupings of “news”. It is pretty well established now, and came about sometime in the middle 1990’s. The groups are…

Mainstream media (also known as “traditional” media).
Alt-Right (with such notable personalities and Rush Limbaugh and FOX News)
Alt-Left (with examples being Salon.com and the Huffington Post.)

Additionally, over the last ten years these media outlets have splinted off some rather “extreme” outlets which include…

Hard-Right (Such as Alex Jones and Hall Turner).
Hard-Left (Such as Current Affairs.)

And in general, you can be well assured that the United States government has control of all the major “players” in these dissemination venues. Because by controlling them, they can control what you (the people) read, consume, and believe.

This level of control is absolute. I was first exposed to it when I noticed that my Metallicman postings to Free Republic (an Alt-Right website) were deleted without notice, and then I was banned without care or concern that I had over 10,000 posted articles over a 20 year time span. The reason? My articles no longer fit in the “ideal desired” framework.

Anyone who has tried to run through the gauntlet of publishers to get their book or manuscript published, or had an article or two rejected by someone can well understand this horror.

The PTB, through the United States government, controls the dissemination of articles and “news” through approved and heavily monitored venues. If you are unable to fit within the “approved guidelines for content” you will not be able to publish.

In my case, the reason that I was banned was that I (tried to) post an article that said that the “pro-Democracy” riots in HK were NID / NED sponsored, and that the Chinese have the entire city bugged. They know who is doing what, why and when, and unless the United States stops and reassess their position, they will forever lose access to Hong Kong as a staging location for international bedevilment.

Well…?

What happened?

Did I call it, or what?

But that is not want the United States government wants the citizen-cattle to be exposed to. They are not to be exposed to “news” and information. They are to be manipulated and cajoled. And at that time, the sole purpose of the Alt-Right “news” venues was to enrage the American population to hate China, so that they can be justified in having a long drawn out hot war with them.

And how do they do this…

The various media groups establish a pre-defined narrative that they harp on continuously over and over…

Actually, it’s numerous narratives.

When Trump was elected in 2016, he was a walking “soapbox” of Alt-Right narratives.

Hillary Clinton is corrupt.
The “invasion” of the South Americans is stealing “our” jobs.
China is ripping us off blindly and we must do something!

And when he came into office, he tried to implement policies that reflected the alt-Right narratives.

The thing is that the various groups (mainstream, alt-right, alt-left, etc.) only concentrate on the things that will maintain their audiences. If it lies outside of what the audience wants to hear, it is ignored or suppressed. This is necessary. Because if they didn’t do that they risk losing their audience, and thus their customer base for their advertising supporters.

So the media outlets do not want “the truth”. They want to package information (correct or lies) and sell it (via advertising revenue) to a voracious audience. Which is why I always say that…

The worst and most dangerous propaganda is that which we want to believe.

And this environment, when you have individuals that only listen to alt-left, or alt-right, or hard-right news…

…end up living inside an “echo chamber”, where they only hear what they want to hear.

The echo chamber in politics refers to a group of people who share the same political views. In this group, forum or arena, they share their identical views with each other while at the same time condemn other views regardless as to whether they have a point.

In America, for example, people who are very conservative (e.g. a lot of Republicans aged 70 or older) watch Fox News on TV while many liberals (young Democrats, for example) read things like the New York Times or Los Angeles Times or HuffingtonPost.com.

A lot of these people stay in their echo chamber and never mix with others. As a result and in consequence, over a long period of time, they no longer understand each other at all. Or, worse, some begin to hate each other.
The upshot is, people become intolerant of each other, be it due to party affiliation, religion, skin color, sexual orientation or what have you. Society as a whole becomes divided and fragmented.

Tensions ensue and, needless to say, any social progress becomes difficult of accomplishment in this type of environment.

Yes, but what does “echo chamber” mean exactly?

Oh, an echo chamber is originally a hollow room (chamber) used to produce reverberated sounds (echoes), usually for recording purposes. In this enclosed room, if you make a sound, this sound will, like a ball bouncing off the walls and the floor, reverberate, producing echoes. In other words, you hear the same sound again and again.

Hence and therefore in a political echo chamber, you hear the same arguments over and over again, ad infinitum.

Or ad nauseam because, as a matter of fact, echo-chamber arguments can become nauseating.

-Echo Chamber?

But…

But what happens when a person is exposed to ideas that lie outside of the various “bubbles” or “echo chambers” that exist? What happens when, by accident, they hear something, or read something as resonates with them? What then?

Stepping outside the echo chamber…

You step outside the echo chamber.

They will discover something unique and special.

And they will become excited.

They will try to find other information that would confirm their beliefs and associations, and they would go through all sorts of websites and news organizations to do so. But they will be disappointed. They won’t find much of anything.

That is because the information that lies outside of those approved narratives are very difficult to find, and very difficult to accept.

And this will cause them to question themselves, and when they mention their discoveries to others, they will be shocked at how contrary others are regarding their discoveries. And while they might go along with the opinions of others, for the most part they will keep their thoughts to themselves.

And start putting the puzzle pieces together.

Putting the pieces together.

Normally, it’s difficult to see patterns in all the jumbled mess. You see an incident here, and then hear of another one there, and then you remember an article from a few years back, and then this other event reminds you of…

You start putting things together.

But it is only when you put a large number of events together, and compare it with historical incidents, do you actually start to see what is going on…

Political

OOPART

To give a few selected examples.

In the examples above, you can see that that study of the issues (per article) goes far, far beyond the typical three paragraph narrative so popular in the various news outlets. It involves a study of all elements of the issue, and then places them in context.

This is what discernment is.

A detailed study of an issue within context.

But how do you do that?

How do you put the pieces together?

The way to put all the pieces together is to use history, education, the known sciences and then work outward. I suppose that politics is as good as a place (as any) to start with.

It usually starts where two or twelve elements of “news” seemingly resembles something else. It could be an item, a person, a statement, or an event from history.

The discerning individual would see that while the situation is different, there are fundamental elements that stay the same. Such as (for instance) how the United States today closely resembles the fall of Rome…

When read together, striking parallels emerge -- between our failings and the failings that destroyed the Roman Republic. As with Rome just before the Republic's fall, America has seen:

1 -- Staggering Increase in the Cost of Elections, with Dubious Campaign Funding Sources: Our 2012 election reportedly cost $3 billion. All of it was raised from private sources - often creating the appearance, or the reality, that our leaders are beholden to special interest groups. During the late Roman Republic, elections became staggeringly expensive, with equally deplorable results. Caesar reportedly borrowed so heavily for one political campaign, he feared he would be ruined, if not elected.

2 -- Politics as the Road to Personal Wealth: During the late Roman Republic period, one of the main roads to wealth was holding public office, and exploiting such positions to accumulate personal wealth. As Lessig notes: Congressman, Senators and their staffs leverage their government service to move to private sector positions - that pay three to ten times their government compensation. Given this financial arrangement, "Their focus is therefore not so much on the people who sent them to Washington. Their focus is instead on those who will make them rich." (Republic Lost)

3 -- Continuous War: A national state of security arises, distracting attention from domestic challenges with foreign wars. Similar to the late Roman Republic, the US - for the past 100 years -- has either been fighting a war, recovering from a war, or preparing for a new war: WW I (1917-18), WW II (1941-1945), Cold War (1947-1991), Korean War (1950-1953), Vietnam (1953-1975), Gulf War (1990-1991), Afghanistan (2001-ongoing), and Iraq (2003-2011). And, this list is far from complete.

4 -- Foreign Powers Lavish Money/Attention on the Republic's Leaders: Foreign wars lead to growing influence, by foreign powers and interests, on the Republic's political leaders -- true for Rome and true for us. In the past century, foreign embassies, agents and lobbyists have proliferated in our nation's capital. As one specific example: A foreign businessman donated $100 million to Bill Clinton's various activities. Clinton "opened doors" for him, and sometimes acted in ways contrary to stated American interests and foreign policy.

5 -- Profits Made Overseas Shape the Republic's Internal Policies: As the fortunes of Rome's aristocracy increasingly derived from foreign lands, Roman policy was shaped to facilitate these fortunes. American billionaires and corporations increasingly influence our elections. In many cases, they are only nominally American - with interests not aligned with those of the American public. For example, Fox News is part of international media group News Corp., with over $30 billion in revenues worldwide. Is Fox News' jingoism a product of News Corp.'s non-U.S. interests?

6 -- Collapse of the Middle Class: In the period just before the Roman Republic's fall, the Roman middle class was crushed -- destroyed by cheap overseas slave labor. In our own day, we've witnessed rising income inequality, a stagnating middle class, and the loss of American jobs to overseas workers who are paid less and have fewer rights.

7 -- Gerrymandering: Rome's late Republic used various methods to reduce the power of common citizens. The GOP has so effectively gerrymandered Congressional districts that, even though House Republican candidates received only about 48 percent of the popular vote in the 2012 election -- they ended up with the majority (53 percent) of the seats.

8 -- Loss of the Spirit of Compromise: The Roman Republic, like ours, relied on a system of checks and balances. Compromise is needed for this type of system to function. In the end, the Roman Republic lost that spirit of compromise, with politics increasingly polarized between Optimates (the rich, entrenched elites) and Populares (the common people). Sound familiar? Compromise is in noticeably short supply in our own time also. For example, "There were more filibusters between 2009 and 2010 than there were in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s combined."

As Benjamin Franklin observed, we have a Republic -- but only if we can keep it.

-8 striking parallels between the U.S. and the Roman Empire

And one you come up with a theory, it becomes easier and easier to find details that fit in with your premise. And also… ones that do not.

But you know, not everyone will welcome your conclusions.

New ideas = Bad

Most people do not want their illusions shattered. They want to believe what they believe. And even if what they believe is something horrible and disgusting, they will hold on to it like tar on a baby.

Just because you see something, doe not mean that the rest of the world can see it as well. The fact is, that you have now walked through a very special door. It is the door of the outcast, and the pariah. And as such, your happiness will be wholly dependent on how quiet you are and whether or not you “upset the apple cart”.

To spoil or disrupt a plan or arrangement. 

This great idiom originated as "upset the cart" and it has been in use since Roman times which has similar meaning: "mess up the whole thing" though, the exact dates of this phrase were from the late 1700s.

So, this idiom is originally derived from a Roman phrase "upset the cart" and it is to be believed that later, it becomes "upset the applecart".

Source: theidioms.com

But that doesn’t matter.

You just need to understand things as you see fit. it is not your job, or business or concern what others might think.

So you fill in the blank spots.

And a full pattern emerges.

Yes.

As you work the various puzzle pieces, you will start to see an entire puzzle. And things will start to make a lot of sense to you.

Of course there will always be areas that you will not be able to “fill in the blacks” with. And there will always be questions about the picture that you are able to compile and compose.

I advise keeping your discoveries to yourself. You certainly don’t need any aggravation. Right?

The trolls, whether paid (many actually are), ‘bots, bored youth, or just assholes, will do everything they can to disparage your ideas, your thoughts and your presentation.

One of the biggest things that they will try to do (and it is often successful) is to argue that you don’t have all the information…

The “you don’t have enough information” argument.

Oh those funny and silly guys; always trying to yell down and disparage that which they do not understand. Here is one of their techniques. And, it is, indeed a powerful technique. This is quite often used by disinformation organizations, as well as individuals. Here, in this method, they avoid the key and important issues. They do this by requiring opponents to solve the incident or question at hand completely. They demand that this be done immediately, at hand, on the spot. It is absolutely ridiculous. But that is what happens. It is rude; impossible to comply to, and insulting. But is is a very common techniques.

Here is an example for this. It was found in an Internet debate over a subject inquiring “how the Universe came to be”:

“…It can also be noted that evolutionists only discuss this subject in the broadest terms. If evolution is true, why don’t they give us answers to our many questions?  Where did all the 90-plus elements (iron, barium, calcium, silver, nickel, neon, chlorine, etc.) come from?  How do you explain the precision in the design of the elements, with increasing numbers of electrons in orbit around the nucleus?  Where did the thousands of compounds we find in the world come from—carbon dioxide, sodium chloride, calcium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, chlorophyll, sucrose, hydrogen sulfide, benzene, aluminum silicate, mercaptans, propane, silicon dioxide, boric acid, etc. come from?

This list continues from the macro of “where did the Universe come from”, if not from (the huge) divine intervention down to the (smallest detail) the micro of every detail of minutia of the Universe.

In reality, as in my case, no one ever has “complete solutions”, we can only provide glimpses into specific details or a very broad overview of a given situation, abet in a blurred and unfocused manner. This is, such as what I provide here. You will find no exact and greatly detailed solutions or details, as that would thwart 99% of the core readership and simply regulate this manuscript into the heaps of obscurity.

Ah, but it’s just a tool of argument.

Do not get caught up in the techniques of disparagement

Just don’t. For you own sanity. Don’t.

You will have more than enough information.

And with the information that you have, you will be able to see other trends and other patterns and other information.

And as you do so…

You can pretty much expect people to attack you, your thoughts, and your conclusions. And they will use all sorts of techniques.

And you will start to have doubts.

Seriously, that is the reason behind this. It is to make you doubt your ideas, your conclusions and your process.

So, for the purposes of YOUR sanity, keep in mind…

You will never have the full picture.

You never will.

So forget about perfection. It’s an unobtainable objective.

Perfection is not possible. Perfection is an age-old myth that creates more pain than joy, more confusion than calm, more angst than creative productivity. Being perfect is a farcical fantasy that distracts us from being present. Constantly driving toward perfection creates a sort of black and white, all or nothing perspective that invariably leaves us colorblind. We are forced to forget the beauty that lies between failure and perfection if we think in such binary terms, if we uphold one way of being as the gold standard… a myopic worldview bound to disappoint.

Perfection is not possible.

Why Perfection is Not Possible

Striving, in and of itself, can be chock-full of rewarding jubilant health. It’s when we chase perfection with tunnel vision as if it’s the only option that we drain our life force. When we strive for excellence while acknowledging our humanity we are less likely to plummet into a dark depression if things don’t turn out as we originally planned. It is maladaptive perfectionism that sets the stage for inevitable failure whereas adaptive standards for high achievement can result in productivity and a measured response when ideals are not attained.

Finding the beauty in not being perfect, or in imperfection, means we are taking an active role in changing the polarizing zeitgeist. The roots of perfectionistic characteristics begin to loosen as we explore basic aspects of identity, such as self-esteem, groundedness, and what it means to be imperfect. We dare to step into our own humanity and experiment with what it feels like to walk away from self-doubt and loathing. Striving toward understanding who we are and why we are who we are might reveal pockets of enlivening imperfection—a textured humanness that is refreshingly real and surprisingly interesting. It is a revolutionary act to embrace who we are, just as we are.

-Dr. Jessica Zucker is a clinical psychologist specializing in women’s reproductive and maternal mental health. She has a Los Angeles based practice and is a prolific writer and speaker in the areas of women’s health.

So…

What you need to do is be able to see the patterns in what ever you have stitched and pieced together. Then, by using personal examples, or historical examples, you will be able to see the big picture.

And it will be a glorious moment.

And you shouldn’t need to worry about what others might think. They are not you. They have their own ideas, ways of doing things, and thoughts. There might be a singular issue (like a swear word, for instance), or a misunderstanding regarding their religion (“blowing up mud huts” might anger a person from a poor, rural nation), or some other trigger often hidden deep down inside.

So stop allowing others to define your reality, or control your thoughts.

They will not be able to see what you can do.

Here’s my “rule of thumb”…

If they can correctly guess the color of your underwear, they are permitted to hear your thoughts. If not, then they are not worthy.

Remember…

The world is filled with all sorts of people. Everyone is different. And that is a good, no it is a great thing.

Know what you can control and what you cannot.

If you are unable to correctly guess the color of the underwear of the person that you are talking with, then they are not deserving of your counsel.

It’s a pretty good rule, I think.

It’s important to be open minded to thoughts and ideas, for that is how you are able to expand your picture and your ideas. And that is what you WANT. What you don’t want is to waste your time on the echo-chamber narratives that have saturated the various media outlets. For not only do they irritate, but they distract and waste your time.

Over the years, I have found that when it comes to being receptive to ideas and perspectives other than their own, most people gravitate toward one of these tendencies:

A need for the opinions of others. These individuals have not yet learned to value their own ideas and viewpoints. They are especially vulnerable to being swayed by others. When asked, they have a hard time expressing their own beliefs and convictions.

A rejection of the opinions of others. People in this category are generally high achievers who have worked very hard to get where they are in life. For some they view not having all the answers as a weakness, and their ego guards against this by rejecting the ideas of others. For others their egos are so big, they think they know it all, and just aren’t open to the ideas of others. If they do listen, they place little value on what’s being said.

An interest in the opinions of others. Striking a balance between those who rely too heavily on the ideas of others and those who reject the opinions of others, these individuals welcome collaboration and actively seek it out. They understand the benefits of the wisdom that comes from the life experiences of others. These people would participate well on any type of team.

What’s important to realize is that whatever your natural tendency may be, it is possible to learn to appreciate the ideas of others. When you do, you’ll find that your ability to envision and implement new ideas will flourish and you’ll build stronger relationships in the process. Let’s take a look at how this works.

-Be Open to the Ideas of Others

Not everyone will understand, though…

Some will use techniques to drive your off track.

I don’t know why this it, but it’s a common enough “thing”. There are others that will purposefully argue that you are missing a “key element” of the picture and that you need to to be able to reach the kinds of conclusions that you are working towards.

They might use “Gaslighting”…

“Gaslighting or gas-lighting is a form of psychological abuse in which a victim is manipulated into doubting their own memory, perception, and sanity.

Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. Sociopaths and narcissists frequently use gaslighting tactics. 

Sociopaths consistently transgress social mores, break laws, and exploit others, but typically are also charming and convincing liars who consistently deny wrongdoing. Thus, some who have been victimized by sociopaths may doubt their perceptions.”

Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by. Here is a response to an article I found on the Internet regarding witnesses recanting their testimony in a famous Brazilian UFO case:

“This is absolutely preposterous. The amount of evidence about the Varginha Case, including thousands of hours of investigations by a few dozen men, and hundreds interviews with witnesses, such as the military who did the capture, guarantee otherwise completely. You are basing most of the story on Badan Palhares account. Amazing. Would you expect that he confirms that he dealt with alien corpses? Come on?!”

This comment came from an editor of Brazilian UFO magazine. Does he have an agenda to keep the question of this case open?

There’s often a reason behind all of this.

And in itself, the arguments against what picture that you are trying to piece together might themselves open you up to some very interesting venues of investigation. You never know.

There are many, many arguments that a person can use, and in general the best thing is to keep your thoughts to yourself and live life as the best you can. Just know that many others have agendas, and thoughts and often you are unaware of them. Just like they are unaware of the color of your underwear.

“When a wise man points out the moon, an imbecile examines the finger.”

-Confucius

In all cases remember what you are doing, and why. Accept information as best you can and be open to new ideas. Try your best to de-emotionalize the content and just look at things as objectively as possible, and don’t get too caught up in all the distortions, lies, and confusion. Life is far too short.

So with all of that in mind, let’s get to our final conclusion…

Conclusion

The key to understanding your reality and your place in this universe is to [1] observe and [2] read everything. Be like a sponge and get as much information as you can, and when you are ready, start putting the pieces together. At first it will look like a big mess, but you will start to sift though the lies and get to the nuggets, and then you can start fitting the puzzle pieces together.

Look for coincidences.

Six brand new, never before seen, viruses that attack livestock were discovered in China during a two year time period. Very unusual. Very odd.
Drones were spreading the lethal virus(es). Very, very odd.
A bat-coin minted and released in America just when a “bat originated” COVID-19 is raging though China as a pandemic. Unusual.
A COVID-19 license plate in an abandoned BMW at an airport BEFORE the COVID-19 even existed. Very incredulously odd.

You look for strange coincidences that point to other suggested events.

And most ESPECIALLY look for things that have zero coverage. Things that have “dropped off the radar”. Things that the PTB want to keep suppressed.

The Oxia Palus facility.

Don’t worry too much what other people think or say. Just gather the information as you feel the need. And look way outside of the normal venues. remember that long before the “Alt-right” came into existence it was the Drudge Report that discovered the “blue stain” on the dress of Bill Clinton’s Intern.

Remember, that we are all on the same side. Left, right, or center and anything in between. Most of us want justice, to be left alone to live life as we choose, and hate bad people doing bad things. It’s that we just differ in what information that we have at our fingertips.

Good and happy hunting.

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From then to now; how my unrelenting sequence of prayer & affirmation campaigns changed my life.

Oh boy! Buckle up!

One of my friends, in casual conversation, asked me (while talking about prayer campaigns and affirmations) what all the changes were like, for me, after over four decades of prayer / affirmation campaigns.

And I read what she asked of me, and I’ll tell you truthfully, I just leaned back in my chair and stared dumb-founded at the screen. Oh, yes. Things have really changed. They really, really, REALLY have changed. I just never really thought about it that way.

But… yeah.

And yeah…

It’s complicated.

Our experiences change us. My role in MAJestic changed me. My relationships with others changed me. The culture sand society changed me, and all kinds of influences shaped my life. And if you take one such influence out, I would be a completely different person.

Life changes you.

And, I’ll tell you what, four decades of life is gonna change you.

It’s one thing to live life, and sway in the wind, guideless and directionless. Like some clothing hung on a clothes line to dry. But it’s another thing to pilot an ocean steamer, blind in the dark, dark night trying to make it to paradise.

Since I left the Navy, and entered MAJestic, my entire life has been that of directed prayer / thought / affirmations and intention.

In fact, what I am trying to say is that without the prayer / affirmation campaigns I would not have had so many changes. Without my role in MAJestic, I wouldn’t have been exposed to so many things, ideas and changes. And all things taken together as a whole, I have to admit… life, and experiences are all intertwined with affirmation campaigns.

Do. Not. Assume.

That.

I. Would. Be.

What. I. Am. Today.

Without. Prayer. Campaigns.

Don’t make that assumption. It’s a foolish and stupid assumption. I attribute my material wealth, the quality and quantity of life, and my experiences are all a direct result of my personal prayer affirmations that I have conducted for over four decades.

My current life, and lifestyle is the direct result of my prayer affirmation campaigns.

For Starters

Let’s begin with answering the question.

What changes do I have in my life right now, compared to the life that I had in the 1980's?

Well, since I started the affirmation campaigns in the late 1980’s. We will begin there. Let’s use the starting point where it’s a few years after my calibration and training at China Lake NWC outside of Ridgecrest, California.

At that time, I had left the Navy and MAJestic told me to “make a living and live life”, and so I found work in an automotive electronics company in central Indiana.

So we will use that as the initial baseline. We will refer to that period of time, say middle to late 1980’s as the comparison subject. And on the other end, we will compare it to my life, right now today.

The differences are stark. And i have never really thought about things in that way. So it kind of took me back a little.

So thinking about all this, I ended up pausing. Contemplating.

At which point, I made this little picture…

Indeed, you just cannot assume that every single office dweeb that working in the monstrosity work environments of the 1980’s are now big powerful bosses. You just cannot say that this is what happens, that everyone follows a career and that they naturally rise up. It’s been my personal experience that I was the outlier.

My co-workers from those days pretty much “bailed out” of that environment after maybe four or five job layoffs. Many are now retired or wrapping up their own (much smaller) self-employed businesses, or are running consultancies, or teaching. Very, very few are as “successful” as I am.

As if “success” is a universally understood concept.

Everyone is different, and life has a way of grabbing you “by the balls” and give you “a few knocks in the head”, in order to “straighten you out”. And as a result, you end up changing. You become a different person.

I like to think that many of my former co-workers are doing well. They are certainly doing and living life different than I am. But one man’s ideal, might be another man’s nightmare.

Who’s to say that my life is “better” than theirs are?

You cannot.

Instead, you have to judge “success” on the basis of the individual. AND STOP COMPARING yourself to others. Instead, we will compare myself to myself. And if we do that, we can see the relationship that time, and intention has over my own personal life. And that, my friends, might be illustrative… and I hope… inspiring.

You should be able to see things…

You should be able to see that my overall attitude is quite different. The feelings of helplessness compared to the feelings of raw power that I hold today are beyond compare. But it is more than that. Much more.

There used to be a song (in the 1970’s), and while I have long since forgotten the name of the song and who sang it, the lyrics went something like this…

"Life is what you make it...
...if you can take it...
...you don't have to break it...
...life is what you make it."

Well…

Is my life “better” than it was four decades ago in the 1980’s working in the States? Am I living a fantastic life? How does my life compare now? Can it be attributed to intention prayer campaigns, or to something else? Like coincidence?

First off, let’s see if my life can be judged as a “success” compared to what it was four decades ago. But, we have a problem. What actually is “success”?

Judging by money and wealth

If you judge a man, or anyone, or me (even) by the amount of money that I have then I would be classified as a failure. I have restructured my life so that I do not have any money, nor savings accounts, nor credit accounts, nor any tangible means to equate personal value with my monetary wealth.

No bank accounts.
No legal ownership papers in my name.
No “paper trail” of employment.
No credit rating.

An investigator would find me a very boring subject. I don’t have anything. And that includes money. So under these terms, I would be classified as an abject failure. This is absolute, in those specific terms.

Of course, Heh heh, what do you all think an ex-spook would look like? You think that we would be on the grid, and monitored like some kind of common criminal, felon or hoodlum.

Judging by number of children

Some people view success as the ability to father the most children as possible during their lifetime.

I have met many ethnic youth in America, and some SA’s that feel this way. They talk about their “baby mama” and how they have 12, 14, or 16 of them. This single unemployed African American man impregnating 16 women, but not being a father to any children. Some people define that as success.

I don’t.

But if you did, then the king of this effort would be Genghis Khan.

And yet again, I would be considered a failure by those lofty standards. There’s a very precious few metallic-babies walking round in this world today. And I for one, think of this as a good thing. I’m not a mass-production baby-making factory. Don’t you know.

I do not have a long train of children crying for their daddy, or a a zillion courts demanding the garnishment of my pay checks.

I think that it is a good thing, but other people might not consider this a “successful” life.

Judging by appearance

Some people, most especially those in the 20’s judge others by appearance. If you are attractive, or cart around an attractive wife (or two) on your arm, and drive a nice expensive car, and wear the most stylish and trendy clothes, you are considered to be successful.

I know how it works.

And then you have a kid, and your priorities change. Or you get locked into a career, and things change further. Or, that you start having obligations, and your children need braces, school books and they want a pony. Oh, it is amazing how these criteria change so rapidly.

Yah. Well, but these criteria I too would still be considered a failure.

I dress fine, and wear nice comfortable clothing, but I don’t own or drive a Ferrari. In fact, my days of driving a care are pretty much sunsetted. Let others deal with the headaches, and the hassles. Just take me where I need to be, and be done with it, Sir.

Truthfully, I happen to like being driven around by my driver, and I really don’t care what people think about the car that I am riding in. As long as it is big and roomy and fits my personality, I am fine with it. I like the door being opened for me, and the driver and my aides buckling me in. I like it when they say “you can take a nap, sir, it’s going to be a couple of hours”. And I like it when we arrive at the destination and they stand outside ready for my calling.

Now, it's true that a Maybach is certainly something that I would enjoy riding in, but the price tag is not something that I believe is worthy of consideration.

Yet, to others, judging by this kind of criteria, I do not appear to be a very successful and wealthy businessman. I don’t have fine expensive sports cars to flaunt and to rev up the engines with.

Judging by physical attribute

Many, many people judge others by their appearances. And while I just covered the appearance of wealthy people, here, we can talk about physical beauty and their attractiveness towards the opposite sex.

Physical appearance.

For women it might be big boobs, Big hair, Big ass, or long legs, long silky hair, clear complexion, or a naturally curvy backside. And, for men it might be a big dick, a full set of hair, impressive pecks or something else… like a enormous wallet.

All this is silly.

By these criteria, I’m just so-so. I am average. Pretty much.

A big cock. — Here’s a guy proudly showing his big cock for the whole world to see and be amazed by.

Now, truthfully, if I were to improve my appearance it would be to slim down my waist some, clean up some of my wrinkles and thicken my hair a tad. There are a precious few people who are completely satisfied with their appearances, and there are entire product segments that capitalize on this fact.

I wouldn’t touch my penis. It’s big enough, thank you. I want to be comfortable with myself. And when I am, I am naturally happy and light, and I radiate.

This is real and true attractiveness.

I strongly believe that if you take care of your body. Fill it with fine delicious food, smile and laugh a lot and ignore the sad, doom and gloom others that surround us, that you will do fine. Just be clean, and if that means taking three showers a day, then do it. A happy, scrubbed clean, cheerful person who is open and friendly is amazingly attractive to a wide range of people.

But, you know…

Since there are so many things that are desirous of improvement, you could also say that I am pretty much a failure in those areas. I am not the most handsome man in the world. I’m just an older man. And I pretty much live that role.

Judging by experience

Ah. Now this is something that I am proud to say that I am worthy of judgement. Few people have experienced the wide ranging and comprehensive diversity of experiences that I have had. Very few. Perhaps Sebastian has.

And there is so much more open to experience…!

And I argue that this is a good thing. As the more experiences that you have, the more quantum associations you make. And thus the more quantum bonds and entanglements, the more you grow.

Ah…

But it doesn’t make for “good television” or movies. Don’t you know.

So what’s the deal?

Indeed. So what is “the deal”?

Well, you are not in competition with anyone. So there is no need to be or become “the best”.

What you want is a suitable, and comfortable life that fits YOUR personality, not that which is provided to you via the American media.

And. That. Is. It.

Do not use the media as a yardstick for success.
Your goal should be to be the best you as possible, and live the life that you deem fit.

You need to find out what you like, and the kind of life that holds meaning for you, and then you need to set your prayer campaign in motion to obtain those goals and objectives. And for me, I am very sad to say, that this understanding and realization did not occur immediately. It developed over time.

Ugh. And what you see now is not the pristine result of four decades of planning and implementation, but rather the result of a back and forth, mish mash, of attempts and direction-seeking prayer / affirmation campaigns trying to discern the best fit lifestyle for myself to adopt.

But, all in all, I think that I’m pretty darn close.

Let’s look at the changes the affirmation campaigns have brought about.

Well, right off the bat, you have seen the differences in my work / career. It’s pretty dramatic, I’ll tell you what. I studied to become an astronaut, trained as a Naval Aviator, worked as an engineer, lived as a hobo, toiled in prison, and now am a Boss out of necessity.

Life can have many twists and turns, don’t you think?

Living Environment

Let’s start with the house and living environment.

Back in the late 1980’s, I was working as an engineer inside a massive electronics corporation, owned by GM, and modeled after the work environments in Silicon Valley. They constructed these facilities in the middle of nowhere; Kokomo, Indian and all the top tier of management snagged up all the housing. I ended up living in a mobile home in a flat (former) soybean field.

Think of a mobile home on the tundra wastes in Alaska. That is what it was like. Though in the Spring and Fall, it was pretty lovely.

Today, I live in a big house off the beach. I can watch the people walk their dogs and play on the beach from my living room window, and my neighborhood is nice, and friendly.

So you might want to say that in comparison, it is sort of like this… (I will not use actual pictures of my personal life in this post. I do hope that you all understand.)

Yeah, it’s a bit of a change.

Do you all think that it is luck? Or that I somehow managed to eventually save my way to my current lifestyle though scrimping and saving, or through the stock market, or a “big break”? Eh?

Let’s compare companions

Oh. Now, none of these pictures that I am using is of MM’s personal life. I don’t have any pictures of my life in the 1980’s, and I sure as Hell aren’t gonna provide pictures of my current home and personal shit.

But, for the most part the pictures are accurate and are designed to give the proper IMPRESSION of the changes that I have personally experienced as a result of my life and four decades of affirmation and prayer campaigns.

And now, let’s talk about my wife; my companion.

You know, the BIGGEST influence in your happiness, your success in life, and you ability to be happy is your spouse. It’s true and I do believe it.

To understand the differences between then and now, you need to understand the ladies that I was with. And while today, my current wife is beautiful, stacked, tough as nails, but sweet as a kitten, and a strong powerful mother, my wife from the 1980’s was almost the exact opposite.

At that time, in the 1980’s my wife ( a lovely and attractive lass when I married her ) was just starting to lose her mind. Literally, not figuratively. She had an inherited mental illness known as Schizophrenia. It’s a pretty horrible illness, and at that time it was just starting to manifest, and it hit her hard. Really, really hard.

She was incapable of normal life, and started to behave very strangely. She started to hear “messages” in the radio and the television. She started to obsess about events that took place when she was seven years old, and she started performing all sorts of odd and crazy rituals. Her mannerisms changed. Her actions changed. The way she spoke changed, and her interactions with others began a near immediate down-hill side. She was impossible to take around anyone.

And so for personal tranquility, we stayed at home most of the time.

Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others. People with schizophrenia -- the most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses -- often have problems functioning in society, at work, at school, and in relationships. Schizophrenia can leave its sufferer frightened and withdrawn. It is a life-long disease that cannot be cured but can be controlled with proper treatment. — Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others. People with schizophrenia — the most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses — often have problems functioning in society, at work, at school, and in relationships. Schizophrenia can leave its sufferer frightened and withdrawn. It is a life-long disease that cannot be cured but can be controlled with proper treatment.

At that time, she started to get counseling, and the doctors prescribed some medication for her to take.

The medicine worked, but ended up causing certain side effects. One of which was that she gained an enormous amount of weight, became very lethargic, and would just spend the entire day sitting around doing absolutely nothing. Then out of the blue, she would become enraged and passionate. And it was absolutely maddening.

After an entire night of dealing with this madness, I would have to drag myself to work and deal with a true-to-life scene from the movie “Office Space”. It was horrible, and absolutely not enjoyable.

Nightime = caretaker for a mentally ill person.
Daytime = Worker drone right out of the “Office Space” movie.

When I would return home, I would need to clean up her messes (she would destroy things, break things, and became completely incapable of normal activity. Like throwing the chicken bones from KTC on the living room rug when she was through eating, or never taking a shower or brushing her teeth.), then I would make dinner for both of us, and try to act as her counselor to help her sort out her near-constant distress and emotional turmoil.

Times change…

We divorced, she managed to control her illness somewhat, and last I heard she was doing fine.

And me, today I am happily married to a beautiful Chinese gal, and she is normal and healthy and wholly functional. Praise the Lord!

You know, the BIGGEST influence in your happiness, your success in life, and you ability to be happy is your spouse. It's true and I do believe it.

Time changes everything.

Where I am today is a direct result of my prayer affirmations. Listen to me. I tell you this two times. Where my life is today is the direct result of my various prayer affirmation campaigns.

Let’s compare automobiles

This is pretty easy, but it didn’t work out as planned. But it all manifested when I started to concentrate on the end result of my desire. Not so much on the details. And as a result, an amazing thing happened…

Today I do not drive.

I have contemplated buying a car, and it is on the family table as a discussion item, but we have held back. There are numerous reasons for that, but mostly its that the local public and private transportation avenues are so well established and cheap where we live in China, there just isn’t a serious need to get a car. Though, it would be nice to have one to go outside of the community, and we are contemplating it as a future option. But right now, nah.

Instead, right now, I employ private drivers. I have them on retainer that stand by for me and drive me here and there (as a chauffeur). When I am elsewhere on travel, and not with my driver, I will if necessary, use DD or ShaoJiu which are Chinese equivalents of Uber.

Back in the day, of course, I had my own car. And at that particular point of time in my life, I drove a distressed Mazda RX-7. It was a good little car, but every month I was out in the cold or the heat trying to fix one thing or the other. A few years later, I bought a brand new car to replace it and my life changed accordingly. But right now we are talking about then compared to now, and it looked a little something like this…

Let’s compare meals

You can really see the differences in what I ate then, compared to what I eat now. Back then I ate a lot of simple foods that were cheap and easy to prepare. Much of our budget went into paying medical bills, as my wife at that time was very prone to call 9-11 and have an ambulance take her to the hospital because “she didn’t feel right”.

Breakfasts were mostly cereals with milk, and a drive through coffee and breakfast sandwich. Lunches were a drive through burger meal. I would often mix it up between McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.) And dinners were either spaghetti, hamburgers, hotdogs, a tuna salad, a can of Campbell’s tomato (or chicken noodle) soup or chicken wings. Simple and plain, easy to make, American meals. Often the sides would come from a can. Canned corn. Canned peas. Canned beans. Canned spinach. We would eat salads. But fruit were pretty rare in our household. We would buy bananas maybe once a month.

Like I said, my wife was sick. I did all the cooking, and I was exhausted after dealing with my career and work. Only to come home to a house that looked like an army of five year olds played in it, and an out-of-control wife that was raging about something or another that she watched on television.

Today, things are quite different.

I tend to eat really well.

My wife does all the cooking, and every meal is planned and cooked by her. We go out numerous times during the week for a much more extensive meal which tends to be steaks, seafood, or specialty Chinese dishes.

And of course, there are always exceptions. There are days where I need to get something outside, or make up something myself. It's called "reality".

Today, my typical breakfast is usually a bean porridge, rice congiee, toasted Italian baguette, eggs and sausage and, of course coffee. Lunch tends to be the biggest meal of the day and it is a multi-dish affair with meats and vegetables. Dinner (supper) is slightly smaller. The difference is that I have a few beers during lunches, and my wine or VSOP at dinner.

When I am on travel, of course, I eat like a real King.

Let’s compare weekend recreation

This is also a big change, and again, doesn’t look like anything that I could have ever planned for. Back in the 1980’s my weekends were so damn predictable. We would go out for a breakfast in a diner, the highlight of the weekend might be a hike in a state forest, and I would spend most of the weekend tending to the things around the house. I would mow the grass, repair things, like the porches or windows, and of course, fix the perpetually broken car.

Today, I have a very relaxed lifestyle. We go out, walk a lot and enjoy nature. We eat really well. It might be boring to others, but lazing by the beach and chilling with a glass of wine in my hand is what I like to do.

This is not instragram

No it isn’t. This is real life.

But if I show you the pictures of my real life, it will just look “normal” and “everyday”. My life doesn’t look anywhere near as exciting and glamorous as Hollywood and social media makes out an “ideal” life to be.

Do not compare yourself to the images that you find on line.

I could have easily enough pulled off some amazing photos from the internet, pointed at them and said “this is me, and this Lamborghini is my car, and this beautiful instragram beauty is my wife”. But I didn’t.

Do not ever be under the impression that I have an “ideal ” life (what ever the fuck that means).

I have plusses and minuses in my life, just like every other person in this world. Just like you (the reader) does. And yes, just like you, there are things that I want to change, and things that I want to improve upon. And yes, I do maintain active affirmation / prayer campaigns. And yes, I have just finished one a few days ago.

And yeah, I do get it. What I have presented as my life looks just fantastic. Well, that is because I am using stock images and selected pictures off the internet. I tried to carefully select the ones closest in appearance and general “feeling” that represents the point that I am trying to make…

But, let’s be real. OK?

As in… REAL.

My life might not be what you, the reader might desire. It is what fits me. And I am sure that there are elements in my life that you would find undesirable. Please do not compare yourself to others, and certainly do not compare yourself to me. It’s like comparing apples to green-beans.

The reality is a little bit (not that much, though) different.

So, for instance the picture of a delicious steak does not mean that every single meal that I eat has steak. It means that I eat quite well, all things considered. I eat a lot of fresh food, and far more sea food than I did when I lived in the States. And while I might of had 80% of my day to day meals as fast food, today, it is much less than 1%.

I eat well.

But it is difficult to quantify directly… I eat delicious, and healthy and tasty food in nice eating establishments, or cooked at home with a degree of special care and love. It is not a mass produced GMO-laden artificial-food-product dished out to drone-workers in a corporate grind-mill.

I eat well.

The real deal; Metallicman and family having "paper fish" at a restaurant. The fish is cooked in a paper wrap with all sorts of spices and tasty vegetables. It is so very super delicious! So yes, I eat far better now than then, but it's not always steaks, don't you know. — The real deal; Metallicman and family having “paper fish” at a restaurant. The fish is cooked in a paper wrap with all sorts of spices and tasty vegetables. It is so very super delicious! So yes, I eat far better now than then, but it’s not always steaks, don’t you know.

And you know that chick that I use to represent my wife, is not my actual wife, but (you know) she actually is a pretty darn good approximation. Asian, big smile, attractive, stacked, nice long hair, great personality, happy. She’s fine for me, and yeah she had a lot of suitors. But she ‘chose” me. Good and bad.

Here’s a more realistic picture of her, not showing anything, with our youngest. Looks so plain, un-glamorous, and so very uninspiring. Right? Real life is not all glamor. It is… real.

Don't compare yourself to others. — Mrs. Metallicman with our metallic baby in front of our old house on the bay. It’s not instragram. It’s real life. And the point of all this is NOT to compare yourself to what you THINK others live their lives. You need to compare it to yourself based on your prior experiences.

And the picture of the guy holding the wine glass and relaxing. That isn’t me, and that isn’t my glass of wine. (I tend to fill the glass up to 80% full, not the “oh so dainty” one fourth glass full.) Nor is the guy pushing the lawn mower. In fact, in the 1980’s I had a used lawn mower that continually broke down all the time, and I was constantly playing around with it.

And that guy holding open the door for me to get in is actually a stock image off the internet. Though they really do open the doors and close them for me in actual life when I get into the automobile.

And the picture of the boss isn’t me, but gosh darn it, it could well be. My reality is not that far off from what is depicted. Let me tell youse guys that for certain. I am a BOSS. And I portray that image and that feeling. I don’t wear a tie, and if my customers can’t handle that fact, well… too bad.

And that image of me as a beta cluck worker drone in corporate cubicle-ville in the 1980’s could very much have been me.

So you can see that my life has it’s plusses and minuses.

And it is about tradeoffs.

For instance, I love living near the ocean in a laid back area, with friendly folk around. But living on the beach in the tropics is quite different from living in a mountain top, with swirling snow while you are all cozy and snuggled inside of a toasty cabin.

It’s about trade-offs.

To live on the beach in the tropics means that I will not be able to experience the cabin in the snow squall. Tradeoffs.

it’s all about tradeoffs and what matters to you personally.

Conclusion

It is all good and bad, and areas that need improvement, but all accounts much better than what it was forty years ago, and it wasn’t by accident either. I worked and toiled and controlled my mental processes to make it all happen.

So…

If that is what I can do, what about you?

You have something that I didn’t have. You have guidance, direction and skills on how to conduct prayer campaigns. I had to learn as a consequence of my MAJestic role, and a lot of it was forced trial and forced error. And now you can greatly improve your life to an extent that would amaze. So make it be.

Do you all want some more?

You can see more in my writings about Prayer and Affirmation campaigns here…

Affirmation / prayer campaigns

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