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Arthur C. Clarke is perhaps the most famous modern science-fiction writer in the world, seriously rivaled for that title only by the late Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein. Clarke is probably most widely known for his work on Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but is also renowned as a novelist, short-story writer, and as a writer of nonfiction, usually on technological subjects such as spaceflight. He has won three Nebula Awards, three Hugo Awards, the British Science Fiction Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and a Grandmaster Nebula for Life Achievement. His best-known books include the novels Childhood’s End, The City and the Stars, The Deep Range, Rendezvous with Rama, A Fall of Moondust, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, Songs of Distant Earth, and The Fountains of Paradise; and the collections The Nine Billion Names of God, Tales of Ten Worlds, and The Sentinel. He has also written many nonfiction books on scientific topics, the best known of which are probably Profiles of the Future and The Wind from the Sun, and is generally considered to be the man who first came up with the idea of the communications satellite. His most recent books are the novel 3001: The Final Odyssey, the nonfiction collection Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds: Collected Works 1944-1998, the fiction collection Collected Short Stories, and a novel written in collaboration with Stephen Baxter, The Light of Other Days. Most of Clarke’s best-known books will be coming back into print, appropriately enough, in 2001. Born in Somerset, England, Clarke now lives in Sri Lanka, and was recently knighted.
Here, in one of the best known of all Future Sports stories, he gives the ancient sport of sailboat racing a whole new dimension . . .
* * *
The enormous disc of sail strained at its rigging, already filled with the wind that blew between the worlds. In three minutes the race would begin, yet now John Merton felt more relaxed, more at peace, than at any time for the past year. Whatever happened when the Commodore gave the starting signal, whether Diana carried him to victory or defeat, he had achieved his ambition. After a lifetime spent designing ships for others, now he would sail his own.
“T minus two minutes,” said the cabin radio. “Please confirm your readiness.”
One by one, the other skippers answered. Merton recognized all the voices—some tense, some calm—for they were the voices of his friends and rivals. On the four inhabited worlds, there were scarcely twenty men who could sail a sun yacht; and they were all there, on the starting line or aboard the escort vessels, orbiting twenty-two thousand miles above the equator.
“Number One—Gossamer—ready to go.”
“Number Two—Santa Maria—all O.K.”
“Number Three—Sunbeam—O.K.”
“Number Four—Woomera—all systems GO.”
Merton smiled at that last echo from the early, primitive days of astronautics. But it had become part of the tradition of space; and there were times when a man needed to evoke the shades of those who had gone before him to the stars.
“Number Five—Lebedev—we’re ready.”
“Number Six—Arachne—O.K.”
Now it was his turn, at the end of the line; strange to think that the words he was speaking in this tiny cabin were being heard by at least five billion people.
“Number Seven—Diana—ready to start.”
“One through Seven acknowledged,” answered that impersonal voice from the judge’s launch. “Now T minus one minute.”
Merton scarcely heard it. For the last time, he was checking the tension in the rigging. The needles of all the dynamometers were steady; the immense sail was taut, its mirror surface sparkling and glittering gloriously in the sun.
To Merton, floating weightless at the periscope, it seemed to fill the sky. As well it might—for out there were fifty million square feet of sail, linked to his capsule by almost a hundred miles of rigging. All the canvas of all the tea clippers that had once raced like clouds across the China seas, sewn into one gigantic sheet, could not match the single sail that Diana had spread beneath the sun. Yet it was little more substantial than a soap bubble; that two square miles of aluminized plastic were only a few millionths of an inch thick.
“T minus ten seconds. All recording cameras ON.”
Something so huge, yet so frail, was hard for the mind to grasp. And it was harder still to realize that this fragile mirror could tow him free of Earth merely by the power of the sunlight it would trap.
“. . . five, four, three, two, one, CUT!”
Seven knife blades sliced through seven thin lines tethering the yachts to the mother ships that had assembled and serviced them. Until this moment, all had been circling Earth together in a rigidly held formation, but now the yachts would begin to disperse, like dandelion seeds drifting before the breeze. And the winner would be the one that first drifted past the Moon.
Aboard Diana, nothing seemed to be happening. But Merton knew better. Though his body could feel no thrust, the instrument board told him that he was now accelerating at almost one thousandth of a gravity. For a rocket, that figure would have been ludicrous—but this was the first time any solar yacht had ever attained it. Diana’s design was sound; the vast sail was living up to his calculations. At this rate, two circuits of the Earth would build up his speed to escape velocity, and then he could head out for the Moon, with the full force of the Sun behind him.
The full force of the Sun . . . He smiled wryly, remembering all his attempts to explain solar sailing to those lecture audiences back on Earth. That had been the only way he could raise money, in those early days. He might be Chief Designer of Cosmodyne Corporation, with a whole string of successful spaceships to his credit, but his firm had not been exactly enthusiastic about his hobby.
“Hold your hands out to the Sun,” he’d said. “What do you feel? Heat, of course. But there’s pressure as well—though you’ve never noticed it, because it’s so tiny. Over the area of your hands, it comes to only about a millionth of an ounce.
“But out in space, even a pressure as small as that can be important, for it’s acting all the time, hour after hour, day after day. Unlike rocket fuel, it’s free and unlimited. If we want to, we can use it. We can build sails to catch the radiation blowing from the Sun.”
At that point, he would pull out a few square yards of sail material and toss it toward the audience. The silvery film would coil and twist like smoke, then drift slowly to the ceiling in the hot-air currents.
“You can see how light it is,” he’d continue. “A square mile weighs only a ton, and can collect five pounds of radiation pressure. So it will start moving—and we can let it tow us along, if we attach rigging to it.
“Of course, its acceleration will be tiny—about a thousandth of a g. That doesn’t seem much, but let’s see what it means.
“It means that in the first second, we’ll move about a fifth of an inch. I suppose a healthy snail could do better than that. But after a minute, we’ve covered sixty feet, and will be doing just over a mile an hour. That’s not bad, for something driven by pure sunlight! After an hour, we’re forty miles from our starting point, and will be moving at eighty miles an hour. Please remember that in space there’s no friction; so once you start anything moving, it will keep going forever. You’ll be surprised when I tell you what our thousandth-of-a-g sailboat will be doing at the end of a day’s run: almost two thousand miles an hour! If it starts from orbit—as it has to, of course—it can reach escape velocity in a couple of days. And all without burning a single drop of fuel!”
Well, he’d convinced them, and in the end he’d even convinced Cosmodyne. Over the last twenty years, a new sport had come into being. It had been called the sport of billionaires, and that was true. But it was beginning to pay for itself in terms of publicity and TV coverage. The prestige of four continents and two worlds was riding on this race, and it had the biggest audience in history.
Diana had made a good start; time to take a look at the opposition. Moving very gently—though there were shock absorbers between the control capsule and the delicate rigging, he was determined to run no risks—Merton stationed himself at the periscope.
There they were, looking like strange silver flowers planted in the dark fields of space. The nearest, South America’s Santa Maria, was only fifty miles away; it bore a close resemblance to a boy’s kite, but a kite more than a mile on a side. Farther away, the University of Astrograd’s Lebedev looked like a Maltese cross; the sails that formed the four arms could apparently be tilted for steering purposes. In contrast, the Federation of Australasia’s Woomera was a simple parachute, four miles in circumference. General Spacecraft’s Arachne, as its name suggested, looked like a spiderweb, and had been built on the same principles, by robot shuttles spiraling out from a central point. Eurospace Corporation’s Gossamer was an identical design, on a slightly smaller scale. And the Republic of Mars’s Sunbeam was a flat ring, with a half-mile-wide hole in the center, spinning slowly, so that centrifugal force gave it stiffness. That was an old idea, but no one had ever made it work; and Merton was fairly sure that the colonials would be in trouble when they started to turn.
That would not be for another six hours, when the yachts had moved along the first quarter of their slow and stately twenty-four-hour orbit. Here at the beginning of the race, they were all heading directly away from the Sun—running, as it were, before the solar wind. One had to make the most of this lap, before the boats swung around to the other side of Earth and then started to head back into the Sun.
Time, Merton told himself, for the first check, while he had no navigational worries. With the periscope, he made a careful examination of the sail, concentrating on the points where the rigging was attached to it. The shroud lines—narrow bands of unsilvered plastic film—would have been completely invisible had they not been coated with fluorescent paint. Now they were taut lines of colored light, dwindling away for hundreds of yards toward that gigantic sail. Each had its own electric windlass, not much bigger than a game fisherman’s reel. The little windlasses were continually turning, playing lines in or out as the autopilot kept the sail trimmed at the correct angle to the Sun.
The play of sunlight on the great flexible mirror was beautiful to watch. The sail was undulating in slow, stately oscillations, sending multiple images of the Sun marching across it, until they faded away at its edges. Such leisurely vibrations were to be expected in this vast and flimsy structure. They were usually quite harmless, but Merton watched them carefully. Sometimes they could build up to the catastrophic undulations known as the “wriggles,” which could tear a sail to pieces.
When he was satisfied that everything was shipshape, he swept the periscope around the sky, rechecking the positions of his rivals. It was as he had hoped: the weeding-out process had begun as the less efficient boats fell astern. But the real test would come when they passed into the shadow of Earth. Then, maneuverability would count as much as speed.
It seemed a strange thing to do, what with the race having just started, but he thought it might be a good idea to get some sleep. The two-man crews on the other boats could take it in turns, but Merton had no one to relieve him. He must rely on his own physical resources, like that other solitary seaman, Joshua Slocum, in his tiny Spray. The American skipper had sailed Spray single-handed around the world; he could never have dreamed that, two centuries later, a man would be sailing single-handed from Earth to Moon—inspired, at least partly, by his example.
Merton snapped the elastic bands of the cabin seat around his waist and legs, then placed the electrodes of the sleep inducer on his forehead. He set the timer for three hours and relaxed. Very gently, hypnotically, the electronic pulses throbbed in the frontal lobes of his brain. Colored spirals of light expanded beneath his closed eyelids, widening outward to infinity. Then nothing . . .
The brazen clamor of the alarm dragged him back from his dreamless sleep. He was instantly awake, his eyes scanning the instrument panel. Only two hours had passed—but above the accelerometer, a red light was flashing. Thrust was falling; Diana was losing power.
Merton’s first thought was that something had happened to the sail; perhaps the anti-spin devices had failed, and the rigging had become twisted. Swiftly, he checked the meters that showed the tension of the shroud lines. Strange—on one side of the sail they were reading normally, but on the other the pull was dropping slowly, even as he watched.
In sudden understanding, Merton grabbed the periscope, switched to wide-angle vision, and started to scan the edge of the sail. Yes—there was the trouble, and it could have only one cause.
A huge, sharp-edged shadow had begun to slide across the gleaming silver of the sail. Darkness was falling upon Diana, as if a cloud had passed between her and the Sun. And in the dark, robbed of the rays that drove her, she would lose all thrust and drift helplessly through space.
But, of course, there were no clouds here, more than twenty thousand miles above the Earth. If there was a shadow, it must be made by man.
Merton grinned as he swung the periscope toward the Sun, switching in the filters that would allow him to look full into its blazing face without being blinded.
“Maneuver 4a,” he muttered to himself. “We’ll see who can play best at that game.”
It looked as if a giant planet was crossing the face of the Sun; a great black disc had bitten deep into its edge. Twenty miles astern, Gossamer was trying to arrange an artificial eclipse, specially for Diana’s benefit.
The maneuver was a perfectly legitimate one. Back in the days of ocean racing, skippers had often tried to rob each other of the wind. With any luck, you could leave your rival becalmed, with his sails collapsing around him—and be well ahead before he could undo the damage.
Merton had no intention of being caught so easily. There was plenty of time to take evasive action; things happened very slowly when you were running a solar sailboat. It would be at least twenty minutes before Gossamer could slide completely across the face of the Sun and leave him in darkness.
Diana’s tiny computer—the size of a matchbox, but the equivalent of a thousand human mathematicians—considered the problem for a full second and then flashed the answer. He’d have to open control panels three and four, until the sail had developed an extra twenty degrees of tilt; then the radiation pressure would blow him out of Gossamer’s dangerous shadow, back into the full blast of the Sun. It was a pity to interfere with the autopilot, which had been carefully programmed to give the fastest possible run—but that, after all, was why he was here. This was what made solar yachting a sport, rather than a battle between computers.
Out went control lines one and six, slowly undulating like sleepy snakes as they momentarily lost their tension. Two miles away, the triangular panels began to open lazily, spilling sunlight through the sail. Yet, for a long time, nothing seemed to happen. It was hard to grow accustomed to this slow-motion world, where it took minutes for the effects of any action to become visible to the eye. Then Merton saw that the sail was indeed tipping toward the Sun—and that Gossamer’s shadow was sliding harmlessly away, its cone of darkness lost in the deeper night of space.
Long before the shadow had vanished, and the disc of the Sun had cleared again, he reversed the tilt and brought Diana back on course. Her new momentum would carry her clear of the danger; no need to overdo it, and upset his calculations by sidestepping too far. That was another rule that was hard to learn: the very moment you had started something happening in space, it was already time to think about stopping it.
He reset the alarm, ready for the next natural or man-made emergency. Perhaps Gossamer, or one of the other contestants, would try the same trick again. Meanwhile, it was time to eat, though he did not feel particularly hungry. One used little physical energy in space, and it was easy to forget about food. Easy—and dangerous; for when an emergency arose, you might not have the reserves needed to deal with it.
He broke open the first of the meal packets, and inspected it without enthusiasm. The name on the label—SPACETASTIES—was enough to put him off. And he had grave doubts about the promise printed underneath: “Guaranteed crumbless.” It had been said that crumbs were a greater danger to space vehicles than meteorites; they could drift into the most unlikely places, causing short circuits, blocking vital jets, and getting into instruments that were supposed to be hermetically sealed.
Still, the liverwurst went down pleasantly enough; so did the chocolate and the pineapple puree. The plastic coffee bulb was warming on the electric heater when the outside world broke in upon his solitude, as the radio operator on the Commodore’s launch routed a call to him.
“Dr. Merton? If you can spare the time, Jeremy Blair would like a few words with you.” Blair was one of the more responsible news commentators, and Merton had been on his program many times. He could refuse to be interviewed, of course, but he liked Blair, and at the moment he could certainly not claim to be too busy. “I’ll take it,” he answered.
“Hello, Dr. Merton,” said the commentator immediately. “Glad you can spare a few minutes. And congratulations—you seem to be ahead of the field.”
“Too early in the game to be sure of that,” Merton answered cautiously.
“Tell me, Doctor, why did you decide to sail Diana by yourself? Just because it’s never been done before?”
“Well, isn’t that a good reason? But it wasn’t the only one, of course.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “You know how critically the performance of a sun yacht depends on its mass. A second man, with all his supplies, would mean another five hundred pounds. That could easily be the difference between winning and losing.”
“And you’re quite certain that you can handle Diana alone?”
“Reasonably sure, thanks to the automatic controls I’ve designed. My main job is to supervise and make decisions.”
“But—two square miles of sail! It just doesn’t seem possible for one man to cope with all that.”
Merton laughed. “Why not? Those two square miles produce a maximum pull of just ten pounds. I can exert more force with my little finger.”
“Well, thank you, Doctor. And good luck. I’ll be calling you again.”
As the commentator signed off, Merton felt a little ashamed of himself. For his answer had been only part of the truth; and he was sure that Blair was shrewd enough to know it.
There was just one reason why he was here, alone in space. For almost forty years he had worked with teams of hundreds or even thousands of men, helping to design the most complex vehicles that the world had ever seen. For the last twenty years he had led one of those teams, and watched his creations go soaring to the stars. (Sometimes . . . There were failures, which he could never forget, even though the fault had not been his.) He was famous, with a successful career behind him. Yet he had never done anything by himself; always he had been one of an army.
This was his last chance to try for individual achievement, and he would share it with no one. There would be no more solar yachting for at least five years, as the period of the Quiet Sun ended and the cycle of bad weather began, with radiation storms bursting through the solar system. When it was safe again for these frail, unshielded craft to venture aloft, he would be too old. If, indeed, he was not too old already . . .
He dropped the empty food containers into the waste disposal and turned once more to the periscope. At first he could find only five of the other yachts; there was no sign of Woomera. It took him several minutes to locate her—a dim, star-eclipsing phantom, neatly caught in the shadow of Lebedev. He could imagine the frantic efforts the Australasians were making to extricate themselves, and wondered how they had fallen into the trap. It suggested that Lebedev was unusually maneuverable. She would bear watching, though she was too far away to menace Diana at the moment.
Now the Earth had almost vanished; it had waned to a narrow, brilliant bow of light that was moving steadily toward the Sun. Dimly outlined within that burning bow was the night side of the planet, with the phosphorescent gleams of great cities showing here and there through gaps in the clouds. The disc of darkness had already blanked out a huge section of the Milky Way. In a few minutes, it would start to encroach upon the Sun.
The light was fading; a purple, twilight hue—the glow of many sunsets, thousands of miles below—was falling across the sail as Diana slipped silently into the shadow of Earth. The Sun plummeted below that invisible horizon; within minutes, it was night.
Merton looked back along the orbit he had traced, now a quarter of the way around the world. One by one he saw the brilliant stars of the other yachts wink out, as they joined him in the brief night. It would be an hour before the Sun emerged from that enormous black shield, and through all that time they would be completely helpless, coasting without power.
He switched on the external spotlight, and started to search the now-darkened sail with its beam. Already the thousands of acres of film were beginning to wrinkle and become flaccid. The shroud lines were slackening, and must be wound in lest they become entangled. But all this was expected; everything was going as planned.
Fifty miles astern, Arachne and Santa Maria were not so lucky. Merton learned of their troubles when the radio burst into life on the emergency circuit.
“Number Two and Number Six, this is Control. You are on a collision course; your orbits will intersect in sixty-five minutes! Do you require assistance?”
There was a long pause while the two skippers digested this bad news. Merton wondered who was to blame. Perhaps one yacht had been trying to shadow the other, and had not completed the maneuver before they were both caught in darkness. Now there was nothing that either could do. They were slowly but inexorably converging, unable to change course by a fraction of a degree.
Yet—sixty-five minutes! That would just bring them out into sunlight again, as they emerged from the shadow of the Earth. They had a slim chance, if their sails could snatch enough power to avoid a crash. There must be some frantic calculations going on aboard Arachne and Santa Maria.
Arachne answered first. Her reply was just what Merton had expected.
“Number Six calling Control. We don’t need assistance, thank you. We’ll work this out for ourselves.”
I wonder, thought Merton; but at least it will be interesting to watch. The first real drama of the race was approaching, exactly above the line of midnight on the sleeping Earth.
For the next hour, Merton’s own sail kept him too busy to worry about Arachne and Santa Maria. It was hard to keep a good watch on those fifty million square feet of dim plastic out there in the darkness, illuminated only by his narrow spotlight and the rays of the still-distant Moon. From now on, for almost half his orbit around the Earth, he must keep the whole of this immense area edge-on to the Sun. During the next twelve or fourteen hours, the sail would be a useless encumbrance; for he would be heading into the Sun, and its rays could only drive him backward along his orbit. It was a pity that he could not furl the sail completely, until he was ready to use it again; but no one had yet found a practical way of doing this.
Far below, there was the first hint of dawn along the edge of the Earth. In ten minutes the Sun would emerge from its eclipse. The coasting yachts would come to life again as the blast of radiation struck their sails. That would be the moment of crisis for Arachne and Santa Maria—and, indeed, for all of them.
Merton swung the periscope until he found the two dark shadows drifting against the stars. They were very close together—perhaps less than three miles apart. They might, he decided, just be able to make it . . .
Dawn flashed like an explosion along the rim of Earth as the Sun rose out of the Pacific. The sail and shroud lines glowed a brief crimson, then gold, then blazed with the pure white light of day. The needles of the dynamometers began to lift from their zeros—but only just. Diana was still almost completely weightless, for with the sail pointing toward the Sun, her acceleration was now only a few millionths of a gravity.
But Arachne and Santa Maria were crowding on all the sail that they could manage, in their desperate attempt to keep apart. Now, while there was less than two miles between them, their glittering plastic clouds were unfurling and expanding with agonizing slowness as they felt the first delicate push of the Sun’s rays. Almost every TV screen on Earth would be mirroring this protracted drama; and even now, at this last minute, it was possible to tell what the outcome would be.
The two skippers were stubborn men. Either could have cut his sail and fallen back to give the other a chance, but neither would do so. Too much prestige, too many millions, too many reputations were at stake. And so, silently and softly as snowflakes falling on a winter night, Arachne and Santa Maria collided.
The square kite crawled almost imperceptibly into the circular spiderweb. The long ribbons of the shroud lines twisted and tangled together with dreamlike slowness. Even aboard Diana, Merton, busy with his own rigging, could scarcely tear his eyes away from this silent, long-drawn-out disaster.
For more than ten minutes the billowing, shining clouds continued to merge into one inextricable mass. Then the crew capsules tore loose and went their separate ways, missing each other by hundreds of yards. With a flare of rockets, the safety launches hurried to pick them up.
That leaves five of us, thought Merton. He felt sorry for the skippers who had so thoroughly eliminated each other, only a few hours after the start of the race, but they were young men and would have another chance.
Within minutes, the five had dropped to four. From the beginning, Merton had had doubts about the slowly rotating Sunbeam; now he saw them justified.
The Martian ship had failed to tack properly. Her spin had given her too much stability. Her great ring of a sail was turning to face the Sun, instead of being edge-on to it. She was being blown back along her course at almost her maximum acceleration.
That was about the most maddening thing that could happen to a skipper—even worse than a collision, for he could blame only himself. But no one would feel much sympathy for the frustrated colonials, as they dwindled slowly astern. They had made too many brash boasts before the race, and what had happened to them was poetic justice.
Yet it would not do to write off Sunbeam completely; with almost half a million miles still to go, she might yet pull ahead. Indeed, if there were a few more casualties, she might be the only one to complete the race. It had happened before.
The next twelve hours were uneventful, as the Earth waxed in the sky from new to full. There was little to do while the fleet drifted around the unpowered half of its orbit, but Merton did not find the time hanging heavily on his hands. He caught a few hours of sleep, ate two meals, wrote his log, and became involved in several more radio interviews. Sometimes, though rarely, he talked to the other skippers, exchanging greetings and friendly taunts. But most of the time he was content to float in weightless relaxation, beyond all the cares of Earth, happier than he had been for many years. He was—as far as any man could be in space—master of his own fate, sailing the ship upon which he had lavished so much skill, so much love, that it had become part of his very being.
The next casualty came when they were passing the line between Earth and Sun, and were just beginning the powered half of the orbit. Aboard Diana, Merton saw the great sail stiffen as it tilted to catch the rays that drove it. The acceleration began to climb up from the microgravities, though it would be hours yet before it would reach its maximum value.
It would never reach it for Gossamer. The moment when power came on again was always critical, and she failed to survive it.
Blair’s radio commentary, which Merton had left running at low volume, alerted him with the news: “Hello, Gossamer has the wriggles!” He hurried to the periscope, but at first could see nothing wrong with the great circular disc of Gossamer’s sail. It was difficult to study it because it was almost edge-on to him and so appeared as a thin ellipse; but presently he saw that it was twisting back and forth in slow, irresistible oscillations. Unless the crew could damp out these waves, by properly timed but gentle tugs on the shroud lines, the sail would tear itself to pieces.
They did their best, and after twenty minutes it seemed that they had succeeded. Then, somewhere near the center of the sail, the plastic film began to rip. It was slowly driven outward by the radiation pressure, like smoke coiling upward from a fire. Within a quarter of an hour, nothing was left but the delicate tracery of the radial spars that had supported the great web. Once again there was a flare of rockets, as a launch moved in to retrieve the Gossamer’s capsule and her dejected crew.
“Getting rather lonely up here, isn’t it?” said a conversational voice over the ship-to-ship radio.
“Not for you, Dimitri,” retorted Merton. “You’ve still got company back there at the end of the field. I’m the one who’s lonely, up here in front.” It was not an idle boast; by this time Diana was three hundred miles ahead of the next competitor, and her lead should increase still more rapidly in the hours to come.
Aboard Lebedev, Dimitri Markoff gave a good-natured chuckle. He did not sound, Merton thought, at all like a man who had resigned himself to defeat.
“Remember the legend of the tortoise and the hare,” answered the Russian. “A lot can happen in the next quarter-million miles.”
It happened much sooner than that, when they had completed their first orbit of Earth and were passing the starting line again—though thousands of miles higher, thanks to the extra energy the Sun’s rays had given them. Merton had taken careful sights on the other yachts and had fed the figures into the computer. The answer it gave for Woomera was so absurd that he immediately did a recheck.
There was no doubt of it—the Australasians were catching up at a completely fantastic rate. No solar yacht could possibly have such an acceleration, unless . . .
A swift look through the periscope gave the answer. Woomera’s rigging, pared back to the very minimum of mass, had given way. It was her sail alone, still maintaining its shape, that was racing up behind him like a handkerchief blown before the wind. Two hours later it fluttered past, less than twenty miles away; but long before that, the Australasians had joined the growing crowd aboard the Commodore’s launch.
So now it was a straight fight between Diana and Lebedev—for though the Martians had not given up, they were a thousand miles astern and no longer counted as a serious threat. For that matter, it was hard to see what Lebedev could do to overtake Diana’s lead; but all the way around the second lap, through eclipse again and the long, slow drift against the Sun, Merton felt a growing unease.
He knew the Russian pilots and designers. They had been trying to win this race for twenty years—and, after all, it was only fair that they should, for had not Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev been the first man to detect the pressure of sunlight, back to the very beginning of the twentieth century? But they had never succeeded.
And they would never stop trying. Dimitri was up to something—and it would be spectacular.
* * *
Aboard the official launch, a thousand miles behind the racing yachts, Commodore van Stratten looked at the radiogram with angry dismay. It had traveled more than a hundred million miles, from the chain of solar observatories swinging high above the blazing surface of the Sun, and it brought the worst possible news.
The Commodore—his title was purely honorary, of course; back on Earth he was Professor of Astrophysics at Harvard—had been half-expecting it. Never before had the race been arranged so late in the season. There had been many delays; they had gambled—and now, it seemed, they might all lose.
Deep beneath the surface of the Sun, enormous forces were gathering. At any moment the energies of a million hydrogen bombs might burst forth in the awesome explosion known as a solar flare. Climbing at millions of miles an hour, an invisible fireball many times the size of Earth would leap from the Sun and head out across space.
The cloud of electrified gas would probably miss the Earth completely. But if it did not, it would arrive in just over a day. Spaceships could protect themselves, with their shielding and their powerful magnetic screens; but the lightly built solar yachts, with their paper-thin walls, were defenseless against such a menace. The crews would have to be taken off, and the race abandoned.
John Merton knew nothing of this as he brought Diana around the Earth for the second time. If all went well, this would be the last circuit, both for him and for the Russians. They had spiraled upward by thousands of miles, gaining energy from the Sun’s rays. On this lap, they should escape from the Earth completely, and head outward on the long run to the Moon. It was a straight race now; Sunbeam’s crew had finally withdrawn exhausted, after battling valiantly with their spinning sail for more than a hundred thousand miles.
Merton did not feel tired; he had eaten and slept well, and Diana was behaving herself admirably. The autopilot, tensioning the rigging like a busy little spider, kept the great sail trimmed to the Sun more accurately than any human skipper could have. Though by this time the two square miles of plastic sheet must have been riddled by hundreds of micrometeorites, the pinhead-sized punctures had produced no falling off of thrust.
He had only two worries. The first was shroud line number eight, which could no longer be adjusted properly. Without any warning, the reel had jammed; even after all these years of astronautical engineering, bearings sometimes seized up in vacuum. He could neither lengthen nor shorten the line, and would have to navigate as best he could with the others. Luckily, the most difficult maneuvers were over; from now on, Diana would have the Sun behind her as she sailed straight down the solar wind. And as the old-time sailors had often said, it was easy to handle a boat when the wind was blowing over your shoulder.
His other worry was Lebedev, still dogging his heels three hundred miles astern. The Russian yacht had shown remarkable maneuverability, thanks to the four great panels that could be tilted around the central sail. Her flipovers as she rounded the Earth had been carried out with superb precision. But to gain maneuverability she must have sacrificed speed. You could not have it both ways; in the long, straight haul ahead, Merton should be able to hold his own. Yet he could not be certain of victory until, three or four days from now, Diana went flashing past the far side of the Moon.
And then, in the fiftieth hour of the race, just after the end of the second orbit around Earth, Markoff sprang his little surprise.
“Hello, John,” he said casually over the ship-to-ship circuit. “I’d like you to watch this. It should be interesting.”
Merton drew himself across to the periscope and turned up the magnification to the limit. There in the field of view, a most improbable sight against the background of the stars, was the glittering Maltese cross of Lebedev, very small but very clear. As he watched, the four arms of the cross slowly detached themselves from the central square, and went drifting away, with all their spars and rigging, into space.
Markoff had jettisoned all unnecessary mass, now that he was coming up to escape velocity and need no longer plod patiently around the Earth, gaining momentum on each circuit. From now on, Lebedev would be almost unsteerable—but that did not matter; all the tricky navigation lay behind her. It was as if an old-time yachtsman had deliberately thrown away his rudder and heavy keel, knowing that the rest of the race would be straight downwind over a calm sea.
“Congratulations, Dimitri,” Merton radioed. “It’s a neat trick. But it’s not good enough. You can’t catch up with me now.”
“I’ve not finished yet,” the Russian answered. “There’s an old winter’s tale in my country about a sleigh being chased by wolves. To save himself, the driver has to throw off the passengers one by one. Do you see the analogy?”
Merton did, all too well. On this final straight lap, Dimitri no longer needed his copilot. Lebedev could really be stripped down for action.
“Alexis won’t be very happy about this,” Merton replied. “Besides, it’s against the rules.”
“Alexis isn’t happy, but I’m the captain. He’ll just have to wait around for ten minutes until the Commodore picks him up. And the regulations say nothing about the size of the crew—you should know that.”
Merton did not answer; he was too busy doing some hurried calculations, based on what he knew of Lebedev’s design. By the time he had finished, he knew that the race was still in doubt. Lebedev would be catching up with him at just about the time he hoped to pass the Moon.
But the outcome of the race was already being decided, ninety-two million miles away.
* * *
On Solar Observatory Three, far inside the orbit of Mercury, the automatic instruments recorded the whole history of the flare. A hundred million square miles of the Sun’s surface exploded in such blue-white fury that, by comparison, the rest of the disc paled to a dull glow. Out of that seething inferno, twisting and turning like a living creature in the magnetic fields of its own creation, soared the electrified plasma of the great flare. Ahead of it, moving at the speed of light, went the warning flash of ultraviolet and X rays. That would reach Earth in eight minutes and was relatively harmless. Not so the charged atoms that were following behind at their leisurely four million miles an hour—and which, in just over a day, would engulf Diana, Lebedev, and their accompanying little fleet in a cloud of lethal radiation.
The Commodore left his decision to the last possible minute. Even when the jet of plasma had been tracked past the orbit of Venus, there was a chance that it might miss the Earth. But when it was less than four hours away, and had already been picked up by the Moon-based radar network, he knew that there was no hope. All solar sailing was over, for the next five or six years—until the Sun was quiet again.
A great sigh of disappointment swept across the solar system. Diana and Lebedev were halfway between Earth and Moon, running neck and neck—and now no one would ever know which was the better boat. The enthusiasts would argue the result for years; history would merely record: “Race canceled owing to solar storm.”
When John Merton received the order, he felt a bitterness he had not known since childhood. Across the years, sharp and clear, came the memory of his tenth birthday. He had been promised an exact scale model of the famous spaceship Morning Star, and for weeks had been planning how he would assemble it, where he would hang it in his bedroom. And then, at the last moment, his father had broken the news. “I’m sorry, John—it cost too much money. Maybe next year . . .”
Half a century and a successful lifetime later, he was a heartbroken boy again.
For a moment, he thought of disobeying the Commodore. Suppose he sailed on, ignoring the warning? Even if the race was abandoned, he could make crossing to the Moon that would stand in the record books for generations.
But that would be worse than stupidity; it would be suicide—and a very unpleasant form of suicide. He had seen men die of radiation poisoning, when the magnetic shielding of their ships had failed in deep space. No—nothing was worth that . . .
He felt as sorry for Dimitri Markoff as for himself. They had both deserved to win, and now victory would go to neither. No man could argue with the Sun in one of its rages, even though he might ride upon its beams to the edge of space.
Only fifty miles astern now, the Commodore’s launch was drawing alongside Lebedev, preparing to take off her skipper. There went the silver sail, as Dimitri—with feelings that he would share—cut the rigging. The tiny capsule would be taken back to Earth, perhaps to be used again; but a sail was spread for one voyage only.
Merton could press the jettison button now, and save his rescuers a few minutes of time. But he could not do it; he wanted to stay aboard to the very end, on the little boat that had been for so long a part of his dreams and his life. The great sail was spread now at right angles to the Sun, exerting its utmost thrust. Long ago, it had torn him clear of Earth, and Diana was still gaining speed.
Then, out of nowhere, beyond all doubt or hesitation, he knew what must be done. For the last time, he sat down before the computer that had navigated him halfway to the Moon.
When he had finished, he packed the log and his few personal belongings. Clumsily, for he was out of practice, and it was not an easy job to do by oneself, he climbed into the emergency survival suit. He was just sealing the helmet when the Commodore’s voice called over the radio.
“We’ll be alongside in five minutes, Captain. Please cut your sail, so we won’t foul it.”
John Merton, first and last skipper of the sun yacht Diana, hesitated a moment. He looked for the last time around the tiny cabin, with its shining instruments and its neatly arranged controls, now all locked in their final positions. Then he said into the microphone: “I’m abandoning ship. Take your time to pick me up. Diana can look after herself.”
There was no reply from the Commodore, and for that he was grateful. Professor van Stratten would have guessed what was happening—and would know that, in these final moments, he wished to be left alone.
He did not bother to exhaust the air lock, and the rush of escaping gas blew him gently out into space. The thrust he gave her then was his last gift to Diana. She dwindled away from him, sail glittering splendidly in the sunlight that would be hers for centuries to come. Two days from now she would flash past the Moon; but the Moon, like the Earth, could never catch her. Without his mass to slow her down, she would gain two thousand miles an hour in every day of sailing. In a month, she would be traveling faster than any ship that man had ever built.
As the Sun’s rays weakened with distance, so her acceleration would fall. But even at the orbit of Mars, she would be gaining a thousand miles an hour in every day. Long before then, she would be moving too swiftly for the Sun itself to hold her. Faster than a comet had ever streaked in from the stars, she would be heading out into the abyss.
The glare of rockets, only a few miles away, caught Merton’s eye. The launch was approaching to pick him up—at thousands of times the acceleration that Diana could ever attain. But its engines could burn for a few minutes only, before they exhausted their fuel—while Diana would still be gaining speed, driven outward by the Sun’s eternal fires, for ages yet to come.
“Good-bye, little ship,” said John Merton. “I wonder what eyes will see you next, how many thousand years from now?”
At last he felt at peace, as the blunt torpedo of the launch nosed up beside him. He would never win the race to the Moon; but his would be the first of all man’s ships to set sail on the long journey to the stars.
All circumstantial evidence points to the USA. Any other theories require a degree of mental gymnastics.Some more than others.
Posted by: Bob | Sep 28 2022 9:59 utc | 1
Indeed, it’s down right laughable.
Germans Demand that Russian pipeline be reopened
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Now the Pipeline is blown up
And the sad point is that Americans actually believe that America is a beacon for “democracy” and “freedom”.
The “war propaganda” is all up and anti-Russia.
Americans don’t trust their government, but oh boy, they actually believe all this bullshit…
That war, hidden behind the U.S. created Ukraine crisis, is designed to destroy Europe’s manufacturing advantage compared to the U.S. It is more likely though to strengthen the economic position of China and other Asian economies.
I have argued that Germany must open the Nord Stream II pipeline which can bring Russian natural gas to Germany without crossing other countries’ territory. It must also allow Siemens to repair the defect Nord Stream I compressors. It is in fact inevitable if German’s industry is to survive.
Others have come to similar conclusion and decided to sabotage the pipelines to make their re-opening impossible:
Three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system have sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said on Tuesday in what one German official has suggested is a "targeted attack”. Nord Stream 2 suffered a gas leak which was then followed by a drop of pressure on Nord Stream 1.The company also said that it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability would be restored.
The simultaneous sub sea damage to three pipelines is obviously not an accident.
A German economy official told Tagesspiegel: “We can’t imagine a scenario that isn’t a targeted attack.”
They added: “Everything speaks against a coincidence.”
Russian sabotage to gas supplies to Europe is feared after three offshore lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system suffered “unprecedented” damage in a single day.
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Russia has withheld gas supplies to Europe as it seeks to hit back for Western sanctions imposed for the illegal invasion of Ukraine. German newspapers reported sources saying the leaks were as a result of a “targeted attack”.
As stated in yesterday’s piece the claim that Russia is withholding gas from Europe is outright false:
Nord Stream II was created to make Germany independent from pipelines running through Poland and the Ukraine. Blocking it was the most stupid thing for Germany to do and thus chancellor Scholz did it.In the following months Poland blocked the Yamal pipeline which also brought Russian gas to Germany. Ukraine followed up with cutting off two Russian pipelines. The main compressor stations of the Nord Stream I pipeline, which the German company Siemens had build and has the maintenance contract, failed one after the other. Sanction are prohibiting Siemens from repairing them.
It is not Russia that has blocked its gas and oil from European markets. It were the German, Polish and Ukrainian governments that did it.
Russia would in fact be happy to sell more. Putin has recently again offered to push as much Russian gas as possible through Nord Stream II to Germany: …
If Russia were to cut pipelines in the Baltic Sea it would damage those that bring Norwegian gas to Europe, not the pipelines it owns and which give it some leverage.
Russia thus surely has no plausible interest in sabotaging the Nord Stream system. Others though do have such interests. They likely want Germany to ‘stay in line’ with their war to Decolonize Russia. The major potential actors behind this are the U.S., the British, the Ukrainian and the Polish government or a mixture of those.
Geography, and the shallow depth of the Baltic Sea, seem to exclude that a U.S. or British submarines did the damage. Ukraine does not have access to the Baltic Sea. Poland, which had already tried to prevent or hinder the Nord Stream II construction, is the most likely actor behind this though I doubt that it would dare to act alone.
The developers of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline have accused foreign naval forces of “provocative” activity in the vicinity of construction work. The controversial pipeline is about 93 percent complete, and two Russian pipelay vessels are on station and working on the project in Danish waters.Andrei Minin, the branch director of Gazprom-run Nord Stream 2 AG, told TASS that “foreign warships and vessels were demonstrating higher activity” near the operation, and that “such actions are provocative and can lead to gas pipeline damage.” He also accused Poland of deploying a military M-28 patrol aircraft to survey the site.
“The Polish Navy is not conducting provocative operations and has been carrying out its statutory tasks in agreement with international laws,” responded the Polish Army’s central command in a social media post. “M-28B Bryza planes regularly conduct patrol flights in the Baltic Sea region.”
Poland strongly opposes the development of Nord Stream 2, which will give Gazprom a subsea alternative route for supplying natural gas to Western European customers. At present, that gas has to pass through overland pipeline networks in Poland and Ukraine, bringing in valuable transit fees and providing both nations – which do not always have cordial relations with Russia – a measure of energy security.
Poland has reacted angrily to President Joe Biden’s decision to waive US sanctions on Nord Stream II, warning the move could threaten energy security across Central and Eastern Europe.“The information is definitely not positive from the security point of view, as we know perfectly that Nord Stream II is not only a business project – it is mostly a geopolitical project,” said Piotr Muller, a spokesman for the Polish government.
On February 7 Biden stated that he would decided if Nord Stream II opens:
After both leaders appeared to avoid mentioning the pipeline, under repeated questions from reporters at an afternoon press conference, Biden, standing next to the German chancellor said Nord Stream 2 would not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, in a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin of potential economic consequences.”If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the — the border of Ukraine again, then there will be — there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” Biden said during the press conference with Scholz, who did not go as far as Biden, but insisted the U.S. and Germany remain “absolutely united.”
On February 27 Biden sanctioned the company owning the pipeline.
Under its current rightwing leadership Poland has been extremely hostile to Germany. This month it even renewed is demand for war reparations from Germany, an issue that had been settle decades ago:
Poland’s top politician said Thursday that the government will seek equivalent of some $1.3 trillion in reparations from Germany for the Nazis’ World War II invasion and occupation of his country.Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, announced the huge claim at the release of a long-awaited report on the cost to the country of years of Nazi German occupation as it marks 83 years since the start of World War II.
…
Germany’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday the government’s position remains “unchanged” in that “the question of reparations is concluded.”
“Poland long ago, in 1953, waived further reparations and has repeatedly confirmed this waiver,” the ministry said in an emailed response to a Associated Press query about the new Polish report.
It is high time for the German government to wake up and to recognize that a war has been launched against its country.
And no. It is not Russia that is waging it.
Posted by b on September 27, 2022 at 12:03 UTC | Permalink
Cry Little Sister – Remastered
I love this.
What are the most shocking facts about the UK?
The UK is a poor country.
I grew up in South Africa. At age 28 (last year) I moved to the UK without ever having visited before.
In South Africa (and perhaps many other ‘third world’ countries) the UK has a reputation for being a ‘rich’ country and my assumption was that people live comfortably and in general wouldn’t have an issue affording everyday living costs.
However this is not the case. The UK is not a rich country. It’s a poor country with a strong currency.
When I arrived in the city, what struck me immediately was houses like this (I took these photos):
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I know what my response to this would have been if I’d read this post – Obviously there are poor neighbourhoods in any country. But the real surprise is not that these neighbourhoods exist, but that they make up the majority of UK neighbourhoods – At least 80% of the neighbourhoods in every city I’ve visited look similar to this. Especially in smaller towns/cities, to my eyes it seems even more than that.
If you don’t believe me I’d like to challenge you to use Google Maps, pick any UK city and drop a street view pin randomly anywhere in the suburbs. I can almost guarantee you’ll see:
Trash somewhere on the street/pavement
Weeds growing out of the pavement
Houses with paint peeling or a rotting roof
It doesn’t seem like typical traits of a wealthy region. Now do the same in Denmark or Netherlands and you’re almost guaranteed not to see any of these. (PS. It would be cool if you drop your google maps links in the comments and we can see how many times my theory holds true)
After a while in the UK, observing daily life, watching the news etc. I realised that people here really do struggle with cost of living. Electricity is extremely expensive – while the salaries in the UK are perhaps 50–100% higher than in South Africa (for skilled work), the electricity cost is 300–400% higher. It’s a similar story when it comes to food, petrol and other daily expenses, especially rent.
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If you earn the average UK wage of £31k, you take home about £2,037 per month. What would that get you in London?
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A 60sqm one bedroom flat with purple carpets on the wrong side (East) of central. Keep in mind, this would be your entire take-home pay, so you couldn’t actually afford this flat by a long shot. Bills and council tax would be an additional £250 or so per month.
By far the worst though, is car insurance in the UK. I don’t know how or why this happened but even as a driver with 11 years of driving experience, minimal claims record and wanting to buy a car worth only £500, I got multiple quotes, spoke to consultants and colleagues etc. and I’ve confirmed that the cheapest car insurance I could possibly get (even third-party-only) is £2500 per year. (I’m trying to get a quote for what this would cost in SA – will edit when I have a number but I’m sure it’s less than £300)
This price doesn’t seem okay to me. The average minimum wage in the UK is about 16k. I’ve had quotes for £3200 so that means that some people have to pay 20% of their salary on car insurance (by the way, it’s required by law – not optional). It’s no wonder they can’t afford to paint their house – All their money has been spent on car insurance!
Until today I still have no idea why the insurance is so expensive – If anyone knows this industry or knows the reason behind it then please tell me in the comments. (Also, I know it goes down after a few years as a thousand people mentioned in the comments – It doesn’t matter, this price is still unacceptable, even for 1 year)
Just to be clear, the UK is still a great place to live, for many other reasons, and still better off than South Africa. But in terms of wealth, the difference is not as big as I thought it would be. I was expecting something more like Netherlands or Germany. But in reality it’s halfway between that and South Africa. In my opinion, if 80–90% of a country is poor, then it’s a poor country – Even if the remaining fraction is ultra-rich.
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I love the UK and I prefer it over Netherlands, Germany or even Switzerland for the sheer warmness of the people and the wealth of culture and entertainment. But it’s not a rich country. Think of it of as a poor country – But one that punches far above its weight. Despite everything going on here, it competes with all these top nations on the world stage. It came 4th in the Olympics. It’s a major competitor in the business world. There’s no competition when it comes to music, film and TV. And you can say what you want, it’s a bit more exciting than the rich countries I mentioned.
But I thought it’s worth sharing this side of the story.
Putin just CALLED their bluff and it’s about to get real bad
What is the definition of freedom of speech? Why is it important for us today?
What is the definition of freedom of speech?
Older individuals like myself think along these lines (multiple quotes)
Freedom of speech is freedom to offend.
I may dislike what you say but I’ll defend your right to say it.
Today FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Means you must agree with me or else!
We saw this with the peaceful democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The peaceful democracy voters burned a man alive for holding views they disagreed with:
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That’s what democracy and free speech means today. You can ONLY AGREE! If you disagree we’ll crush you!
Has a scientific theory ever been proven wrong?
Most recently, and of personal benefit to me, that stomach ulcers are caused by stress.
For decades every standard medical textbook from medical school forward told doctors that stomach ulcers were caused by stress. Patients received antacid and anti-anxiety medication. Tagamet, a drug to treat both issues, was the best selling drug in the United States. The fact patients never got better on this therapy didn’t dissuade anyone. If you took Tagamet you didn’t suffer the symptoms of the condition, so that was good enough.
But there were these two guyhs in Australia who couldn’t figure out what the connection was. Honestly, if you had symptoms it pretty much went like this:
Patient: I have pain in my stomach when I eat.
Doctor: Are you under a lot of stress?
Patient: I guess so.
Doctor: It’s probably ulcers. Here’s some Tagamet. Let me know if it does’nt work and we will try something else.
Like any good doctors they went though the medical literature to find out why doctors thought stress caused ulcers, but they just kept finding older and older references in medical texts, but no experiments or studies. That didn’t sound right.
So they started studying ulcer patients, including taking samples from the area of the ulcer. They took full medical histories of course, and also used a control group. Sure, everyone in the patient group said they were under a lot of stress, but so did many people in the asymptomatic group.
But as they studied their samples, They found something weird. Every sample had a bacteria in it. Heliobacter pylori. They published.
The weight of scientific opinion came down on them like a semi-truck. There must have been some sort of contamination of the samples because everyone knows that bacteria can’t survive in the stomach. The stomach is too acidic.
So they started asking around if maybe heloiobacter might cause ulcers. Everyone told them they were nuts. Except one doctor. He only told the guys they were wrong but they probably were’nt nuts.
The more they looked at ulcers though, the more heliobacter he found. So they decided on a rather extreme experiment. One of them swallowed a sample of heliobacter.
Bam. He got gastritis right away. So he took some antibiotics. The symptoms went away. They tried the antibiotics on their patients. They got better. They published again. This time people paid attention.
And here are Barry Marshall and Robin Warren with their Nobel Prize
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And well before they showed up in Stockholm, a doctor gave me a week’s worth of antibiotics for my gastritis. Three days later, my symptoms were gone and my appetite returned. Thanks guys.
What incident fundamentally changed the way you viewed China (for better or for worse)?
I am from Malaysia and live in Malaysia.
I used to view China as a backwards country with a strong military.
My parents has a few apartments that they rented to Chinese students studying in nearby colleges and universities. The way they maintain the house is horrible and everytime they stop renting, we will need to fork out quite a lot of money to repair the house (especially cleaning the house, i have no idea how a porcelain bath tub/toilet seat can be black in color..)
My encounters with Chinese students on campus wasnt too good either. They are ill mannered and talk so loud you can hear them a mile away.
This is more than 20 years ago.
My views changed slightly when i went to UK for my university education. The chinese students i met there is very generous, well behaved. When i was invited to their house for parties or to socialize, discuss things we learned in class, their residence is very clean. But then, i thought to myself back then, these students are children of the rich and powerful chinese compared to the chinese students i met in Malaysia. I thought to myself, this is probably the difference between upper class chinese and the middle class chinese.
This is 15 years ago.
My family decided to go over to China for vacation, mainly 江南 area, including Shanghai. The scenery is breathtaking. But still there is ill mannered chinese everywhere. litter on the floor.. People talking loudly etc.
This is 10 years ago.
Then here is where my views really changed. last year i was asked to go to China for a business trip, to Ningbo and Shanghai. And again this year to Changzhou and Hangzhou. I am very very surprised at how China progressed over the years. The roads got better, transportation improved. But most of all, how the people changed.
People is much better behaved. Well mannered and actually obeyed traffic laws. I see slogans everywhere saying “Be Civilized”. Civilized driving, civilized usage of elevators, civilized everything.
Thats where China did it, and i will say it worked. They started educating children to be civilized at schools and everywhere.
As time passes, i am genuinely sure China will continue to improve with the right policy and education.
Does the CCP do genocide?
CCP has no experience, it needs to send a delegation to the US and learn from the US and Australia how they made tens of millions natives dwindled down to a few thousands and put them in ghettos.
I am sure the US and Australia with hundred years of experience will be the most qualified to share its successful biological weapons and mass slaughtering. They must also learn how the west camouflage and hide their attrocities and hypocritically pretend it cares for human rights.
Hands of to the Australian genocide on its aborigines and the US genocide on its natives. CCP ought to learn from the best in the world.
2022 09 27 The Americans Declared War On Europe
Americans… did this.
Are Australians in awe when they come visit the United States?
I loved America I loved the people I met. Firstly I will warn you. I am going to beat the shit out of your preconceived image.
The countryside and rural towns are pretty good but when you hit the cities Oh My God! I could not beleive how poor it was. Everything looks old tired and sad and the social issues are at levels I previously only thought existed in China, India and South east Asia. Plenty of money in America it is just in very few hands and spent poorly. I could not believe how unstable wealth was in America, everyone I had talked to had been sucessful and bankrupt. In Australia if you work and stick to it you will steadily make it and get to keep it for your life. Employment standards in modern America reminded me of Australian employment standards during the great depression in the 1930’s.
You refusal to go the Western way and provide basic health care cripples your economy and stops good people from suceeding. Before someone says it, healthcare isnt communist It is infrastructure and stability for the private industry and society to thrive on. This is one of the key reasons why every other Western country is first world and America is 2nd world.
I was also suprised at how unbalanced and blatant the agenda of the media was (left and right where equally guilty). I honestly would not know how to get decent information if I lived in America. For a country that raves about free speech and freedom this cut me to the core as I love these values. I will admit though in recent years the Aussie media hass become just as bad.
I think American needs to get out more and realise they are 50 years behind Western Europe and Aus/NZ. I want to see America win and be the country its people think it is. But it will not happen whilst your country is divided and holds up the false image you are rich, free or leading the world culturally.
Sorry America but sometimes you just need to hear the truth so you can get back on track.
Anyone who has seen the news about China coup and putting Xi under house arrest: does anyone have updates on this?
Originally Answered: Anyone seen the news about China coupe and putting XI in house arrest, does anyone have updates on this?
Yeah, here’s an update.
You can basically trace this disinformation campaign. Notably, it was just some silly rumors started in the Chinese side which got amplified by Indian media and — you guessed it — Falun Gong (see that jenniferatntd node).
These are the simple consequences of people who can’t be bothered to check the Chinese internet using the Chinese language, or who could potentially care to do that but have since erected that wall in their brains wherein nothing Chinese is trustworthy or valid. If the crazies outside of China spouting BS are given far more weight simply because “China falling apart” just seems plausible, then this says something about how vulnerable a society is to disinformation campaigns
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This is yet another episode of how people in the Western media space are misled on China. Those who forget the previous episode should revisit those claims that China would collapse from banking runs some… 10+ days ago.
To borrow from Bill Chen, read the Chinese, don’t read about the Chinese. Given typical patterns of understanding China, I expect another QAnon-style BS claim about China to make the news in a couple months. I wish I could just laugh this off, but holy hell this sea of ignorant, malicious speculation is the reality we live in.
Dinosaur Jr-“Get Me”
This video was filmed in my “neck of the woods” near Hoptkon, Mass / Milford. Check out the MM scenery.
What is the most MacGyver-like invention you have ever made?
I have made a few over the years. The one that was noted most was like 10 years ago. We were working at a rather remote school for the Saxony fire brigades. We needed internet to work, but the nearest cell phone tower was far away and also on the wrong side of the building.
We had a little stick with which to connect to it.
Remembering my training I thought I might be able to receive the signal bouncing off the forest. I took a kitchen sieve with me and fashioned this on the balcony:
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It worked. Not only that . When it rained the signal got better, because the radio waves were also bouncing off the raindrops.
Yes, America has the right to try to sink the Chinese fleet.
But the Chinese then also has the right to respond as severely as they see fit, which can vary from sinking the American navy in the region and destroying all American military bases in the entirety of east and south-east Asia, to even beginning nuclear war targeting America’s major cities.
I think you are a bit lost, attacking China is nothing like attacking Nicaragua or Cuba. It will be a war in a scale never seen before. For some reason you seem to believe the world’s largest domestic economy has a negligible military, and the world’s sole industrial leader cannot start producing military equipment like crazy for the most numerous armed forces in the world to use.
You should probably stop thinking about war as something irrelevant, trust me you don’t want a war between these two. The US is used to fighting wars abroad against minor countries and the citizens only getting to know about them in the news on tv, but this time if you are American then for the first time your life and your family’s is actually at risk, as your country began war with a nuclear power; and you’ll surely lose your job due to the massive historical global economic collapse.
All I wrote in this answer are out of my personal experience and my family’s and friends’. So if you have different ideas, you are very welcome to share it. But it would be better if you also write down the reasons and stories with details to help us to understand this country more.
China isn’t a perfect country. Surely she has dark sides. But she isn’t a living hell for human beings that must not be visited.
If you are a heavy drug user, don’t go to China because it’s really hard to find a drug dealer there. Not an irony here.
If you are a drug dealer, don’t go to China for the sake of your own life. Not an irony here as well. China has very strict law about drug dealing.
If you believe Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hong Kong, Macau should secede from China and you are planning on shouting it out loud in Chinese in the middle of the street in China, don’t go to China because the passer-bys will probably punch your face.
If you think a country without democracy is a living hell for human beings, don’t go to China. I doubt it if you could actually understand the beauty of China ( the people, the culture, the history, the view and etc.) so don’t waste your time and money.
If you look down on people with no religious belief, don’t go to China because you will be exausted for looking down on people all day.
If you are allergic to peanut, don’t go to China unless you have learnt how to ask if the restaurant uses peanut oil or not in Chinese (David De Gruijl suggested that you could print what you are allergic to in local language on a card to show the waiter). Otherwise you could put your life in danger since most Chinese restaurants never put their attention on this.
If you have a fragile and sensitive respiratory system，don’t go to China. But there are cities with good air quality like Nagri, Ledong, Yangpu, Wuzhishan, Qoqek, Diqingzhou, Aba, Shannan, Altay, Linzhi.
If you are a terrorist, don’t go to China. It has death penalty.
If you are a white trash/black trash/asian trash/alien trash, don’t go to China. They have had enough trash in China.
If you speak no Chinese and refuse to use translate apps when travelling in a less developed city, don’t go to China (Or at least don’t visit those cities).
If you are addicted to Pandas, Chinese food, don’t go to China or you may find it hard to leave the country.
If you can’t live without your guns, don’t go to China.
If you expect there will be kung fu masters everywhere, don’t go to China. It’s bitter to break your own fantasy.
If you are a hugger and will have your heart broken for being refused, don’t go to China. Most Chinese are not fond of intimacies between strangers or even friends.
If you drink only iced water, don’t go to China. Iced water doesn’t have the room to survive here. We love hot water. Just kidding. China has iced water, but not as popular as it is in most western countries.
If you only use tampons/menstrual cups and believe women who use napkins are out of their mind, don’t go to China. Only 2% of Chinese women are using tampons. You can buy tampons or menstrual cups in the supermarket of the city area. If you choose to live in the countryside, buy them online using Taobao.
If you can’t use chopsticks, never mind. Just go to China, I am sure they will have forks and knives. If they don’t, long live the SPOON!
If you think you are good at playing DOTA or any other games, don’t go to China. The oversea Chinese you know do maths, the local Chinese play games.
If you can’t stand crowded streets and loud conversations, don’t go to China. If the Chinese didn’t turn their voice down when they are abroad then they will definitely not do it either in their own country. Plus, talking out loud is kind of their culture.
If you love and care for your pets very much, don’t go to China with them. Cuz the Chinese will eat them, no, no, no, just kidding! Because there aren’t enough good pet clinics in a large part of China. And they cost you a lot. And pets aren’t allowed to enter 90% of buildings including supermarkets, restaurants, companies or hotels.
If you love shopping for luxury products, don’t go to China. The tariff is terrifying. But HK is an exception.
If you can’t stand squat toilets, don’t go to China. We do have a lot of toilets with a pedestal for sitting as well but not as popular as squat toilets. Exploded bladder alert!
If you are afraid of members of the CCP, don’t go to China. There are over 90,000,000 members of the CCP in China (though most of them just exist for this fabulous number). Honestly, a lot of CCP members dislike the CCP as well. They just don’t feel the urge to leave it (a lot of paper work to do if they want to) since the difference between being one and not being one is slight for most people. They don’t get to vote anyway.
If you can’t live without porn and have no idea how to use a VPN/Chinese social media, don’t go to China. If you have them in your U-stick, don’t upload them/sell them/ share them. Normally, if you do what I mentioned, there won’t be police officers coming to get you arrested but just be careful about it.
If you are a buddhist/muslim/christian/believer of Flying Spaghetti Monster/ other kinds of religious believers, don’t go to China cuz the CCP and the Chinese will kill you. Hahahahahhahaha! LOL! That’s just a terrible joke. Sorry. Trust me, the CCP/ the Chinese government/ the Chinese has no interest in you or your religious belief unless you are forcing other people to believe in it.
If you believe Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country, don’t go to China. Nah! A joke again. As long as you don’t yell that Taiwan is a country called the Republic of Taiwan in Chinese in the middle of the street then you will be perfectly fine. You will probably be fine even if you do so. It depends on if people who hear you are aggressive. No police will come and arrest you. William Huang suggested me to write this one.
If you hate or are disgusted by the people led by the CCP, no matter how they feel about the communism system, don’t go to PRC. A lot of Chinese have no idea what Communism really is and are not communists. But if you still can’t accept it, then only visit ROC (Taiwan). Jacek Pytlarczyk suggested me to write this one.
If you eat only gluten free food and know nothing about using online service to order them, only go to the developed cities that have western high end supermarkets in China. Bo Dong (Bo Dong) suggested this one.
If you don’t enjoy living in a safe place where people are very nice to foreigners, don’t go to China. Brian O’Connell suggested this one.
If you don’t look like an Asian and hate it when people pay attention to you, then don’t go to the undeveloped cities in China. The crowd would be curious about you and probably stare at you more often. But most of them mean no harm.
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What makes a pizza better than other pizzas when in the end it’s just a pie, with tomato sauce and cheese?
I remember having a sleep over at a friend’s house when I was a kid.
My friend’s mom promised pizza, which got me pretty excited. My mom made pizza at home and it was her pizza that came to mind. My mother’s pizza was amazing. She made the dough, cold proofed it over night to develop flavor, made her own sauce and topped it with things like roasted peppers, roasted eggplant, olives, fresh basil and parmesan cheese. I couldn’t wait until dinner time because at my house, pizza wasn’t just a meal, it was an event.
Pizza at my house looked something like this:
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When dinner time came around we ran through the kitchen and a box on the counter caught my eye.
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What was that box with a picture of pizza on it, I wondered?
Then the pizza was served and it looked like this:
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I was like, what? What is this thing we were just served? Where’s the pizza? Where’s the light and airy crust, the chunky homemade sauce, the roasted veggies and the drizzle of olive oil?
I knew that thing they served us wasn’t pizza, it was something that had come out of a box.
What really struck me was the fact that these people were a little better off than my family, at least they put an effort into appearing to be well off, but they ate crap pizza out of a box. It wasn’t like they were just feeding some neighbor kids on the cheap either, because the parents had made one for themselves as well.
That’s when it occurred to me, at my young age, that lots of people don’t know what good food is. Lots of people will eat crap pizza from out of a box and wonder why anyone would bother with anything else, because to them, it’s just a pie, with tomato sauce and cheese.
I visited the ancient Chinese city of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, in 2016 as part of a delegation from Nepal to attend a workshop to share the experiences of the 2015 great earthquake that had devastated Nepal. The development of China was beyond my imagination. The skyscrapers were everywhere with countless under construction.
The airports were immaculately clean with every modern facilities one could imagine for. There was even bigger surprise stored for me when I reached the city of Xián. The city, one of four most ancient Capitals of the world, can compete with any existing modern city of the world. All the streets close to my hotel had shopping malls full of designer shops including Gucci and Armani. All the cars seen in the streets were either Mercedes, Volkswagen, Lexus or other expensive ones. The people were very humble and friendly and eager to communicate. Though the language was always a problem
I traveled with other delegates for around six hours around the city up to the nearby Province and the roads could be compared to that of Washington DC and the highways of Israel. It was an eye opener for me.
Edward Snowden given Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin, two years after becoming permanent resident
President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA).
Key points:
Mr Snowden fled the US in 2013 after leaking national secrets
His name was on a list of 72 foreign-born individuals given Russian citizenship, issued without comment from the Kremlin
In 2017, Mr Putin said that Snowden was wrong to leak US secrets but was not a traitor.
Mr Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the NSA, where he worked.
US authorities have for years wanted him returned to the US to face a criminal trial on espionage charges.
There was no immediate reaction from Mr Snowden, whose name appeared without Kremlin comment in a Putin decree conferring citizenship on a list of 72 foreign-born individuals.
The US State Department is not aware of any change in Mr Snowden’s American citizenship status, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday, adding that Washington’s position on the former US intelligence contractor had not changed.
The news prompted some Russians to jokingly ask if Mr Snowden would be called up for military service, five days after Mr Putin announced Russia’s first public mobilisation since World War II to shore up its faltering invasion of Ukraine.
“Will Snowden be drafted?” Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the state media outlet RT and a vocal Putin supporter, wrote with dark humour on her Telegram channel.
Mr Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told RIA news agency that his client could not be called up because he had not previously served in the Russian army.
He said that Mr Snowden’s wife Lindsay Mills, who gave birth to a son in 2020, would also apply for citizenship.
Russia granted Mr Snowden permanent residency rights in 2020, paving the way for him to obtain Russian citizenship.
That year, a US appeals court found the program Mr Snowden had exposed was unlawful and that the US intelligence leaders who publicly defended it were not telling the truth.
Mr Putin said in 2017 that Mr Snowden, who has kept a low profile while living in Russia, was wrong to leak US secrets but was not a traitor.
Love and Rockets – So Alive (Lost Boys Edit)
Fun video.
As someone who has lived in both Europe and the United States, which do you prefer?
I’m an Indian and I lived and worked in the US. I live in Europe for about 10y (France, Germany and the UK). My wife is from the US, so we visit pretty often, at least once a year.
My 2 cents on this topic:
Europe: (mostly Germany)
Pros:
Heath care: Hands down the best, cheapest and most easily accessible health care system. I can’t emphasize this enough. In my 8y in Germany I’ve paid only once €7 for an injury. My wife takes an experimental medicine which costs 600 eur every month for free. I pay into the Public insurance.
Education: Free education means studies through my engineering until PhD with zero loans. On top got paid during PhD while paying taxes, which counts towards my PR and citizenship. My wife got her Masters in Germany for 300 eur a semester and received 2 scholarships throughout her studies. That being said not all universities are free.
Traveling: Europe is pretty compact, which means within 4h driving we could reach France, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands etc. Flying within Europe is cheap and doesn’t take much time, although that’s changing post Covid. Cities are built around public transport and I really appreciate that I don’t have to drive so often.
Food: Great quality food options which are also cheap. Even fast foods are of better quality compared to the US. Although I miss the variety of foods.
Cons:
Language and integration : In Europe you need to learn the language and integrate. European countries being much smaller than the US, non integration makes you stand out and might work against you. Learning French or German to the point where you can work comfortably takes time and effort, which you gotta make alongside studies or building your career. There’s a bigger pressure to integrate in any European country than in the US.
Colder people: People are generally colder and aloof compared to the US. It takes time to form connections. A new arrival to the country could be lonely for years before he feels a sense of belonging . It generally takes time to make genuine friends. Most of the time international people hang out with other expats in big cities.
Lower salaries, difficulty finding a job and lesser flexibility: Salaries could be much lower compared to the US although your quality of life might be better depending on where you live in Europe. The absence of hire and fire policies makes it extremely tough to find jobs in some domains. Germans in particular are less flexible compared to Americans regarding skill sets required for a job. You need trainings and certificates to get hired for a particular job, whereas America demonstrates a better ‘anybody can learn anything’ mindset.
The US:
Pros:
People: Amazing people all over, friendly smiling, curious, adventurous. Once I’ve passed immigration I’ve almost never met a rude person. People are courteous and really big hearted. I’ve met really fun people in this country, and I love their big smiles.
Higher salaries and ease of finding jobs: You could work multiple jobs or one job and earn really a lot of money in the US and live cheaper lives in some places. Finding a job is much easier, even when I was working as an expat here I would get receive offers all the time on LinkedIn. This also means you can switch jobs easily to get bigger salaries or also get fired very easily. Switching careers and trying out something new is really encouraged.
Food: I really miss the diversity of food that I can find in the US. Any big city offers such diverse foods that Europe could only dream of. Probably only Berlin and London could be compared to the diversity of foods you would find all over the states.
cons:
The politics: This is probably the biggest con for me to live in the US. The swinging political ideologies is a big turn off for me. Which means as a POC, racism could be pretty overt everywhere. Medieval laws such as banning abortion and religious fanaticism makes it difficult to envision a life raising kids in this country.
Health care: Definitely a big con of living in the US, even with a great health insurance through your company you could pay exorbitant amounts for small procedures. One of my colleagues is giving birth and even though she has great insurance she is going to pay over $5000. This is crazy for me. I’ve never been to a doctor in the states, even though I’d expat health insurance.
Visa: The complications that come with the uncertainty of visa approvals in the US is just mind boggling. I’ve never had to once worry about my visa in all these years of living in Europe. It’s just awful that even after paying taxes for years and being a legal resident, your visa could be denied and you might have to leave the country on short notice. I’ve known people who couldn’t go back home to see family members who passed away, since they were processing their visas.
It’s very difficult to say which country I prefer over another. Overall both places are great, but at this point in life I just prefer visiting the US for travels and not living permanently.
China doesn’t hate America. China used to admire America. Today, China pities America.
America hates China because China’s rise threatens its global hegemony. Within 20 years, China will displace America as the #1 world power.
America is also supremely arrogant. It is very dogmatic about liberal democracy and despises any other political system (like China’s).
America is also very racist. We already know about BLM and “I can’t breathe” but America also fears the “Yellow Peril.” It is very jealous of how China is steamrolling over America.
Godzilla Haikus Are Exactly What You Need Today
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When he’s not terrorizing people and destroying their cities, did you know that Godzilla is actually a pretty sensitive creature? So next time you see Godzilla emerge from the sea with that crazy look in his eye, remember that beneath that rough exterior is a poet with a heart of gold. Here are some of the monster’s best haikus.
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New Jersey Transit Buses Carrying NUCLEAR ATTACK Instructions!
New Jersey Transit public buses are carrying NUCLEAR ATTACK Instructional ads on the outside of the buses!
Here is the full photo, click (twice) to fully enlarge:
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This comes just days after similar ads were posted in New York City Subways (Story Here)
And comes just two months after similar ads starting appearing on large poster boards in New Jersey Shopping malls (Story Here)
Which came just before New York City Emergency Management created a TV Public Service Announcement telling New Yorkers what to do if a nuclear bomb hits the city (Story Here)
Do you think they’re doing all these things for no reason? They KNOW what’s coming!
Prepare.
Cherry Cobbler
It’s even easier than pie! Bake tempting cobbler the easy way with cherry pie filling. It’s perfect baked under a tender, flaky crust.
BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — China on Tuesday released a new investigation report in which it said further evidence has been found to show the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is behind “thousands of cyber attacks” on a Chinese university.
With the technical support from a number of European and Southeast Asian countries, Chinese experts were able to retrace the technical features, attack weapons and paths used in the cyber attack against China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University, according to the report published by China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center in collaboration with internet security company 360.
They have found that those attacks originated from the NSA-affiliated Office of Tailored Access Operation (TAO), which had exposed its own technical loopholes and operational missteps during the attack, the report said.
Earlier probe has found that 41 types of cyber weapons were used by TAO in the recently exposed cyber attacks against the university.
Among the 41 types of cyber attack tools, 16 are identical to the TAO’s weapons that have been exposed by hacker group “Shadow Brokers,” and 23 share a 97 percent genetic similarity with those deployed by TAO, said the report.
The remaining two types need to be used in conjunction with other cyber attack weapons of TAO, the report said, adding that the homology of the weapons suggests they all belong to TAO.
Technical analysis found that the cyber attackers’ working time, language and behavior habits, and operation miss have also exposed their links with TAO.
The report detailed the process of TAO’s infiltration into the Chinese university’s internal network. TAO first used “FoxAcid,” a man-in-the-middle attack platform, to hack into the university’s internal host computer and servers, and then gained control over several key servers with remote control weapons. It then controlled some important network node equipment including the university’s internal routers and switches, and stole authentication data.
Hiding in the university’s operation and maintenance servers, TAO stole several key configuration files of network equipment, which were used to “validly” monitor a batch of network equipment and internet users.
The Chinese investigation team found that TAO captured personal information of some people with sensitive identity on the Chinese mainland. The information was sent back to headquarters of the NSA via multiple jump servers.
The report said the true identities of 13 attackers have been found out.
The report, revealing details of the U.S. cyber attacks against the Chinese university, was released to offer lessons to countries across the world so that they can more effectively identify and prevent cyber attacks by TAO.
U.S. State Department Issues DIRE Warning: Americans should “Leave Russia Immediately”
The U.S. State Department has issued what is already being described as “the most dire warning ever seen” to Americans in Russia: Leave Immediately.
Specifically, the State Department told Americans “U.S. citizens should not travel to Russia and those residing or travelling in Russia should depart Russia immediately…” Here’s the exact wording:
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This is the type of warning the State Department issues about countries where the U.S. is going to war.
And the State Department has good cause to think we’re going to war, because in large measure, it is the State Department that is CAUSING IT!
Just yesterday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Ukraine “Ukraine can use western weapons against territories seized by Russia.” The territories he seems to be referring to are the areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, which concluded Public Referendums yesterday, and voted overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia.
Think about that for a moment: The people in those areas VOTED, and Blinken says the US “will not recognize . . .” that vote.
As if he has a choice . . .
We The People have a right to defend ourselves from what these phony government people are causing. And we’d better start defending ourselves fast, while we’re still alive, and still have a country left to defend.
At the rate these election-thieving illegitimate government nitwits are going, America will likely be NUKED by Russia within weeks.
The Seven Deadly Cat Sins!
Check it out, for fun.
More Haikus…
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This Thanksgiving, Supplies Of Turkey, Eggs And Butter Will Be Extremely Tight In The United States
If you love to cook, this upcoming Thanksgiving may be a real challenge for you. Thanks to a resurgence of the bird flu, supplies of turkey are getting tighter and tighter. Sadly, the same thing is true for eggs. And as you will see below, reduced milk production is sending the price of butter into the stratosphere. Thanks to soaring prices, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner will be out of reach for millions of American families this year, and that is extremely unfortunate. Of course all of this is happening in the context of a horrific global food crisis that is getting worse with each passing day. Yes, things are bad now, but they will be significantly worse this time next year.
The bird flu pandemic that has killed tens of millions of our chickens and turkeys was supposed to go away during the hot summer months, but that didn’t happen. And now that the weather is starting to get colder again, there has been a resurgence of the bird flu and this is “devastating egg and turkey operations in the heartland of the country”…
Turkeys are selling for record high prices ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday as a resurgence of bird flu wipes out supplies across the US.Avian influenza is devastating egg and turkey operations in the heartland of the country. If just one bird gets it, the entire flock is culled in order to stop the spread. Millions of hens and turkeys have been killed in recent weeks. As a result, prices for turkey hens are nearly 30% higher than a year ago and 80% above pre-pandemic costs. Just as concerning are inventories of whole turkeys, which are the lowest going into the US winter holiday season since 2006. That means there will be little relief from inflation for Thanksgiving dinner.
In the months ahead, we could see tens of millions more chickens and turkeys get wiped out.
Egg prices have already tripled in 2022 and the price of turkey meat is up 60 percent. Unfortunately, this is likely just the beginning…
Turkey hens are $1.82 a pound this week, according to Urner Barry, compared to $1.42 last year and $1.01 before the pandemic. Meanwhile, wholesale egg prices are at $3.62 a dozen as of Wednesday, the highest ever, up from a previous record of $3.45 a dozen set earlier this year, said John Brunnquell, chief executive officer of Egg Innovations, one of the biggest US producers of free-range eggs. Consumers have seen prices for eggs at grocery stores triple this year, while turkey meat rose a record-setting 60%, according to a Cobank report.
Meanwhile, supplies of butter are steadily getting tighter as well…
Lower milk production on U.S. dairy farms and labor shortages for processing plants have weighed on butter output for months, leaving the amount of butter in U.S. cold storage facilities at the end of July the lowest since 2017, according to the Agriculture Department.
Tight supplies have sent butter prices soaring at U.S. supermarkets, surpassing most other foods in the past year. U.S. grocery prices in August rose 13.5% during the past 12 months, the largest annual increase since 1979, according to the Labor Department. Butter outstripped those gains, rising 24.6% over the same period.
The trends that are driving up the price of butter aren’t going away any time soon, and so we are being warned to brace ourselves for “elevated” prices for the foreseeable future…
The forces at work in butter highlight the challenge of curtailing inflation. Economic pressures fueling high prices for livestock feed, labor shortages and other factors could persist, keeping prices for the kitchen staple elevated longer term.
To me, slathering a piece of warm bread with a huge chunk of butter is one of the best things about Thanksgiving.
And most of us will continue to buy butter no matter how high it goes.
But the truth is that rapidly rising food prices are forcing vast numbers of Americans to adjust their shopping habits. Here is one example…
For Carol Ehrman, cooking is a joyful experience.“I love to cook, it’s my favorite thing to do,” she said. She especially likes to cook Indian and Thai food, but stocking the spices and ingredients she needs for those dishes is no longer feasible. “When every ingredient has gone up, that adds up on the total bill,” she said.“What used to cost us $250 to $300 … is now $400.” Ehrman, 60, and her husband, 65, rely on his social security income, and the increase was stretching their budget. “We just couldn’t do that.”
The global food crisis is starting to hit home for many ordinary Americans, and we need to understand that this crisis is still only in the very early chapters.
David Beasley is the head of the UN World Food Program, and he is actually using the word “hell” to describe what is potentially coming in 2023…
“It’s a perfect storm on top of a perfect storm,” Beasley said. “And with the fertilizer crisis we’re facing right now, with droughts, we’re facing a food pricing problem in 2022. This created havoc around the world.”“If we don’t get on top of this quickly — and I don’t mean next year, I mean this year — you will have a food availability problem in 2023,” he said. “And that’s gonna be hell.”
The World Food Program keeps sounding the alarm, but very few of us in the western world seem to be taking those warnings very seriously.
People are literally dropping dead from starvation in some areas of the globe right now, and a new report that the WFP just released says that there are 19 “hotspots” where we could see a “huge loss of life” between October and January…
World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are out with a new report outlining countries that “are either already starving or on the brink of disaster.”WFP and FAO found 19 hunger hotspots worldwide, with most countries in Africa, the Middle East, and even some in Central America. They call for urgent humanitarian action between October 2022 and January 2023 to avoid “huge loss of life.”Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Yemen, and Haiti are labeled “hotspots of highest concern,” facing catastrophic hunger levels.
The sort of famines that we were warned about are already starting to happen right in front of our eyes, but most people simply will not care as long as they are not going hungry themselves.
What those people do not realize is that this global food crisis is going to continue to spread.
As supplies of food get tighter and tighter, prices will continue to soar and shortages will become more common.
We truly are in unprecedented territory, and the pain that is ahead will greatly shock all of the lemmings that just kept assuming that everything would work out just fine somehow.
Volunteer Army Fought In The Extreme Cold And Harsh Environment To Their Death
There are 10,000s of Chinese students who study in the west – does their experience living in a censorship-free liberal democracy change their views/behaviour back home?
You said it yourself, didn’t you? Back home. That’s where most of them go after graduation. They’re strikingly different from students from other developing countries who overwhelmingly try to settle in the Western host country after finishing school. But of the Chinese I would estimate 75 or 80 percent return to China. And the reason is (1) they can do just as well or better for themselves (and live just as freely) in their own country, and (2) I honestly think China has developed to the point where most Chinese, when they go abroad, aren’t astonished at what they see anymore.
Example: The average Chinese city now easily compares to the average Western one. In fact in some ways, like universal cashless mobile payments, cheap, ubiquitous high-speed rail, and almost immediate delivery of anything ordered online, the average Western city is now far behind. In Toronto (which holds about 15 percent of Canada’s population) it remains a distant dream for the government to build subway lines merely from the city’s downtown to its suburbs. For me it’s a journey of four (frequently late) buses and (slow, rickety) trains and at least two hours and $13 a day one way, just to travel a distance of 54 km. After any day commuting to downtown Toronto and back, I feel like I got hit by a truck.
As for freedom and democracy, the moral superiority of Western civilization, I believe most Chinese who come here discover that these things aren’t real. Rather they’re how the West markets itself. All a Chinese in the West needs to do is read the local news. He’ll find his country portrayed with such hostility and in such an overwhelmingly vicious and dishonest light, that he’ll wonder if he’s reading about the same country he’s lived in happily all his life. He’ll need to pinch himself to make sure he isn’t dreaming. This will shatter his illusions not about China, but about the West.
If China were anything like what Westerners think, the Chinese would hate their country, they would be leaving or fleeing it in droves, seizing any opportunity that came no matter what the hardship and loss of prestige. Any Chinese you talk to would curse his country openly, just as Egyptians do. You’d see illegal Chinese immigrants and refugees everywhere. Obviously, none of that is the case.
I just saw a video title named “China’s ENTIRE economy will collapse in 34 days” is this true or is this another anti-Chinese propaganda?
This question was asked in Aug 2022, and I can firmly assure you the next collapse of China’s economy will occur around 21st Jan 2023.
Roughly two weeks before that, people will start to flee from main cities and go back to their hometown. Factories, constructions, shops and restaurants all closed down. 22nd and 23rd Jan will be the worst period when you can hardly see any traffic jams in the street of Beijing or Shanghai.
It happens every year, it’s called Chinese New Year.
Why are we letting China buy 6.1 billion acres of American soil that happens to be near military facilities?
If I may quote Franklin Veaux…
Goddamn Republicans sure are gullible.
The United States total land mass is 2.43 billion acres. I'm pretty sure no one is buying 6.1 billion acres of American soil.
Do you people ever bother to fact-check anything? Because I have some amazing investment opportunities for you.
And even more…
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Caramel Apple Crisp
Surprise! It’s panko bread crumbs that add the crispy-crunchy topping to this cozy apple crisp.
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Ingredients
4 medium tart baking apples, peeled, sliced, (4 cups)
1/2 cup caramel-butterscotch topping
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Progresso™ Plain Panko Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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The Lost Boys – I Still Believe – Tim Capello (Subtitulado)
Awesome! Are you all picking up on the theme in this post eh?
Why are there so many Chinese all over the world while China doesn’t accept any foreigners into China?
How should other countries act to tackle Chinese immigrants from massively immigrating to their countries?
I am an American psychologist living in Suzhou, China for the last 12 years. There are about 15,000 other expats from countries all over the world living here. We are a neighbor to Shanghai and our subway systems are now connected. Shanghai has about 200,000 foreigner living there. I have travelled around the country and find foreigners living in cities and towns, big and small. All over my city of 15 million (32 million in Shanghai), all street signs are in English and Chinese. So far I have not experienced even one incident where I was discriminated against for being a foreigner. Indeed, I had to tell people all was not good in the USA, my home country as well as the UK where I often traveled on consulting engagements with over 50 visits there over the 12 years I have lived in China.
Why is the Chinese Communist Party so corrupt?
Xi Jinping has already purged 1.5 million corrupt officials.
Corruption exists in all governments. Especially in the United States.
US Congressmen are basically bought and paid for by the capitalist elite.
India’s government and Taiwan’s government are riddled with corruption.
At least Xi has made it a priority to eliminate the corruption.
Why does Warren Buffett portray a lifestyle of frugality when he’s a multi-billionaire?
I have several rich friends. One of them spent a full term on an air mattress through a cold winter rent free as a graduate student.
He didn’t drive and took the bus everywhere. He ate and dressed simply. Healthy diet and never shabby. He never called attention to himself, and was friendly and polite to everyone. You know, the quiet, nice guy next door. Every class has one.
I had NO IDEA he was the scion of a rich family until years later when he invited me to be best man at his wedding in Taipei. As you have probably already guessed, I was the rent-free landlord that took pity on the poor chap who set the alarm at ungodly hours (central time) to call his then-girlfriend in Taiwan to gently wake her up for class.
His dogged pursuit of the long distance relationship cemented our friendship. He wasn’t just “nice”, but genuinely nice.
You don’t want to know who were among the guests as I gave my little speech during the wedding dinner. There were faces I had only seen on TV staring back at me.
I once asked why didn’t he rent an apartment for the term, when he had a scholarship AND sub card. He explained it wasn’t worth it because single term contracts were expensive and he didn’t fancy the hassle of cleaning up when the term ended.
Over time, I began to piece together that he wasn’t a miser. Rather, he makes spending decisions based on utility. For example, he will spend money to retain a trusted employee. Or find the best school and teachers for his twin daughters. But if there is a 3-4 star hotel within 30 minutes of his meeting, he will stay there instead of the 5 star hotel 10-20 minutes away.
He once advised “bill, don’t let money trap you into a world where only the best is good enough. Buy what is useful. We all have limited time on earth.”
I don’t know if that is frugality, but it is damn good advice.
What makes Chinese people successful?
In China, from the moment you were born, there was a hand pushing you forward. You have no choice!
In China, you were born and there were 4 babies crying in the same delivery room as you! Despite the drop in birth rates, more than 10 million children were born in China this year. An average of 30,000 per day!
After you go to school, there are 20-60 students in a class. Your parents tell you over and over again starting at age 3. If you don’t get more than 95 points in the test (out of 100 points), you can only be a beggar in the future. Of course, those dozens of other kids heard the same thing from their parents.
You graduate, and for any decent job, there are hundreds or thousands of people competing for you.
You want to be in love, and suddenly there’s a bunch of handsomer, taller, more humorous, stronger, piano-playing, cooking, fucking bank employees and doctors! You have to compete with them!
Even more terrifying, her mom asks if you have a million dollar house, luxury car in the city! You might only have $1,000 a month’s salary at the time.
You decide to work hard to increase your wealth! Soon you will find that there are a lot of people who arrive at the company earlier and get off work later than you. Of course, your ability is not necessarily stronger than them!
It may be that God, Sakyamuni, and Brahma think you are too pitiful and think you should not be single! Send you a beautiful woman to marry.
After marriage, you often hear her say that whose husband has been promoted again, whose family has bought a new house, whose children have gone to better schools…
Later, you are very happy to have your own children. You tell him viciously that if you don’t get A’s, you can only become a beggar in the future…
One day, you finally died, turned into a ghost, and found that the cemetery was crowded too!
REFERENDUMS ARE OVER, BALLOTS ARE COUNTED; RUSSIA WINS FOUR NEW STATES
The Public Referendums in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye oblasts (states) in what was Ukraine, have now been completed. The ballots have been hand counted. By overwhelming majority, all four oblasts have voted to return home to Russia. All four are, at this very moment, now “Russian Territory” and they will be defended by the Russian Army.
From Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, Dmitry Medvedev:
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Together with a turnout of over 90%, this results in the approval of around 90% of all eligible voters. But I’m looking forward to the official release. So far, I have seen figures of over 97% of yes votes in all regions, so that in any case results in over 50% of all eligible voters, not just the votes cast.
Pro/Russian Donetsk People’s Republic (Donetsk region Ukraine) officially announce that the referendum to join Russia has passed “According to the results of processing 100% of ballots in the 2022 Referendum in the DPR for joining to Russia voted: – 99.23% in favor”
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The US reputation has gone down to hell, 80% of the world population has a negative view on the US regime, the US society, the US animalistic style of democracy, human rights and freedom. Why has the US been notorious in the world?
Yes that is right.
That is simply a fact.
I live in South East Asia and almost every person I meet in the 10 countries hate the US and totally distrust the US.
And the more the US run down the China and Russia, the more the world distrust the US. And the faster the world wants to be out of the western orbit.
The US wants to own the world and it wants everyone to be submissive and subservient to the US. Up to the melinium, US has a way to forced, threaten and coerced the entire world, not anymore and certainly not in 2022.
The trouble with the US policy is that the world can say no, is saying no and will always say no, you go fxxk yourself. This is the real world where no one country tell us what to do.
Whodunnit? – Facts Related to The Sabotage Attack On The Nord Stream Pipelines
For decades the U.S. opposed European projects to receive energy from Russia. It wants Europe to buy more expensive U.S. oil and gas.
the Lemniscat @theLemniscat – 15:56 UTC · Sep 27, 2022US plan was always to stop EU buying Russia’s gas
2014
Rice:”You want to change the structure of energy dependence. You want to depend more on the North America energy platform … to have pipelines that don’t go through Ukraine & Russia” https://youtube.com/watch?v=aF0uYIjaTNE
Europe’s, and especially Germany’s industry, depends on cheap energy from Russia. Without it Europe will be de-industrialized and go broke.
The U.S. had threatened to disable the pipelines connecting Europe to Russia.
ABC News @ABC – 9:59pm · 7 Feb 2022Pres. Biden: “If Russia invades…then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.”
Reporter: “But how will you do that, exactly, since…the project is in Germany’s control?”
Biden: “I promise you, we will be able to do that.” abcn.ws/3B5SScx
Russia has no motive to destroy the pipelines it owns. These are valuable, long term assets and the gas that escaped from them yesterday was on its own worth some $600 to $800 million.
A pipeline that could be turned off and on again was a leverage point for Russia that gave it some negotiation power. A destroyed pipeline gives Russia no leverage. This is truly elementary. One can not spin that away.
During the war in Ukraine Russia has not stopped to deliver gas to Europe as contractually agreed. Instead European countries, Poland, Ukraine and Germany have blocked overland and sub sea pipelines that brought gas to Germany.
German people have protested against the U.S. ordered shut down of the Nord Stream II pipeline. (Nord Stream I was recently offline because Siemens was prevented by sanctions from maintaining its compressor turbines.)
Thousands of people in Gera in Germany against Olaf Scholz’s policy and the explosion of energy and gas prices. They demand an end to sanctions on Russia and the reopening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Demonstrations also in other German cities but EU media censors them.
Embedded video
A day after the protests the pipelines were sabotaged:
HERE IT IS
Footage from the site of a gas leak on the underwater section of the Nord Stream.
The video was published by the Danish military.
Earlier, the Kremlin said that it was most likely about sabotage.
The same opinion was expressed in the German government.
Embedded video
Yesterday’s attack on the Nord Stream system is not unprecedented:
professional hog groomer @bidetmarxman – 15:51 UTC · Sep 27, 2022In 2015, the annual routine underwater survey of the Nord Stream 1 pipelines came across a remote operated vehicle rigged with explosives right next to one of the lines in Swedish waters.
The umbilical cable had been cut. The drone’s national origin was never disclosed. 🧵
[T]he Swedish military has successfully cleared a remote operated vehicle (drone) rigged with explosives found near Line 2 of the Nord Stream Natural Gas offshore pipeline system.The vehicle was discovered during a routine survey operation as part of the annual integrity assessment of the Nord Stream pipeline. Since it was within the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) approximately 120 km away from the island of Gotland, the Swedes called on their armed forces to remove and ultimately disarm the object.
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The national identity of the drone has not been verified so far, as many countries use Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) of a similar construction, [Jesper Stolpe, Swedish Armed Forces spokesman,] said.
To destroy a sub sea pipeline requires more than a ROV/drone delivered shaped charge.
Javier Blas @JavierBlas – 15:18 UTC · Sep 27, 2022How strong is a Nord Stream pipe? Quite!
The steel pipe itself has a wall of 4.1 centimeters (1.6 inches), and it’s coated with another 6-11 cm of steel-reinforced concrete. Each section of the pipe weighs 11 tonnes, which goes to 24-25 tonnes after the concrete is applied.
A Swedish seismologist said on Tuesday he was certain the seismic activity detected at the site of the Nord Stream pipeline gas leaks in the Baltic Sea was caused by explosions and not earthquakes nor landslides.Bjorn Lund, seismologist at the Swedish National Seismic Network at Uppsala University, said seismic data gathered by him and Nordic colleagues showed that the explosions took place in the water and not in the rock under the seabed.
The targeted explosions were not small:
Dagny Taggart @DagnyTaggart963 – 15:56 UTC · Sep 27, 2022Swedish seismologists from Lund University noted that “at least 100 kg of TNT (perhaps more) were used to destroy the pipelines.”
“BALTOPS, with the high degree of complexity, tested our collective readiness and adaptability, while also highlighting the strength of our Alliance and resolve in providing a maritime domain with freedom of navigation for all,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).Led by U.S. Sixth Fleet, BALTOPS 22 was command and controlled by STRIKFORNATO. From the staff’s headquarters in Oeiras, Portugal, Rear Adm. James Morley, STRIKFORNATO deputy commander, was responsible for ensuring participants met all training objectives.
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[Rear Adm. John Menoni, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Two,] also noted several instances in which forces stepped beyond know warfare methods to push limits with new technologies at sea and ashore. “Whether it was mine-hunting UUVs, persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance from an observable UAV, or demonstrating the value of the emerging Marine Corps concept of Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO), our men and women continue to develop the tactics, techniques, and procedures that ultimately make meaningful contributions to Maritime Domain Awareness and increase the lethality of our forces.”
At sea, ships fine-tuned tactical maneuvering, anti-submarine warfare, live-fire training, mine countermeasures operations, and replenishments at sea. The Swedish submarine participating in the exercise, the U.K.’s Daring-class air-defense destroyer HMS Defender (D 36), and aircraft from other participating nations trained in anti-submarine warfare. Meanwhile, mine operations served as an ideal area of focus for testing new technology.
Scientists from five nations brought the latest advancements in Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) mine hunting technology to the Baltic Sea to demonstrate the vehicle’s effectiveness in operational scenarios. The BALTOPS Mine Counter Measure Task Group ventured throughout the Baltic region practicing ordnance location, exploitation, and disarming in critical maritime chokepoints.
While the Baltops 22 maneuver already took place in June and July of this year the U.S. Sixth Fleet left the Baltic Sea only a few days ago (in German, my translation):
Big Fleet Group From U.S. Navy Passes [German island passage] FehmanbeltOn Wednesday morning the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, escorted by the Landing Ships USS Arlington and USS Gunston Hall, was en route towards west. Previously, the ships were part of US units that took part in NATO maneuvers and called at numerous ports in Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
The “USS Kearsarge”, flagship of the association and largest warship of the US Navy, which was in action in the Baltic Sea in the last 30 years, has 40 helicopters and fighter planes as well as more than 2000 soldiers on board, the escort ships about 1000. For the around 4,000 soldiers are heading back home on the east coast of the US after their six-month deployment.
A significant focus of BALTOPS every year is the demonstration of NATO mine hunting capabilities, and this year the U.S. Navy continues to use the exercise as an opportunity to test emerging technology, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Public Affairs said June 14.In support of BALTOPS, U.S. Navy 6th Fleet partnered with U.S. Navy research and warfare centers to bring the latest advancements in unmanned underwater vehicle mine hunting technology to the Baltic Sea to demonstrate the vehicle’s effectiveness in operational scenarios.
Experimentation was conducted off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark, with participants from Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, and Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring all under the direction of U.S. 6th Fleet Task Force 68.
Off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark, is where the pipelines were hit. Just days ago the USS Kearsarge was in that area:
An expeditionary detachment of US Navy ships led by the universal amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge days ago was in the Baltic Sea
It was 30 km from the site of the alleged sabotage on the Nord Stream-1 gas pipeline and 50 km from the threads of Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline
On September 2, interesting maneuvers performed by an American helicopter with the call sign FFAB123. Then it was assumed that this board was from the USS Kearsarge air wing, and today more details were looked.According to the website ads-b.nl , this call sign was used by 6 boards that day, of which we managed to establish the side numbers of three. All of them are Sikorsky MH-60S.
By superimposing the FFAB123 route on the scheme of yesterday’s accident, we get a rather interesting result — the helicopter either flew along the Nord Stream-2 highway, or even between the points where the accident occurred.
On Twitter, meanwhile, there were screenshots of other flights of American aviation — the following screenshot was taken on September 13.
biggerThe MH-60S carries big electromagnetic sensors which allows it to detect submarines, mines and – in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea – sub sea pipelines.
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biggerThis overlay picture of two others posted above is especially of interest:
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biggerThe U.S. military is not the only force that was near the area of the pipeline damage. Just a 100 kilometer south is the Polish naval base Kolobrzeg (the former German Kolberg) which harbors mine laying ships and the 8th Kołobrzeg Naval Combat Engineer Battalion. Naval combat engineers are experts in blowing up anything that is under water, be it mines or pipelines.
Artifaktus @bzyqer – 7:49 UTC · Sep 28, 2022Gdy Wy mycie zęby, przebieracie się w piżamy i szykujecie do snu, jeden niestrudzony Polak wyrusza w swoją łodzią w kierunku Bornholmu mając na sercu dobro Polski a może i Niemiec …
Translated from Polish by Google
When you brush your teeth, put on your pajamas and get ready to go to sleep, one tireless Pole sets off in his boat towards Bornholm with the good of Poland and maybe Germany at heart …
Image
During the recent Ukraine crisis Poland has rejected to receive Russian gas. It closed the Yamal pipeline that transports natural gas from Russia to Germany. Poland continued to consume Russia gas. It received it from Germany which had received it through the Nord Stream I pipeline from Russia.
Poland and Denmark have build a new sub sea pipeline which connects it to the pipeline that brings Norwegian gas to the Netherlands and Europe.
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biggerThe pipeline was opened yesterday, the very same day the Nord Stream system was sabotaged.
🎥The launching ceremony of the #BalticPipe gas pipeline with participation of PM @MorawieckiM , PM of Denmark Mette Frederiksen & @prezydentpl @AndrzejDuda.
The Baltic Pipe is a strategic infrastructure project aimed at creating a new gas supply corridor on the European market.
Video
The Baltic Pipe has a capacity of only 10 billion cubic meters per year. The Nord Stream system could carry up to 110 cubic meter per year. All of which is needed to keep Europe’s industries running.
The explosions at Bornholm are the new Polish strike for war in Europe against Chancellor Olaf Scholz. So far the Chancellery in Berlin is silent, tellingly.
The Poles should be reminded that other countries also have the capabilities to sabotage sub sea pipelines.
Radosław Sikorski is a former Minister of Defense and Foreign Minister of Poland. He is now a Member of the European Parliament. Yesterday he posted a picture of the gas escaping the damaged Nord Stream pipelines and thanked the U.S. for blowing them up.
In 2014 during the Maidan coup in Ukraine another notorious neoconservative, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, told the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, who should become the new prime minister of the Ukraine. She famously expressed her opinion about European concerns: “Fuck the EU” Nuland said. She is currently the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
Over the last decades Germany has financed the Euro zone with up to 1.24 trillion Euros. (See also this thread). This was possible because Germany was exporting lots of industrial products and had a yearly surplus from its trade. With Germany’s industry going down because a lack of cheap energy that surplus will vanish. Europe, all of it, will become a poor continent.
Philip Pilkington @philippilk – 21:23 UTC · Sep 27, 20229/ The European energy war will likely go down in history, together with the Treaty of Versailles and the trade wars of the 1930s, as one of the biggest economic policy errors in history.
10/ Another thing: when Trump was elected on a platform of milder protectionism, many people rightly pointed to the 1920s and 1930s and warned against these policies. These same people appear to have supported these much more 1920s/30s-like policies this past year. Ironic.
This reminds of President Joe Biden’s warning of a Russian invasion in Ukraine early this year.
It is easy to predict such events when you are the one who intends to cause them.
The U.S. knew that the Ukraine was going to launch an attack on the Donbas republics. The U.S. knew that Russia would intervene to help its brethren. Russia had said so. The Ukrainian attack started with artillery preparations on February 17. Russia intervened on February 24.
The above is a collection of the currently available facts. You can draw your own conclusions from them.
Posted by b on September 28, 2022 at 9:56 UTC | Permalink
Holy SH*T the WEF is getting DESPERATE as Putin readies for attack
Final thoughts
USA has made repeated threats against Nord Stream 2.
Videos up on YouTube showing both Biden and Nuland recently threatening NS2 plus many, many videos where US politicians claiming NS2 should be shut down for years.
So US had the political motive, the military means, will benefit financially and SAID they would destroy it.
Then, a high ranking Polish official friendly with US regime publicly thanks US for destroying it.
At this point, why is there even a discussion about who did it?
Posted by: Mar man | Sep 28 2022 10:19 utc | 5
You all know this right? You can feel it, right? Don’t fight it. It’ll be good.
Good. Really.
Good.
Does the United States need a “reset”, or a “make over” of the government and society? And if so, how will it come about?
Everything benefits from a freshening up and a renewal. Even a tidy house benefits from a round of deep cleaning. And just as spring cleaning doesn’t mean moving away or burning down the house, but only sweeping away the dirt under the couch and throwing away the packets of soy sauce in the back of the knife drawer, a constitutional and societal reset would clear away things that get in the way of American amity and keep the values we share.
I’ve been yelled at on this forum by people who cry, “Let well enough alone!” But the society we have today isn’t “well enough.” Hardly anyone agrees the country is moving in the right direction. The country needs reform. When Matt Y refers to “a few whiny people” he ignores that fact that the great majority of Americans are discontent.
how will it come about?
I’m not sure that it will.
We agree that it is needed. But that doesn’t mean it will happen. Possibly, the country will resist reform and keep on getting more angry and violent and intractable for years to come. There’s no floor to how much worse things can get.
But if it does come about, it should begin with a slow, grass roots process of listening to other citizens for a period of years.
Nobody should start talking about what should be done until there is renewed agreement about what we aspire to. William Hembree, in his answer, articulates “What I would do.” But William Hembree is speaking from selfish position, and we don’t need that. We’re not talking about “The United States of Hembree.” We’re talking about a nation of 330-million people.
Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight (1976) Uncut Video
Happy times!
The Mirror
Spookytooth.
Why is there less fried chicken served for breakfast in the USA?
Because “breakfast food” comes from certain rural farm traditions, combined with more recent urban traditions.
On a farm, you wake up at dawn and do the “chores” of caring for the animals. Then you eat breakfast, then you start your actual work day.
So since you go out to care for the chickens, you collect the eggs at this time. And so eggs make an easy breakfast meal. You milked the cows, so you have fresh milk. It takes hours to make bread, so instead you take yesterday’s leftover bread and toast it to bring it back to life. You don’t have time to butcher an animal, so any meat is preserved meat, likely pork. Cooking sausage/bacon/ham creates grease, no farmer is going to waste that, so that’s perfect to cook potatoes or pancakes or corn cakes. Preserved fruit and homemade sweeteners like maple syrup are ready made.
There you go, a classic American breakfast.
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If you don’t have any of those fancy things, because you’re dirt poor, you can at least boil some grain and make porridge, flavored with whatever leftovers and odds and ends you have. Another classic breakfast food. Grits, oatmeal, congee,
Other classic breakfast foods are products of urban living. You can’t buy a pastry for breakfast on a farm, only if you live near a bakery. Dry cereal is an processed industrial product that replaces the grain porridge that farmers would eat. Fresh fruit and juice require modern transport networks and refrigeration, they replace the preserved fruit. So that’s a modern layer added on to classic rural breakfast foods.
Nowadays with modern supply chains you could literally serve anything for breakfast from lasagna to Boeuf Bourguignon to Peking duck.
But people are used to what they’re used to and so they want the same sort of thing they’re used to. In many parts of the world breakfast is just last night’s dinner leftovers. That would horrify lots of Americans.
The only thing about breakfast food is that you either have to make it yourself, or you have to buy it from someone who made it for you. And so breakfast foods will always tend toward easy convenient foods rather than involved complicated preparations, even if you’re buying food from a restaurant.
But something like making doughnuts is insanely complicated for a home cook to make a dozen doughnuts. But the complexity is all setup. For a doughnut shop it’s easy to crank another dozen doughnuts, because everything is ready all the time.
Fried chicken is just like this, once you’ve got the kitchen set up you can crank out fried chicken in industrial quantities. So why do people eat doughnuts for breakfast but not fried chicken? Because they aren’t used to it, because it isn’t a traditional breakfast food that comes from rural origins.
Poco – And Settling Down
Map
Southfront.org map based on the daily Russian Defence Ministry operations bulletin. For identification and enlargement of locations and reports, click on the link and scroll magnifier across the map.
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What psychology says about a normal person?
You don’t need to explain yourself to anyone. Start living for yourself, never live just to impress others.
Comfort zone will destroy your life. Life starts at the end of comfort zone.
Your family and friends can only support you, you have to do it yourself.
Happiness doesn’t come from sleeping, relaxing and hanging on social media.
True happiness comes when you give your best in life.
The less people you chill with, the less bullshit you have to deal with.
Life is too short to become angry and to seek for revenge to those who did you wrong. Just let it go.
It’s never too early or late to do the things you have always wanted to do.
None really cares unless you are rich, beautiful and popular, at least not forever.
Readers are leaders. Never stop reading.
No matter how much we try, some situations are never in our control.
Don’t believe everything you hear and see. Be curious, question them.
It is not necessarily important to know who likes you and who doesn’t. What really matters is how you see yourself.
Thanks for reading !
Why does Burger King struggle so hard in trying to compete against McDonald’s?
Boy is this the right question for me! I have worked in around Burger King for over 40 years, and was deeply involved in the competitive wars with McDonald’s in the 1990s. There’s a very simple reason why Burger King has struggled… Inconsistency.
Burger King is nearly as old as McDonald’s, haven’t been founded in 1954 in Florida. Their paths stayed pretty parallel into the early 1960s, when McDonald’s took off due to a very well planned program of franchising and development that focused on real estate. McDonald’s owned it, rented it to the franchisees, and used the money from that to pay for the purchase… So McDonald’s really is a real estate company more than a restaurant company. Seems a little far-fetched, but it’s true. Solid company structure from the mid-1960’s until today.
Burger King on the other hand has passed through numerous owners since it’s existence, starting in the 1960s with Pillsberry (yes, the dough boy folks), who kept it as a subsidiary until the late 1990’s. Under Pillsbury‘s ownership, the company stayed stable and grew its franchise base in a consistent manner. However, when Pillsbury sold the company to Grand Metropolitan (GM) out of England, things began to go south quickly.
GM was an alcohol company, who owned such brands as Guinness and Baileys Irish cream. They had involvement in bars in England, but never with a fast food restaurant chain. GM saw BK as a cash cow, and basically drained the company of money for years to fund other non-restaurant needs. They brought in executives from England who had no knowledge of the food industry, as sort of a training ground for them. Not a good combination.
Burger King also owned a lot of real estate under Pillsbury, though under a different program than McDonald’s. But once GM got involved, the real estate started to be sold as a way to pay for the purchase of the company. They nearly completely paid for their entire purchase by selling off the real estate- which was a stupid move for BK, as it removed an important asset base for the company.
GM later became Diagio, and under Diagio’s ownership they began to look for a buyer, because they realized it wasn’t a business they wanted to have within their liquor organization. This was a time when large investment groups were getting involved in the restaurant industry, so they sold the company at a profit to a US company called Texas Pacific Group (TPG). TPG then began their own dismantling of the US corporate structure, as a way to save money.
After TPG held it for a few years it was bought by a Brazilian group – who paid a lot of money for BK because of the ever expanding trading environment. They proceeded to remove even more of the corporate structure of BK – reducing it to basically nothing more than a holding company. They focused on international franchising, and did a good job in bring in new franchisees across the world. But By eliminating real estate, operations, training, marketing, and other departments almost in their entirety in the US, and eliminating hundreds of experienced people who were very loyal to Burger King, it just ruined the brands operations and strategic planning capabilities.
The Brazilian group eventually combined with the Tim Hortons group out of Canada, and recently Popeyes to create the new entity RBI, which runs all the businesses. While very successful as an organization, growing the company over the years internationally to a great extent, it really never addressed the fundamental differences between McDonald’s and Burger King when it came to quality and operations. Burger King‘s are just not up to the same level as McDonald’s, and I doubt ever will be because of the way they’ve been handled. By having virtually no company stores, decisions are made that seem reactionary and off the cuff, loading the stores with gimmicky products and putting undo pressure on the franchisees to shoulder nearly every task with little to no backup from BKC.
I know several McDonalds executives who I have discussed this BK subject with, and to a person they agree with my assessment, and were happy that BK was so disorganized as a competitor. BK’s food in its original form (like the Whopper) were superior to McD’s offerings, and they knew it. But with the constant turnover at BK it was a recipe for disaster long term.
I love BK, and even 20+ years since leaving I still stay in touch with my former executive colleagues. There is even an alumni group of BK folks. Great people who were basically tossed aside during these various sales, and have gone on to work with other brands and enhansed them as a result.
BK is a classic example of corporate greed taking a great brand and diminishing it as a result. 😉👍
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR READING THIS POST. I am humbled by your response to it – I am overwhelmed and appreciative. There are some interesting opinions that have been shared….I encourage you to read a desenting opinion below, and my response. Free speech is what makes our world better, versus places where you can’t proper an opinion. But also, facts are facts….something we have lost sight of recently here.
Balance of emotions and facts are what makes life work, don’t you agree? 😁🤟
UPDATE TIME. Hello folks, thanks so much for reading my post. Over 500K views…wow! I have been answering questions on other chains due to your requests, so if you want to learn background about KFC, Chick Fil A and others, check into my profile.
I did visit a brand new rebuilt BK yesterday here in California. Had to see what was new. Building was nice, and it was loaded with crew, training. Because of all those people, I got my food quickly. I was the only inside customer at 4:30. But, sadly, the underlying issues are still there. My food was warm, not hot; the fries were way too salty and only warm; I wanted an ice tea (there was a picture of it on the drink machine), but they didn’t have it. Not part of the rebuild. While I was eating inside, a couple of cars came through the DT, but one came back because he didn’t get his full order. Seriously? A new store with about 12 employees at 4:30, and it still wasn’t right?
Their system is clearly broken. They’ve made it overly complicated to produce the food, using lots of holding equipment to allow the pre-cooking of nearly every menu item, in a bid to save labor. Getting a fresh piping hot sandwich is basically impossible now, because of the production methods. People are willing to wait for a quality product, like the made to order food at In -N -Out. I have seen wait times in the 10–20 minute range there, with no one complaining. And they do 2–3 times the BK sales. Sacrificing speed for quality is stupid. I had this nearly exact argument 23 years ago at a BK corp meeting, and I was basically dismissed. Too many way smarter people in the room I guess🤨.
One more thing….I did real estate for BK for a long while, and I just don’t understand why they rebuilt this restaurant. It’s not in a good location at all, being a bedroom nighttime area, not a daytime one. A lot of money was spent, and I doubt that it will ever make a profit.
And the beat goes on….stay tuned!🤨
Does the United States need a “reset”, or a “make over” of the government and society? And if so, how will it come about?
You have asked the One Million Dollar Question!! We need SOMETHING, in general, and a lot of other people and things to get us right again. The clowns we have now running this government have lietally turned this government and this country into a multiple ring circus. Anyone with eyes, ears and brains can clearly conclude that we need to flush the toilet, drain the swamp, get rid of the leftist seditionists and traitors in leadership positions. We must get rid if things like “woke”, CRT, socialism in any form, get back to being more energy independent, elect leaders who support an unborn human’s right to be protected from being murdered, protect our chidren in their schools, support law enforcement, plug the holes in the “Southern Sieve” (formerly The Southern Border), and more. We need to elect leaders who know right from wrong, men from women, and other basic truths because they are “self evident”. It all begins this November with mid-term elections. It will contine wirh the next Presidential election. People are mad as hell and they (We) are not going to take it anymore.🇺🇸
Dead Broke
I lived as a very young girl, already at 17, in a commune in Florence, Italy.
We all almost never had money.
What usually happened anyway was that there was no toilet paper, but we “recycled” newspapers.
These were , ifs went well, even cut into rectangles , punched , with a thread through and hung on a hook.
Mostly the most important was read again before.
At that time, newspapers were still good for something.
Sometimes we didn’t know in the morning what we would eat in the evening. We didn’t eat anything in the morning anyway.
Then one of the men went into a bookstore and stole a book. There was another bookseller who bought these books for then for little money.
For a good book there were 5000 lire. That would be 2 Dollars fifty today.
For that I bought food for everyone. That was always pasta. I remember one day it was noodles with rape, which is a green vegetable.
Eight of us sat at our big kitchen table and each had a not very big plate of noodles.
The doorbell rang. We didn’t have a phone and anyway, we always had visitors.
So two more people. Sigh.
It was normal then to take so much from each of our plates that the two visitors also got a portion each. And no one let on.
It was so long ago, but I remember going to bed very hungry that night.
Skid Row – I Remember You (Official Music Video)
The US helped China, Japan, and S. Korea industrialize and become wealthy. Japan and South Korea show their gratitude to the USA by being strong allies. Why does China treat the US as an enemy?
A highly distorted question.
The U.S. helped China, Japan and South Korea. . .true, but the U.S. also obstructed China, Japan and South Korea in so many critical ways to hinder their real potential.
Japan and South Korea showed their gratitude to the U.S. . . . true, because they have little choice, militarily being made dependent on U.S. protection.
China treats the U.S. as an enemy. Get the facts right. It’s been the U.S. attacking China, not the other way around.
The U.S. was never a friend to China. . . assisting Taiwan against the CCP and then “dumping” Taiwan to switch to China for geopolitical positioning against the USSR, but obstructing China at every turn for anything strategic.
Military. It was the USSR who assisted China in building up its military. And in so many ways, the USSR was instrumental to the CCP when they literally had nothing to start their nation-building process in 1949. They were China’s friend-in-need.
Economic development. U.S. embargoed to cripple China from 1949 to help Taiwan and the other Asian tigers get their head start, opening up to China for geopolitical advantage and allowing China to join the WTO only in 2001 expecting China not to be able to catch up with its far more developed neighbors. Japan then had more than a 50-yr head start and already the world second largest economy, did anybody even consider China a threat to even catch up?
GPS. China was shut out by the U.S. and the West and had to develop its own satellite navigation system. China now has its own indigenous BeiDou navigational system that is the backbone to its defensive system as well as commercial satellite system.
Space Exploration. China has been barred from the ISS since 2011, when Congress prohibited official American contact with the Chinese space program. China has been on its own – today, launching Tianhe, the core element of China’s own space station and also making headway on its Mars program.
Chip Manufacturing. Even though not even in control of fab technology, trump tried to block Huawei’s access to the most current chip supply. This has only forced China to finally mobilize to develop its own chip supply chain. This is the last critical piece needed for China to be in full control of the chip industry. China’s making good progress and should have this done with a 3–5 year timeline.
And yes, the last thing the U.S. should expect from China is gratitude.
What made you leave the US for the UK?
I made the choice to leave because my future was bleak, I had no quality of life and worked multiple jobs to survive. I have rebuilt my life over twice by the time I was 27 from losing everything and after the last big set back of losing my home, I felt I was suffocating. I had come to the conclusion that mentally I couldn’t go through it a third time and I know for a fact if I stayed it would happen again.
I met my husband online we were friends then hit it off, we eventually upgraded to Skype calls…He wanted to come to the US, but that proved impossible because I could never make the income requirements to sponsor him.
I decided that since the house was gone, I would work and save the money, all he needed was the income requirements and I put up the money for our visas, as it was easier to save once the house was out of the picture.
It took me 4 years and I managed to get out, I brought my daughter and next my son. I can live all expenses paid on half of what it cost me to keep a roof, utilities, healthcare and transportation in the US.
Upon leaving I seen multiple things change, I’m here for my children more than I ever was in the past. Their grades have improved and my son is excited about attending college, something I couldn’t help him with in US. Worrying about food is no longer a problem, worrying if I have enough gas to get to work is no longer a problem. Needing 3 jobs is no longer nessecary. The kicker is if my husband walked out tomorrow I would still be able to make most of the bills on a just above minimum wage job, something I couldn’t have in the US with 3 jobs since the cost of living is drastically cheaper.
Overall I can work, be a productive citizen, spend time with my family and not have to struggle. UK wants me to follow the rules, and it rewards me by not sucking the life blood from me. I also have peace, security, beautiful parks in abundance, I have never worried about danger.
My family went on camping trips all around the UK this was the first family vacation they ever been on, apart from spending the night at a family members.
I never wanted spectacular things, my life course was determined pretty much the minute I was out the door as a teen. I just want to live, spend time with my family, and enjoy life without struggle. UK gives me a quality of life I could never have in the US.
If someone told me I’d have a million dollars tomorrow if I go back to the US, I wouldn’t take it. There is no way I will leave UK to be thrown from the frying pan into the flames for a third time, life is too volatile, too unpredictable, you can have it all one minute and lose it the next.
Can cats recognize their owners by sight?
Cats are fascinating animals. Unlike dogs, they typically don’t consider humans to be superiors. To them, we’re merely fellow cats who are larger in size. But their reputation as aloof creatures is undeserved. They actually make deep emotional connections when raised properly, and recognize their names when called (even if they don’t feel compelled to come).
Cats also hold grudges when mistreated. It’s an important survival tactic to retain long-term memories of people they consider dangerous. With all this attention to detail regarding humans, can they identify some of us by sight alone, without the benefit of their other exceptional senses?
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Cat senses
Felines have blurry vision up close, but focused sight when viewing objects farther away. Despite their impeccable night vision, cats only see about 10% as well as humans in bright daylight. But their other senses are unusually sharp. They can tell which owner is petting them with their keen sense of touch. They have up to 80 million scent receptors in their noses, making their smelling 20 times more sophisticated than humans.
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Their hearing is far more developed than dogs, humans, and most mammals, the fifth best in the animal kingdom. When it comes to high ranges, cats hear an additional octave above canines. Cats can isolate the location of a sound emanating from even the tiniest insect three feet away to astounding accuracy.
Recognizing their owners
With such acute senses, almost all cats can identify their owners’ voices when played audio recordings. They instantly recognize the sound and vibration of vehicles and footsteps, differentiating between their owners and – let’s say- the mailman. All cats can smell beyond cologne, perfume, shampoo, and lotion, remarkably detecting the distinct smells of their owners’ skin.
There are so many ways that cats recognize us. But sight is a completely different issue.
Visual recognition
Cats do not find human faces as important as their smell, touch, and the sound of their voice. Researchers believe this is hereditary as cats historically made the choice to join human society in search of food, not human affirmation. They didn’t care about the faces of those who fed them. Conversely, dogs were willingly domesticated by humans, leading some researchers to believe that craving our attention is hereditary for canines.
However, modern evidence seems to suggest that cats, at least the smarter ones, do recognize their owners by sight alone. In 2005, a study at two universities revealed that cats identified a photograph of their owners’ faces about 54% of the time. In the same study, cats actually recognized other familiar cats’ faces 91% of the time.
My experiment
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Perhaps the two male tabbies I owned for 20 years possessed above average intellect. They passed the feline IQ tests I administered with flying colors. So I conducted an experiment based on sight. Instead of arriving home from work at 5:00 p.m., I broke my usual pattern and showed up at 3:00 p.m. (since cats memorize their owners’ routines). I parked a few blocks up the street so the car didn’t give me away, because they know the sound of each owner’s vehicle. I walked toward my house to see if my cats were sitting on the porch as they often did in the afternoon. And there they were, the two inseparable brothers hanging out together.
Since cats memorize the way their owners walk, I couldn’t just saunter by the house to assess their intelligence. They can identify their owners by gait alone. But the cats had never seen me running, because injuries stopped me from routine jogging decades ago. So I ran past the house at this random time in the afternoon with absolutely no way for the cats to identify me unless they could recognize my profile. Would they pass the test?
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Rather than acknowledging my cats as I always did, I acted like I didn’t know them. I was 50 feet away. Only my peripheral vision allowed me to watch their reaction. At first, the cats seemed uninterested in this random guy running on the street two hours before their owner usually arrived home.
Half asleep on a lazy afternoon, squinting their eyes in content, loosely monitoring a man running down the road, only two seconds elapsed before they suddenly sat straight up. Did they recognize me? They studied me intently for another second or two before they bolted off the porch, breaking into an all-out sprint. Racing across the lawn, they ran to catch up, meowing incessantly and desperate for me to stop.
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The ruse was over. I turned around, and stooped down to accept my little sidekicks as they nearly jumped into my arms. Seemingly confused by my missing car and sudden appearance, probably wondering why I couldn’t find my own house and kept running, they were quite excited to see me.
So I’ve concluded that (at least smarter) cats will absolutely recognize their owners by sight without the benefit of smell or touch, or the recognition of their gait, their vehicle, or their routine. Lesser intelligent cats may not recognize owners by sight, but all cats recognize you by smell. And they’re the most loving animals when raised correctly.
Can China act on its own in response to a military attack from the West, especially the USA?
Absolutely. China does not need any military ally. China’s military is enormously powerful, the second most powerful on the planet.
Fighting in China’s own backyard gives China an enormous home court advantage.
Nevertheless, Russia has already pledged to come to China’s aid in the event of a war over Taiwan.
You can pretty much count on North Korea and Pakistan, too. Maybe even Iran.
What’s something your cat has done that you’re going to talk about forever?
He saved my life.
When I lost my son at birth in 2003, Mikey was just a kitten.
I didnt realize then, the role he would play in my life.
Mikey became my reason for everything, my reason for just getting out of bed.
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Losing a baby a birth is devastating and many women face a life of depression after going through something like this but that didnt happen in my own experience because Mikey helped me find my way.
From the first moments arriving home with no baby in my arms and finding Mikey all curled up asleep in my sons bassinet, he was a comfort to me.
Making sure my arms did not stay empty on that first night home and for the next 18 years made a difference, I wasn’t alone, he was always by my side.
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Mikey was born deaf and I knew it from the time he was born. After my son died, I really spent a huge amount of time researching feline deafness and trying to figure out how I would care for this kitten.
Before I knew it Mikey and I had embarked on our own journey, a journey based on love and friendship.
Mikey died on February 21, 2021, He was 18 years old.
For as long as I am still alive in this place, I will tell his story, it was our story.
He may not have been tall enough for me to lean on but he always held me up.
This is Mikey, he was my best friend…
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Seinfeld – A Stop at Willoughby (Twilight Zone)
WTF? This was just too hilarious and the editing is GOLD, Jerry. GOLD.
Every time something happens in the US, Americans begin to compare the state of their country with how China is doing. Why are Americans so obsessed with China?
Because China and USA are the two most powerful countries on earth. They are competing with each other.
All other nations are relatively insignificant in this contest.
And China’s rise threatens America’s global hegemony. This fact is foremost on the minds of every US politician.
Most regular Americans aren’t obsessed with China. They have their hands full just trying to survive in their terrible economic and financial situation.
Nvidia CEO Says ‘Moore’s Law Is Dead’
The CEO of Nvidia has a message to gamers complaining about the high pricing of the company’s graphics cards. Don’t blame us.
On Wednesday during a videoconference call Q&A with reporters, Nvidia (ticker: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang was asked about the broad negative reaction from the gaming community over the elevated pricing of its chip maker’s new “Ada Lovelace” graphics cards.
“A 12-inch wafer is a lot more expensive today,” he replied, citing rising chip making costs. “Moore’s Law is dead … It’s completely over.” The executive added the expectations of twice the performance for similar cost was “a thing of the past” for the industry.
Moore’s Law is an old forecast of innovation for the semiconductor industry by Gordon E. Moore, the co-founder of Intel . He said “the number of transistors incorporated in a chip will approximately double every 24 months,” offering performance and cost benefits over time
Over the past day, many gamers on social media and message boards expressed outrage with the pricing of Nvidia’s next generation gaming graphics chips, code-named “Ada Lovelace,” which were revealed on Tuesday at its GTC conference.
At the conference, the company announced the coming RTX 4090 card and two versions of the RTX 4080 card, all of which will use the Ada chip architecture. The 4090 will sell for $1,599 and will be available on Oct. 12, while the 4080 cards will cost $899 and $1,199, respectively, and go for sale in November. For reference, the prior generation RTX 3080 was priced at $699 when it was released two years ago.
Huang said gamers need to compare performance on a price point-to-price point basis, adding the new Ada Lovelace cards are “monumentally better” versus the prior products at equivalent price points.
Doomsday Machine (part 2 of 7) Star Trek TOS 1966-1968
Enjoy this brief section. It’s VERY TIMELY given the geo-political situation right now.
China is going to kill an Australian citizen who smuggles drug in China. Should the US and other allies help Australia to rescue him?
It wasn’t just China
In April 2005 my country, Indonesia, convicted nine Australians for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin out of Indonesia. The heroin was valued at around A$4 million and was bound for Australia.
Two Ringleaders Andre Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and executed on 29 April 2015.
Six other members, Si Yi Chen, Michael Chugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens, were sentenced to life and another, Renae Lawrence, to a 20-year sentence
Of course,there are large public outcry in Australia, even the BBC says that we have a new “appetite” for execution
the Australian Prime Minister is sending us ultimatum about the death sentence, but the law is the law.
We also sentenced to death a Briton that tried smuggle drugs, her name is Lindsay Sandiford
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Our Government takes a harsh stance on drugs, everyone who tried to smuggle or distribute drugs will be treated harshly.
If Indonesia can do this, then PRC surely can do this. I respect China’s Government’s tough stance on drugs, especially considering a dark historical connection between China and drugs (opium war).
The Angel Purza
My father did not really like cats. I moved back home in 2013 to care for him, he was 93 at the time, and adopted a kitten 3 years later. Dad was bedridden the last 3 months of his life so I made sure his door was securely closed to keep Purza out. One day I heard Dad moaning in pain over the intercom, so I hurried to get his meds.
While I was getting them, Dad stopped moaning, which scared me because it was usually 30 minutes or more after his meds before he would quiet down. I ran to his room and noticed his door was open.
What I saw in his room makes me cry even though it’s 4 years later. Dad was in his bed with the head of it slightly raised, and laying beside him with her head right by his ear, was Purza and she was purring away. She has a very loud purr.
Dad had his hand on her, a look of peace on his face, and he was sound asleep. That was the first time he’d fallen asleep without pain meds in over 6 months.
I had named my kitten The Queen of Purza but right then I seriously thought of changing it to The Angel Purza, because that’s what she was.
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Journey – Who’s Crying Now
What was the most bone-chilling sentence a loved one ever said to you?
“I just want to go home”
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It’s been 15 years. I’m just barely able to look at the accident photos.
“I just want to go home”
Those were the last words my late husband said 7 minutes before he passed away in a horrible trucking accident.
It was March 6th 2007. The day that would forever change my life.
I thought it was strange to receive a call from my husband so late in the night. I was already in bed when the phone rang. I picked up the phone to hear my husband’s voice on the other end. “Is everything okay?” I asked. “Everything is fine”, he replied. He began to tell me how sorry he is if he woke me but a feeling of urgency came over him with the need to call me. For the next few minutes he began to share his gratitude in letting me know how much I meant to him.
Even though Jeff was the mushy, loving kind of guy, him calling me at 1:30 in the morning was something out of the norm. His voice sounded strange. I told him to please pull over because he sounded tired. He reassured me that he was just a few miles away from the truck stop where he could pull over to get some sleep. I made him promise me that he would. He gave me his word. We hung up saying I love you and he stated, “I just want to go home.” And we hung up.
Seven minutes later, my husband, Jeff died. He got in a terrible accident in his big rig and didn’t survive.
I still think about him every day. My life stopped the day he left. It’s been 15 years and sometimes it still feels like it was yesterday.
RIP JEFFREY
YOU WILL FOREVER BE IN MY HEART
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Do Chinese people think Chinese political system is better than that of western democratic countries?
Yes, it is true that in the last century when China was groping its way forward, there were some mainland Chinese who thought Western democracy was great. But over the years, the Chinese have not fallen for the lies of democracy woven by the West, and have not been swayed by the West’s vicious attacks on socialism. Now, China has achieved tremendous development through its own system, its own socialist system, and its own democracy, so they have reason to thumb their noses at the Western fake democratic system.
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1. The West, which did not achieve its development through a democratic system, now repeatedly propagates democracy as a prior condition for development. How can this kind of ideological core that confuses black and white not be ridiculous?
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain, the first empire on which the sun never sets, blazed trade routes across the oceans. It violently overthrew the Aztec, Inca and Mayan civilizations, and established a large number of colonies in North and South America. The Spaniards gained great wealth through large-scale mining in the American continent, but dealt a devastating blow to the indigenous people who originally lived there.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain, the second empire on which the sun never sets, established itself as an international political and military power through numerous foreign wars. Not only did it destroy the maritime power of France and Spain, but it also seized almost all of France’s colonies on the North American continent and in India.
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The reason why the United States, the world’s biggest power, has achieved its present achievements is that the United States is the only peaceful place in the first half of the 20th century. This is the decisive condition for the United States to achieve productivity improvement.Western countries now frequently advocate the benefits of democracy, as if they have become the world’s developed countries because they practice it. But throughout the development history of Western countries, there is no true connection between democracy and development.
2. Western democracy has long existed in name only. How can the “democratic farce” that has occurred so frequently in recent years not be funny?
The West is keen to label itself as “democratic and free”. But “freedom and equality” seem to exist only in the mouths of politicians, while racial discrimination and money elections have never stopped.
In the United States, the same American people are subjected to great discrimination and injustice just because of their race. The frequent violent law enforcement against black people and the existence of so-called “Indian reservations” are all signs that the meaning of democracy has long been misinterpreted.
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Western countries regard the proud “universal suffrage” as the most important concrete power of democracy. But in recent years, democratic elections have been monopolized by money and shady practices. Anyone who wants to become a government official must give a large amount of money as political contributions, otherwise, he or she can only stay out of “democracy”. However, the means of production in Western capitalist societies are not equal, and the social elite, which is a minority of society, holds the vast majority of material wealth. Nominally, all people have broad and equal rights, but in practice, democracy for the poor is only a formality.
Democracy is a right shared by all citizens, so how can we talk about “freedom and equality” by dividing democracy into levels?
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3. China’s development is a road explored by itself based on experience and lessons, and advances with “serve for people” as a guide. Is it not reasonable to ridicule western democracy because it has not copied western democracy but has always been able to protect the interests of the people?
The West has been promoting procedural democracy, characterized by elections, on a global scale. But in fact, people have the right to democracy only for a short time when they vote, and then go dormant after the voting is over. This actually dissolves “democracy” in substance.
China, on the other hand, regards “People’s democracy” as the manifestation of democracy. China is now practicing “whole-process people’s democracy,” in which local departments hold public opinion meetings and expert seminars before introducing major laws, plans, and policies, and also consult the public on websites. China’s democratic system fully satisfies the people’s need for political participation and deliberation, and the people can exercise their democratic rights in different fields.China has truly put into practice the ideal of “democracy” that Western societies always talk in their mouths.
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The false slogan of “Western-style democracy” has long been ineffective, and it will not fool the increasingly awakened developing countries. If the West continues to deceive itself with such theories, what it will get in the end will not be a democracy, but a huge social struggle.
The Charlie Daniels Band – The South’s Gonna Do It Again
Twilight Zone – A Small Talent For War
The experiment is over.
BULLETIN: THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS DEPLOYING ON STREETS OF LONDON
Imagine if you live in a country, that almost every foreign power you came across in the last 200 years has fucked you over. Killed, raped, plunder, carve your country piece by piece, and humiliated you to the extent, inhuman.
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And now, finally! Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel. But the foreign powers, the very same ones who put these signs in your country a century ago ( Change the word Chinese to whatever your ethnicity or nationality ). Are shamelessly see themselves on the moral high ground, portraying themselves as the good guys demonizing you, trying everything to shove you back into the shit hole you’ve worked so hard to climb up from.
Would you not too, become patriotic?
I know I would.
Russian Duma Speaker: If the west doesn’t stop arming Ukraine . . .
The Speaker of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, publicly stated today if the west doesn’t stop sending weapons and supply mercenaries to Ukraine, “tomorrow they will have problems that are much more serious than those that are now.”
He went on to say “American satellites and missiles are for military operations and Ukrainians are assigned the role of consumables.”
This comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned yet again, “the United States risks becoming a Combatant in Ukraine war” . . .
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It was just yesterday that Russian President Putin reminded the West that Russia has sophisticated nuclear weapons an it “will use them” to protect Russia.
Since Russia began its Special Military Operation inside Ukraine, it has repeatedly cautioned and warned outside entities they risk military attack if they interfere. Yet the USA, the UK, France, and all of NATO, persist in interfering.
One wonders how long it will be, before Russia decides they’ve had enough, and starts firing missiles at “decision-making centers” so that people facilitating the deaths of Russians in Ukraine, can experience battle up close and personal as a consequence of the decisions they’ve been making?
Is it true that many anti-CCP Chinese became pro-CCP after having learnt how Western media are biased against China?
I grew up in Canada. My perceptions of China were formed by reading books such as Jung Chang’s “White Swans” and her account of the nightmarish upheavals of the Cultural Revolution, and spending time with relatives who had fled China during the civil war to settle in Hong Kong. In fact, my mom’s family moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong early in the 20th century.
As a kid, I regularly went to Hong Kong to visit my relatives there. This was before the handover. I recall in the early 1990s going to a place in the New Territories that overlooked Shenzhen and peering into “Red China.” I felt like I was gazing into an alien place (I had the same feeling standing at the DMZ peering into North Korea lol).
My perceptions about China and the CPC started to change when I started working in Hong Kong in the late 1990s. I had to travel into China for business, and it was startling to see how rapidly the country was developing. It blew my preconceptions of China as a backward, totalitarian dystopia where everyone is a drone following the orders of their communist overlords out of the water.
Doing business in China, especially as a foreigner, is not easy. I left (figurative) blood on the ground. But over the course of two decades of traveling there, it also gave me a ringside seat to witness one of the biggest economic miracles in history.
That miracle didn’t come from luck or rest solely on the backs of hard working Chinese. It came from astute and pragmatic policymaking, a recognition and willingness to address domestic challenges. It involved creating a business environment attractive for international investment. All while managing the third largest country in the world by area with over 4X the population of the USA.
I don’t see China through rose-tinted glasses. In my travels there, I’ve seen issues such as corruption first-hand (a business partner was detained and beaten by PSB for the sole reason that a friend he knew had been busted for corruption). I’ve seen the problems of Islamic extremism (an employee almost got blown up by a Uyghur extremist flying from Urumqi to Shanghai). I’ve seen the ongoing issues of poverty and inequality. After the Sichuan earthquake, I volunteered to rebuild houses and saw the frustration and desperation of victims because of the slow government response.
In other words, I’m no CPC apologist.
But I do have a lot of respect and even admiration for what the CPC has accomplished in China in the last 40 years, taking it from one of the poorest countries in the world to its second largest economy.
And because I have spent so much time traveling there, I can recognize Western media bias towards China when I see it.
The premise of this question is wrong. If you are anti CPC, any biases in media coverage of China will simply strengthen your preconceptions. It is precisely because I’ve spent so much time traveling in China and seen the massive changes for the better over the past couple of decades that I can perceive a biased media narrative.
The BEST Garlic Naan
Dottie
My cat is named Dottie, her siblings and her were found in a puddle of muddy water after flooding. She’s a rescue and we adopted her.
A month ago, I was crying in my bedroom because I thought I was fat.
Dottie came upstairs and rolled over for pats. She purred and cuddled with me.
She played a game where she sat behind my blinds and opened them and shut them.
She lay down in the sink because she thought it was comfy.
She did everything to make me stop crying.
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What is it like to live in a country with “freedom to roam” laws (Norway, Sweden, etc.)?
When you grow up with freedom to roam, you consider it simply “normal” and do not really reflect on the fact that alternative arrangements are possible and indeed common in other countries in the world.
As a kid in Norway, I spent countless hours in forests and mountains, and the idea that someone might own the mountain or the forest and therefore have the power to prevent me from something as trivial as taking a walk never entered my mind.
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[My favourite kind of playground as a young teen. Probably not public land, but the Right to Roam makes this kinda thing both legal and common.]
Sure owners have exclusive rights to (most) commercially relevant activities. If you want to chop down a forest and sell the timber, then you have to be the owner, but it makes no sense to have similar restrictions on simply walking. There’s a lot of nature in Norway and not very many people, apart from a few small areas very close to our largest cities, there’s always going to be plenty of space for everyone.
The practical effect is that most Norwegians have a closer relationship to nature, especially the local nature around where they grew up than we otherwise would. It was our playground, our home, our source of blueberries and mushrooms, cloudberries and trout. It was our gym and our running-path, and probably at some point you had a secret treehouse in some suitably hidden part of the forest.
And yet, you don’t really notice the benefits as anything extraordinary until you’ve tried the alternative.
As you grow older, your range of options expand. In the last half of my teenage years I started taking multi-day hikes in the mountain-ranges of Norway with my friends.
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[Trollheimen, literally “Home of Trolls” – one of my favourite mountain-ranges]
Pictures can’t possibly do it justice. You have to be there. You have to wake up at 6am to what you at first assume to be thunder, but then discover to be a herd of reindeer coming out of the fog and jogging down the valley past the cabin you’ve slept in. You have to take a (short) swim in the clear but cold water to get rid of sweat and feel alive in a way you won’t in any office on earth. You have to leave your watch at home, spend a week and then discover that you’ve miscounted the days and it’s been 8 days, not 7.
The Right to Roam is, to a substantial degree, what makes Norway our country. We’ve got a lot of rather neat nature, and without the Right to Roam, we’d risk having scant opportunities to experience most of it.
I tried the alternative 2 years ago, visiting Alentejo, a rural area of Portugal to go hiking there with a small group of other Norwegians. Alentejo is trying to attract more tourists, and towards this end have created a number of paths that are open to the general public for wandering, but apart from these paths there is no freedom to roam in Portugal.
In just a week of wandering in Portugal we ran into at least half a dozen problems of varying severity caused by this lack of freedom. Shortcuts we couldn’t take because that’d mean trespassing on someone elses land. Angry dogs on the path that we couldn’t just go around for the same reason. Once we got yelled at by an angry farmer because we were eating our picnic lunch in the shade under a cork tree about 20 feet from the path — it just so happened that that tree was on his property, so legally he was right, we were trespassing. But at the same time, we were sitting in the grass eating lunch. We’d be gone 30 minutes later anyway, and we caused no harm to anyone or anything. (as it was we were able to bribe him with a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of wine, in exchange for which he let us stay)
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[Trespassing picnic in Alentejo, near Castello de Vide; chocolate-cake in the lower right saved us from expulsion]
Is it important that the US stays as the most powerful country in the world? Why or why not?
Good God, I hope not!
USA is the most militant nation in human history. No other country has fought as many wars and caused as much death and destruction as USA has.
USA has also sanctioned dozens of countries and caused untold human suffering.
USA has instigated the current proxy war in Ukraine. The blowback has been tremendous: hyperinflation and high fuel prices in all Western countries. Europe is suffering the most.
USA is now trying to instigate a proxy war in Taiwan. USA just won’t let up on its imperialism and militarism.
North Indian Chicken Korma
NATO INTEL CLASSIFIED AS “SECRET” BEING GIVEN TO UKRAINE; SOME HAS COME INTO MY POSSESSION
Military documents Classified as “SECRET” from NATO, have been revealed publicly, and they show the extent to which NATO is actively assisting Ukraine with targeting info to KILL Russian troops. The release of these documents proves that NATO is, in fact, an actual facilitator of combat against Russia in Ukraine. What NATO is doing is actually CAUSING Russian troops to die.
The documents below were secured by criminal computer hackers working against Ukraine. The hacker group calls themselves “BEREGINI.”
I have had no contact with anyone from that group and I did not solicit these documents, or participate in any of the efforts which got them.
The Hackers posted the documents publicly on the Internet. That’s where I got them.
Below, you will see screen shots of SOME of what the Hackers made public.
For the most part, they are GPS targeting coordinates, with Identifying categories listing what type of Russian military hardware is at each location, so Ukraine can attack them and destroy or kill them, like this one:
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Ukraine has used this type of information over and over, to attack and kill Russian Army troops.
Other documents released by the Beregini Hacker group include NATO Maps of Russian Electronic Warfare gear, and Counter-Battery Radar positions, like this one:
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And when NATO supplies such maps to Ukraine, they also include a detailed description of exactly what is at each location. Like this for the map shown above:
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In many cases there are lengthy lists of military GPS coordinates, the type of equipment at each GPS point, thus giving Ukraine literally dozens of targets at a time, to hit, like this one:
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Americans and Europeans need to understand, this is NOT benign “assistance” to Ukraine. This is military operational and targeting information specifically designed to help Ukraine attack and destroy by force, the military of Russia.
This violates the NATO Treaty!
Specifically, Article 8 of the NATO Treaty provides as follows:
Each Party declares that none of the international engagements now in force between it and any other of the Parties or any third State is in conflict with the provisions of this Treaty, and undertakes not to enter into any international engagement in conflict with this Treaty. (Emphasis mine)
The Treaty specifically requires NATO member states “not to enter into any international engagement in conflict with this Treaty” and yet that is precisely what NATO itself is doing with the Russia-Ukraine situation. They have “entered into” an “international engagement” . . .
On its face, NATO’s activities with Ukraine are entering into an engagement . . . NATO is supplying intelligence and literal targeting information. That, in and of itself, is entering into an engagement!
Aside from violating the NATO Treaty, what NATO is doing is causing Russia to have to decide whether WE are “combatants” against Russia? If Russia decides that we ARE “participants” then Russia would have a legal right to bomb . . . us.
Think about that.
Is Xi Jinping the Terminator who tries to take the dominance of the whole world?
Xi Jinping hasn’t done anything to dominate the world. He launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to help developing countries build their infrastructure.
He finalized RCEP, the world’s largest free trade bloc.
He’s been leading BRICS, a powerful economic and security alliance.
He hasn’t waged any war.
He has been pursuing diplomacy throughout the Middle East rather than bombing the shit out of the region. Recently, he signed a 25-year cooperation deal with Iran.
He has been negotiating with the Taliban instead of invading and occupying Afghanistan for 20 years.
He has invited all nations to participate in China’s space station program, including the United States. Recall that USA banned China from the ISS.
The Terminator is an American invention which is very appropriate. America is the real Terminator.
When is China going to collapse?
Not anytime in the foreseeable future. Certainly not within this century. This is China’s century.
China’s economy is simply too big to collapse quickly. The same, by the way, holds true for the US economy.
While China’s economy faces many challenges, so do all other major economies around the globe. Will any of them collapse? No.
China will solve its problems. Never underestimate China. Never bet against China.
Kitty Cat thoughts
Every cat is different. But, research has indicated that cats only verbalize (meow) to humans. They don’t meow to other cats. (EDIT: I do not claim that this research is valid, merely that it exists!) They communicate with other cats through their own forms of verbalizations, yes they do, and through hisses, body posture, tail and ear positions. I happen to have a 3 year old cat who I found at the house we were buying – kitty was sickly with oozing eye. Had to grab this kitten and take her to the vet. She’s fine now. But, she loves to greet me with a loud meow when I enter the bedroom and she is sleeping. If I meow back, she will meow back to me. Her second meow almost always sounds like a question, as the sound rises at the end. I sometimes do meows that are “questions” – but she will “talk” to me for quite a while before growing tired of it. She is the most vocal kitty I’ve ever had and none have ever done the meow greeting that she does.
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Tucker Carlson: This is insane
This is pretty good.
China heating product exports to Europe surge
By FAN FEIFEI | China Daily | Updated: 2022-09-14 07:21
An employee sorts air conditioner parts, bound for export, at a plant in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province. [Photot by Hu Guolin/for China Daily]
High-quality appliances at good prices are increasingly favored by Europeans
Despite it still being summer in Europe, China's exports of heating appliances, including electric heaters, electric blankets and air source heat pumps, have witnessed explosive growth this year as the continent is in the grip of its biggest energy crisis in decades, with natural gas supplies from Russia becoming volatile, industry experts said.
The European Union's statistics bureau showed that the annual inflation rate of energy prices in the EU reached 38.3 percent as of July, among which natural gas and electricity prices jumped 52.2 percent and 31.1 percent, respectively. Many European countries have hastened efforts to push forward the transition of their energy structures.
China's General Administration of Customs said the country's exports of electric blankets and electric heaters skyrocketed 97 percent and 23 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the first seven months, given that European consumers are expanding their purchases of heating appliances ahead of the coming winter.
The European market has been a major growth engine for China's home appliance exports. There is surging demand for imported electric heaters, especially in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, while demand for electric blanket imports more than doubled in Greece, Italy, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.... Read more
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial” war mobilization in Russia. Most folks do not grasp the severity of what that means, or even its historical significance.
Only THREE TIMES in all of its history, has Russia declared a war mobilization. The first time for World War One. The second time, for World War 2. The third time . . . yesterday.
What does THAT tell you about the seriousness of the present situation and the deadly seriousness of Russia?
It is historical fact that Russia lost twenty-seven-million people fighting the Nazis in World War 2.
When the citizens of Russia found out that the government of their next door neighbor, Ukraine, had actual NAZI units in its military, and those NAZI units were firing artillery shells at mortars at the “Russian-speaking” civilians in the then-Ukrainian oblasts (states) of Luhansk and Donetsk, and that the Ukrainina government had OUTLAWED the speaking of Russian in all of Ukraine, the Russian people saw the writing on the wall. What NAZIs in Germany did to jews, NAZI in Ukraine were starting to do with Russians.
As such, the Russian people told their President, ‘Not again. We’re not going through this NAZI thing again. Kill it now before it grows.” And that is exactly what Russia is doing in Ukraine, right now.
The fact that the United States is aiding and abetting the Nazi government of Ukraine, is incomprehensible. Yet that is precisely what the US federal government is doing, sending billions of dollars in aid and military hardware to the Nazi regime in Kiev.
Does that make the US Congress – which voted and approved this aid – “Nazi collaborators?”
In any event, Russia is taking off the gloves. Yesterday, Russia began calling-up 300,000 reserves and last night, they began moving tens of thousands of tanks and pieces of armor, out of storage, and are sending all of it into Ukraine.
The G7 had announced $600 billion for gobal infrastructure programmes in poor countries to compete with China’s formidable Belt and Road Initiative. Are you in support or against this move?
Well, of course, I support it. Anything that may help developing countries should be a good thing.
However, do I think it will succeed? Unfortunately, no.
Western nations cannot coordinate such a massive project. Too much politics. Too much capitalist greed. Too much corruption. Too much incompetence.
Western nations cannot build infrastructure as quickly and efficiently as China can. Not even close.
And it’s a hard sell internationally. Most developing countries do not trust the West, the same people who colonialized them, sanctioned them, overthrew their governments, stole their natural resources, treated them like basket cases.
China, on the other hand, has respected them, helped them with infrastructure and vaccination, and never once ever invaded them. Why do you think over 149 countries have signed up for the Belt and Road Initiative?
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea S03E07 Deadly Waters
What is the kindest thing a pet has done for you?
I saw an orange feral kitten eating out of a trash can. After seeing him a few days in a row, I don’t know why, but I decided to trap him with a humane trap, get him neutered, and try to tame him. I spent a few weeks keeping him in a large wire dog crate/cage in a spare bedroom.
I would leave regular food and water in the cage, and then try to entice him with chicken baby food (it’s called Kitty Crack by cat rescues) on a plastic spoon, duck taped to a long stick.
He had a favorite hiding place made out of a shoebox with a t-shirt over it, the neck opening was the ‘door’, and he would stick out his head and lick the baby food out of the spoon. I talked to him a lot, read him books, sang to him and felt a fool. I thought anyone who could have watched this grey haired lady trying to convince this kitten to trust her would be amused.
One day, after the chicken baby food on a stick/spoon ritual, he paused, looked at me, and did this long meow. Never could I describe it, just thinking about the moment gives me chillbumps. Then he came out of his hiding place and beckoned to me, putting his front paws through the cage, to pet him.
He has trusted me, completely, utterly, ever since. He hides from everyone else. It was a magical and miraculous thing. He is the most loving, devoted pet I have ever had. And I will never let him down.
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If vanilla beans are so expensive, then why does vanilla bean ice cream cost the same as every other ice cream?
A good question, and the answer is somewhat involved. I’m an artisan ice cream maker, and I have very direct experience relating to this topic.
First of all, you can dismiss the cheaper brands of ice cream, as they won’t use genuine natural Vanilla Extract, which is made from the Vanilla bean. They will use Vanillin, which is one of the most important flavour compounds found in natural Vanilla Extract. But natural Vanilla Extract contains hundreds of flavour compounds, giving a far richer taste experience. Vanillin can be extracted from wood pulp, amongst other sources, and is cheap.
Another way to avoid the burden of the very high cost of natural Vanilla Extract, is simply to use very little of it. I bought a tub of Vanilla ice cream here in Scotland, made by one of the major brands. It’s ingredient list stated that it use natural Vanilla Extract. This company have a reputation for being commercially ruthless, so I was intrigued that they were using such a costly ingredient. Well, I couldn’t taste the Vanilla Extract at all. I’m sure they were complying with the law, and were adding Vanilla Extract to the mix. But probably by the dropper-full. So that is one way to keep your margins up. They will have been counting on their customers not really noticing the lack of Vanilla taste in their product, as unflavoured ice cream is not far off Vanilla, to most people’s taste buds.
When I began making ice cream in 2015 I could buy top-grade natural Madagascan Vanilla Extract at reasonable cost, about £75 per litre (about $100). The following year it had gone up to £90. OK, I can live with that… But then in March 2017 a cyclone hit NE Madagascar – where all the Vanilla orchids are grown – just two weeks before the harvest was to begin. The crop that year was wiped out. Overnight the price of Vanilla Beans quadrupled, as did the cost of top-grade Vanilla Extract. What would have cost me £90 one day, cost £360 the following day. And the prices of Vanilla beans and extract have stayed up at that level ever since, which is hard to explain. I believe one would need to examine the politics of Madagascar to find the answer.
So I had a choice: use less extract, or raise the retail price of our ice cream. I did neither. We did not put up prices, and I refused to cut back on the Vanilla Extract. I chose instead to live with our #1 best-seller having a pitiful margin. I assumed this was a temporary situation. That was a wrong assumption..!
For a couple of years we did have our larger 500gm tub of Vanilla ice cream at a higher price than our other 15 flavours. (With the small 125ml tubs, no price difference.) But this was awkward, both for us in the office, and for the shops we supply. So 6 months ago we had a general price increase – due to the tremendous inflationary pressures of the global situation just now – and we got rid of that two-tier pricing. We simply chose to slightly increase our margins on the other flavours, and have an acceptable margin on our Vanilla tubs.
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It of course is possible to save costs (at the expense of quality) by choosing a lesser grade of Vanilla Extract. But in my view that is rarely a wise choice in a crowded field. A race towards the mediocre? Not an attractive proposition.
In 2017 and 2018, many smaller brands of ice cream simply stopped making Vanilla altogether, due to the very high cost of the extract. I know one company in Scotland that began heavily promoting their “Traditional” ice cream flavour – the one with no flavour compounds added – and made no mention of the fact that they had dropped their Vanilla ice cream altogether at that point.
So try tasting your choices of Vanilla ice cream. It should have a clear and lovely rich taste of the natural Vanilla orchid bean. If it doesn’t, then maybe they are using Vanillin, or maybe they are simply using a very small amount of Vanilla Extract in their product.
Further note… A few days ago we took part in a major Scottish ice cream competition, which highlighted some of the issues with Vanilla. In the Vanilla category, the winning ice cream was one described as “Double Cream Vanilla”. I went to their stand and bought some, to see what it was like, after all, they won the Gold award. It certainly had a LOT of cream, much more than most people would consider the right level – but as a one-off I suppose it will cater to certain tastes. But the shocking thing was that neither I nor my 32 yr old son could detect any hint of Vanilla in it. We also tried a Vanilla ice cream from a different company at this, the Royal Highland Show. The other company’s ice cream had won Silver. It was a good ice cream, and did actually taste of Vanilla, albeit weaker than I would have liked.
This reflects the high price of natural Vanilla Extract these days: ice cream makers are using less and less of it in making their Vanilla ice cream. This wasn’t news to me. But I was shocked that the judges awarded Gold to a Vanilla ice cream which had no taste of Vanilla in it at all.
Rainbow – L.A. Connection
Classic.
US seeking hegemony with nuclear force to harm other countries and itself
Recently, according to a report from the website of the US Defense News, Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of the US Air Force Global Strike Command, stated that the US military enterprises are facing supply chain problems due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and the recent international situation, which have shown influence on the progress of the US nuclear-weapons modernization programs. Analysts believed that the supply chain problem is just one of the multiple problems faced by the US nuclear-weapons modernization programs, and the negative consequences of the US’ “seeking hegemony with nuclear force” to others will boomerang on itself as well.
The number of nuclear weapons remains high
Since the Obama administration, the US has been promoting nuclear modernization programs. In fact, the US nuclear arsenal has been massive with no marked problem of aging. The so-called nuclear-weapons modernization programs simply serve as a cover for the US to iteratively update its nuclear arsenal to maintain its hegemony with nuclear superiority.
It is reported the US has possessed 5,428 nuclear warheads as of January 2022, ranking top in the world. The US nuclear strikes mainly include three types, that is, with land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strategic bombers, forming a 3-D nuclear strike system of land, sea and air. In addition, the US has a large number of small tactical nuclear weapons. Data show that the US has about 400 nuclear bombs, which can be carried and dropped by multi-model fighter jets.
Although the US has issued documents such as the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance and 2022 Nuclear Posture Review and Missile Defense Review after the Biden administration came to power, which repeatedly emphasized the need to lower the role of nuclear weapons, it has in fact been upgrading its nuclear arsenal under the table.
In terms of strategic delivery vehicles, the US intends to achieve all-round upgrading of land, sea and air to enhance its comprehensive strike capability. Specific measures include the development of the Sentinel ICBM to replace the Minuteman III ICBM, the construction of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine to replace the Ohio-class, and the development of the Long Range Strike Bomber (B-21) as a platform for future air-based nuclear strikes.
In terms of nuclear warheads, the US has been stepping up the development of the W87-1 nuclear warhead fit to its Sentinel ICBM, the W80-4 for its Long Range Standoff weapon cruise missile, and the W93 to replace its naval W76-1 and W88 submarine-launched nuclear warheads, etc.
Seeking hegemony with nuclear force is unpopular
The US has spared no effort to promote its nuclear-weapons modernization programs, which directly reflects its Cold War mentality and hegemonic logic. Its radical approach like this is bound to bring harm to the other countries and itself alike.
On the one hand, the US has invested heavily in nuclear modernization programs, which is in turn sure to be a heavy burden on the already troubled US economy. According to US media, the capital investment required of the nuclear forces budget over the next 30 years will reach US$1.5 to US$2 trillion.
Given the serious inflation in the US and the sharp downward revision of the economic growth forecast in 2023, such huge capital investment will definitely affect the development of the US economy. Otherwise, these funds could have been used to alleviate domestic social conflicts and improve the quality of life of the people.
On the other hand, the US upgrading of nuclear weapons will also affect the world’s strategic situation and destroy the strategic balance. In particular, the US has attached great importance to low-yield nuclear weapons in the process of advancing its nuclear-weapons modernization programs. The nuclear explosive package (NEP) of the US-developed B61-12 can be adjusted in the range of 300 tons to 50,000 tons as required and can be carried and dropped by tactical aircraft such as F-15E fighter-bombers and F-35 stealth fighters. Analysts believed that the measure taken by the US will lower the threshold for the application of nuclear weapons and be prone to leading to nuclear misjudgments, thereby placing global security at major risks related to nuclear weapons.
Putin issues DEVASTATING warning to NATO if they even try it
What are some of the worst deals in history?
In 1965, a French lawyer André-François Raffray found an apartment for investment purposes. Jeanne Calment a 90 year old woman was the owner of that property with no living heirs.
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Instead of purchasing it, he struck a deal with Jeanne that he would pay her a sum of 2,500 francs, about £330 a month, until she died after which he would get to keep the apartment.
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He was only 47 years old at the time, so he thought he would have plenty of time with the apartment to benefit from once she’s gone. 30 years later, he died at the age of 77 and on the other hand Jeanne was still kicking it at 120.
Not only that, after his death his family had to keep paying Jeanne for two more years when she met her maker at the ripe age of 122 years.
It is believed that she received more than double the value of that property.
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Her only comment on the situation was, “In life, one sometimes makes bad deals.”
Maybe, she was able to live longer as the stress of paying bills was eliminated due to this deal.
Poland Begins Distribution of Iodine Pills for “Nuclear” Emergencies; Passes “Protection” Law looks suspiciously like Martial Law
Poland has commenced the public distribution of Iodine Pills to its citizens, saying they fear a “nuclear incident” – possible an attack against Ukraine’s Zaporozyhe Nuclear Power Plant, causing radiation to enter Poland.
This comes just one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons if Russia is endangered.
To anyone paying close attention to this situation, especially between Ukraine/NATO and Russia, one might get the idea that Poland already knows NATO plans for Russia over Ukraine, and Poland realizes it __must__ give out iodine because Russia’s response might be nuclear!
More importantly, however, Poland enacted a new “Protection of People” law which contains provisions like “mandatory quarantine” “mandatory demolition of buildings” “take over of private property” “no demonstrations or gatherings allowed” “mandatory evacuation” “mandatory take over of private buildings or apartments” “mandatory prices.”
The law goes into effect on Jan 1st 2023 and can be INVOKED by the Polish legislature with just majority of votes at any moment.
(HT Remark:It’s almost enough to make a thinking person wonder if Poland already knows that World War 3 __will_ begin shortly?)
Have you ever sabotaged food because someone was stealing it?
I didn’t sabotage my food. Apparently it’s illegal to teach someone not to eat YOUR food the same way you teach a dog not to eat your shoes when you can’t just hit them.
I did, however, change what was in my lunchbox so that it was incredibly painful for someone to eat.
See, I really like spicy food. At the time this takes place, I kept a bottle of Fiery Fool in my lunchbox. I’d put it on my sandwich or in my chili, so on and so forth. If I was tired in the morning because I’d stayed up too late, I’d preemptively apply hot sauce.
Well, someone keeps taking my food. They didn’t touch it on the days that the hot sauce was already applied (Because the way that I apply my sauce it turns the other sauces orange, so you can’t not see that it’s been altered.)
So instead I mixed peppers directly into the food. My family grows ghost peppers among other things, so it wasn’t hard to procure the right peppers. Shredded it, smothered my sandwich with it, making sure there were seeds everywhere.
See, this isn’t sabotage, this is something I would do anyway. I literally kept a bottle of Hellfire: Fiery Fool in my lunchbox.
There is no excuse.
It was also known that I liked my food incredibly spicy. Someone once tried a sauce I made and was just a few Scoville units from literally breathing fire. So there is no one who can say that I purposefuly sabotaged my food without reading my thoughts, and this plan is not the worst thing you’d find. Or the first.
So, I leave my hell sandwich in my lunchbox in the fridge and go about my day. My lunch period was not the first lunch period in the day, so the culprit was able to get to my sandwich before I could eat it.
It’s not even five minutes into the lunch period when Mr. Mikers (Fake name) comes running out of the room freaking out, begging for the fire department. I get called into the principal’s office later because I “sabotaged Mikers’ food”. I simply turned the lunchbox around to show him that MY name was sharpied on the back of the box, and then pulled out the sauce, and said I carry this with me every day. What I wanted to know was why Mikers thought it was okay to take a student’s food (I couldn’t afford a school lunch)
Never touched my food again.
WFLD Channel 32 – Lost in Space – “Blast Off Into Space” (Complete Broadcast, 4/16/1980)
Very interesting.
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV let us know at: tapes@fuzzy.tv
What do Americans think of Australia?
Don’t laugh, but my first real introduction to Oz was Paul Hogan’s ‘Crocodile Dundee.’ The images in that movie resonated with me as a teen in 1980s Texas. To me, Australia appeared to be hot, arid, and tinged with swagger and lots of cultural traits that a kid from Texas could readily identify. Paul Hogan was even wearing a cowboy hat and boots, for crissakes!
And later came Steve Irwin. – Same spirit, same bull-by-the-horns high energy and easy-going non-abrasiveness. What red-blooded young male wouldn’t like to kick up his heels at the local pub with a mate with a penchant for wrestling crocodiles?
I was in the U.S. Air Force when I got my chance. I received word they were looking for a few guys to go to Alice Springs for a few months. I quickly made my way to my squadron headquarters; before I even knew what I’d be doing there. ‘Screw it. I’ll figure it out,’ I thought. “By the way, where’s Alice Springs, exactly?” I said on my way out of the office.
“Oh, it’s right in the middle of ‘everything,’ I heard someone say. -Probably with a bit of sarcasm that I didn’t pick up on.
Now, if you are as naive about Australia as I was, you frame Oz with the aforementioned croc-hunters, and a whole slew of silly-looking animals that are either exceptionally cute or exceptionally deadly. If you’re more clued-in, you may even throw in Hugh Jackman, Kylie Minogue , the Hemsworth brothers, or if you’re old-school like me, the whole 5-feet tall AC/DC clan. Maybe you even picture beautiful Sydney with that iconic opera house too. But again, these were mostly pre-Internet days. It still wasn’t apparent to me where I was actually going.
I was back to my office when an office-mate inquired: “Why are you so happy?”
“I’m going to Australia”
“Where in Australia?” He asked.
“Alice Springs. It’s in the middle of everything.” I quoted.
“You mean it’s in the middle of nowhere! Dude, that place blows! There’s nothing there! You’ll be bored out of your skull!”
My heart sank. I raced to the local library after work to get on the Internet. Yep. Smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. Trying to find a silver lining, I decided to see how I could use my off-duty time in Alice Springs to go sightseeing in Sydney. That would have been nice, until I realized that Alice Springs is a full 1700 mile drive from Sydney, and just about anyplace else. I thought I was going to be snapping pictures of the Sydney Harbour bridge, but I was actually on my way to ‘Walkabout Creek.’ Ugh.
I was relieved when I landed in Brisbane. In my naivete,’ I didn’t know much about it. But it was BIG. – A lot bigger than most Americans probably know. However, I was going to be there only a few hours before I left for Alice Springs, so I toured the Airport and bought a few silly, cliche’-driven tourist trinkets for the family; a refrigerator magnet with a kangaroo, and a shark-having-tourists-over-for-lunch t-shirt, etc.
You may laugh, but I couldn’t believe how everybody sounded Australian. It was like I was in a movie! You see, Australia is delphic and Australians are elusive to many Americans to this day, because stars like Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Eric Bana, Iggy Azalia and Keith Urban hide their accents so damn well. Australians in Hollywood are sneaky chameleons…
But alas, I left Brisbane for the netherworld of Alice Springs. Now, you may think I was going to tell you that Alice Springs was a sparrow-fart town in the middle of nowhere compared to Brisbane. And you’d be right. But everything that I dreaded about Alice Springs was everything that I ended up loving about Alice Springs. I got to travel to Ayers Rock, do a couple of horseriding tours, and even found a comfortable seat at the local pub. I learned that kangaroos, endearing to most Americans, can be pests and road hazards. The few crocodiles I saw in the Northern Territory were as small and lethargic as the gators in the Florida Everglades. I never saw one of those legendary funnel web spiders either, though I persisted in searching my shoes for one every morning, lest I become the ‘Stupid Dead ‘Yank’ who Didn’t Check his Shoes’ in the local newspaper…
As for the local people, there weren’t near as many wearing cowboy hats and boots in the Northern Territory as I believed there would be. But everyone was really cool. There is a rugged, independence about the people of ‘Alice’ that I really enjoyed. Even if you live in a city in the Outback, you have to be a bit of an outdoorsman on the side. The people there seemed blissfully ignorant of life along the coast, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Had a few mates at a local pub that liked to talk American politics, but they soon bored with that. I didn’t defend well because I had no interest in it. They also picked at me a bit too, but I had learned long ago to avoid negative reactions to that stuff. That gets you respect, and they soon embraced me (not literally). The conversation soon became like any local watering hole I knew in Texas. -Sports, women and favorite beers. They got a good laugh at the ‘Fosters is Australian for beer’ tag line that was popular in the U.S. commercials. Seems that any self-respecting person in Oz didn’t agree.
My four months soon passed and I said goodbye to ‘me mates’ with a firm handshake; heading out the next morning on a Qantas red-eye flight to Honolulu. My stint in Oz was among the most memorable times in my life.
I saw 56 countries and lived in seven of them in my Air Force career, not including the 4 months I spent in Oz. But there was only one country to which I ever seriously contemplated immigrating during my time abroad. -Australia. About a year after I left, I found out about a program to get people to immigrate there, but in the end, I decided to stay in the States to be nearer my family. It was a promise I had made to my mother throughout my 23 years in the U.S. military.
But I’ll never forget the friendships I made there, and I often wonder whatever happened to the people I knew there. All of the movie-driven cliches were eroded by my time there, and I was left with a different perspective. So, what do I think of Australia?
Well, it’s a damn fine country.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Gimme Three Steps
Pizza Delivery
I was delivering a pizza in Mountain View, CA as a teenager in about 1972. It was very dark and I finally figured out which was the correct house. The house had a little picket fence around it and I could see nothing because of the darkness. I opened the little picket fence gate, carrying the pizza. As I stepped into the yard, suddenly I heard a number of guns cocked and saw the gun barrels pointed directly at my head. I don’t know how many there were but I was surrounded by gun barrels. There were certainly more than I wanted.
Not knowing what else to do, in a very matter of fact voice I asked, “Gentlemen, how may I be of service to you?”
A disembodied voice in the darkness asked what I was carrying. I said I was carrying a pizza. At that, I heard all the guns uncocked and the arms laid down.
I heard, “Sorry, man. We saw you driving past our house a few times and thought you might be some rivals who are gunning for us.” I told them that was no problem; I understood. I told them the price of the pizza and received the money plus a nice tip! I left and walked to my car to deliver the next pizza.
When I graduated from high school, I joined the infantry. For four years, I saw more guns.
Why did you stop going to a restaurant you liked?
There was a place I used to frequent weekly. It was decently priced sit down eating, but by no means fancy dining. I would stop in almost every Monday, as I found myself driving by there at dinner time, and loved their food.
Many Wednesdays I would make the intentional trip for their steak buffet too.
Regular diner, for close to a decade. Birthday dinners for the whole family. Every time my family would come in from back east… anniversary’s… It was our go to spot.
Eventually, the couple who owned, and ran it for decades, decided it was time to retire. They handed it over to the kids.
Night and day
Those kids tried to squeeze every single last red cent out of the place.
It showed.
Patronage fell off quickly. Staffing suffered as the loyal long standing staff got tired of the daily tirades of the children and quit. The replacements weren’t great either, and were now making minimum wage. After about three months, Mom and Dad came back and took it back over. They ran it for 6 months, and then shut it down, sold the property, and it got demo’d for a crumby truck stop / convenience store / fast food plaza.
Cost cutting to the point of insanity has the inverse result of alienating loyal customers.
Why can’t the damn world just cut off China? Why? Just isolate them, whatever.
Anything is better than going to war with them, like so many in the world want to do (namely the U.S) perhaps the world should just do it’s own thing without China.
The majority of the world is anti USA and wants to cut off the USA. Only European elites support the USA and they will soon no longer like the USA.
How ignorant is the questioner. The world needs China and China isn’t a threat to anyone.
The USA will be cut off from the world one day and that will be good. I assume the questioner is just another stupid American and knows nothing. Terrible lying US media and a very dreadful education.
Why would a British person choose to live in the USA in 2022?
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Image: Me with my black Labrador Retriever in our garden in Central California.
Well as a Briton, who does live in the United States of America, and has done so for over 16 years, I think I am qualified to answer the question as to why I would want to continue living here.
My answer may not the often antagonistic comments here on Quora, but I will be sincere in my answer.
I was a reluctant immigrant to the United States, it was never a dream to leave my home in Cheshire for the central valley of California. But I met an American woman who moved to live with me in England for the period of my mother’s life. My mother being my only close relative, after her death, my promise to look into moving to the US was called in. So two years into our marriage, we up rooted from England and moved to be close to my wife’s family in California.
Then I found work, found that dispite some bad experiences, the heat of a central valley Summer, only 116 degrees Fahrenheit just a few days ago. Not even locals like that kind of heat. But then on New Years Day I can sit outside with my cup of PG Tips Tea and drink happily in a temperature more akin to a late British Spring Day.
I like the opportunity to do things. I have even tried my hand at television production in a real television studio. There was never the opportunity to do that in or around my hometown in England. Now you may think anyone can have a YouTube channel, butt that is true, but my television program was broadcast television, not originally on YouTube,. It is now, just search for Blindside Fresno.
I found less social anxiety. I grew up on a council estate, what Americans may call social housing or projects. Working class you may say, the son of a gardener, when later my mother and I bought a shop, convenience store, wow the reaction from friends “Who do you think you are? Lord Muck?” Social climber extraordinaire. When I married my wife as I mentioned an American and they found that I married a school teacher, “Well woo hoo! Lardy dah!” In the US no one even bats an eyelid at my social creep upward.
Americans are in general more interested in the British? They rarely know much about us other than the stereotype, which is sad and very annoying. The stereotype doesn’t fit me too well, except the possible fact that if someone steps on my toe, I say “Sorry!”
As for the stereotypical grumbles, yes it is bad when visiting the Emergency Room to have them frisk you for a weapon or to have them ask for your credit card for a downpayment. Before anyone complains, that has happened to me. Then when I go out for a quiet coffee I can find someone in my local coffee shop who is certain that everyone within a mile radius is interested in their private conversation. Yes America has irritating loud Americans too, and many Americans hate them just as much as we British.
The sound of gunfire is also never far away. But then in my youth in the lawless realms of Cheshire gun fire was never far away either, just there the gunfire was aimed at crows magpies, Pheasant or grouse, not a fellow citizen.
Here I could drive, now I am blind my wife drives, from the sea shore to over 10,000 feet in a few hours. From the ocean to mountain tops with actual countryside for mile after mile, rather than a scrubby patch that calls itself “Green Belt”
Of course you can throw in that some of the food is awful, there is a shopping mall at every corner and the cars are just huge as are many of the people.
But like it or loathe it, the United States is now my home and I for one will not be looking to leave in the foreseeable future.
I Drink Alone – George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Twilight Zone “Examination Day”
Knock Three Times
Christoph Meili.
Some Swiss officials consider him a traitor, I don’t.
He was a security guard at UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland). In 1997, he found out that UBS was destroying WWII-related files.
He had the feeling that something shady was going on, and eventually brought home some of these files.
Turns out that these documents were lists of orphaned-assets, once owned by the Jews, then seized by the Nazis who stored them in UBS which made the informed decision of accepting the seized assets.
Thanks to that man, we now know for a fact that:
Swiss banks were not neutral during WWII.
UBS helped the Nazis to rob the Jews by storing assets which they knew were taken from the Jews.
UBS also tried to get their hands on the assets themselves after the Nazi regime collapsed.
Yet, to certain members of the Swiss authorities, he’s a pure-breed traitor that deserves to be jailed. After he got charged with violation of the banking secrecy and he received death threats, he had to run away. The US eventually granted him and his family political asylum. He lived there until 2003, and eventually went back home after the charges were cancelled.
Christoph Meili.
JOURNEY – “Look Into The Future”, Live & RARE; with Steve Perry 1978 (High Quality)!
Wow! Love the great guitar work at the end.
Something Going on in China; Military Convoy, 80km Long, Headed to Beijing
This is bullshit! There is nothing on my social media feeds in China.
I didn't know the exact Chinese source of the rumor but one of my buddies informed me that Gordon Chang spread the fake new in the US.
I was completely reassured once I was informed Gordon the Chang-ching-chong was in the game. One very simple rule to remember, everything from Chang-ching-chong about China : the opposite of what is uttered by him is the truth...
This is from HAL TURNER...
-MM
Something is happening in China; a convoy — 80 kilometers long – of People’s Liberation Army units, is headed toward Beijing. Brief video below, shows a small part of this troop movement.
In addition to this military convoy, we also now know that Beijing Airport canceled more than 6,000 domestic flights and international flights. Also, all tickets sold by the high-speed rail are suspended, and the rail is completely stopped until further notice.
There are now widespread and persistent RUMORS (totally unverified) claiming a “coup” against Xi Jinping, may be in progress. Other RUMORS claim President Xi is “under house arrest.” But no one is confirming any of these rumors, so what we’re left with is what can be proved: Giant military convoy heading to Beijing, and all air-rail travel stopped.
Chinese netizens have stormed Social Media timelines with reports that Beijing is under military seizure. The world, though, has no idea of what’s happening because the city is eventually cut off from the world.
According to News Highland Vision, former Chinese President, Hu Jintao and former Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao had persuaded Song Ping, the former member of the Standing Committee and retaken control of the Central Guard Bureau (CGB).
If the Chinese coup rumors are true, then the expectation is that the REAL hardliners take control. If true, a full assault on Taiwan is soon to follow.
As rumours of a military coup in China turns out to be false, here is how the claims of house arrest of Xi Jinping went viral
The rumours were fueled by large-scale cancellations of flights at Beijing airport, and a massive military buildup in the city for an exercise.
Amid large-scale cancellations of flights at Beijing airport and massive military build-up in Beijing, rumours about a coup in China are going around for the last few days. It has been claimed by many that President Xi Jinping has been removed from the post, and that he has been put under house arrest by PLA. However, nothing has been confirmed till now, and probably the rumours are not true.
In the last few days, several Chinese social media handles had claimed that Xi Jinping has been stripped of his military powers and is under house arrest. It was claimed that the ‘coup’ took place when the Chinese premier was in Samarkand in Uzbekistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. According to the rumours, when Jinping was in Samarkand, his distractors in the party convinced the party’s top leadership to remove Jinping from the leadership of the army.
According to News Highland Vision, former Chinese President Hu Jintao and former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had persuaded Song Ping, the former member of the Politburo Standing Committee to take the control of the Central Guard Bureau (CGB) from Jinping.
Central Guard Bureau is a specialised organisation responsible for the protection of senior party members including Jinping, their families, and important foreign dignitaries in China.
After control of CGB was taken away from Jinping, the Politburo Standing Committee abolished Xi’s military authorities, it was claimed.
When Xi Jinping found out about the development, he immediately returned to Beijing, but he was apprehended at the airport on 16th September and was put under house arrest at Zhongnanhai, the rumours claimed. It is notable that the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party, the State Council of China, and the office of the Chinese Premier among other offices are located at Zhongnanhai in Beijing. It is also being said that the current situation in China is being controlled by former president Hu Jintao.
To add fuel to the rumour, a video was shared widely on social media claiming that it showed a large contingent of Chinese People’s Liberation Army left for Beijing, and the convoy was 80 km long.
Among many others, this claim with the video was also shared by Chinese activist Wanjun Xie. He wrote that the front of the convoy had reached Huailai near Beijing, while the end was at Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, and therefore the convoy was 80 km road.
However, the video shared with the claim is less than 1 minute long which shows few military vehicles on the road, therefore the claim of an 80 km long military convoy could not be proven.
Another event that added to the speculation was the large-scale cancellation of flights at Beijing airport. It has been reported by many that around 6000 flights have been cancelled at the airport, with the claim that the flights over Beijing have been cancelled for military operations in view of the coup. Some reports said that 60% of flights were cancelled instead of 6000.
While other claims are hard to verify as getting information out of China is difficult, this claim actually can be easily verified, as flights are tracked by several websites. And we have found that the claims of cancellations are correct. Flight tracking site flightradar24 shows that Beijing Capital International Airport has come to almost a standstill as relatively very few flights landed at and took off from the airport.
The portal also shows that a large number of flights scheduled at the airport are either cancelled or their status is unknown. On the other hand, the portal shows that other major airports in China, like Shanghai and Hong Kong are operating normally.
Therefore, the claim that Beijing airport has seen a large number of flight cancellations is true, which can be verified from flight tracking sites.
However, it can’t be verified whether the cancellations are linked to the alleged coup in Beijing, or it is due to other reasons. There are some reports claiming that the flights were cancelled due to a military exercise which was announced in advance.
Activist and author Jennifer Zeng, who had also made the claim on the 80 km long military convoy to Beijing, tweeted today that the rumour about Xi’s arrest is not true.
However, even if the rumours of the coup are false, there are enough pointers showing that something could be brewing in Beijing. Xi Jinping attended the SCO summit, but he was not present at the dinner attended by other leaders. Covid-19 was cited as the reason for the absence, but it didn’t convince everyone.
It is also being claimed that Xi Jinping was also not present at a high-level meeting on National Defence and Military Reform in Beijing on Wednesday. Although he was already back in Beijing from Uzbekistan, he didn’t attend the meeting which was attended by several senior military leaders, like Army Commander Liu Zhenli, and General Li Qiaoming, in charge of the Theatre Command of the North.
However, there are reports of Xi Jinping addressing the conference, which means that he did attend it, and the reports of him skipping the meeting could be incorrect.
Amid all the rumours, what is interesting is that Beijing has not issued any statement on the issue so far. However, sources in the Argentine embassy in China have categorically denied the claims.
It is also notable that the ‘news’ of the coup was posted on American social media by primarily Chinese activists living outside China, and anti-China Twitter handles from Nepal and Taiwan.
Therefore, the veracity of the rumours was doubtful from the beginning, and by now it is almost certain that they were wrong, and Xi Jinping remains the President of China.
When is a person “old”?
A few weeks ago, I was sitting with a friend at a local Starbucks. Our table was situated so that I was facing the counter and as I idly watched a young woman ordering a latte’ she asked, “Where are the napkins?”
Without looking up, he said, “Over behind the old guys.” She nodded and walked directly behind us, picked up the napkins and walked out of the shop. It was a defining moment in my life.
I could see how they would label my white-haired friend as an ‘old guy’, but my hair was still ‘blondish.’ I guessed the clerk was talking about him.
A few days later, as we were walking out of our church, the pastor’s wife commented on a new suit I was wearing. “I really like your suit, Ed. It goes so well with your hair.”
As we walked to the car, I asked my wife, “Do you think that this gray suit goes that well with my blonde hair?” She said, “You have to be kidding.”
I let it go, not wanting to correct her on a Sunday morning.
A few days later, one of our sons came by to visit and I made a comment about the bald spot starting to gain territory on the back of his head.
He laughed and said, “Like father, like son.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that but felt it was better for him to not talk about his balding any further.
Later, after he left, I asked my wife, “I wonder what he meant by ‘like father, like son.’ Funny remark, don’t you think?”
She shook her head from side to side and sighed deeply. “Come with me,” she commanded, taking me by the hand and marching me to the bathroom.
She took a large make-up mirror and held it to the back of my head. I jumped with a start. I had a bald spot twice the size of my son’s.
“When did that start?” I gasped. She smiled and said, “About ten years ago, when your hair turned gray.”
I left her there, smirking at me in the mirror and vowed to never use a mirror like that again. Easy enough for her to judge someone. Her hair seems to get darker every time she goes to the beauty parlor.
Rose Garden
Are Chinese politicians more competent than American politicians?
It seems Chinese politicians usually are more focused on nation building and American ones are too busy wasting time while making life harder for their own citizens.
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There is one major difference between China and the US: In the US, there are two dominant parties vying for power. As a result, half the time they are fighting against each other and little gets done for the people and the country. They can’t even have any long term development plans because if the ruling party loses at the next elections, then the new ruling party will cancel all the plans of the previous government and make some new ones of their own.
In China, there is only one party. So, the discussions at the National Assembly are focussed on doing things for the country and the people, and no time is wasted fighting each other’s party. And that is also why China can have a five year plan, a fifteen year plan and even a thirty year plan. No other party is going to cancel it after the elections that they hold once every 5 years. They might modify it to make it better based on new information, but they don’t cancel it.
That is why Chinese politicians are seen to be more focussed on nation building.
But there is more: in order to stand for elections, you need to be a member of the Communist Party of China. You can stand for elections if you are not a member, but your chances of winning would be very low, because CPC members are held in high esteem in China.
In order to be a member of CPC, you need to be fairly smart and have a proven track record of helping your community. If you are good enough to be accepted as a member, you must first go through a probation period, during which time you must show some visible contributions to your community. And this restricts the membership of the CPC to competent people.
Even Xi Jinping had to apply several times before he was accepted as a member of the CPC.
When will leaders around the world get the courage to speak up and tell the USA “enough is enough, stop provoking China, don’t ever again send your warships to pass through the Taiwan Strait as it could be the flashpoint of war”?
Actions. Actions, as we all know, speak far louder than words. Sadly for the world the simple action of refusing to heed an American throat-clearing is interpreted by America as “hostile aggression”.
Gunboat diplomacy. American diplomacy is never anything other. It can’t be. Once Peary’s 1853 “or else we’ll fire-bomb incinerate your home with you still in it” coerced Japanese acquiescence that silent“or else” of an American naval strike force ‘leaning against one’s door-jamb stiletto-paring their nails’ made every American ‘negotiation’ a de facto coercion. The only change to America’s unspoken “or else…” ‘’heavily armed pathological goon at the door’ negotiation strategy is the size of the goons and guns. And one other thing. That thing being? America has ‘reduced the homes of the resistant to ruins with their families huddled in unarmed terror inside. America, having found a sure-fire way to guarantee itself a win, hasn’t seriously rethought the policy over the 169 years since America first threatened to fire-bomb Edo.
American negotiation policy change has never strayed from “we’re going to need a bigger boat”. The current ‘bigger [gun]boat’ being a Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier and lethal entourage. Republican to the bone Secretary of State Hank Kissinger declared America’s policy truth when shrugging “An aircraft carrier is 100,000 tons of ‘diplomacy’.”
As the brilliant song-smith Paul Simon wrote: “Still a man hears what he wants to hear/ and disregards the rest.” — explaining Americans’ beliefs about how the rest of the world judges them. To paraphrase a certain little green sage “The listening skills . . . they are not strong with America”
Leaders around the world know that it’s futile to try to tell America anything. Except an ego-stroke.
To America listening isn’t part of its national job description. To America — and to the American consensus — America is always, at bottom line, right, ‘in the right’, and ‘within its rights’. Knowing America’s congenital disdain and incapacity to listen to and consider the perspectives of other peoples? Few nations’ leaders waste breath on anything but token effort to negotiate with the hubris-deafened American nation. The Peoples and leaders of NATO & Co. have long deluded ourselves we needn’t fear intentional harm by America. Especially so we in the rest of the G7.
The global majority haven’t had such delusions since . . . well . . . since forever. By 1960 they had evolved as a self-preservation strategy flocking together in a 120-strong herd called ‘T’he NAM’. The Non-Aligned Movement couldn’t save those on the flock’s fringes from American predation — but it was the best the 2/3 of the world striving to ‘bootstrap’ themselves out of their colonial ruination had.
After WW2 the global playing field was, for every practical purpose, “geo-political governance of the global village, by America & Co., for America & Co”. Of that fact all those America & Co. dismisses as “The Rest of The World’ were inescapably aware.
The UN was shaped to maintain the status quo as America & Co. saw profit in it. This is why as fast as formerly colonized nations ‘held their noses’ and joined the UN they also joined the NAM.
Until the 2010s all ‘The Rest of The World’ had was the NAM’s tenuous moral support. If that America naval wolf-pack showed up off of your shores . . . kiss your illusion of sovereignty g’bye.
But come the 2010s did. And along with them came a plan to empower the NAM members to invulnerability from being besieged by America’s ‘projectors of power’ carrier task forces — and American sanctions.
The raw hopeful potential of the NAM inspired the Belts & Roads Initiative cooperative.
x
The above map presents the over-arching global geo-political/economic communities determining current and emerging security both of sovereign and economic sustainability. If it’s greenish then it’s that “The Rest of The World’ ‘The West’’ keeps dismissing. The over-arching organization of the 149 of 193 nations — of that 77% of all countries — is two-fold. Their ideals-informed community is the Non-Aligned Movement. Their practicality– informed community is the anti-hegemonic Belts & Roads Initiative + its AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The BRI reinforces the efforts of regional communities — the African Union on that continent; continental Eurasia’s Shanghai Cooperative Organization; and Southeast Asia’s ASEAN. Further reinforcing this “The Rest of The World’ is BRICS.
In March of this year (2022) America decreed imposition of a sanction siege on Russia. That America and its 5 Eyes posse traditionally buy and sell little with Russia meant the sacrifices would be made by, well, by whoever else chose not to buy commodities and goods at the price point they’d determined their best option.
The green-hued 3/4 of the world chorused an “enough is enough, America” by ignoring that American decree. Actions speaking loud and clear their dismissal of America as a threat to them going forward. Their complex networks have rendered them able to ignore gunboat threats and sanction threats alike, There’s no need for ‘gum-flapping’ — ignoring America’s efforts to be accepted as hegemon does the trick.
How do I eat less sweets?
1. Make sure you’re eating enough protein and fiber. Protein increases satiety and helps to regulate blood sugar levels, while fiber helps to reduce the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. Both of these nutrients are important for keeping cravings under control.
2. Avoid foods that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. These foods tend to cause spikes in blood sugar levels, which leads to cravings for more sugary foods later on.
3. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Thirst can often be mistaken for hunger, so drinking plenty of water can help to prevent cravings for sweets.
Does China even have to be so damn ridiculous when it comes to Taiwan? Can’t China just chill?
Why doesn’t the USA just chill and pull all its forces from around the world back home, give up interfering in global politics, mind its own business, try and look after its own people and realise it hasn’t got a very smart populace and just stay out of everyone else’s lives?
USA: GO HOME AND STAY HOME FOREVER.
NOT NEEDED, NOT WANTED, GET LOST!!!
The Medvedev Map
“The Medvedev Map” was posted by former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, currently deputy head of the Security Council, on July 30, 2022.
The Medvedev Map.
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Chicago – (1973) “Saturday in the Park” & “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Which is worse, drinking one pint every day for six days or drinking seven pints once a week?
What’s worse, taking 1 Advil a day every day or taking 7 Advil once a week?
Let’s use a healthier example. What’s worse, eating one apple a day every day or eating 7 apples once a week? Regardless the same logic applies.
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Let’s dive into the pharmacokinetics of all of this. There is a concept of the therapeutic window which is the region between the start of getting a therapeutic response and the start of getting undesired responses i.e. side effects. Side effects occur when the concentration of your drug/entity/poison surpass that critical concentration.
There is also the concept of your CMax, which is the maximum concentration you’ll get after ingesting something. That CMax will be directly proportional to your dose. In this case, 7 times as much. Not only are you pushing your concentration higher thus moving you above the threshold where other even worse side effects can occur, you’ll also be above your adverse range for a longer period of time.
So taking more at onetime is always the more hazardous and dangerous scenario.
Unless you can find away to do controlled release of your alcohol once ingested.
x
Does the future of US-China relations look very bad?
Look bad?
It is bad, and deteriorating by the year.
The most concerning is the re-orientation of the US military since barack’s pivot to Asia strategy.
The war on terror in the middle east has reached sundown under Joe, as budgets are redirected towards indopacom, already the largest command with twice the number of ships deployed than the rest combined.
The past decade has seen incredible militarization in and around the waters of China, with control of the SCS central to the ambitions of both the pla and USN.
With the difficulties encountered producing clean sheet 21st century designs, the current USN plans calls for approximately 50 Virginia class nuclear fast attack subs and 90 arleigh burke class guided missile destroyers to turn the SCS, ECS and yellow sea into a shooting gallery. Production has been increased to 2 ships a year for each class to meet expansion schedule, at a cost of 11-12 billion a year.
Australia is joining in the fun and games with its own fast attack sub derived off the Virginia platform, slated to enter service in the 2040s, boosting indopacom’s attack sub operation.
Guam and neighboring tinian are undergoing rapid expansion and fortification as a key naval asset, particularly for the submarine fleet.
America is also coercing and cajoling pacific partners to increase their military budget, in order to subsidize indopacom expansion.
All these and more point to a forced realignment of world order, just like the American insistence on the indopacific (hence indopacom) rather than the more inclusive and familiar Asia pacific.
This is a dry powder keg.
War appears more inevitable by the year, as anti-chinese rhetoric and diplomacy increasingly dominate American politics.
The country may be deeply divided domestically, but there are two issues with bipartisan support: Russia and China being “the enemy”.
What are some “forgotten” dishes and recipes that few people make anymore?
A few months ago, my husband and I were watching “Desk Set,” starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. In it, there’s a scene where he asks, what’s for dessert, and she says, Floating Islands.
I’d never heard of this. I asked my husband, a pastry chef, “What’s that?” He knew that it was meringue and cream but not the exact recipe. I googled it and, in fact, it’s poached meringue in creme anglaise. My husband actually said, “No one really makes it any more.”
Then, last week, we went out to eat at a French restaurant for dinner and, lo and behold, Ile Flottante was on the menu. I was so excited to try it! It was lovely and delicious and elegant and old school, and basically Katherine Hepburn if she were a dessert. I recommend it.
Shining a light on these dark corners of the American Empire, where shadowy spooks wage war on the regular people of the world, including non-elite Americans, to benefit the private interests of globalist oligarchs and petty tyrants.
Global supply chains work only in peacetime, but not when the world is at war, be it a hot war or an economic war. The low inflation world had three pillars: cheap immigrant labor keeping nominal wage growth “stagnant” in the U.S., cheap Chinese goods raising real wages amid stagnant nominal wages, and cheap Russian natural gas fueling German industry and Europe more broadly. Implicit in this “trinity” were two giant geo-strategic and geo-economic blocks: Niall Ferguson called the first one “Chimerica”. I will call the other one “Eurussia”.
Both unions were a “heavenly match”: the EU paid euros for cheap Russian gas, the U.S. paid U.S. dollars for cheap Chinese imports, and Russia and China dutifully recycled their earnings into G7 claims. All sides were entangled commercially as well as financially, and as the old wisdom goes, if we trade, everyone benefits and so we won’t fight. But like in any marriage, that’s true only if there is harmony. Harmony is built on trust, and occasional disagreements can only be resolved peacefully provided there is trust. But when trust is gone, everything is gone, which is the scary conclusion from Dale Copeland’s book: Economic Interdependence and War.
Reviewing 200 years of history, including the Napoleonic and Crimean wars, the book explains that “when great powers have positive expectations of the future trade environment, they want to remain at peace in order to secure the economic benefits that enhance long-term economic power. When, however, these expectations turn negative, leaders are likely to fear a loss of access to raw materials and markets, giving them an incentive to initiate crises to protect their commercial interests”. This “theory of trade expectations” holds lessons for understanding not only today’s conflict between the U.S. on the one hand, and Russia and China on the other, but also the outlook for inflation. Put simply…
…if there is trust, trade works. If trust is gone, it doesn’t. Today, trust is gone: Chimerica does not work anymore and Eurussia does not work either. Instead, we have a special relationship between Russia and China, the core economies of the BRICS block and the “king” and the “queen” on the Eurasian chessboard – a new “heavenly match”, forged from the divorce of Chimerica and Eurussia…
Why hasn’t the US been able to drive Huawei out of business even though it has used every trick possible to hurt the company?
Because most of the nations in the world KNOW the US is lying. It is the US that is spying on everyone and trying to impose US rule on every nation in the world.
Since Huawei wasn’t doing any business in the US anyways, the US government has failed because the world trusts Huawei and doesn’t trust the US at all.
After all, the US used a tube of Tide detergent to justify invading Iraq. That is about as infamous as you can get.
Popa Chubby – Little Wing
Let’s start with this wonderful clip… one of the best blues guitarists.
“Better that right counsels be known to enemies than that the evil secrets of tyrants should be concealed from the citizens. They who can treat secretly of the affairs of a nation have it absolutely under their authority; and as they plot against the enemy in time of war, so do they against the citizens in time of peace.”― Baruch Spinoza
It hasn’t been a month since President Biden mounted the steps of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, declaring it his duty to ensure each of us understands the central faction of his political opposition are extremists that “threaten the very foundations of our Republic.” Flanked by the uniformed icons of his military and standing atop a Leni Riefenstahl stage, the leader clenched his fists to illustrate seizing the future from the forces of “fear, division, and darkness.” The words falling from the teleprompter ran rich with the language of violence, a “dagger at the throat” emerging from the “shadow of lies.”
“What’s happening in our country,” the President said, “is not normal.”
Is he wrong to think that? The question the speech intended to raise—the one lost in the unintentionally villainous pageantry—is whether and how we are to continue as a democracy and a nation of laws. For all the Twitter arguments over Biden’s propositions, there has been little consideration of his premises.
Democracy and therule of law have been so frequently invoked as a part of the American political brand that we simply take it for granted that we enjoy both.
Are we right to think that?
Our glittering nation of laws observes this year two birthdays: the 70th anniversary of the National Security Agency, on which my thoughts have been recorded, and the 75th anniversary of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The CIA was founded in the wake of the 1947 National Security Act. The Act foresaw no need for the Courts and Congress to oversee a simple information-aggregation facility, and therefore subordinated it exclusively to the President, through the National Security Council he controls.
In 1963, no less than former President Harry Truman confessed that the very agency he personally signed into law had transformed into something altogether different than he intended, writing:
“For some time I have been disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government. This has led to trouble…”
Many today comfort themselves by imagining that the Agency has been reformed, and that such abuses are relics of the distant past, but what few reforms our democracy has won have been watered-down or compromised. The limited “Intelligence Oversight” role that was eventually conceded to Congress in order to placate the public has never been taken seriously by either the committee’s majority—which prefers cheerleading over investigating—or by the Agency itself, which continues to conceal politically-sensitive operations from the very group most likely to defend them.
How can we judge the ultimate effectiveness of oversight and reforms? Well, the CIA plotted to assassinate my friend, American whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, in 1972, yet nearly fifty years of “reforms” did little to inhibit them from recently sketching out another political murder targeting Julian Assange. Putting that in perspective, you probably own shoes older than the CIA’s most recent plot to murder a dissident… or rather the most recent plot that we know of.
If you believe the Assange case to be a historical anomaly, some aberration unique to Trump White House, recall that the CIA’s killings have continued in series across administrations. Obama ordered the killing of an American far from any battlefield, and killed his 16 year-old American son a few weeks later, but the man’s American daughter was still alive by the time Obama left.
Within a month of entering the White House, Trump killed her.
They stripped him naked, save a diaper he couldn’t change, in a cold so wicked that his guards, in their warm clothes, ran heaters for themselves. In absolute darkness, they bolted his hands and feet to a single point on the floor with a very short chain so that it was impossible to stand or lie down – a practice called “short shackling” – and after he died, claimed that it was for his own safety. They admit to beating him, even describing the “forceful punches.” They describe the blood that ran from his nose and mouth as he died.
Pages later, in their formal conclusion, the Agency declares that there was no evidence of beating. There was no of evidence torture. The CIA ascribes responsibility for his death to hypothermia, which they blamed on him for the crime of refusing, on his final night, a meal from the men that killed him.
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In the aftermath, the Agency concealed the death of Gul Rahman from his family. To this day, they refuse to reveal what happened to his remains, denying those who survive him a burial, or even some locus of mourning.
Ten years after the torture program investigated, exposed, and ended, no one was charged for their role in these crimes. The man responsible for Rahman’s death was recommended for a $2,500 cash award — for “consistently superior work”.
This summer, in a speech marking the occasion of the CIA’s 75th birthday, President Biden struck a quite different note than he did in Philadelphia, reciting what the CIA instructs all presidents: that the soul of the institution really lies in speaking truth to power.
“We turn to you with the big questions,” Biden said, “the hardest questions. And we count on you to give your best, unvarnished assessment of where we are. And I emphasize “‘unvarnished.’”
But this itself is a variety of varnishing — a whitewash.
For what reason do we aspire to maintain — or achieve — a nation of laws, if not to establish justice?
Let us say we have a democracy, shining and pure. The people, or in our case some subset of people, institute reasonable laws to which government and citizen alike must answer. The sense of justice that arises within such a society is not produced as a result of the mere presence of law, which can be tyrannical and capricious, or even elections, which face their own troubles, but is rather derived from the reason and fairness of the system that results.
What would happen if we were to insert into this beautiful nation of laws an extralegal entity that is not directed by the people, but a person: the President? Have we protected the nation’s security, or have we placed it at risk?
This is the unvarnished truth: the establishment of an institution charged with breaking the law within a nation of laws has mortally wounded its founding precept.
From the year it was established, Presidents and their cadres have regularly directed the CIA to go beyond the law for reasons that cannot be justified, and therefore must be concealed — classified. The primary result of the classification system is not an increase in national security, but a decrease in transparency. Without meaningful transparency, there is no accountability, and without accountability, there is no learning.
Do you believe that the CIA today — a CIA free from all consequence and accountability — is uninvolved in similar activities? Can you find no presence of their fingerprints in the events of the world, as described in the headlines, that provide cause for concern? Yet it is those who question the wisdom of placing a paramilitary organization beyond the reach of our courts that are dismissed as “naive.”
For 75 years, the American people have been unable to bend the CIA to fit the law, and so the law has been bent to fit the CIA. As Biden stood on the crimson stage, at the site where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and adopted, his words rang out like the cry of a cracked-to-hell Liberty Bell: “What’s happening in our country is not normal.”
If only that were true.
Brazil
Ave do Café, the Avenue of Coffee.
What is the most selfless or caring thing you have ever seen a cat do?
My kitty Otter was a dog tamer.
Otter
My daughter had dropped off a husky mix named Jackson at the house who would have been otherwise euthanized. This happened while I was on a trip.
This dog had supposedly killed a cat before (don’t know if that was true) and my cats were on the refrigerator.
Well I let him know the kitties outranked him and gradually Otter would challenge him by walking by.
They never were best buds but they tolerated each other.
Fast forward a couple of years. Jackson, who was fairly old when he entered our lives got cancer.
His appetite left him.
So Otter, who had absolutely NO interest in his food would go over and pretend she wanted to eat it!
He would trot right over, get territorial and eat his dinner.
It was so sweet.
He died a few month later.
They were more like buddies at the end.
Otter lived until she was 18. She was the best cat I ever had.
Owned her from the day she was born.
She was always courageous and had a beautiful cat heart.
4 Non Blondes – What’s Up (Official Music Video)
Amazing
The owner of the cow decided to install a CCTV camera after hearing the barking of dogs every day So he got to see this amazing scene. Every day a Leopard comes and the cow loves him, licks him. When he found out from the old owner of the cow, he said that this leopard was only twenty days old when the mother of the leopard died. Since then the cow has fed him her milk and the leopard thinks that the cow is his mother, so the leopard comes to visit the cow every day in love with his mother.
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What’s the best “tourist trap” you’ve ever fallen into?
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Personally I’ve never fallen into this scheme but whenever I visit our tiny sister island of Tobago I roll my eyes seeing the amount of tourists who get caught in this trap.
Imagine this…
You’re on vacation with your family in the Caribbean island of Tobago, known for its stunning blue beaches and laid-back, bohemian lifestyle.
As many tourists do, seeing that it’s the closest beach to the airport, they spend their first day on Store Bay, the most commercially popular beach in Tobago.
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As you arrive down the steps, past all the numerous souvenirs, handicraft and food stalls, you look for a nice shady area on the sand to lay your beach towel and make camp. Unfortunately all the good spots are taken so you whip out that suntan lotion and decide to take in some Vitamin D because you’ll be taking a dip in the water anyhow.
Suddenly a sinewy barechested young man looking like this:
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Comes with a beach umbrella, and while taking puffs of his marijuana spliff, he stabs the umbrella into the sand amongst you, which provides much appreciated shade from the enhanced Vitamin D plus sunrays that are making you sweat.
You think, ‘Wow, what nice thoughtful people these Tobagonians are.’
You thank him but he doesn’t seem to hear you. He leaves and you assume that the umbrella is complimentary of whatever tourism board is running the country as you notice practically everyone has an umbrella like yours.
The man returns with a couple of beach chairs. You jump up ready to assist this helpful man. His mind seems distant as he stares towards the sea horizon as though expecting something. You say thanks again but he leaves without a word.
You enjoy yourself in the sun and sea, taking a few splashes in the azure waters. Discussing plans for the evening with your spouse, watching the kids frolic on the sand.
An old boat adorned in bright colours arrive on shore blasting music from its speakers. You see a bunch of people get up and head towards the boat. It’s apparently a glass bottomed boat that tours the nearby beaches.
The man magically appears behind you.
‘Yuh wah go on de glass bottom boat?’ he says.
You take some time to translate his sentence and you quickly say yeah. He whips out a card of tickets and a pencil and writes a note under some tickets. He then leads you and your family to the boat and assists you all in helping climb onto it.
What great hospitality! What great people! What a nice country! They really do go above and beyond for the tourists.
These are the thoughts you think whilst enjoying the tour, staring at the beautiful sights while the children look at fishes and coral through the glass bottom.
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The tour lasts about two hours and when you return you decide that you will stay on the beach for the sunset.
When the sun sets most people are leaving and you see your man along with others like him collecting their vacated beach chairs and umbrellas.
You watch the sunset and fall in love with the country. Your man is somewhere behind you smoking another spliff and enjoying the sunset with you. However he seems to be scowling. You tell yourself that maybe that’s just his countenance. Never judge a book by its cover.
You decide to wrap things up and as you and your family assist in dusting off the beach chairs and folding and the umbrella, your man comes over with a few shirtless friends and takes over that duty.
He is staring at you and you don’t know what to say.
‘Thank you for everything,’ you say awkwardly, ‘You’ve been so kind…..What’s your name?’
‘Yuh have $1200 (TT) dollars for us sir.’ he says in a gruff, solemn tone while staring you in the eyes. His friends are poised nearby smirking at the scene.
‘You didn’t tell me you were charging me all this time! You didn’t tell me the cost?’
You look at him and his men who look agitated and upset and you look nervously at the near deserted beach. You know that quarreling over money with a bunch of unknown, sinewy shirtless locals would not be a good idea given the circumstances.
‘Brudda, if yuh don’t mind’ said one of his friends, ‘We real busy. Y’all went overtime. Jus pay we for our services nuh.’
He is saying this more as a growling threat than a request. You do your calculations. $200 US should cover the fee and give you back a little more than $100 TT change. You grudgingly give him the money. He looks at it, pockets it and he and his men leave without a word, laughing at something they were discussing, not even considering your change.
You’ve just been schemed my good friend.
Lesson #1 in coming to Tobago as a tourist.
Absolutely nothing is free.
Edit: Did not expect this little gem of advice to take off so quickly. But please be aware that these sort of schemes and unwholesome attitudes are mostly prevalent at Store Bay. The rest of Tobago is very easy going and trustworthy.
The Government is doing its best to curb these type of characters from tainting our image. This is just a lesson to be on the alert if you do decide to visit our marvelous country.
Edit 9.01.22: Those guys who try to scheme you with their beach chairs and boat rides in Tobago are nothing compared to the ‘trailer trash’ of Trinidad. Click here to read all about it.
What are your thoughts on China’s treatment of their citizens right now? Should they be charged with human rights violations?
China treats its citizens very well, thank you very much. Whatever you’ve heard or read about human rights in China is Western media propaganda bullshit. You need to be aware that Western governments and Western media have been perpetrating a massive disinformation campaign against China for decades.
How to cook Rogan Josh
Roganjoshalso spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an aromatic curried meat dish of Kashmiri origin from the Kashmir Valley of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rogan Josh
The lovely color of rogan josh (sometimes spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht) comes from the Kashmiri dry red chiles used to prepare it. When you read the recipe, it may seem like you will end up with a fiery dish, but do not fear—the chiles add fantastic flavor to the Indian curry without making it too spicy.
Whole spices along with ground and fresh spices are what add layer upon layer of flavor to this Indian curry. Marinating the lamb in yogurt helps to tenderize the meat, and a touch of cream at the end gives the dish a little richness.
Serve with plain boiled rice or pulao and a vegetable side dish like okra or cauliflower.
Rogan josh has a savory, meaty, spiced flavor. Recipes vary greatly based on the cook, so the exact flavors can differ. The balance of dried chiles and a mix of spices gives the curry layers of flavor without making it too spicy.
How spicy is rogan josh curry?
While rogan josh does contain chiles, they are dried Kashmiri chiles, which are a mild type of pepper. The chiles add flavor and color rather than intense heat. You can adjust the chiles to your taste and spice tolerance.
Does rogan josh contain tomato?
Recipes for the Indian curry rogan josh vary depending on the cook’s preference for spices and other ingredients. Some recipes for rogan josh contain tomato puree or tomatoes while others do not. The color primarily comes from the Kashmiri chiles.
Lee Amendment
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced an amendment declaring that China is not a developing country and should not be treated by the UN or other intergovernmental organizations as such. The amendment would also require the Secretary of State to propose the removal of China’s designation as a developing nation under the Kigali Amendment. Sen. Lee’s amendment passed the Senate by a unanimous roll call vote: 96 vs 0. . From HERE.
What is the smartest thing you’ve seen a child do?
When one of our twins had just turned 5, just a few weeks into kindergarten, I went into our playroom and realized the computer was running Windows 10.
I asked my wife if she upgraded it. I asked our then 10 year old. No and no.
Stumped, I finally asked the 5 year old.
He proudly announced that he had as he liked Windows 10. Not quite believing him, I asked him how.
He sat down, brought up Google, typed in “Window 10 upgrade instructions” and started reading me the steps.
Stunned, I asked: “you can read”?
He laughed and said he’d been able to read that well for over a year.
I asked him how?
He pulled up Youtube for Kids on his tablet and showed me how he had enabled closed captions.
He calmly said he’d been reading along since he was 3.
He’s 6 now. I have yet to find software that will lock down his tablet. He cracks them all.
Proud, and a little scared.
Do younger Chinese, especially the well educated Chinese born after 1990, support the Chinese government more?
When foreigners met a Chinese guy that supports CCP government, they always say, “ poor people being brainwashed by their government.”
However the experiences of mine tells an opposite story.
China education do put little communist ideology in our politics textbook from high school. But it in fact had made an opposite effect – high school students tend to rebel especially you push to convince him/her to believe something. For me, I hated the politics course in those days, and because of that, I chose to study science courses instead of literature courses even though my history is much better than my physics. I was fond of a young writer named Han Han who was often writing articles to criticize the system and government. I did like a history teacher named Yuan tengfei, who is famous for criticizing Mao Zedong and praise western ways of thinking. It was like kind of anti-government idea and I was pretty proud of that then.
But things began to change after I went to Japan for further study. I was looking forward for new free life outside China, I expected lots of people with different ideas and independent thoughts. However people here are not like what I thought. Media have strong bias against everything in China, and most of the people here accept the false information without any doubt. And as I started to watch YouTube, what I have found is just double-standards of westerners.
An example is COVID-19. When Wuhan was lockdown, I was preparing my master thesis in Japan. Like others, I also thought that could no more than a heavy flu. The very strict method is controversial outside China, I was also doubt the necessity then. But days later, the SOS messages from individuals of wuhan began to spread in Chinese SNS. Too many heart breaking stories and I lost sleep in many nights, what I could do was only forward SOS messages to make sure more would see and took care of the people in trouble.
what is it like outside China? They were making fun of the plague and call us the patient of Asia. They were mocking on our temporary hospitals and call them concentration camp. They were making jokes about our country just like democracy countries do not have plague. The westerners always label themselves as human rights fighters and savers but they have never focused on the miseries of Wuhan people, somehow might warn themselves that it is not simply a flu; all the news here is to show how bad CCP is, and make fun of us.
Now the pandemic in China is contained, but for worldwide it have just begun. The developed world acted like shit but they just blame others. The whole world started to build temporary hospitals which is apparently worse than ours, but surprisingly there is no one mocking on them! The president of the most powerful country in the world, has especially strengthened my idea. Mr.president always said it’s a flu and “ I know corona virus better than anyone” two weeks ago; While now US became the patient of America, he said he was always serious and their method against the virus was perfect. Then his popularity just climbed! WTF??? Is this the result your perfect democracy trying to make? To produce a cheater to run the country and cheat the people? And is this your wise people that even not able to tell you are played like a fool?
No it’s too far from my expectation now. I know there are many problems in China but I believe she will be better. Because only 15 years ago while I was a middle school student, there is no road to the city, one of the happiest thing for my childhood was that my dad’s McDonald’s delivery from the city, which at least cost him two days by ship in a round trip. Now? 2 hours on express way and will be 30 minutes by high speed train in 2024.
I’m not going to convince anybody to love China, because after several years abroad I know, it’s impossible to erase the bias in your mind by only talking. At least I don’t think I can convince the 100 million people who support Trump.
Cat on guard
Yes! We used to laugh when our Catkins would stubbornly sit beside the cat door until we closed it at night. We thought it was just another of her many quirks.
But when she had to spend the night at the vet, we found out the real reason for her vigil. We woke up at two, thinking we were dreaming: we clearly heard the sound of crunching coming from the corner where we kept Catkins’ dry food.
We switched on the light to see THREE strange cats calmly munching away! No wonder Catkins kept watch, with three moochers trying to steal her food! The three looked well-fed, and were clearly someone’s pets.
We shooed them out, and took out the cat door. Catkins was then happy to spend her evenings on the couch with us, relieved of the need for guard duty.
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Interesting comments from a Canadian
Cardi is a confused clown----a racist piece of trash- a complete idiot --He should be the Minister of Destruction ( their finances could take a future HARD HIT ---the only language fools like Cardi understand ( as well as Boris Johnson- Prince Justin "Jackboot" Trudeua- Amtrak Joe Biden and Scottie Mad Dog Morrison) is a blow to the head or a bankrupt bank account------
----BIG DEBT but talking proud ---------
2007 might be coming their way very soon ---a big collapse.
FIRE Finance Insurance Real Estate ----the 4 stooges ( USA UK Canada Australia ) Make zip --nothing ------all increases in employment courtesy of bankrupt governments--this spending and borrowing can not continue forever.
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Oh Liz Truss--visits Queen Elizabeth II and 2 days later--the latter expires.
USA is now starting this close all Confucius Institutes Nonsense and Education Minister Cardi ( this idiot should be put away into an institution for idiots) either closed or is closing the Confucius Institute in New Brunswick ---
Canada and USA ( the only 2 countries (who know - understand and apply ---human rights ---democracy and freedom) are now planning to sail through Taiwan Straits
They ( UK USA Canada and Australia) Have NO respect for anyone---just the Big Bozo sitting in DC and the Industrial Military Complex.
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Third Point:
Remember all the fuss 2019 in Hong Kong-------it was going to collapse---its people were suffering---the innocent thugs vandalizing the place were heros --Nancy Luvkins and Trump Toadies
--------it is all a game of Yes I do
---NO You don't or No I Don't
Yes you do..
Took some material from United Nations HDI Index and the results are as follows:
The human development Index measures countries according to the following:
Life Expectancy at birth
Education: Mean years of schooling
Standard of living: GNI (Gross National Income) per capita.
Now here are the results for 2013 and the most recently 2022:
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Issues:
Hong Kong rose from 15 to 4 —NOW that is a huge increase and there were the riots there in 2019—–it should have fallen according to MSM like Fox or CNN or even CBC
Canada fell from position 8 to 16 —- a big drop
USA fell from position 5 to 17—– another big drop
Australia fell from 2 to 8
UK was the only one to rise from 13 to 12 —but this Trails Hong Kong.
Each of these English speaking countiries fell by 8 points ——and the HDI measures human condition—-tells the truth –now who is fooling who Mssr Trump-Biden-Trudeau–you are like Mr Know-it-all from International Falls: Bullwinkle M Moose ” Hey Rocky –watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat !!!!”
What British food should one absolutely try (either because it is delicious or because it’s peculiar)?
May I present the humble Cadbury’s Mini Roll:
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This was invented when an unsuspecting Brit who, on visiting America, took a bite of a Twinkie and, after throwing up and swearing profusely, took it upon themselves to create the most heavenly yet simple cake bar known to mankind.
They come in packs of 10, laughingly referred to as “Family Packs”, which to be fair is true if you live on your own. I have been known to open the sweet drawer (the part of the kitchen where all Britons hide their shame), open a single bar ‘just for a snack’ and be found 6 hours later by one of my children in a hyperglycaemic coma on the sofa, surrounded by wrappers with chocolate all over my face.
“Is Daddy an alcoholic Mummy?”
“No, he’s just a greedy cu…. so ‘nd so”
These things put all other sweet snacks to shame.
I was inspired to answer this question upon seeing a very well written homage to the Beef Wellington. A BW is all good and well for a posh dinner, but is fuck all good when you are hanging out of your arsehole and need 10,000 swiftly delivered cake based calories and a pint of Lucozade.
Is China on the verge of becoming the next massive threat to the United States? Why or why not?
If you see your shadow as a threat, it will be a threat.
US already regards China a threat. China demands equality in their relationship. Its rise is in inexorable, and gaining influence and respect in world affairs. It sets an example for countries to resist US hegemony.
US responds out of fear and a negative attitude. The proof is that every important US foreign policy statement or action has China back and centre, notably the increasing propaganda to demonize it, the unending streams of sanctions, and the haste to form new alliances, as well as, to draw NATO into the Asian theatre.
China’s technology prowess is catching up with the US. It already leads in several foundation technologies, like 5G communications, green economy, and AI applications. On semiconductors, its manufacturing capacities has taken a quantum leap, in sophistication as well. It is already able to do 7nm chips. US leads in specific technologies to make semiconductors may be tenuous, as it lacks behind in manufacturing. China is STEM-focus, in contrast to law and finance in the US. China graduates 4 times the number of STEM bachelor degrees compared with the US, and 2 times the number of PhDs by 2025. It consistently outscores the US in international science and technology rankings for K-12 students. In 2018m it ranked first in the PISA scores against 25th for the US.
So, China is more than a threat in technology prowess. It is catching up with the US, and sets to overtake it in the near future, and then to widen the lead.
China is a nuclear power. Its military forces are growing stronger in its continuing program of modernisation and mechanisation, which started about 5 years ago. The focuses are on command and control, troop training, and equipment and weaponry, especially the air force, and the navy. It is well capable to defend the country, and if need be, to counter-attack. It therefore lessens the threat of attack by the US, such as by its carrier strike group. It also renders much of the rhetoric by the US to defend Taiwan less believable or moot.
In this sense, China is a threat to the US because it is able to defend an attack by the US. It is a defensive threat rather than an offensive one. It is not a threat if US does not intend to attack it. It is not a threat to attack the US and its military forces and bases around the globe.
China gains many foreign friends and much respect and influence through trade and investments. US feels threatened because this may cause it to lose global influence, and compromise its hegemony in world affairs.
But this threat is more of its own making. US has been (1) dishonest and destructive, as is clear from the countries it had bombed and the failed states in the Middle East, (2) racialist, such as its attitude towards non-white refugees, and the hoarding and slow fulfilment of its pledges of Covid vaccines, and (3) bully and unconscionable, the most flagrant is to freeze $7 billion of money that belongs to Afghanistan, and leaving the people to suffer hungers and starvations.
So long as US hangs on to hegemony, and No.1 in its chosen fields, it will feel threaten by any country on the rise.
In the 1980s, it was Japan, which it was able to dispose off quite quickly. Japan is a much smaller country and is beholden to the US for defence.
Now it is China, which it will have to compromise and find accommodation. China is much larger and more powerful than Japan, and is not beholden to the US. China has its own national goal, which it will pursue disregarding the US.
Why does homemade fried rice never taste the same as fried rice from a Chinese restaurant? Am I missing some secret ingredient or method?
I can’t say for sure whether or not you’re missing any secret ingredients, since I don’t know your recipe. I am certain you’re missing one key component though, and that’s heat.
Chinese restaurants cook over commercial wok burners, which put out 125,000 BTUs of heat. Your home stove might generate 15,000 BTUs out of its largest burner. That’s a pretty significant difference.
The heat of a wok burner imparts a distinctive flavor onto foods. When foods hit the polymerized surface of a hot steel wok, they instantly release moisture, which leaves the food in the form of steam. The foods are tossed through the rising steam, where they capture the droplets of water, and fall back into the wok. This action, repeated over and over, is the essence of wok cooking. The intense heat also causes rapid browning and caramelization and gives the food a distinctive smokey flavor. The flavor, known as Wok Hei in Cantonese, is what makes Chinese take out so crave able, and can’t be duplicated on a home stove. None of what I described can be duplicated, to the same degree, on a home stove. It just doesn’t generate enough heat.
This is a 125,000 BTU wok burner.
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That ain’t your momma’s kitchen stove.
If the US and China have the same wage rate, will America become competitive against China in manufacturing?
Most Americans still thinks that China is competitive because of its lower wage cost. It still thinks and dream on that it owns and provide key technologies.
But the truth is really far from this. Chinese success is only partially because of labour cost. It’s their infrastructure, its their own technology, its their great educational system, its robotics and automation, it is their super duper government machinery, its their hardwork, its the intelligence and skill of their workers.
That is why inspite of the wage rise by as much as ten folds since 1980s, the Chinese has only grown more competitive. And its products and services demand have only got stronger inspite of the trade war, the decoupling, the increase cost.
So even if the US managed to be on par with China on labour cost, American products will still be not competitive. It’s infrastructure is much more dilapidated, its labour could not match the skill and capability of the Chinese, its production lacks robotics and automation, its goverment is of no help and in stalemate.
These are simply facts not words like exceptionality which the US claims over and over again without substance.
Audioslave – Like a Stone (Official Video)
How do Chinese stay slim with all that orange chicken, egg rolls, and chow mein they eat?
That’s easy!
What you think I eat every day:
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What I actually eat every day:
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Is it true that the BBC in the UK says China is bullying the Uyghurs? Or is the BBC helping US allies spread disinformation to deceive his people?
Watch their expose on it they made a few years ago.
Looks terribly damning but if you wait right to the end? It shows these Uighurs being allowed home for the weekend.
They know that you won’t watch to the end so that’s why they put it there.
What sort of death camp allows people to go home at the weekend?
For someone growing up in a dysfunctional family, what are things you wish you had but never did growing up?
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — Leo Tolstoy
Why can’t Chinese people eat normal food like pizza, burgers, and steaks?
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It’s such a huge pity if your world is only filled with pizza, burgers and steaks.
You will find a lot more varieties of food than you can imagine if you go to China.
China is mainly famous for its eight cuisines, which include Cantonese Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine, Anhui Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine, Jiangsu Cuisine, Shandong Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Zhejiang Cuisine.
You can find hundreds of and even thousands kinds of dishes for each of the major cuisines.
Besides that, there are also various sorts of local food in different places across China.
China has a large territory. Different places have food with different flavors.
The real US agenda in Africa is hegemony
by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission
Forget development. Washington’s primary interest in Africa today is keeping the Chinese and Russians out.
In a rational environment, the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) would discuss alleviating the trials and tribulations of the Global South, especially Africa.
That won’t be the case. Like a deer caught in the geopolitical headlights, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued platitudes about a gloomy “winter of global discontent,” even as the proverbial imperial doomsayers criticized the UN’s “crisis of faith” and blasted the “unprovoked war” started by Russia.
Of course the slow-motion genocide of Donbass russophone residents for eight years would never be recognized as a provocation.
Guterres spoke of Afghanistan, “where the economy is in ruins and human rights are being trampled” – but he did not dare to offer context. In Libya, “divisions continue to jeopardize the country” – once again, no context. Not to mention Iraq, where “ongoing tensions threaten ongoing stability.”
Africa has 54 nations as UN members. Any truly representative UNGA meeting should place Africa’s problems at the forefront. Once again, that’s not the case. So it is left to African leaders to offer that much-needed context outside of the UN building in New York.
As the only African member of the G20, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently urged the US not to “punish” the whole continent by forcing nations to demonize or sanction Russia. Washington’s introduction of legislation dubbed the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, he says, “will harm Africa and marginalize the continent.”
South Africa is a BRICS member – a concept that is anathema in the Beltway – and embraces a policy of non-alignment among world powers. An emerging 21st century version of the 1960s Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is strengthening across the Global South – and especially Africa – much to the revulsion of the US and its minions.
Back at the UNGA, Guterres invoked the global fertilizer crisis – again, with no context. Russian diplomacy has repeatedly stressed that Moscow is ready to export 30 million tons of grain and over 20 million tons of fertilizer by the end of 2022. What is left unsaid in the west, is that only the importation of fertilizers to the EU is “allowed,” while transit to Africa is not.
Guterres said he was trying to persuade EU leaders to lift sanctions on Russian fertilizer exports, which directly affect cargo payments and shipping insurance. Russia’s Uralchem, for instance, even offered to supply fertilizers to Africa for free.
Yet from the point of view of the US and its EU vassals, the only thing that matters is to counter Russia and China in Africa. Senegal’s President Macky Sall has remarked how this policy is leaving “a bitter taste.”
‘We forbid you to build your pipeline’
It gets worse. The largely ineffectual EU Parliament now wants to stop the construction of the 1,445 km-long East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Uganda to Tanzania, invoking hazy human rights violations, environmental threats, and “advising” member countries to simply drop out of the project.
Uganda is counting on more than 6 billion barrels of oil to sustain an employment boom and finally move the nation to middle-income status. It was up to Ugandan Parliament Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa to offer much-needed context:
“It is imprudent to say that Uganda’s oil projects will exacerbate climate change, yet it is a fact that the EU block with only 10 percent of the world’s population is responsible for 25 percent of global emissions, and Africa with 20 percent of the world’s population is responsible for 3 percent of emissions.
The EU and other western countries are historically responsible for climate change. Who then should stop or slow down the development of natural resources? Certainly not Africa or Uganda.”
The EU Parliament, moreover, is a staunch puppet of the biofuel lobby. It has refused to amend a law that would have stopped the use of food crops for fuel production, actually contributing to what the UN Food Program has described as “a global emergency of unprecedented magnitude.” No less than 350 million people are on the brink of starvation across Africa.
Instead, the G7’s notion of “helping” Africa is crystallized in the US-led Build Back Better World (B3W) – Washington’s anaemic attempt to counter Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – which focuses on “climate, health and health security, digital technology, and gender equity and equality,” according to the White House. Practical issues of infrastructure and sustainable development, which are at the heart of China’s plan, are simply ignored by the B3W.
Initially, a few “promising” projects were identified by a traveling US delegation in Senegal and Ghana. Senegalese diplomatic sources have since confirmed that these projects have nothing whatsoever to do with building infrastructure.
B3W, predictably, fizzled out. After all, the US-led project was little more than a public relations gimmick to undermine the Chinese, with negligible effect on narrowing the $40-plus trillion worth of infrastructure needed to be built across the Global South by 2035.
Have YALI, will travel
Imperial initiatives in Africa – apart from the US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM), which amounts to raw militarization of the continent – brings us to the curious case of YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative), widely touted in the Washington-New York axis as “the most innovative” policy of the Obama years.
Launched in 2010, YALI was framed as “empowering the new generation of Africa leadership” – a euphemism for educating (or brainwashing) them the American way. The mechanism is simple: investing in and bringing hundreds of young African potential leaders to US universities for a short, six-week “training” on “business, civil leadership, entrepreneurship, and public management.” Then, four days in Washington to meet “leaders in the administration,” and a photo op with Obama.
The project was coordinated by US embassies in Africa, and targeted young men and women from sub-Saharan Africa’s 49 nations – including those under US sanctions, like Sudan, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe – proficient in English, with a “commitment” to return to Africa. Roughly 80 percent during the initial years had never been to the US, and more than 50 percent grew up outside of big cities.
Then, in a speech in 2013 in South Africa, Obama announced the establishment of the Washington Fellowship, later renamed the Mandela-Washington Fellowship (MWF).
That’s still ongoing. In 2022, MWF should be granted to 700 “outstanding young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa,” who follow “Leadership Institutes” at nearly 40 US universities, before their short stint in Washington. After which, they are ready for “long-term engagement between the United States and Africa.”
And all that for literally peanuts, as MWF was enthusiastically billed by the Democrat establishment as cost-efficient: $24,000 per fellow, paid by participant US universities as well as Coca-Cola, IBM, MasterCard Foundation, Microsoft, Intel, McKinsey, GE, and Procter & Gamble.
And that didn’t stop with MWF. USAID went a step further, and invested over $38 million – plus $10 million from the MasterCard Foundation – to set up four Regional Leadership Centers (RLCs) in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Senegal. These were training, long distance and in-class, at least 3,500 ‘future leaders’ a year.
It’s no wonder the Brookings Institution was drooling over so much “cost-efficiency” when it comes to investing “in Africa’s future” and for the US to “stay competitive” in Africa. YALI certainly looks prettier than AFRICOM.
A few success stories though don’t seem to rival the steady stream of African footballers making a splash in Europe – and then reinvesting most of their profits back home. The Trump years did see a reduction of YALI’s funding – from $19 million in 2017 to roughly $5 million.
So many leaders to ‘train’
Predictably, the Joe Biden White House YALI-ed all over again with a vengeance. Take this US press attache in Nigeria neatly outlining the current emphasis on “media and information literacy,” badly needed to tackle the “spreading of disinformation” including “in the months leading up to the national presidential election.”
So the US, under YALI, “trained 1,000 young Nigerians to recognize the signs of online and media misinformation and disinformation.” And now the follow-up is “Train the Trainer” workshops, “teaching 40 journalists, content creators, and activists (half of whom will be women) from Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Zamfara, and Katsina how to identify, investigate, and report misinformation.” Facebook, being ordered by the FBI to censor “inconvenient,” potentially election-altering facts, is not part of the curriculum.
YALI is the soft, Instagrammed face of AFRICOM. The US has participated in the overthrow of several African governments over the past two decades, with troops trained under secrecy-obsessed AFRICOM. There has been no serious Pentagon audit on the weaponizing of AFRICOM’s local “partners.” For all we know – as in Syria and Libya – the US military could be arming even more terrorists.
And predictably, it’s all bipartisan. Rabid neo-con and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, in December 2018, at the Heritage Foundation, made it crystal clear: the US in Africa has nothing to do with supporting democracy and sustainable development. It’s all about countering Russia and China.
When it learned that Beijing was considering building a naval base in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, the Biden White House sent power envoys to the capital Malabo to convince the government to cease and desist. To no avail.
In contrast, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was received like a superstar in his recent extensive tour of Africa, where it’s widely perceived that global food prices and the fertilizer drama are a direct consequence of western sanctions on Russia. Uganda leader Yoweri Museveni went straight to the point when he said, “How can we be against somebody who has never harmed us?”
On 13-15 December, the White House plans a major US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington to discuss mostly food security and climate change – alongside the perennial lectures on democracy and human rights. Most leaders won’t be exactly impressed with this new showing of “the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa.” Well, there’s always YALI. So many young leaders to indoctrinate, so little time.
光亮（大型紀錄片《紫禁城》主題歌）Lyrics, Pinyin, English Translation
This is the song that I used in my you-tube tribute to the “Return of the Heroes”.
Gypsy
This is Gypsy, my precious little cat:
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He was only 5 weeks old when some horrible person threw him out of their car on the highway in Southern Arkansas.
My dad saw him, stopped and picked him up and took him home.
His nail beds were ripped out and as you can maybe see in the picture, his face was all cut up.
I slept on the bathroom floor with him that night and he crawled out of the basket we put him in and curled up on my neck.
I put him back in the basket over and over and he would just cry and meow and climb back out again onto my neck.
Finally I let him sleep there.
The next morning we took him to the vet and the vet fudged his age up a couple weeks so I could buy Gypsy an airline ticket.
Two days later I flew with him back to California where I live.
He is now 11 months old and living very happily up in his new home in the Sierra Nevadas.
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BAD COMPANY – Deal With The Preacher
Have you changed the way you think about China after visiting?
Oh for sure. My opinions on China took a 180 degrees turn. The real China that I saw with my own eyes was so different from what the media had been portraying for years.
I visited Beijing, China for the first time in 2011 March. From then on I visited about once every 2 to 3 years. It was just a 2-hour flight from South Korea where I used to live. I really have wonderful memories of my visits and I feel nostalgic about them sometimes.
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Beihai Park, Beijing in 2016 (above)
China just felt so vibrant and full of energy. I did see a lot of similarities with Korea, except it was more interesting and authentic. It is a whole world in itself with its long history and rich unique culture.
What really struck me was the sheer scale of their infrastructure: glitzy skyscrapers, airports, malls. I especially like their malls because they got great restaurants and shops. Any and every kind of brand, product, food, and entertainment that you can ever want is made available to you. The food options are overwhelming sometimes. Every time I go to a restaurant in China, I felt like I was attending a banquet, at least the proper ones where I went for a night out.
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Guomao business district, Beijing (above)
But the hospitality, warmth, and genuineness of the Chinese people are what really impressed me the most. There was no pretense or fakeness in my interactions with them, as is often the case in the west. Their emotions are more authentic and human.
Before I came to China, I had the impression that China was an oppressive communist regime similar to North Korea. Boy was I wrong. I never felt so free in my life. You are generally free to do what you want as long as you don’t stir controversy by touching on a few sensitive topics. I never had to worry about the police, Karens, racists, and criminals as I had to while I was in the states. For example, I can jaywalk freely without getting stopped by the police.
Overall, I have developed a very positive yet balanced opinion of China after many visits (and many years of living there). I am well aware that it has its issues like any other country. But on balance, a wonderful country where the positives outweigh the negatives.
Arrived In Germany. Will The U.S. Be Close Behind?
Things are starting to get really crazy in Germany. The Germans are dealing with the worst inflation crisis that they have seen since the days of the Weimar Republic, and meanwhile economic activity is starting to shut down all over the nation. Of course other European countries are facing similar problems, but Germany was supposed to be the economic rock that the rest of Europe could always depend upon. Unfortunately, the decision by the Russians to cut off the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is hitting Germany extremely hard. If we could just get both sides to agree to end the war in Ukraine, that would greatly help matters, but that simply isn’t going to happen. In fact, it appears that Vladimir Putin has decided to greatly escalate matters, and the western powers will inevitably greatly escalate matters in response. What this means is that the economic turmoil that we are witnessing in Europe isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
This week, we got some inflation numbers out of Germany that are so high that it is difficult to believe that they are actually real…
German producer prices rose in August at the fastest rate since records began in 1949, data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed today, pointing to a further increase in consumer prices.Producer prices of industrial products rose by 45.8 percent compared to the same month of last year. Compared to July 2022, prices rose 7.9 percent.Soaring energy prices on the back of Russia’s war against the Ukraine remain the main driver behind rising prices.
If we continue to see monthly increases of around 8 percent, next year at this time we could be talking about a yearly jump of close to 100 percent.
Wow.
How bad do things have to get before we actually start using the term “hyperinflation”?
Energy prices are the biggest reason why inflation has gotten completely out of control, and the German government has been forced to nationalize a huge natural gas company in order to keep it from going under…
The German government is closing in on an agreement to nationalize gas giant Uniper SE, as Berlin moves to stave off a collapse of the country’s energy sector.A provisional agreement between the government, Uniper and its main shareholder, Finland’s Fortum Oyj, has been reached, according to people familiar with the situation. While contracts haven’t been signed, Berlin is aiming for an announcement later this week.
According to the CEO of Uniper, the company has been losing about 100 million euros a day during this crisis.
Needless to say, the German government cannot save everyone, and so a lot of firms won’t survive this crisis at all.
For example, a manufacturer that has been making toilet paper for Germans for nearly 100 years is now headed into insolvency…
Hakle has been a German household name since 1928, but the Duesseldorf-based toilet paper manufacturer said all it took was this summer’s gas price shock to drive it into insolvency.
“Economic activity may pull back somewhat this quarter and shrink markedly in the autumn and winter months,” the central bank said, adding that it didn’t forecast this adverse scenario in a June report.Bundesbank continued: “There are mounting signs of a recession in the German economy in the sense of a clear, broad-based and prolonged decline in economic output.” It said a contraction is expected in the third quarter with deeper declines in economic activity in the fourth.“High inflation and uncertainty with regard to energy supply and its costs affect not only the gas and electricity-intensive industry and its export business and investments, but also private consumption and the service providers dependent on it,” the central bank said.
You can refer to such a scenario as a “recession” or a “depression” if it makes you feel better.
I call it an economic collapse.
The U.S. economy will soon be experiencing immense turmoil as well.
According to billionaire Barry Sternlicht, the Fed’s exceedingly foolish policies are pushing us toward a “serious recession”…
In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday, Barry Sternlicht, the chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital, said he believes Americans are facing a major recession if the Federal Reserve proceeds with several more rate hikes as a means of curbing inflation, which is reportedly the central bank’s plan.“The economy is braking hard,” Sternlicht told the financial news outlet, according to the Daily Caller. “If the Fed keeps this up, they are going to have a serious recession and people will lose their jobs.”
He is right on target, but instead of saying “people will lose their jobs” he should have noted that lots of people are already being laid off. This is something that I have been documenting on my website for quite some time, and this week we learned that Gap has decided to lay off hundreds of corporate workers…
Gap Inc. is cutting about 500 corporate jobs as the clothing retailer struggles with declining sales.The job cuts, which include open positions, will be primarily at Gap’s offices in San Francisco, New York and Asia and hit various departments, a representative for the retailer confirmed Tuesday. The moves were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Ouch.
In this environment, very few workers are truly safe.
The struggling TV and film industry continues to run face first into bad news. This week it was reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was firing 100 TV ad salespeople at the same time that Paramount has considered ending offering Showtime as a standalone service, Bloomberg reported.Netflix followed suit with their own layoffs, the report says. The company has reportedly let go hundreds of employees and abandoned some of its office space. At the same time, the firm’s stock price has collapsed and fallen more than 60% from its all time highs.
Back in 2008 and 2009, millions of Americans lost their jobs.
Will we see something similar in the months ahead?
And just like during “the Great Recession”, the housing market is really starting to slow down. In fact, we just learned that homebuilder confidence has now fallen for nine months in a row…
The confidence of builders of single-family houses fell again in September, the ninth month in a row of declines, “as the combination of elevated interest rates, persistent building material supply chain disruptions, and high home prices continue to take a toll on affordability,” the NAHB report said.With today’s index value of 46, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is now below where it had been in May 2006, on the way down into the Housing Bust.
This time around, it won’t just be a few areas of the planet that suffer.
At this moment we are literally witnessing economic implosions all over the planet, and the stage is being set for an immensely painful 2023.
The one thing that could really turn things around would be peace.
Unfortunately, global leaders on both sides seem absolutely determined to drag us into the type of cataclysmic global conflict that I have been warning about for years.
So there isn’t going to be peace, and that means that things are going to get really bad in 2023 and beyond.
But I also believe that you were put at this specific moment in history for a reason.
It is when times are the darkest that the greatest good can be done, and that is something that we will all need to remember during the very dark times in front of us.
Cortez the Killer – J Mascis & the Fog
A poll result says over 60% Taiwanese would arm themselves to actively resist against PRC China take over, is the poll result credible? Will people willing to put in big bet with their money to show belief for such a poll result?
I am from Taiwan.
Polls in Taiwan need to be read with a lot of nuances. Maybe it is the same everywhere, but definitely so in Taiwan.
In Taiwan the answer to a poll does not reflect what a person believes in, but how he would like the answer to sway the outcome of the poll, and in turn his lot in the big picture. So if you don’t read these polls with a big grain of salt, you would be lost.
So what does an average Taiwanese want? I can safely tell you that, at the present point in time, what he wants is for his current state of life to remain exactly as is, for as long as possible. This is the instinctive reaction of anyone in the face of great uncertainties, not only for the Taiwanese. And Taiwan is currently in exactly such an extreme uncertainty.
Does he really mean to pick up a gun to fight with his life and livelihood on the line? Hell No! But by thus answering to the pollster, he believes it has the biggest chance of attracting international attention and sympathy, and somehow that will translate into some assurance of maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Just the status quo, no more! This is the best anyone wants in a situation of extreme uncertainty. No one wants to rock the boat at this juncture, even if that means they have to continue living under the oppressive, corrupt, criminal, autocratic and kleptocratic DPP police regime. It beats uncertainty at this juncture!
If you extrapolate this poll answer, with a strong motive to influence the optics of it, into an interpretation that the average Taiwanese loves his freedom and democracy under the DPP police state rule (LOL), and hates re-unification with China so much that he wants to put his life on the line, then you are totally led astray. I know for sure a predominant number of those who answered yes to this poll will be nowhere to be found if it ever, really comes to that, since this warlike picture and its ramifications were not what crossed their minds when they answered. They were only thinking how this poll result will look in New York Times.
Note I am not even saying these people don’t love freedom under the DPP police regime (LOL) or don’t hate unification. I am rather saying this poll is reflecting something that has nothing to do with these concepts you are interpreting. It is measuring something not asked in the questionnaire, namely, the degree of anxiety about the extreme uncertainty in Taiwan right now. If you interpret it wrong, it will not be pretty.
Also, up to this point I am assuming the poll was conducted by a neutral and honest organization. That’s a tall order. The polls in Taiwan are notoriously rigged and manipulated that most often they are worthless. For example in the 2019 DPP primary for presidential candidate, the polls were manipulated for months in multiple iterations, until the table was turned and the then underdog (incumbent and current president) Tsai finally came out on top. The polls stopped right at that point.
What has President Xi Jinping done that has made him so liked and respected in China?
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Steve Wozniaks interview was the clincher here
In 2001 – Apple delivered a Patented Device to a Chinese Factory. For almost 300 days they forgot about it. Then they lazily called back and took collection of their device with China delivering some of the components.
In 2019 – Apple delivered a simple blueprint of a Patented Device for China to develop a manufacturing estimate. 4 Apple Engineers flew down with the blueprint locked in a case. They met in Singapore in a closed room with the Chinese. They delivered 1/4 the Blueprint and said we will share with you only on a piece by piece basis.
That is what China is under Xi Jingping
A Nation that can take an inch and convert it into a Mile
A Nation which is burgeoning so fast that the slighest relaxation can destroy an entire industry
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When China developed its famous ‘China Sets’ mocked at regularly by people – the West relaxed and happily allowed their Chipsets to be sold to China saying “Learn from us!!!”
And China did. Under Xi Jingping – China is today at such a position that YOU NEED ACTS OF CONGRESS TO DESPERATELY TRY TO STIFLE CHINAS PROGRESS
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Under Xi Jingping – China no longer needs foreign components for Aerospace and less than 5% Components for Defence.
And this happened over just 9 years (2013–2022)
Tell me one Nation that can boast of this?
Israel for all its industry still needs nearly 40% US Designs and Technology
But lets forget these things. After they are economical and while Xi will take credit, China may have evolved anyway as long as you didnt have a Bungling Doofus of a leader.
Lets look at how life for the Common man has changed under Xi
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Apartment Buildings
Rampant Speculation meant that a Flat that cost a mere 191000 Yuan to be built sold for almost 1.5–2 Million Yuan.
Under Xi?
326000 Yuan!!!
Under Xis Social Control and Common Prosperity Platform – over 60,000 Apartments are being built by the Government Works Department on an average in a major city.
These apartments are sold for fixed prices ranging from 326K-411K against almost 2 Million for a similar sized apartment built by a private builder.
Exactly like how LKY priced his famous HDBs until his son became a US Lackey and decided to destroy daddys golden model with his less golden model.
And now its likely to be many more apartments.
Every Family in China will own a home by 2035 he promises.
Likewise [1] More Healthcare benefits, [2] Keeping Food Prices easily affordable, [3] Keeping Gas prices in Check, [4] Ensuring Superb Public Transport at affordable prices
He has been there for the Middle Class
He has been a Bane for the Wealthy Billionaires
Just like Deng Xiaoping
Unlike Hu Jiantao who was a Boon to Wealthy Billionaires over the Middle Class
A Great Leader – Xi Jingping !!! Makes me envy China every day.
Growing up in a dysfunctional family, the one thing I wish I had was security, a sense of safety.
Don’t get me wrong, my family was pretty well to do. I was very well provided with everything a child needs: food, clothing, allowance, money for school trips, books, supplies for hobbies, after-school classes. I was the first one in my friend group to have a PC, a walkman (remember those things?), a cellphone, and a car.
I grew up with my grandma because both of my parents were workaholics who simply didn’t want to take care of their kid. They divorced and each remarried. They both have hugely successful careers in their own fields. And I wasn’t in their lives.
My grandma did a great job raising me right. But she never let me forget I was living off her charity. She never let me forget the place I stayed was not my home, it was her home; I just stayed there and she could kick me out any time she wanted.
“Then you can go to your dad or your mom, see if they’ll take you in. They won’t, so you better behave!”
I visited my parents often. And when I went to their house, dealing with their new spouses, they would make it very clear to me that, this was not my home. This was the home of my dad and his new wife, and my mom and her new husband. I was a guest and I’d leave in a few hours. They had their own life, I had mine.
So I knew my grandma was right. If she kicked me out, neither of my parents would take me in. Mostly, my dad would talk to my grandma and beg her to take me back again.
It wasn’t a thing I thought about in everyday life. But there was always this sense of insecurity, lingering just underneath the surface. That I don’t belong here, and eventually, I’ll go somewhere else.
I think, all things considered, I grew up alright. I didn’t do drugs, I didn’t get involved with gangs. I graduated from college and became a tax-paying contributing member of the society.
But one thing I noticed about myself as an adult is that I have no sense of a “root.” Every place I stayed, I’d have this lingering feeling that it was all temporary. Eventually, I’d leave and go somewhere else. For the past two decades as an adult, I moved from one place to another, oftentimes with nothing but a few boxes and a couple of suitcases. Other than obvious monetary value, I didn’t have anything that I held dear. I’d look at my room and think that if everything was burned to ashes, I wouldn’t feel anything except “gosh I have to buy everything again…”
I have difficulty forming attachments with people. I have not made a single long-term friend since I graduated high school. The two people from high school I’m still in contact with… we only talk to each other about once a year. I don’t feel lonely. I don’t understand people’s need to “hang out” with friends. I mean, I get it. I can even enjoy it with people I like. But I wouldn’t miss it if I didn’t get to hang out with them.
Things have been getting better for me lately because of these two:
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I’m very attached to my cats. I feel that the place I live right now is my home because they live here with me.
Apophenia
How the Internet Transforms the Individual into a Conspiracy of One
The easier it becomes to produce information, the harder that information becomes to consume — and the harder we have to work to separate the spurious from the significant.
Humans are meaning-making machines, seeking order in the chaos. Our pattern recognition capabilities are a key determinant in defining intelligence. But we now live in a dystopian digital landscape purpose-built to undermine these capabilities, training us to mistake planned patterns for convenient and even meaningful coincidences.
You know the drill: email a colleague about the shit weather and start getting banner ads for cheap flights to Corsica (I hear it’s nice?); google “ordination license” or “city hall hours” and watch your inbox fill with rebates for rings and cribs. For those of us who grew up during the rise of surveillance capitalism, our online experience has been defined by the effort of separating coincidence from cause-and-effect. Today we understand, if not accept, that hyper-consumption of information online comes at the cost of being hyper-consumed, bled by tech companies for the that data our readings secrete: You click, and the Big Five scrape a sample of your “preferences”—to exploit.
The real cost to this recursive construction of reality from the ephemera of our preferences is that it tailors a separate world for each individual.
And when you do live at the center of a private world, reverse-engineered from your own search history, you begin to notice patterns that others can’t. Believe me when I say I know what it feels like to be told that you’re the only one who sees the connection—a pattern of injustice, say—and that you’re downright crazy for noticing anything at all. To manufacture meaning from mere coincidence is the essence of paranoia, the gateway to world-building your own private conspiracies—or else to an epiphany that allows you to see the world as it actually is.
I want to talk about that epiphany, about taking back control of our atomized, pre-conspiracy world.
The German psychologist Klaus Conrad called this premonitory state apophenia, defined as perceiving patterns that don’t actually exist and referring them back to an unseen authority who must be pulling the strings. It’s a theory he developed as an army medical officer specializing in head traumas under the Third Reich. Today, it’s analogized to political conspiracy thinking.
Consider Case No. 10: a German soldier at a filling station refuses to service a patrol that doesn’t have the proper paperwork. Chalk his behavior up to that infamous Nazi officiousness, but when the patrol returns, papers in hand, the soldier still refuses to obey orders. His pattern recognition has gone into overdrive, and he’s begun to see every detail—a locked door, these patrolmen, papers signed or unsigned—as a test. His paranoid disobedience lands him in the psych ward, where Conrad writes him up as one of 107 cases that revolutionizes the Germano-sphere’s understanding of human psychology.
Conrad became famous for recognizing this oppressive emergence of patterns as a pre-psychotic state that he compared to stage-fright. It culminates in a false epiphany: an apophany is not a flash of insight into the true nature of reality but an aha experience (literally: Aha-Erlebnis) that constitutes the birth of delusion. The entire universe has “turned back” and “reorganized itself” to revolve around the individual, performing and corroborating his suspicions.
Shakespeare said that all the world’s a stage. But in this case it’s staged specifically for you, the audience who’s also the star.
For someone obsessed with the pathology of conspiracy, Conrad was pretty susceptible to conspiratorial thinking himself. Born in Germany and raised in Vienna, his loyalties to the Nazi Party preceded his military duty. He joined in 1940 when his earlier research in hereditary epilepsy looked like promising fodder for the Nazi’s monstrous sterilization laws. Maybe it was careerist opportunism, maybe it was ideological. Or maybe it takes one delusion-obsessed man to recognize another: Hitler was one of greatest conspiracy theorists of all time.
Only Conrad’s scientific findings aren’t themselves delusional. In fact he ended up being one of the only Nazi scientists to be producing science without rockets, torture, or pentagrams. The traumatized soldiers he treated on the battlefield turned out to be good data, and the hundreds of cases he worked on allowed him to work out the laws of ”Gestalt” (i.e. ‘pattern’) psychology, a school of thought that argues the human mind grasps in an instant not just individual elements of an information set, but entire configurations or patterns. For example, when we see alternating bars of light, they appear to be moving, even though they’re not — our brains are just recalling patterns related to the perception of motion and applying them to stationary objects.
In an apophenic state, everything’s a pattern. And while Conrad’s stage-model uses the analogy of starring in your own one-man show, the narcissism of living online today provides plenty more. On Instagram you can filter your face, filter out unwanted followers, construct an image that you and your peers want to believe in—you’re living a private illusion, in public, that the world reifies with likes. For-profit data collection has literally “reorganized” the world to revolve around you. As you wish it—or they will it.
The true epiphany, I want to argue, is that you’re the one pulling the strings. Enlightenment is to realize you have more agency than your push-notifications would have you believe.
Here’s a better way to think: in an apophenic, information-glutted world where you can basically find evidence for any theory you want, where people inhabit separate online realities, we should focus on falsifiability (which can be tested for) over supportability (which cannot).
This what what the Austrian Jewish sociologist Karl Popper, refugee of the Holocaust in New Zealand and later England, laid out in his theory of science. Popper believed conspiracy theories are exactly what feeds a totalitarian state like Hitler’s Germany, playing on and playing up the public’s paranoia of The Other. And authoritarians get away with it precisely because their pseudoscientific claims, masquerading as sound research, are designed to be difficult to prove “false” in the heat of the moment, when data sets — not to mention a sense of the historical consequences — are necessarily incomplete.
By Popper’s lights—and, I’d argue, by the intuition of basic human decency—we shouldn’t consider these provisional theories “science” at all.
Popper’s a favorite in conspiracy theory studies, but I want to bring in an adjacent idea of his that I think is underemphasized in this context, which is that most human actions have unintended consequences. Instant advertising was supposed to yield informed consumers; the National Security Agency was supposed to protect “us” by exploiting “them.” These plans went horribly wrong. But once you wake up to the idea that the world has been patterned, intentionally or unintentionally, in ways you don’t agree with, you can begin to change it.
It is in good faith that whistleblowers around the world bring these contradictions to public attention; they facilitate public epiphany, reminding us that we’re not quarantined in our private, paranoid “stages.” Thinking in public, together, allows us to stage a different performance entirely. We become more like Popper’s social theorists:
The conspiracy theorist will believe that institutions can be understood completely as the result of conscious design; and as collectives, he usually ascribes to them a kind of group-personality, treating them as conspiring agents, just as if they were individual men. As opposed to this view, the social theorist should recognize that the persistence of institutions and collectives creates a problem to be solved in terms of an analysis of individual social actions and their unintended (and often unwanted) social consequences, as well as their intended ones.
Maybe I’m the deluded one for finding reason for optimism in this idea—and not only because it saves me from letting the former Nazi Conrad have the last word. Popper’s thinking offers an escape hatch from our private worlds and back into the public sphere. The social theorist is a public thinker, oriented toward improving society; the conspiracy theorist is a victim of institutions that lie beyond their control.
Are the Chinese people finally wise to the fact that the CCP are just a bunch of self-serving liars?
You know what, if the members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are “a bunch of self-serving liars,” we have to say, generally, the general public here in China are thankful to the “group of liars.” For what?
It is this “group of liars” who helped defeat the Japanese invasion during the 1930s to 1940s.
It is this “group of liars” who defeated the Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek)-led Kuomingtang Party during the Civil War and later founded the new China — the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
It is this “group of liars” who established the new China as an independent nation and won itself the respect from the international community, including from the third world countries, and also the Western nations back in mid and late 20th century.
It is this “group of liars” who researched and developed China’s own atomic bombs, hydrogen bomb and satellite back in the difficult times in 1960s and 1970s, which guaranteed our independence, sovereignty and national dignity.
It is this “group of liars” who built the solid foundation for China’s industry in the early years after the founding of new China, from heavy to light, and also from primary, to secondary and tertiary industry segments, so that China has become the only country in the world today to obtain all the industrial categories listed in the United Nations industrial classification — covering all the 41 major industrial categories, 191 medium categories, and 525 subcategories.
It is this “group of liars” who have helped lift more than 800 million Chinese people from extreme poverty in the past four decades or so after its reform and opening up in late 1970s.
x
(A glimpse of rural life in China.)
It is this “group of liars” who have helped build the national mecical care system covering more than 95% percent of its 1.4 billion people.
It is this “group of liars” who helped reduce the illiteracy rate from around 80 percent in 1949 to some 2.67 percent in 2022, as of July 28, and actually, today, China boasts the largest group of STEM students in the world, which in turn, boost China’s sci-tech industry, the vital foundation for a nation’s overall capability and competence nowadays.
It is this “group of liars” who have helped China’s decades of economic growth which has brought considerable improvements for its people’s livehoods and life quality, even in the turbulent 2022, into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing the worldwide economic downturn, coupled with the Ukraine war which has led to energy crisis and unprecedented inflation in many countries, China is still among the countries with very low COVID fatality, positive GDP growth, comparatively much lower inflation and stable prices, last but not least, generally self-sufficient in food.
It is this “group of liars” who have helped China lead in many hi-tech sectors, such as 5G, AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (internet of things), quantum computing, aerospace, deep-sea research, and hypersonic, etc., so even the US is spying our universities and other institutes to steal our new technologies, or banning our companies in case they surpass it too rapidly.
……Still more can be added to the list.
All said, I do not mean China is a perfect country, or CPC is a perfect party, or CPC members are perfect individuals.
The leaders of CPC have made mistakes, big or small, some with far-reaching impact on the country and its people, some might be not so widely or deeply impacting us.
And actually, ordinary Chinese people can criticize the policies mapped out or carried out by the party-led governments, can also propose our advice and suggestions to the government, to the party, but definitely in different ways and through different channels compared to those Western democracies.
A basic logic here, if all Chinese are banned from making any sound, as smeared by many Western politicians and media, how is it possible for the CPC-led Chinese government to make all these adjustments along the times in the past seven decades?!
Or, there is another possibility: all the CPC members and the leaders, are just too perfect and superb, that they don’t need to listen to the people but can always make right choice and map out correct policies so China can achieve all it has achieved?
Neither is possible, right?
So, back to your question, the Chinese people have always been wise to know the CPC is the real party, and CPC members are the real group of doers, to serve the Chinese people, though there are still big margins for them to improve themselves.
Remember one thing, there is only one ruling party, CPC, here in China, so they don’t need to fight for their votes, and they can focus their job on delivering concrete results; they don’t need to invest too many efforts and too much money into the election campaign, so the efforts and money can instead be used in building our infrastructure, investing in medical care, education, R&D, etc.; there would be no partisan conflicts and even rivalries, so, they can carry out the policies coherently, five-year after five-year, after another five-year, the 14th five-year plan right now, but only with adjustments according to the international and domestic situations, not like, say, in the US, Trump overthrew nearly everything of Obama, while Biden kicked out many of Trump’s.
We need to admit, we are living in a colorful and diversified world, and we need to allow all the colors and diversities to co-exist, and hence people of different countries, races, cultures, etc., can find their own comfort and satisfaction in their life.
Our history will never end, unless one day human beings as a whole disappear from the Earth. “Democracy” is not the only form of society, and “democracy” should not be defined just by the West, and the West can not and should not force its own version of “democracy” onto others, and the West should not label those who reject their version of “democracy” as demons.
As Chinese, we are quite OK with CPC, and to some extent, thankful to CPC. It’s not up to whether you like it or not, it’s up to ourselves — whether we are enjoying a better life, in an all-around way.
Ukraine War Planned YEARS AGO Documents Reveal
They Know That They Are Killing The Economy, But They Are Doing It Anyway…
They know exactly what they are doing. The “experts” that run the Federal Reserve know that if they dramatically hike interest rates it will cause countless American workers to lose their jobs and it will absolutely crush the housing market. And even though those two things are already starting to happen, they just announced another massive rate hike. If there was a school for central bankers, one of the very first things that they would teach you is that you should never, ever raise rates as an economy is plunging into a recession. Every Fed official knows what has happened in the past when rates have been hiked at the beginning of an economic slowdown, but they are doing it anyway. To call this “economic malpractice” would be a major understatement, and the American people should be deeply alarmed about what they are doing to us.
After everything that has already happened, it is hard to believe that Fed officials would continue to be so reckless. On Wednesday, it was announced that rates would be raised by another 75 basis points…
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points for the third straight month as it struggles to bring scorching-hot inflation under control, a move that threatens to slow U.S. economic growth and exacerbate financial pain for millions of households and businesses.The three-quarter percentage point hikes in June, July and September — the most aggressive series of increases since 1994 — underscore just how serious Fed officials are about tackling the inflation crisis after a string of alarming economic reports. Policymakers voted unanimously to approve the latest super-sized hike.
It was a unanimous vote.
There wasn’t even one dissenting voice.
Have they gone completely mad?
Wall Street certainly did not like this decision. The Dow plunged hundreds of points immediately after it was announced…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 522.45 points, or 1.7%, to close at 30,183.78. The S&P 500 shed 1.71% to 3,789.93, and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.79% to 11,220.19.The S&P ended Wednesday’s session down more than 10% in the past month and 21% off its 52-week high. Even before the rate decision, stocks were pricing in an aggressive tightening campaign by the Fed that could tip the economy into a recession.
For ages, the Fed coddled the financial markets, but now it is almost as if they don’t even care anymore.
Personally, I am far more concerned about what will happen to ordinary hard working Americans in the months ahead. Even Jerome Powell is admitting that “an increase in unemployment” is likely because of what the Fed is doing…
“I think there’s a very high likelihood we will have a period of … much lower growth and it could give rise to an increase in unemployment,” he said.Will that mean a recession?“No one knows whether that process will lead to a recession or how significant a recession it will be,” Powell said. “I don’t know the odds.”
Actually, we are in a recession right now.
And Powell and his minions just made things a whole lot worse.
Even Democrats understand this. After the rate hike was announced, Senator Elizabeth Warren went on Twitter and warned that “millions of Americans” could soon lose their jobs…
.@federalreserve’s Chair Powell just announced another extreme interest rate hike while forecasting higher unemployment. I’ve been warning that Chair Powell’s Fed would throw millions of Americans out of work — and I fear he’s already on the path to doing so.
This is one of the rare occasions when Elizabeth Warren is right on target.
As I have been documenting on my website for weeks, large numbers of Americans have already been getting laid off.
As growth stalls and competition intensifies, Facebook parent Meta has begun quietly cutting staff by reorganizing departments, while giving ‘reorganized’ employees a narrow window to apply for other roles within the company, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing current and former managers familiar with the matter.By shuffling people around, the company achieves staffing cuts “while forestalling the mass issuance of pink slips.”
So why would the Fed choose to raise rates when layoffs are already beginning to spike?
Higher rates are also having a devastating impact on the housing market.
Home sales declined for the seventh month in a row in August as higher mortgage rates and stubbornly high prices pushed prospective buyers out of the market.Sales of existing homes — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — were down 19.9% from a year ago and down 0.4% from July, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
Someone should start putting “Jerome Powell did this” stickers on for sale signs all over the nation.
Because this didn’t have to happen.
Now the housing market is already in a “deep recession”, and the Fed just keeps making things even worse…
The prolonged downturn in confidence shows the housing market has been “in a tailspin for the whole of this year,” according to Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson.“Activity tracks mortgage applications with a lag, and the early September numbers are grim, even before the full hit from the rebound in mortgage rates in recent weeks works through,” Shepherdson said in a note to clients on Monday.“In short, the housing market is in a deep recession, which is already hammering homebuilders and will soon depress housing-related retail sales,” he added.
The Fed seems determined to kill the economy.
But why?
Why would they do this?
One analyst that was just quoted by Fox Business is warning that “times are going to get tougher from here”…
“With the new rate projections, the Fed is engineering a hard landing — a soft landing is almost out of the question,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist of Principal Global Investors. “Powell’s admission that there will be below-trend growth for a period should be translated as central bank speak for ‘recession.’ Times are going to get tougher from here.”
Yes, times are definitely going to get tougher from here.
But instead of working to prevent a historic crisis, the Federal Reserve is actually encouraging one.
The American people deserve some answers, because there is something about all of this that really stinks.
What happens if we ignore the One-China policy?
If Taiwan is persuaded to move to separate from China, China will annex Taiwan by force.
If Western countries like USA, UK, Australia, and Japan intervene, it will trigger World War 3.
If accident or human error leads to nuclear escalation, it will devastate the world. Many cities** and many millions of people on both sides will be wiped out. The world economy will collapse and many nations will become impoverished.
** Say goodbye to NYC, LA, Chicago, Houston, Toronto, London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo.
Why doesn’t my homemade cheeseburger taste like a diner cheese burger, even though I have all the ingredients and follow recipes very closely? What am I missing?
Okay, let’s break it down.
Your burger is a product of its ingredients, the equipment you’re using and your cooking ability. Somewhere in there lies the difference between yours and a diner burger.
80/20 ground chuck is the standard burger meat in most restaurants. It’s an ideal choice because it has the right amount of fat and flavor. So for meat, start and stop right there.
I recommend buying a bakery bun, not something you’ll find next to the Wonder Bread in a pack of eight. Save the cheap buns for the kid’s birthday party, you want real bread between your fingers, not some gummy Sunbeam bun.
From here, things get personal, when it comes to burgers. I can’t tell you what to put on your burger, that’s your call. I believe you are trying to imitate a specific burger, so follow its lead.
Myself, I go for shredded iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, a slice of tomato (seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper), some dill pickle slices, American or cheddar, 1000 Island and/or Heinz ketchup. That’s my basic diner burger, as far as ingredients are concerned.
You get to pick whatever toppings make your heart sing, just get good stuff, that’s my only demand. Cooking is a garbage in, garbage out equation. Pinching pennies on ingredients just cheapens the flavor of your food.
Diners usually run a flat top grill, rather than a char-broiler. Reason being, flat tops are more versatile. Breakfast, lunch and dinner can be cooked on one piece of equipment, which makes things easier for the cook. You won’t have a flat top grill at home, so I recommend getting either a cast iron skillet or a cast iron griddle.
Lodge is the best bang for the buck when it comes to cast iron. You can find their products at places like Target, they’re affordable and battle tested, battle proven. Of course, you can cook a burger in any heavy bottomed pan, but nothing beats cast iron, especially when you are trying to compete with a commercial flat top grill.
Cast iron holds heat like no other, so when you drop cold burger patties onto it, the pan’s temperature doesn’t drop appreciably and the meat begins to sear immediately. Cast iron is my choice when it comes to cooking steaks and burger, it should be yours too.
Okay, we should be set with ingredients and equipment, let’s talk about technique. Technique is the proper procedure for cooking food. Sure, there are lots of ways you can make a burger, but if you want the best possible results, follow my technique.
First, you need a burger ring. You can buy ring molds at kitchen supply places, or go to Home Depot and have them cut a piece PVC pipe that has an interior diameter that is burger sized.
You want the interior diameter of the ring to be slightly larger than your bun, because the burger will shrink as it cooks. No one like a bread bite (a bite of bun with no burger in between), so find a ring that is about 1/4″ larger than your bun of choice.
Take your ground beef, divide it evenly and roll each portion into balls. You can make your burgers any size you like but 7oz is what I go for. I believe a 7oz burger gives you the best ratio of meat to bun to topping for a diner style burger.
Depending on the size of your bun, anything from 6oz to 8oz will be fine. If you’ve got a scale, awesome, otherwise, eyeball it or ask your butcher to portion the meat for you.
Now place a piece of waxed paper on a cutting board and press the meat into the ring evenly. Pull off the ring and you’ve got a burger that’s ready to go to the pan. Get the pan hot, like wisps of smoke coming off the surface hot, place the burger paper side up in the palm of your hand, peel off the paper and place that perfectly flat side onto the pan. You want to put the perfectly flat side down so you get a perfect sear.
The meat should sizzle loudly when it hits the pan.
Now sprinkle 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp pepper all over the top side of the burger and don’t touch it.
I repeat, do not touch the burger.
This initial sear is the most important step in cooking that patty. Right now you are developing the majority of the texture and flavor of your burger. If you muck around with it, you’re going to upset that process, which is called Maillard Browning, and your burger won’t reach its full flavor potential.
Just let it sizzle for about 4 to 5 minutes, until droplets of moisture begin to appear on the top. When you see a few drops of moisture appear on the top, get a spatula under it and give it a flip.
Make sure you scrape deeply under the burger, so it doesn’t stick. It shouldn’t stick, but if it does, that delicious brown crust will stay stuck to the pan and you’ll lose all of its color and flavor.
You should be rewarded with something like this:
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That’s the diner burger patty of your dreams.
Once you’ve flipped, let the burger cook for a few more minutes, to your desired doneness, season it again with salt and pepper, drop on a slice of cheese and let the cheese relax. From there, it’s to the bun, top as you please and enjoy your tasty burger.
Cheers!
Why do some homeless people prefer cash over food when offered?
I’ve answered this question before, but am happy to do it again.
If you give me food, I will take it graciously, tell you I am going to eat it back at my hidden shelter, thank you and then walk away. When out of sight, that food goes straight in the bin.
Why?
Because I don’t know if you’ve tampered with it. Even if the container is sealed, I still can’t be sure you’ve not done anything to it. People think it’s funny to buy a happy meal, spit in the burger, re-wrap it and give it to a homeless person. Even better to piss in the lemonade and hand that over too. Yep, reaaaaly funny…
Many “charitable” people came up to me with cups of tea and were incredibly annoyed when I firmly told them to move away from me immediately. In this particular case it wasn’t because of the tampering thing, it’s because I’m extremely allergic to tea.
However, if you offer to buy me food, I would politely ask to come with you to “see what’s on the menu”. I have zero problem accepting food of any kind if I’m there when you purchase it. Most people wouldn’t do this though, so I just accepted whatever food I was given and later threw it away, or spent any money they gave me on food myself.
You might know the food you’re giving me is perfectly fine, I don’t.
I prefer money as my health always comes before your charity.
EDIT
I’m getting a bit sick and tired of people telling me “beggars can’t be choosers”. YES WE CAN. Whenever it has anything to do with our health, we have every right to refuse donations from you. We have allergies, we may have dietary requirements or restrictions. We may be able to eat something, but our bodies might not be able to process it.
I’ve had my food tampered with and I got sick as a result. Being sick when you’re homeless can be deadly. What might give you a stomach ache could easily kill us. My health will always come first, and if that offends your delicate sensibilities, I couldn’t care less.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – you might know the food you’re giving me is safe to eat, I don’t. I cannot afford to presume everyone is nice, because some of you just like hurting people like me.
How long did it take for your cats to adopt you?
Immediately. I stopped in a Petco one day to buy bird seeds and noticed there was an adoption event for cats going on. I went over to the container in the front, held my hand out to the kitty in it. She sniffed my fingers, and we immediately adopted each other. That was in 2009. Since then, she has never been friendly with anyone, but me. One of the best things I ever did. Her name is Cheyenne. She was 18 months old at the time.
When I got her home and opened the carrier I was given to transport her in, she walked out very nonchalantly – not scared at all – and promptly started snooping here, there, and everywhere – like she owned the place. Apparently, it and I were deemed worthy of taking care of her properly. 🙂
Unfortunately, she passed away on Easter Sunday, and my heart is broken.
Our incompetent officials are going to get us all toasted, while they sip champagne in protective luxury bunkers.
Yes. For certain.
Lets read what is actually going on. Shall we.
American officials believe they have, so far, succeeded at “boiling the frog” — increasing their military, intelligence and economic assistance to Ukraine step by step, without provoking Moscow into large-scale retaliation with any major single move.
Hum. Have they?
Well, keep the serfs dumbed down, poor, and controlled and then fill their minds with junk, while the wealthy continue to set up a throwback ruler / ruled society…
...income inequality in US & UK is so wide that while the richest are very well off, the poorest have a worse standard of living than the poorest in countries like Slovenia. Essentially, US & UK are poor societies with some very rich people.
A thread:
Don’t you know…
Pilger:
"In my lifetime, the United States has overthrown or attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, mostly democracies. It has interfered in democratic elections in 30 countries. It has dropped bombs on the people of 30 countries, most of them poor and defenceless. It has attempted to murder the leaders of 50 countries. It has fought to suppress liberation movements in 20 countries."
“best defined as follows: kiss my arse or I’ll kick your head in. It is as simple and as crude as that. What is interesting about it is that it’s so incredibly successful. It possesses the structures of disinformation, use of rhetoric, distortion of language, which are very persuasive, but are actually a pack of lies. It is very successful propaganda. They have the money, they have the technology, they have all the means to get away with it, and they do."
“The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.”
.................
When I was a child, the word gay simply meant that person was happy. Like gay, the word democracy has been twisted beyond all extent of its original meaning.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Sep 18 2022 12:19 utc | 3
Ah. It’s called reality.
And big things are happening. Don’t ya know.
De-dollarization is a process, not an event.
The biggest thing about the SCO meetings, to me, is that it is 100% clear that Russia is seeking to make NOPEC real - and furthermore to shift its exports from Europe to Asia. Not just China, but India and Pakistan.
This is a huge deal. It will make Europe energy poor even as it turbocharges these low GDP per capita economies.
And in the process, tie together Central Asia into a network of pipelines and natural gas (and oil) suppliers and consumers.
This is a serious "Manifest Destiny" type of movement, especially when added
Posted by: c1ue | Sep 18 2022 14:02 utc | 20
The SEO meeting was a gamechanger.
Is patience a virtue? Well, cooler heads are prevailing it appears. It’s a good thing that I’m not in government.
...as far as I am concerned, if it weren't for the incredible patience and prudence of V. Putin and S. Lavrov in particular, the collective Russian leadership would have already attacked all the command centers in Brussels and London with supersonic and hyper-sonic conventional weapons... or worse!... as co-belligerents in this war.
These guys in D.C. are living proof in the extreme vanity, narrow-mindedness and viciousness of Empire, alienated and unconcerned with the real world consequences of their escalatory and inhumane actions. They are living in their bubble fantasy world; they haven't slow boiled the frog, it just hasn't happened yet that the Russian leadership has really taken off the gloves - but when they do......!
Posted by: michaelj72 | Sep 18 2022 14:29 utc | 24
Don’t you know.
Other folk are seemingly getting with “the program”. Such as this quote…
China clearly believes Covid is a targeted bio weapon. They don't do unspeakable things to their citizens, They just practice their own form of disease control for when they have good reason to believe it is a dangerous pathogen.
About China
April 2022 China’s Global Security Initiative (hereafter referred to as “the Initiative”) for the first time. The Initiative champions commitments in six areas-
1) stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security;
2) stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries;
3) stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation;
4) stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the pursuit of one’s own security at the cost of others’ security;
5) stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction;
6) stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, and work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity.
Is persistent and continuous China bashing good for the US?
You know I used to believe all the China bashing. I used to think exactly what the American government and the mainstream media were saying about China.
The problem was that it got so frequent and in-your-face that eventually you either have to start questioning what’s being said, or you believe the stories so much that you essentially become stupid about it. Once that happens, you start really hating, and you can never see them as people; just something you have to get rid of because they are evil.
Essentially, you either eventually question or you eventually become the verry face of evil.
Just look at how many people want to punish, blockade, kill, and invade China. Why are these things even brought up?
Because they were fed so much China-bashing that all they know is to bash China. You can only bash what isn’t good. What isn’t good can be killed and destroyed.
That’s why such things exist as “China is curing cancer faster than anyone else in the world… but at what cost?”
“At what cost” is used to discredit even legitimately good things. We can’t even give them that when we even have a saying that curing cancer trumps all modern miracles. “He better be able to cure cancer!”
I remember a while ago there was a big hooha when the Huawei saga was underway and Americans went full-nuts over China potentially being able to gather American health data. The article’s thrust for why that was bad was because “China might be able to find cures to American health issues.”
I shit you not.
It’s terrible if China gets our health data because they might actually be able to find a cure for you. They wrote it in print that this was BAD!
We’re moving very close to war with China now; instigated by us, the American and western allies. People here have called me paranoid but I live in this region, and even Singapore’s top leaders can see where the winds are blowing.
He warned that rising tensions could easily result in near misses or accidents happening around the Taiwan Strait or in the South China Sea. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The thing is that Deputy Prime Minister Wong isn’t wrong. Neither China nor the USA actually want a war, but the constant barrage of bashing leads to dehumanisation and hate, and poor calculus that may eventually lead to war regardless of intentions.
It’s not paranoia. It is basic human psychology.
Once you are able to dehumanize the Chinese, you can do anything against them… thinking you are perfectly within the right for doing so.
From the time this question was asked to now, we are much closer to war than ever.
Best Buddies
This is my 17 year old daughter. She has struggled since she was young with depression, anxiety, PTSD and a personality/mood disorder, and this is Whisper, her best friend, soulmate and therapy cat.
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My daughter frequently tells us that Whisper absolutely without a doubt saved her life. But we all know she would give her life in a heartbeat to save her Whisper.
US life expectancy drops three years in only 18 months and we know why
You really have to be in a total state of denial about mRNA vax to not accept reality.
The last time a population had a 3-year drop in life expectancy in only 20 months (when they rolled out the jab) was maybe France in WWI, Russia in WWII or Europe during the Plague. It boggles the mind. China’s life expectancy is now higher than the US’s, while the US’s plunges from 77.1 to 76 years!
I respect everyone’s reasons for getting the mRNA gene treatment, including my family members.
It has been mentioned that those that have taken the mRNA need to now take daily supplements. I pray all of you are taking lots of Vitamins C & D, getting losts of air, using antioxidants and cell maintainers like turmeric+piperine, glutathion, zinc, magnesium, selenium and an anti-coagulant like a daily baby aspirin to prevent micro-clots.
GR is now keeping track of athletes’ deaths, read HERE
This has nothing to do with China. And everything to do with the United States.
Concerning COVID
Speaking as a statistician, one needs to look at all the important variables.
Most importantly, China has universal healthcare.
China has a high standard of care in its nursing homes.
What percentage of elderly are concentrated in China’s nursing homes compared to the U.S.? A very small percentage.
Did China storehouse COVID cases in vulnerable nursing homes?No, it did not.
China also used highly effective early treatment with traditional Chinese medicine, according to PubMed.Both Western and Chinese medicines were used which greatly improved survival odds.
China did not lock down the entire country, but apparently only its largest affected cities, which was about 25% of its total population, thus not totally disrupting their economy.(This goes completely against the Western narrative.)
How did China count deaths: died from Covid vs. died with Covid. This is certainly different from the West; more exacting, and much more accurate.
Did China bribe hospitals to report covid cases and death the way the West did?No, it did not.
What test did China use to confirm Covid cases? It was a hard rule with double verification.
What is the comparison of effectiveness and safety is the Chinese vaccine compared to the West’s vaccine? Yes, the “dead host” vaccine compared to the Western experimental mRNA injection.
The first to get the vaccine in China were actual workers, not the elderly.
How do excess deaths in China compare to the West? Small compared to HUGE.
Remember what Mark Twain said about statistics?
DWP wrote:
I think the most fundamental question is what was the origin of the virus.
Most likely is that it came from a lab, as Jeffrey Sachs and others have concluded.
Then that opens up a can of worms that are most important: why, when, where and who?
The “who” is most likely the U.S. as Sachs says.
Why?—was it a “blunder” as Sachs says or something more sinister.
Experts Warn US Is Falling Behind China in Key Technologies
Where were these “experts” for the last two decades?
At a gathering of current and former U.S. officials and private-sector executives Friday in Washington, concern was rampant that the United States has fallen behind China in the development of several key technologies, and that it faces an uncertain future in which other countries could challenge its historic dominance in the development of cutting-edge communications and computing technology.
Would you risk your life to save your cat from a house fire?
Of course without a doubt whatsoever.
I just couldn’t live with myself if i didn’t try to save her precious life, if that ever happened.
I would be so devastated if such a tragedy occurred and my cat was unfortunate enough to be stuck in a burning house.
I would run in so fast and definitely worth losing my own life because she is like my real family member.
How precious she is …
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Has China destroyed the U.S. economy?
???
China hasn’t done anything to the US economy. The US is destroying its own economy…
amassing a crushing $30 trillion national debt
allowing its infrastructure to crumble and decay for decades
letting its manufacturing go overseas
spending trillions of dollars on useless wars
failing to educate enough STEM graduates
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Aircraft titanium alloy
The rapid development of additive manufacturing technology, laser forming technology for large and complex integral components of aircraft titanium alloy, in China can manufacture high-performance, difficult-to-machine complex and integral key components of large aircraft. The world’s only breakthrough in laser rapid prototyping technology for aircraft titanium alloy large-scale main load-bearing structural parts is available in China.
China has mastered the core technology of the world’s leading 32-way high-end fault-tolerant computer used in information network core areas such as finance and telecommunications. The world class top technology and production share of high-end network routers are developed and made in China.
Chinese trust in the CCP
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Have foreigners changed the way they think about China after visiting?
I completely changed my view of Chinese women.
Like many foreigners, I somehow believed that women in “the West” were more liberated than women in Asia. After moving to China, I experienced a kind of culture shock upon seeing large numbers of Chinese women in scientific fields and positions of leadership. At my host university, the new Communist Party secretary (an important post) was a woman in her thirties, i.e. quite young. I met more female engineers, physicists, and chemists in three years in China than I have during thirty years in the West. I even saw female workers doing road repair and hauling rocks in Yunnan, the kind of hard physical labor that is almost exclusively done by men in the West.
This is in spite of the unapologetic sexism that still exists among many Chinese people — like the guy from Tsinghua University who took me out on a date, only to tell me that he expected to make all the important decisions if we got married. Not to mention the fact that all of the country’s top leaders are men. Yet I quickly learned that Chinese women are not the shy, retiring flowers of western stereotypes, but strong and often outspoken.
For the first time in my life, I experienced what it was like to take it for granted that I would receive intellectual respect. I was occasionally disrespected for my ethnic origins or my perceived status, but no-one ever questioned my intelligence and ability to think rationally on the basis of my gender.
These experiences not only transformed my understanding of China, but also the way I viewed my culture of origin. I realized that progress is not linear. We are not more “advanced” than other nations. I also realized just how much unconscious sexism there is in western universities and workplaces, how normal it is for westerners to talk down to women as somehow less cogent than men. I came away from the experience with more confidence in my intellect and a greater respect for Chinese culture, humbled to realize that my assumptions were wrong.
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(Me with a Chinese soldier, 2006)
The satellite orbit change technology of China
The satellite orbit change technology of China is at the world’s leading level to extend the life of satellites. Satellites in space descend 100 meters every other day, and if they don’t change orbits, they will crash into the atmosphere and burn up. Satellites also have to dodge junk in space.
A Foreigners impression of China
Well, before I came here in China I was as brainwashed as any other foreigner having heard from what is being told by people who never had first hand experience of visiting China and the media hoax around the world.
However, once I stepped in here, my perception about China assuming they would have been living in subjugation, poverty and in many problems really changed.
What I noticed is Chinese are well disciplined, modest and hard working people who happen to be very nice to foreigners and seemed to serve me with great hospitality.
I realized China has developed so fast for the last 30 years, economy has increased, industrialisation is expanding and whatever we happen to see most likely to be coming from China.
They strive and do their best in almost every walk of life and the result today is in their favor letting Chinese people to have good life, better future with name and fame.
Today, there are more number of billionaires in China than USA, is all because of their dedication and punctuality towards their goal oriented life since they have learned a lot from their past.
The most important thing people around the world hold a presumed notion about, is that “whatever is made in China we instantly put forward judgemental comments as if China itself is the name of manufacturing low quality products”.
But reality is totally different, I have happened to see many kinds of quality products from electronics to garments and sewing needles to piece of a paper.
China is industrially widespread in all kinds of manufacturing products again depending on what you can afford.
Quality comes with price, pay the price, get the quality is straight forward thing that someone holding something in brain can understand for sure.
How come we expect good quality for something that is of $100 and you wish to get it for $10?
I think we should be thankful to China that based on our financial affordability range, they are making products to help us enjoy almost same benefits, which I believe no other country has balls to do with such a massive production for almost all kinds of things we use in our daily life.
Why the United States Has Set Itself Up for Failure in the Semiconductor Race for Military Supremacy
Doomsday prophesising of how China’s days are numbered and that it is in the midst of an economic collapse could not be any further from reality.
The reasons for the spread of this sort of gossip is to keep up the belief (and thus investment) in the idea that the United States is secure in its alpha dog global status and that the world is better off siding with said alpha in its escalating and reckless, not to mention unnecessary, economic and geopolitical war against Russia and China. It is to intimidate any country foolish enough to throw too many of its eggs into the Russia-China basket with the thought that they will be left hanging in the wind once China collapses from the international stranglehold on its economy, which is touted as inevitable.
It is to convince the American people, that the further sacrifices they are about to make in their livelihood and standard of living will be worth it, perhaps to even go so far as to proclaim that this will be the necessary “new normal” all for the cause of world security, of course.
The reality of the situation which should be plain for everyone to see at this point, is that the United States’ sanctions and banning of various types of trade with Russia and China, meant to cripple their economies, is doing more damage to the world markets than anything else, including that of Europe and the United States.
These sanctions have brought the world into a very predictable energy and food crisis to which European and American citizens are told they must suffer through in the name of western security. A crisis which is gutting essential infrastructure required to sustain developed countries. A crisis from which there is no quick return to a first world living standard for its citizenry.
It was thought that such manoeuvres would cripple the Russian economy and cause internal unrest demanding for the removal of President Putin. Instead we see the Russian rouble stronger than it has ever been in large part due to the competent leadership of Sergei Glazyev (see his speech on Sanctions and Sovereignty) who is in the process of organising a “new economic order…[which] will involve a creation of a new digital payment currency founded through an international agreement based on principles of transparency, fairness, goodwill, and efficiency” as he explained in an interview with Pepe Escobar for The Cradle.
In other words, the world’s new monetary system, underpinned by a digital currency, will be backed by a basket of new foreign currencies and natural resources. And it will liberate the Global South from both western debt and IMF-induced austerity. What this means is that with this new system, the economic sovereignty of a nation will be protected; that a country rich in resources will finally be in a position to use the profits of these resources to strengthen their currencies and build infrastructure essential for any first world nation rather than be forcefully reduced to an indebted raw resource producer and nothing more as enforced by the policies of the IMF over the past several decades.
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Russia’s economy did not tank, and the alliance between Russia and China has only grown stronger. And despite attempts to isolate their markets, trade opportunities remain ample and in high demand while the United States and Europe who refuse to participate in these markets are pushing themselves further into a corner.
Instead of reassessing its position, the U.S., which clearly did not expect such an outcome, has instead decided to escalate this economic war with China, which will create further hardship for the world markets, in the middle of a very serious semiconductor backlog.
Semiconductors/chips are an essential component for any smart device, including automobiles and smart phones. They are essential in the production of AI, quantum computing, and microelectronics.
Semiconductors are also essential for advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic missiles.
Interestingly, the United States has shot itself in its own kneecap in the middle of a race for military supremacy since the crisis of the semiconductor/chips backlog (triggered by the United States), which has heavily hit the consumer market especially the automobile industry, has also hit the United States’ ability to churn out advanced weapons systems in mass quantity.
In December 2020, SMIC along with other Chinese firms were put on a U.S. blacklist for exports called the Entity List. This was an attempt to prevent SMIC, China’s largest and most sophisticated semiconductor producer, from importing the necessary material and equipment to manufacture 14nm and 20nm semiconductors/chips, which also ended up cutting off the world markets from China, the main supplier of these chips.
TSMC (Taiwan) and Samsung (South Korea) are the present titans in the cutting-edge semiconductor industry (that is 7nm and 5nm chips), however, China’s SMIC was the largest supplier of 20nm+ chips which are essential for the consumer market. When China was taken out of this market it created a bottleneck since TSMC and Samsung, who do not specialise in bulk manufacturing of lower grade chips, were already way above capacity. This created a massive global bottleneck in semiconductor/chip production. [East Asia is manufacturing about 75% of the chips in the world.]
Ironically, the United States would have had an easier time amping up production in their advanced weapons systems if they had left China as the main global supplier of 20nm chips.
Over the past month or so the U.S. State Department has been busy setting up weapon sales with countries such as Japan ($293 million deal, principally with Raytheon Technologies for 150 air-to-air missiles that can be loaded on F-35 fighters), Singapore ($630 million deal for laser-guided bombs and other munitions), Australia ($235 million deal with Lockheed Martin for 80 air-to-surface missiles), South Korea ($130 million for 31 lightweight torpedoes to use with MH-60R helicopters for anti-submarine warfare) and Germany (with a potential sale of over 35 F-35 fighters).
These are orders that presently are unable to be fulfilled by these companies in the short-term due to the semiconductor backlog of 1-2 years or more.
The United States is attempting to increase its onshore manufacturing capabilities so that it can control much more of the supply chain within its domestic market, rather than the present reality, which is that there are several countries dispersed throughout the world who are the specialised leaders of one of the approximately 50 steps, requiring high standard specialisation, in manufacturing cutting edge semiconductors.
The specialising process for all the components required for leading chip manufacturing is so costly (in the hundreds of billions) and precise that it is estimated that it would take at least 4-6 years or more to master each area of specialisation.
“If you want a resilient [self-sufficient] chip supply chain, you not only need chip plants, you also need a whole string of suppliers from critical chemicals and precision components all coming along,” said an executive at Japan’s Daikin, reported by NIKKEI Asia. “Building a semiconductor plant takes several years, but building chemical plants will take even longer given the extensive environmental assessments and regulations for handling chemicals.” [Refer here for a short video on how semiconductors are made.]
Presently, no country comes even close to this capability. Later on in this paper I will explain why if any country is to reach resilience, that is self-sufficiency in this market, it will be China not the United States.
The American Medical System
On Saturday night in June of 2019, I was just about to fall asleep in my bed when I woke up unable to breathe. My husband was away on a business trip so I called my sister to come help me. My 15 year old called EMS as I started having seizures.
Fortunately for me, a wise paramedic insisted that I was taken to UMASS Worcester as the hospital has a neurology department with surgeons. I had an MRI on Sunday morning thanks to the dedicated nursing staff that insisted I get in the queue ahead of scheduled patients. A large mass was found in my brain. It needed to be removed as the seizures were a warning sign that my brain was struggling. The difficulty breathing was believed to be a result of prior seizures that caused me to aspirate spit into my lungs were it progressed into pneumonia. I had to be healed from the pneumonia before the craniotomy could happen. I was admitted to the ICU.
I was 51 at the time working at as VP at a very large bank. I was the bread winner in the family with a good salary, a decent bonus, and full benefits including private health insurance. I did not skimp on the insurance plan I selected. I had no signs of disease beforehand and had completed a dual Masters in Finance and an MBA at Northeastern the summer before.
The neurosurgeon that I agreed to do my craniotomy with, had a difficult conversation with my husband because the after effects of the seizures and pneumonia left me weak. During the procedure, the surgeon could have guidance from equipment that would prevent damage to critical parts of my brain. The surgeon also knew most American insurance doesn’t cover the cost. My husband agreed to pay the extra $17,000 to make sure I could walk, talk, and be my old self eventually.
The pneumonia was healed with antibiotics and I was scheduled for the craniotomy on the Wednesday after the discovery of the mass. The surgery took all day. Apparently I sat up the first night post-surgery although I don’t remember it. By the next day I was able to get into a chair with help, sit, talk, and thankfully recognize my children. The surgery in my opinion is a true miracle of modern medicine. The surgeon got 92% of the mass out.
The private insurance company denied coverage for the $17,000 charge for technology that kept my brain function nearly intact. The denial was because it was determined not medically necessary to preserve brain function in a 51 year old working-mother. I guess alive is the standard of care.
The mass was analyzed and was determined to be brain cancer, a grade 2 astrocytoma. I needed radiation to destroy the remaining 8% of the cancer tumor. I was told at Mass General that traditional photon radiation would cause necrosis to brain tissue and that an alternative called proton would preserve more healthy brain tissue. I wanted to preserve my brain so I could be a mother, wife, and maybe even go back to work.
Insurance once again interfered in quality of life decisions. Proton therapy was denied as not proven to be superior to photon radiation. I was also shocked at the cost of chemo drugs in USA even with insurance. Private insurance is a scam and is inhumane as it doesn’t consider quality of life.
Medicare covers proton therapy yet private insurance is able to deny coverage in the USA. Why are prostates in America worth coverage in elderly men and healthy brain tissue in a middle-aged woman is not covered? A functioning elderly penis is more important in my culture that a functioning middle-aged parent. How can some Americans get access to better care via Medicare while working middle-aged people get ripped off by private insurance if they become sick?
I did get the proton radiation yet I had to leave the United States to get it and depend on my husband’s country. I am lucky to have married a good man that opened up his country’s healthcare when I needed it most and was willing to pay the $17,000 insurance did not cover.
I am more scared about American healthcare than bitter. I am grateful for the hard-working nurses and doctors that saved my life yet I fear they are just chess pieces in the game. What will happen to the future generations of Americans if healthcare isn’t made more equitable? Why aren’t the insurance companies required to cover the same standard of care as Medicare?
Beef Burritos
Enjoy these hearty beef burritos for dinner – ready in 30 minutes. Perfect if you love Mexican cuisine.
Beef Burritos
Ingredients
2 cups shredded cooked beef
1 cup from one can (16 oz) Old El Paso™ Traditional Refried Beans
8 flour tortillas (10 inch)
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
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Is China too far behind to catch up?
There has been a lot of persistence, perhaps in the belief that if one repeats something out loud enough times it will come true, that China is too far behind to be a contender in the semiconductor race. Since the U.S. ban on China purchasing certain essential materials for chip manufacturing in December 2020, in just the past year, China has experienced a 33% semiconductor growth output.
According to Bloomberg, China’s chip industry is the fastest growing anywhere else in the world, including the world leaders TSMC and Samsung, owning 19 out of the world’s 20 fastest growing chip industry firms over the past four quarters.
SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd., the biggest contract chip makers, have kept their Shanghai-based plants operating at almost full capacity even as the worst Covid-19 outbreak since 2020 paralyzed factories and logistics across China, while other leading semiconductor industries, such as TSMC and Samsung, have been operating at 60% capacity or lower (due to the backlog in essential materials). SMIC recently reported a 67% surge in quarterly sales, outpacing far larger rivals GlobalFoundries Inc. and TSMC.
Despite the United States having already pushed the Netherlands to ban ASML Holding NV from selling China EUV technology (considered essential for manufacturing cutting edge semiconductors), at the time of writing this, it is now attempting to put further pressure on the Netherlands to ban even DUV systems (which predate EUV and are generations behind cutting edge lithography technology) to China in the U.S.’ desperate attempt to remove or at least contain China as a competitor. The U.S. has also attempted to put pressure on Japan’s Nikon (the only other DUV manufacturer at 5% market share) as well.
However, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this past June he is against reconsidering trade relations with China and called for the EU to develop its own policies toward Beijing. China is the Netherlands’ third-biggest trade partner after Germany and Belgium. ASML opposes a ban on sales of DUV lithography equipment to Chinese customers because it is already a mature technology.
I suspect this sort of response will become the new normal for the United States if they continue along this line of thinking that everyone, and not just the U.S., should also be ready to shoot themselves in the kneecap or worse, in service of a self-sabotaing idea of U.S. hegemony.
You have to admit, it is a hard story to sell when China is increasingly one of the top trading partners of the majority of countries, while the U.S. seems to only ask that countries be willing to do frequent bloodlettings and be the first to poke their heads up from the trenches in reckless military posturing, all in service to the Anglo-American empire, who has consistently shown that they have not a care in the world for the future state of such countries.
And it gets much worse for American aspirations for global military supremacy…
China’s SMIC has had the capability of manufacturing 7nm chips since 2021, thought to be equivalent to Taiwan’s TSMC’s N7 (7nm chip) in yield optimization. [TSMC is capable of 5nm chip production and is expected to achieve 3nm chip production by the end of this year]. This puts China in the lead of the United States’ Intel, which has yet to achieve manufacturing capability of 7nm chips and hopes to reach capability by the end of 2022 or early 2023.
[Note: Presently, TSMC is banned from selling semiconductors to Huawei that have been made with U.S. technology. Huawei up until that point was the biggest client of TSMC.]
TSMC had already filed lawsuits in U.S. courts against SMIC for products made with TSMC trade secrets in 2003 and 2006, the latter which ended with a settlement. This was a rather controversial manoeuvre on the part of TSMC since the United States is not neutral ground and stands to benefit greatly by crippling what is now China’s no. 1 semiconductor producer. However, TSMC did decide to make a settlement with SMIC rather than attempting to go for the full jugular. Interestingly one of the terms of settlement was the transfer over of about 10% of SMIC’s stocks to TSMC.
There are no signs yet that TSMC is seeking another lawsuit against SMIC, however, even if they were successful, it were likely that China would be prevented from trading with unfriendly countries in 7nm chips but would continue its production and application within China and its trade to friendly countries. The U.S. is increasingly in no position to enforce anything further than this.
With the advent of SMIC’s N+1 and N+2 (7nm chips), China is now 4-6 years behind the leaders (TSMC, Samsung) in cutting edge semiconductor capability. HiSilicon and Huawei together will no doubt accomplish much with N+2 and are capable of massive output.
This is very big news.
Funny how western press seems to be rather silent on this massive breakthrough for China which has propelled it ever close to the front of the race. Instead, we seem to be told, with ever more vigor, that China’s economy is in the midst of a collapse…
China has accomplished what almost everyone thought to be actually impossible. Namely, it was thought an extremely difficult if not impossible task to produce 7nm chips with high yield optimization without EUV technology (to which China has been banned from using after the U.S. pressured the government of the Netherlands). China has also been banned from other thought-to-be key components and yet, have either found a way to bypass the requirement of such things or have successfully specialised in their production on their own.
In January 2022, legendary TSMC R&D Director Dr. Burn Lin mentioned in an interview that SMIC can even fabricate N5 equivalent chips with only multi-patterning no EUV necessary. (TSMC had also become quite good at making cutting edge semiconductors before the EUV technology had come out).
Thus, those simply accusing China of just “copying” TSMC N7 have no comprehension that to actually successfully manufacture TSMC N7 yield optimization level chips is akin to successfully building the Star Trek Enterprise and all its features with 60% of the parts and using technology thought to be about 20 years behind the requirement to build such a thing. You can understand why almost everyone thought this was an impossibility for China.
Instead of accusing China of merely copying, her critics should in fact acknowledge this impressive achievement for what it is. China is increasingly finding itself in the lead of the U.S., despite being the only country banned from full participation in this market.
What is the least intelligent thing you’ve ever seen a tourist do?
I worked for a major rental car company that hurts to mention. Guy comes up, very very busy airport, late flights due to heavy storms, has no reservation, demands a luxury car. I ONLY had one in inventory, but we never rented it except to very rude customers.
That ONE Luxury car left in inventory had been rented when it was brand spanking new, and even a year later it had less than 500 miles on it. The very first person to rent it had driven 25 miles to a scenic spot, then killed himself on a hot summer day. Other than the smell of death, the car was pristine. It was cleaned, re-cleaned, even left with boxes of green apples, so only if it was left in the sun was the odor noticeable.
I offered new rude customer a mid sized sedan for the cheapest rate for the smallest cars. He refused because “don’t you know who I am”.
My manager comes over and takes over. Rude guy yells at my manager for a solid 15 minutes.
My manager finally says “I do have a new red Lincoln Town Car with only 500 miles on it that I’ll let you rent for the same rate as a subcompact car, but I warn you, the Town Car is haunted.
The guy smirks in satisfaction that he’d managed to bully his way into a luxury car fir the cheapest rate and says “ I don’t believe in ghosts.”
This was a cool summer night after thunderstorms, so everyone knew that car wouldn’t smell until the sun hits it the next day.
As he signed the contract you could see all 25 counter rental agents grinning ear to ear. We never rented that car until someone was so mean and nasty they deserved it. Think of Steve Martin’s character in “Trains, Planes, and Automobiles” at the car rental company.
We all knew that the next day rude guy would bring the smelly car back. We knew that managers would give gim a complimentary car rental. All managers knew that anyone with that car had been an exceptional jerk, and that only the most deserving asshats were ever rented that car.
We also knew that said jerk would have spend half a day going back to a congested International Airport, fighting traffic in a God awful smelly car. Said jerk would spend at least an hour yelling and screaming in front of other people and their kids. We all knew he’d get a free car for a few days, which didn’t matter.
Be nice to your flight attendants, be nice to your rental car representative, be nice to your hotel desk clerk. They ALL have ways to make your trip miserable without violating laws or company policies.
How the U.S. was the first to use the “Copy EXACTLY! Technology Transfer Method”
Before I go on to discuss where is the U.S. positioned in the semiconductor race, I thought it necessary to review a very important piece of history that everyone, but especially Americans, should know about in relation to their criticism of China.
In the 1980s Japan was the kingpin in cutting edge semiconductors production. This was especially the case relating to a specific type of memory chip DRAM.
Japan’s product was not only superior to that of what the United States was producing but it was also much cheaper, due to Japan’s investment in automation tools and processes. This resulted in much lower defect rates and higher yields.
It was also because Americans were dependent on NMOS for their DRAM technologies, whereas the Japanese had decided to go the more difficult and risky route with CMOS, that is, more expensive and harder to pull off. Rapid advances in lithography technology made the cost of CMOS far lower and became the industry standard.
American chipmakers were now the owners of outdated, expensive technology. And Japan became the kingpin of the semiconductor world.
In 1985 there was a recession in the computer market, with the microcomputer market seeing an 8% decline. This decline had massive reverberations down the supply chain. Prices collapsed by 60%.
Intel, DRAM pioneer, experienced the biggest crash in orders in over ten years, resulting in their exiting of the DRAM industry entirely. Leading U.S. semiconductor industries saw 14-17% decline in revenues. By 1986, the American DRAM industry had dropped from fourteen producers in 1970 to just three.
Complaints from certain quarters in the United States began criticizing Japan for “predatory” and “unfair” trade practices despite the recession in 1985 being a demand problem and not a competition problem. These complaints were primarily:
That the Japanese were dumping semiconductors into the U.S. market at below fair market value.
The Japanese were not providing foreign chip makers sufficient access to its domestic market
However, Japan’s semiconductor presence in the U.S. did not harm all American markets, IBM and AT&T greatly benefitted from these lower prices for DRAM.
Discussions began about implementing trade barriers, which would in turn make America an even more expensive place to make things, accelerating the electronic assembly off-shoring trend already underway.
In June 1985, Micron filed an anti-dumping complaint against Japanese exporters of 64K DRAM. Intel, AMD and National Semiconductor soon followed, doing the same for the EPROM market.
The Reagan Administration had filed a complaint of their own over 256K DRAM (64K DRAM was released by Japan in 1982 and 256K DRAM was released by Japan in 1984).
President Reagan, who was supposed to be all about free markets, in the spring of 1986 forced the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement with METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan).
Part of the conditionalities of this agreement were that the American semiconductor share in the Japanese market be increased to a target of 20-30% in five years, that every Japanese firm stop its “dumping” into the American market and the Americans wanted a separate monitoring body to help enforce all of this.
Many Japanese companies felt that their government had caved and had betrayed them. They had hoped for a simple fine. It was thought incredible, and rightly so, that their company trade data now needed to be submitted to a third party in order to be reviewed and judged in accordance to the demands of an American market competitor.
Not only this, but these Japanese companies were being asked to trade with American companies, regardless of whether the American product was the most superior or best priced from its competitors, to meet this U.S. demand for a 20-30% Japanese market share.
No surprise here, the Japanese companies refused to do this and METI had no way of forcing them to do so.
President Reagan responded by imposing a 100% tariff on $300 million worth of Japanese goods in April 1987. Combined with the 1985 Plaza Agreement which revalued the Japanese Yen the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement gave the U.S. memory market the extra boost it needed.
Of course, that boost was akin to pushing Japan’s head underwater for several minutes while a race was underway, however, rather embarrassingly, Japan would still maintain a lead.
The U.S. was in no position to beat the Japanese in its domination of the semiconductor industry. There was no choice but to…copy Japanese technology, in the name of American supremacy that is.
It appears no country has the right to earn its way to the top other than the U.S. in a world we are told benefits the smartest, most innovative and fastest growing industries. Apparently everyone at the end of the day works for a global boss, who reserves the right to determine your company’s fate and the rules are changed accordingly to what suits this global boss’ needs case by case, the world markets be damned.
Intel would be the first to implement vast copying of Japanese semiconductor technology in order to stay in the competition. Craig Barrett CEO (1998-2005) and Chairman (1968-2009) of Intel was the first to implement “Copy EXACTLY! Technology Transfer Method.” I think the title gives you a good enough idea of what that entails.
Again, if we have learned anything from the generous lessons bestowed on us by the great arbiter, the United States, it is to “Do as I Say, Not as I Do.”
Apparently copying is only an infringement on patents when other countries do it. I guess this is sort of similar to the American lesson that biological research facilities only turn into dangerous bio labs threatening world security when in the possession of the Russians, when in the possession of the Americans it is simply called biological research and entomology (the study of insects).
Yields at American fabs (semiconductor fabrication plant, also know as foundry), improved by 60% in 1986 to 84% in 1991. Over the same time the Japanese had gone from 75% in 1986 to 93% in 1991, decreasing the gap by 6% in the span of five years between the two competitors.
In 1984 the U.S. passed the National Cooperative Research Act, which among other things allowed for the revising of laws to permit partnerships between national research institutes and private companies and that these private companies could attain the exclusive rights of the generated research for five years or even longer.
This initiative was to partially mimic what the Japanese had done in terms of collaboration between companies and R&D, however, whatever came out of such partnerships were owned by the Japanese government. In the case of the United States, publicly funded research was to be the property of private companies who could choose to use whatever they learned from such research for their sole benefit or to even bury it if it was thought to be not “profitable” in accordance with their aims, whatever that might be.
In 1987, fourteen American semiconductor companies along with DARPA joined together to found SEMATECH. SEMATECH became the facilitator of relationships within the American semiconductor industry. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
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In case the chilling reality of this has not fully sunk in, what the formation of SEMATECH along with the National Cooperative Research Act meant, was that the U.S. Department of Defense was the sole proprietor of R&D research in practically ALL fields of science and engineering. In other words, the U.S. Department of Defense would be the sole conduit at the core deciding where funding goes, which projects should be prioritised and downgraded, and which projects should be killed in their cradle never to be talked about again with threat on your life.
For those who take issue in all advancement of technology because they are fearful that we are heading towards such dystopic visions as Terminator, the Matrix, or Bladerunner, this is not because this is what humans “naturally” do, it is not even fair nor accurate to say that this is what all countries will inevitably do. It is namely what a country will do if the military industrial complex is its sole reason for existing on this Earth. And it will feed this monster at the cost of the welfare and livelihood of its actual people, as we see so clearly occurring specifically within the United States.
And yes, this is specifically striking in the United States, especially since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, to which the U.S. has yet to do anything differently in terms of how it runs its finances, despite countless Americans losing their homes and more while the big banks have been repeatedly bailed out with taxpayer money.
Today, the U.S. continues to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on its military industrial complex and leaves the ever-growing poverty, suicide and drug abuse unaddressed while it loudly blares its woke priorities as to how to speak in such a way that no person could possibly be emotionally offended and in the process render anything you have to say entirely irrelevant.
People should wake up and realise that they are not mad because of this or that label, it is because your future was stolen from you, and it was done by the hand of your very own government.
Your oppression in situated in your lack of opportunity, in your lack of real choice for a better future. In today’s western world you are free to choose whatever avatar you like but you are not free to make any changes to the status quo that is governed by the military industrial complex, which keeps the American people in ever-increasing poverty and destroys entire nations. What sort of freedom is that?
This is the reason why no decent scientist can hope to accomplish great benefits for their society with any research they conduct in the United States. It is all about business at the end of the day, and there is no bigger business than the military business in the United States, except perhaps “biological research” which is drawing a close second, and technically speaking figures into the military business…
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Note that in the case of China in the above graph, this is an estimate.
In the case of China what we see is the very opposite to what is occurring in the United States. As the World Bank and BBC attest, surprise surprise, China is doing what they say they are doing in addressing poverty levels, you can read about it on the BBC news site. According to the World Bank, which draws a higher poverty line for upper-middle income countries, to reflect the economic conditions, China is now considered an upper-middle-income country according to the World Bank.
Therefore, China is able to not only compete with the American arms race (in self-defence to the clear war escalation), but it is also able to compete in other areas of more useful endeavours as well as raising its own people out of poverty.
China is not subservient to a military industrial complex and using the lazy logic that if it happened to the U.S. it will happen to China, is to not only disregard what is actually going on in China today but it is also to disregard the cultural orientation of its country and its people.
Now back to our story.
Intel, which would exit out of DRAM in 1985 would turn their focus on logic chips, which they are now a world leader in.
In 1991, the Japanese real estate bubble burst. The real estate bubble had inflated due to the Yen’s appreciation, triggered by the 1985 Plaza Accord.
In 1983 Samsung received a technology transfer from Micron (the company that launched the complaint suit against Japan that started this whole thing off) for 64K DRAM.
To the credit of Samsung, they utilised this technology transfer to maximum use and along with LG and Hyundai were able to produce the 4M DRAM, with their product hitting the market just 6 months after the Japanese.
Micron was one of the few American DRAM producers to have survived the 80s and had made adjustments making production very cheap for their lower-end DRAM chips.
While Samsung was beginning to compete for the lead in cutting edge DRAM technology with the Japanese, Micron in a pincer move flooded the Japanese markets with half-a-generation behind DRAM chips at a cost of $4 when Japan was selling them at $6.
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Japan’s semiconductor market was hit from the top by Samsung with their high-end products and at the bottom by Micron with their low-end products, known as the Micron Shock. The Micron Shock set into motion the fall of the Japanese semiconductor manufacturing industry.
128M DRAM prices collapsed by 50% in a single year. Fujitsu exited the DRAM market in 1998. Japanese companies Hitachi and NEC merged their operations together to create Elpida in 1999. They later took over Mitsubishi’s DRAM division in 2002. Elpida was later acquired by none other than….Micron Technology.
Japan’s semiconductor industry is still strong but they are much smaller players in the world market and no longer have a capability of developing cutting edge semiconductors. Companies such as TSMC, Samsung, SMIC, and Intel are much further in the lead. (for more on this story to which I largely drew from refer to Asianometry).
Today, the United States has reopened its arms to Japan in what is promised to be a loving embrace this time around, Japan will open an R&D center for next-generation 2nm chips by year-end under a partnership with the U.S., part of their efforts to establish secure chip supply chains amid tensions around industry leader Taiwan.
Perhaps Japan truly believes it will really be different this time around.
Not just for hot dogs and muffuletta sandwiches, add this giardinera to your burgers, nachos, pizzas, pasta salads and anything else your heart desires! This homemade giardiniera recipe is simply the best and once you’ve tried it you’ll be HOOKED for life!
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How To Make Giardiniera
Giardiniera, pronounced “jar-din-air-ah”, is one condiment you don’t want to be without. And once you’ve tried it you’ll understand why.
Originating in Italy, these pickled vegetables were introduced to Chicago in the late 19th century by Italian immigrants and took their place as arguably the city’s most popular condiment. It’s used on practically everything! You name it, giardiniera is just what you need to bring your hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches, nachos, antipasto platters and pasta salads to life. In Chicago you’ll even commonly find it served on pizzas and, of course, no Italian beef sandwich is complete without it.
Have you been to New Orleans? Giardiniera is the magical ingredient in those mouthwatering muffuletta sandwiches.
In short, giardiniera is the ultimate pickled vegetable relish!
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The popularity of giardiniera has continued to explode in Chicago with more than a million pounds of it being sold annually. Still it remains relatively unknown outside of the Windy City except among those with strong Italian roots.
So if you’ve never heard of or tried it before, now is your chance to make some absolutely delectable homemade giardiniera that will bring new life and flavor to your favorite foods!
I’m also including recipes for canning giardiniera so you can store it long-term to enjoy all year round.
You can chop the veggies however large or small you prefer. In Italy the vegetables are usually left in fairly large pieces and that way it’s also more versatile. Left in larger pieces you have the flexibility of serving the giardiniera with your charctuerie/antipasto platters and when you want to use it for sandwiches, hot dogs, pasta salads, etc, you can simply diced up the finished giardiniera into smaller chunks.
But left large or diced small, you are simply going to LOVE this giardiniera!
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Let’s get started!
Chop up the veggies and place them in a large non-reactive pot or bowl.
If you’re wondering how to get the crinkle-cut carrots, use a mandolin slicer that has that ability.
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Pour 1/4 cup kosher salt over the vegetables.
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Pour enough water over the vegetables to cover them.
Let them soak in the salt water for at least 6 hours or overnight. This step is critical for drawing out excess water from the vegetables which would otherwise dilute the vinegar brine and lead to spoilage.
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To prepare the jars, place the spices into each of the jars.
I like to make some batches hot and some mild. Do that by using or omitting red chili flakes. For a true Chicago-style giardiniera you’ll want to make it hot.
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Thoroughly rinse and drain the vegetables before dividing them up between the jars. Pack the vegetables in as tightly as you can.
Place the garlic each jar.
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Now we’re making a vinegar solution to pickle the vegetables.
To play it safe Cooperative Extension Service sources recommend a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. Some other recipes may have a lighter vinegar brine but if you’re planning on storing your giardiniera for more than 2 weeks, we recommend this ratio to create enough acidity to prevent the risk of unwanted bacteria.
Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil.
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Pour the boiling brine over the vegetables leaving a little more than 1/2 inch headspace from the top.
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Pour the olive oil over the top.
Wipe the rims with a wet paper towel and seal the jars.
If you plan on using the giardiniera within two weeks let the jars sit at room temperature for a day or two and then transfer them to the fridge.
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If you’re canning the giardiniera for long-term storage, seal the jars with the lids and rims and prepare a boiling water bath. Boil the jars for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours before moving them.
Adjustments for high altitudes:
At 1,001 to 6,000 feet (305 to 1,829 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 5 minutes.
Above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 10 minutes.
If processed in the water bath, the giardiniera is best consumed within 6 months but will keep for at least a year.
**NOTE: If you’re canning the jars for long-term storage it is critical to be sure you thoroughly wipe the rims of the jars to ensure no oil residue is on them, otherwise they will not seal properly. Alternatively, you can omit the oil during canning and add it later to your giardiniera when you open the jar.
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Ingredients
1/2head cauliflower, chopped into small florets
10ribs celery, diced
5 carrots, diced
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1cupsliced green pitted olives
4 serrano peppers (or more according to heat preference), sliced
Place the chopped veggies a large non-reactive pot or bowl. Pour 1/4 cup kosher salt over the vegetables and enough water to cover them. Let the vegetables soak in the salt water for at least 6 hours or overnight.
To prepare the jars, place the spices into each of the jars, reserving the garlic and olive oil until after the brine is added. (I like to make some jars hot and some mild by adding/omitting the red chili flakes).
Thoroughly rinse and drain the vegetables before dividing them up between the jars. Pack the vegetables in as tightly as you can. Place a clove of garlic (cut in half) in each jar.
To make the brine: Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Pour the boiling brine over the vegetables leaving a little more than 1/2 inch headspace from the top. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil over the top in each jar. Thoroughly wipe the rims with a wet paper towel, ensuring no oil or other residue is on them, and seal the jars.
If you plan on using the giardiniera within two weeks let the jars sit at room temperature for a day or two and then transfer them to the fridge. The flavor only gets better with time so wait at least 2-3 days before eating it. Will keep refrigerated for 2 weeks.
If you’re canning the giardiniera for long-term storage, seal the jars with the lids and rims and prepare a boiling water bath. Boil the jars for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours before moving them.
If processed in the water bath, the giardiniera is best consumed within 6 months but will keep for at least a year.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: If you’re canning the jars for long-term storage it is critical to be sure you thoroughly wipe the rims of the jars to ensure no oil residue is on them, otherwise they will not seal properly. Alternatively, you can omit the oil during canning and add it later to your giardiniera when you open the jar.
Common Prosperity
The overriding ideological shift coming from Beijing – of Common Prosperity and “houses are for living in, not speculation” – is intact
For the last year, all I have heard from China pundits is that its property market will eventually be saved. They have been non-stop wrong.
China’s property market has not bottomed.
Authorities have been slow to react and did little when they moved.
The overriding ideological shift coming from Beijing – of Common Prosperity and “houses are for living in, not speculation” – is intact.
Even Worse, the underlying driver of the policy shift, deteriorating demographics, has only fallen away faster than expected.
Some months ago I declared that we are past the tipping point in this market adjustment. By that, I meant it was now self-fulfilling. Expectations and psychology are broken. Neither buyers nor developers have any desire to leverage up into an asset class that is being sat on by Beijing forever more, even if it is fed short-term stimulus.
Chua responds…
Reform always come with pain, initial stage of anti corruption also affect the economy, but in the long run, the pain is transitional and worth it. The time will come when:1) whereone in China with a job will not be homeless 2) Low property and rental cost will ensure affordability across the nation3) with such attractive factors of doing business across China, the country will stay super competitive in retaining and attracting manufacturing and business investments both domestically and internationally 4) when cost of living stress is under control, families will have the ability to have more children 5) instead of spending most of the money on rent and mortgage repayment, the average Chinese population will have extra money to spend on everything else, the pillar of economy based on consumption will enhance, wealth will be more equally spread across the country with many mum and dad businesses benefited from 1.4b consumers spreading across the country. 6) the crusader capitalists won't allow such thing to happen in their country as they want to suck in all the money from every individuals. Cheers Chua
China will collapse because they care too much about their people!
They should be like America… Feed The Greed!
American homeless in San Francisco. Most are working, but cannot afford a place to live.
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What did it mean to be ‘exiled to Siberia’ in Tsarists Russia?
Imagine you live in 19th century St. Petersburg. You are of noble birth, and you have a swanky townhouse, maybe even a baroque palace. You have a summer estate, where your serfs toil, within a couple of hours’ carriage ride from the capital. You go to all the best parties. You go to the dramatic theater every Tuesday and Thursday, and to the opera on Fridays. You’re friends with all the best people. Life is good.
But one day, you make an improvident joke in public, which gets written down and circulated, and the Tsar’s secret police has decided to exile you to Siberia. What does that mean?
Well, let’s say you’re dispatched to the classic destination of Beryozovo, where Prince Menshikov (and his daughters) died in exile in 1729.
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Alexander Menshikov in exile
Beryozovo is located at a distance of almost 2500 km (1550 miles) east-northeast of the capital. Your carriage ride, which you will undergo in the company of a rude guard with halitosis and smelly feet, will take weeks.
Every little comfort, every item you intend to take with you will require official permission. The Tsar’s police will actually go through your luggage, item by item, telling you what you can and can’t take with you. You will probably be allowed to pack just a couple of books, predominantly of a religious nature — a Bible, Lives of Saints, a psalter — that’s about it. You will be allowed to bring a few religious articles you need for worship, some clothes and a few personal items. A roll pillow, maybe? Beyond that, an official permission is unlikely to be forthcoming.
You will set out likely in late summer or early fall, when the mosquitoes have subsided, but the roads are still relatively dry (being dry is a luxury in Siberia, as you will soon learn).
One often overlooked aspect of Siberian exile is the psychological torture, which the Tsarist regime perfected into an art form. Your journey will be lonely. A hundred miles or so east of St. Petersburg, you will be entering the poorest, least developed part of Russia. You will spend your journey in a tiny, unheated carriage, in the company of an absolutely odious person, who will make your life a living hell. That person was likely assigned to accompany you to Siberia as a form of punishment for some transgression, and he will transfer all his anger and resentment onto you. He will pick his nose. He will take off his boots and rewrap his feet in the carriage. He will belch. Weeks, and weeks, and weeks, and weeks of this. No, you will not grow fond of this fellow, nor he of you.
Eventually, the road will come to a crude stone stele, leaning and in danger of falling over, where your guard will invite you to get out. This stele marks the border between Russia proper and Siberia. Prisoners heading to Siberia were routinely invited to stop at that spot and to bow towards Russia and pray. In case you’re confused about this, your guard will explain that there is a good chance this is the last time you’ll lay eyes on Russia, and so you should make your good-byes now.
As you head deeper into Siberia via an endless dirt road…
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your carriage will get stuck in the mud with increasing frequency. You will have to get out and walk through unimaginable muck, sometimes hip-high. Sometimes you will have to assist in pushing the carriage. You will get dirty. Within a week, every single item of clothing you possess will be covered in filth. Obviously, there is no laundry en route.
There will be fewer and fewer conveniences along the road. You will stay in awful, dingy, unheated rooms, sleep in broken beds on straw mattresses covered (if you are lucky) with dank and rotten bedding. You will eat hardtack, day-old cabbage soup and mushy buckwheat with grease.
Eventually, you will get to your destination — a town of rough-hewn, half-sunken wooden houses, where the mud in the main thoroughfare comes up slightly below the knee in the summer, and slightly above the knee in the winter. Your dwelling will look something like this:
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(Assuming you got the government’s permission for windows — yes, you had to have permission for those.) Except, the windows in your izba won’t have glass in them — they will be covered with calf’s skin, burlap or rags. Window glass is a high-level luxury in Siberia at this time, and you will almost certainly not be allowed to have it. Your izba will have an open hearth, which will fill the place with smoke — in Russian, this is called “black heating”. To have “white” heating, you would need official permission, and to get skilled artisans to come build you a proper petch with all the necessary guts.
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Russian petch with “black” heating, meaning smoke billows into the room.
Most likely, though, the government won’t authorize you to get a smokeless heating system, at least not right away. They’ll want you to suffer some, and won’t relent until “black heating” has done a number on your lungs. If you didn’t have consumption before, you’ll probably develop it. If you already had consumption (which was not unusual for the swampy St. Petersburg climate), it will get significantly worse. You’ll have blepharitis.
Even if you still have access to your family’s money, and can bribe your way into having conveniences, even luxuries — hell, Decembrists built their own wooden Siberian Paris, complete with a club — some things are just hardwired into the whole Siberian exile experience. Imagine a most remote, dusty town — only without the Internet, radio, television or most books. Food is seasonal, and awful. You will lose teeth, and you will have to consume deer blood or raw liver to avoid scurvy. The population is mostly soldiers, laborers, peasants and criminals, predominantly illiterate. Fully 50% of them, if not more, have syphilis. Nearly 100% of them are alcoholics. The two most sophisticated town denizens are a hard-drinking “doctor”, who is probably just a barber who calls himself doctor, and an equally hard-drinking priest, who is serving out his own punishment. The “doctor” is the only medic for hundreds of miles. Before every surgery or other procedure, he must imbibe at least 4 ounces of vodka; this is the only way he can stop his hands shaking long enough to perform an amputation. The only other medical professional in town is an illiterate medicine woman – slash – midwife who knows local herbs, mushrooms and berries. She can help you if you have a mild case of the runs, but not if it’s anything more serious than that.
You will be under constant surveillance by an alcoholic gendarme, who will rifle through your things every few days. All your letters will be opened, read and copied before you get them. Your guards will write regular reports to St. Petersburg, so you would be well-advised to be on your very best behavior.
There is really nothing to do. You have to devise your own entertainment — write your memoirs (which will, of course, be scrutinized), play with local children, learn gardening, pray.
The climate is insane. It’s brutally cold in the winter, but in the summer, it’s practically the Guatemalan jungle, with sweltering tropical heat, 100% humidity and merciless swarms of mosquitoes and midges that just devoir you alive, burrow into the corners of your eyes, take up residence in your ears. When this radical changeover occurs in the spring, massive flows of water on those great Siberian rivers push up against giant ice plugs further up north, in the Arctic, leading to stupendous flooding every spring. There is water everywhere, including your living room, followed by impassable oceans of mud (everywhere, including your living room). There isn’t a single minute of your existence when you aren’t uncomfortable — not a moment when you aren’t freezing cold, or sweating in the summer heat, or being swarmed by insects, or having itchy eyes and migraines from the smoke in your izba.
Hopefully, your family back in the capital is advocating for you and bribing court officials as needed. Perhaps you will eventually be allowed to move to a bigger town, or slightly closer to Russia. If you are lucky, in a few years you may be permitted to transfer to your baronial estate and remain there under house arrest. If you are super-lucky — like, if there is an actual regime change — you may be allowed back in the capital.
Unless you die first.
Is the U.S. too far behind to catch up?
Intel was scheduled to have its 7nm chips in production by 2021, instead one year later, Intel has yet to develop the capability of 7nm chip production which they hope to achieve by the end of 2022 or early 2023.
However, despite China having figured this all out in 2021, we are still supposed to believe that China is hopelessly behind the U.S. in the semiconductor race. Back in July 2021, Intel is still making big announcements of their comeback, now moved back to the year 2025…
2025 is something that is almost lightyears away in the semiconductor R&D. Who knows what TSMC, Samsung and SMIC will have achieved by then, there may even be a new form of technology to replace the entire present way of doing things. Perhaps the U.S. is used to making these predictions assuming everyone else will remain stationary? Someone should tell them and their investors that this is no longer 1985.
With this set back in mind that things tend not to run on schedule in the semiconductor business, is it a feasible prospect of the United States to increase its onshore manufacturing capabilities so that it can control much more of the supply chain within its domestic market?
The short answer is no. But don’t take it from me, take it from Morris Chang, an elder statesman of the semiconductor industry who founded and formerly chaired TSMC, who put this smack of reality most bluntly in remarks addressed to the U.S. as reported by NIKKEI Asia:
“If you want to re-establish a complete semiconductor supply chain in the U.S., you will not find it as a possible task,” he said at an industry forum last year. “Even after you spend hundreds of billions of dollars, you will still find the supply chain to be incomplete, and you will find that it will be very high cost, much higher cost than what you currently have.”
Despite these words of advice, amidst what I think can be fairly called an economic recession if not depression, the United States has just recently passed the $52 billion CHIPS Act, with $39 billion planned to be spent domestically, to namely benefit, you guessed it, the military industrial complex.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned in a recent interview with CNBC while the CHIPS Act was being considered by Congress:
“If you allow yourself to think about a scenario where the United States no longer had access to the chips currently being made in Taiwan, it’s a scary scenario…It’s a deep and immediate recession. It’s an inability to protect ourselves by making military equipment. We need to make this in America.”
Notice the only concern she names by name? The military industrial complex. At some point Americans need to ask themselves, what is the point of all of this military equipment if the American people’s livelihood is not economically secure, in violation to the promise of freedom from want as one of the four core American freedoms. How is the American government providing the American people security if they do not even have enough food to eat and have no homes to live in but increasingly ghettofied communities living like an ant colony. Or Elon Musk’s ridiculous house box. They are literally selling boxes for homes as if this is some sort of luxury product.
Why is it ok for Americans to increasingly have no access to the most basic of basic needs while hundreds of billions of dollars are poured into Department of Defense Frankenstein projects?
In case you haven’t noticed, the Cold War has been going on for 76 years now. When has the military industrial complex ever been justified and not in fact based on conscious lies? President Eisenhower departed his office actually acknowledging that he left a monster growing in the basement and had no idea how to get rid of it in his farewell address:
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex… The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.”
Honestly, he might as well have gotten into a helicopter and left the country waving like Nixon did while the Americans all stared dumbstruck. But somehow we largely regard that speech as if it were something respectable. Let us call a spade for what it is. And what happened to the next President who was elected to address the matter? His brains were splattered onto the pavement in broad daylight on live television.
Anyway, I digress, back to the matter of American supremacy…
The U.S. is confident that it can once again unleash its jungle roar of supremacy with the help of TSMC. TSMC is scheduled to building fabs (semiconductor fabrication plants) in the U.S. and Japan.
Intel doesn’t expect its new fabs in Ohio to begin production until 2025. Intel is also building two new factories in Arizona expected to go online in 2024. That’s when TSMC and Samsung also plan to open new fabs in Texas and Arizona, respectively. What this means is essentially that they have agreed to share some of their trade secrets with the U.S.
This is likely not being done voluntarily, without some very scary threats.
As NIKKEI Asia reported Taiwan’s government is keenly aware that if TSMC were to move production sites it could weaken the island’s security position, analysts say. For many analysts, those factories and their role in the global economy act as an insurance policy for the island.
“The Taiwanese government will definitely hope TSMC keeps its most cutting-edge factories all in Taiwan,” said Su Tzu-yun, director of the Institute for National Defense Security Research in Taipei. “That could make Taiwan a safer place. No one would want to damage TSMC’s advanced chip production capacities, which are the hearts of many electronic devices…We don’t think the tension and competition between the U.S. and China will end any time soon…As a crucial supplier, TSMC may still face a tough issue later – choosing sides.”
TSMC is thus stuck in a very tight spot right now. What Taipei should also understand is that Taiwan is expendable to the United States, but it is not expendable to China. Rather, Taiwan is actually essential for China’s security. Taiwan needs to realise that words are words but actions are another thing. Independence for Taiwan is not a reality. It is not an economic reality. And it is not a political reality (not to mention cultural reality).
The United States will not stop until Taiwan becomes its own military base (added to the list of South Korea and Japan) and becomes an upholder to U.S. hegemony in the area, which pretty much runs counter to every country’s interest in South-East Asia. Or Taiwan can return to China and receive protection from America’s war mongering. China will do this one way or another, that is, defend their land against a U.S. invasion, but it would be nice if Taiwan had its head together if such a stand-off were to occur.
In case you have not been informed, Taiwan is internationally recognised, including by the United States as part of China. China has enough missiles to defend Taiwan without any issue. For more on China’s military capability refer to ex-Marine Brian Berletic’s New Atlas.
Thus, though Intel has high ambitions to somehow be in the lead in 2025 despite only being thrown scraps from the alley presently, the elephant in the room here is that the U.S. seems to have lost any ability to actually be an innovator in the field. The only thing keeping them in the game right now as a leading cutting edge semiconductor manufacturer is their use of intimidation and threat of force.
The writing is on the wall, as Russia and China gain in economic and military supremacy, South Korea and Taiwan will be free to conduct their business as they choose and not be obligated to constantly give the U.S. favors under uncomfortably tense situations threatening the very sovereignty of these companies let alone countries.
Another rather large factor to the U.S.’ miscalculation in their strive for supremacy is the matter of a little mineral called Fluorite.
Fluoropolymers are a key material for semiconductor production. Fluoropolymers are processed from fluorspar, also known as fluorite, a mineral of which China controls nearly 60% of the global production output, according to data from market research company IndexBox. China has long identified fluorspar as a strategic resource and back in the late 1990s limited exports due to its importance to industries from agriculture, electronics and pharmaceuticals to aviation, space and defense.
In a supply chain review paper published by the White House in 2021, the U.S. flagged the risks of critical materials subject to foreign domination and identified fluorspar as one in a list of “shortfall strategic and critical materials.”
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An independent commission established by Congress recently concluded: “If a potential adversary bests the United States in semiconductors over the long term or suddenly cuts off U.S. access to cutting-edge chips entirely, it could gain the upper hand in every domain of warfare.”
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reports “China’s leaders have set a goal to build a ‘fully modern’ military by 2027 based on ‘informatization,’ ‘intelligentization,’ and ‘mechanization,’ investing heavily in technical areas which support such an approach, such as AI, quantum computing, hypersonics, and microelectronics.”
As the chair and vice chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) put it in 2021, “We do not want to overstate the precariousness of our position, but given that the vast majority of cutting-edge chips are produced at a single plant separated by just 110 miles of water from our principal strategic competitor, we must re-evaluate the meaning of supply chain resilience and security.”
U.S. dependency on Taiwanese production of chips for defense systems extends beyond AI. TSMC makes semiconductors used in F-35 fighters and a wide range of “military-grade” devices used by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
Interestingly, the CSIS report acknowledges that advances in semiconductor technology are primarily driven by the development of devices for commercial use.
Which is what China is exactly focusing on right now. Recall China was the number one world supplier of semiconductors for commercial use with 75% of all semiconductor production coming out of East Asia.
What China has done in fact is, to quote Pascal Coppens, set up an ecosystem in Shenzhen that will allow for top industrial focus on all levels of the semiconductor production line for commercial use, while SMIC, HUAWEI, and HiSilicon focus on the cutting edge semiconductor technology. As Pascal Coppens makes the point, China’s semiconductor ecosystem is in fact a form of decentralization, while the United States is approaching the semiconductor race from an approach of centralization (around the military industrial complex).
TSMC is bottlenecked due to the reasons already discussed above. TSMC is operating at around 60% capacity and to achieve 80% capacity would be considered an incredible achievement. China has the ability to correct the semiconductor shortage that is bankrupting western companies right now, including the automobile industry. And 90% of the chips needed to make the smart world will have to come from China. Recall, TSMC owns 10% of SMIC stocks, if SMIC is able to meet these demands, TSMC stands to benefit greatly, much above what they are capable of producing as output.
And everyone knows, there is no greater romance than a forbidden romance.
Cynthia Chung is the President of the Rising Tide Foundation and a writer at Strategic Culture Foundation.
I have a very odd 4 year old black cat called Button, he was the runt of a litter and I had intended to keep just 1 kitty but in the end only 2 lived so I kept both. He was so tiny for months but he almost caught up.
Anyway that’s not an answer is it.
Odd: he has done several odd things and still does, but 2 of the most clever/amusing things he does are 1) He hates rain, he also has never peed in the house. I was in the kitchen doing something and I saw Button had climbed into the sink, then we heard the trickle and saw the “peeing” stance, I was so shocked and both me and my mate stood mouth agape as he peed and jumped down and back to the sofa. I have had at least 30 cats over my lifetime and I have never witnessed this happen without it being trained (as much as one can train a cat). I so wish I’d had my phone on me but no.
His 2nd display of odd behaviour regards the cat flap.
All my cats use it, its operated by their chips, however when a cat comes IN the flap often doesn’t close properly, maybe an inch open so no biggie to me. Button however sees it as the most heinous crime and promptly walks over to the flap and closes it with one paw, satisfied, he then returns to my side and he does this EVERY timethe flap doesn’t close properly.
Now tell me that aint weird.
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Biden’s AMD and NVIDIA chip export ban just the start as White House set to attack China’s IC capability more aggressively
An indulgence in the unrelenting sanctions of the rest of the world. This article is on China.
The US is now Shutting oneself out of the world biggest chip market, which happens to be China. Who are the US companies going to sell to now? Zambia, Nigeria, Brazil, France? How are their electronics industries?
Instead, this provides the Chinese chip industry with a wide-open opportunity.
It can now exclusively enjoy the $300b worth of annual chip import market among themselves and growth bigger and stronger.
Thank you Biden.
The White House is preparing to officialize the export ban of strategic processors and chip-making tools to China. The Commerce Department will soon publish a list codifying the restrictions on NVIDIA, and AMD AI processor as well as equipment for crafting sub-14nm processors.
It looks like the White House is gearing to announce sweeping new processor chip-making tool export ban restrictions, claim insiders privy to the Department of Commerce plans.
It won’t make much difference. China is already producing 7nm chips, as well s the home-grown equipment to make them.
The world’s first 6S50ME-B electronically controlled marine diesel engine
The world’s first 6S50ME-B electronically controlled marine diesel engine is made in China. The main engine has a bore of 500 mm and a single-cylinder power of 1,660 kW for a total power of 9,960 kW. Due to the adoption of the latest electronic control technology, the entire operation is controlled by a computer, with the best operating parameters, convenient and reliable control, and remote control and 24-hour unattended in the engine room. It meets the latest Nox emission standards from the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 1 horsepower / hour fuel consumption can reach the highest level of 170 grams. Compared with the other main engines of the same power, only in fuel costs, this main engine will save more than 1 million US dollars in fuel costs during the entire life cycle.
Four black clad “pro-democracy” youth try to attack HK police.
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And HK arrest them FIERCELY.
Ans some USA bloggers complain.
Here’s a (portion of) comment tree…
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How likely is it that a home flight sim enthusiast with over 10,000 hours on any aircraft type could land the real deal without any assistance?
As a home flight sim enthusiast with thousands of hours in X-Plane and Microsoft Fight Simulator, I decided to give the real thing a try at the beginning of this year, flying a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk M out of a small non-towered field. I sat in the left seat with the right seat occupied by my flight instructor, a former Navy F-18 pilot and airline 737 captain who had eighteen-thousand flight hours of experience. The panel looked like this. Although it was an earlier model Skyhawk versus the newer versions in the sim, everything was immediately recognizable:
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A giddiness washed over me as I inspected the real versions of the simulated gauges. When we did the pre-startup checklist, it was the same as I’d done in the sim and I could almost execute it from memory. I was fairly certain I could have started the aircraft on my own with no instruction. The familiarity swelled my confidence. I’ve got this.
The first nibble at my confidence occurred shortly after I set my feet on the rudder pedals and started to taxi. Although I’d used rudder pedals in the sim before, the real pedals not only had resistance but also lag. They were physically linked to the Skyhawk’s nose wheel and, like a shopping cart’s wheels, when the wheel direction was not in line with the plane’s direction you needed to nudge it back to where you wanted. Taxiways have a yellow centerline for the nose wheel. Despite my best attempts, I painted a drunken s-shaped curve back-and-forth around that centerline. At one point, my instructor needed to take the controls to reset us.
Rolling out on the runway and taking off was very easy. As the ground fell away and the blue sky filled the cockpit windows, my left hand on the yoke and right on the throttle, a childish grin dominated my face. I am flying. I am really doing it.
Flying itself isn’t inherently difficult. The Skyhawk has stability designed into it and most of the time if you take your hands off the controls and literally do nothing it will tend to sort itself out. I found turns felt very much like the sim and in no time we were zipping around the practice area doing basic maneuvers. My confidence meter slowly ticked back up. When the instructor said, “Do you want to do some more maneuvers or head back to the field and try some landings?” I grinned. This is it! This is what I’ve practiced for. “Oh,” I chimed, “head back to the field and try some landings.”
So, here we were flying in the downwind with the field halfway up the left strut – just like in the sim – coming abeam the numbers, throttle reducing, my right hand pushing down a notch of flaps, the instructor’s voice guiding an endless stream of speed and control nudges, the horizon rotating right as the plane rolled left into the base leg. As I rolled out, the field stabilized over my left shoulder, the white runway numbers beckoning. Yes! We were going to do it. I was going to do it.
What I would learn much later on, after dozens of landings, is that things happen very quickly during the final phases of landing, and the difference between being able to land versus doing a go-around may be a second of inattention or an inch too much of back pressure during the flare. During the downwind to base turn, for example, simply letting your nose dip too much for a second or two can add ten knots to your speed which starts a cascade of corrections. Now, toss in the fact that the air is doing something unique every time you land and it’s a lot of variables. Variables which, despite how high-end the sim is, just aren’t modeled.
“Ground. Ground is coming up,” I’d said as the green patch of grass ascended alarmingly quickly towards the cockpit windows. “My controls,” the instructor said, bailing us out. I had gotten us within about fifty feet of the runway, but we were a non-stabilized mess that needed someone who knew how to react to all those changing variables, and that was not me. I admit, I was bummed. I’d built up that I was going to ace it, but reality was more complex. It’s not just the level of sim, either. Once I started taking flight lessons, I flew in the school’s Redbird simulator (which we used for simulated instrument flight) and it felt nothing like the real plane. In fact, I could land it fairly easily although I was still struggling with real-life landings.
I’d say it took me about ninety real-life landings before I was consistently landing well. Sure, I could land within the first few lessons, but there’s quite a difference between the controlled collision with the runway that comprised those early landings and what I’d be doing after much practice. So much of flying is by touch and landing in particular relies on your sight picture and feeling the plane’s energy state. I think as an engineer I found my difficulties particularly frustrating, because in my mind it should all be some equation to solve.
There’s a commercial pilot in my flight school who told me, “Landing will be a struggle, but one day you’ll wake up, you’ll do all the same things you did yesterday, but today you’ll just know how to land. After that, all your landings will be good.” Although I doubted him, after lessons of struggling, I came back on a Saturday morning and just started setting landing after landing down gently on the runway. “I don’t understand,” I’d said to my instructor, “I didn’t do anything different.” He smiled. “Don’t think about it. Just keep doing it.” And I did keep doing it. I still don’t know what changed that Saturday – maybe I finally trusted my sight picture or maybe I relaxed and trusted my training and intuition – whatever it was, it wasn’t something I found in the simulator.
The other thing I’d say is that the way I was landing in the simulator was different than the way I’d learn to land in real life. In the sim, I’d flare to arrest my descent rate, then ease the controls forward to set the plane down. The first time I did that in real life earned me an admonishment from my instructor. I recall seeing his entire posture stiffen in my peripheral vision as his hands reached for the controls. I realized that was bad.
Simming really helped – don’t get me wrong. Every now and then I stumble upon a pocket of expertise I’d gained from simming and that part of the lesson moves to easy mode. For things that rely upon feeling the plane, though, the only way for me to do that was to sit in the real plane and try it again and again until it clicked. I don’t doubt there’s someone with a ton of sim experience who could probably get it right on the first time, but for me I couldn’t even do it on my first try with an F-18 pilot sitting beside me and walking me through it.
The United States has built “Asian NATO” in Asia against China in the South China Sea, which is supported by America, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and India. Isn’t Taiwan the Ukraine created by America?
Don’t include India in that. I doubt Japan and South Korea will want to fight China either. This is all hot air. Taiwan is being used by the US as a bait to provoke China. The Taiwanese who support US involvement, well the political elite, are in turn using the US for financial gain too. Its all a big game.
Good hearted people will hope that peace can prevail and no war occurs. Negotiation is important. Who wants another Ukraine?
If you want a war in Taiwan; enlist now and volunteer so you can fight in the front line. Otherwise if you are an evil coward who wants to witness war from behind your TV and computer screen thousands of miles away in the US, you can go to hell.
Kate talks about China
Four months in, and living in China is not at all what I expected. As an American who does not speak Chinese, I expected more struggle and confusion, more culture shock, more…difference.
My husband and I are in Nanning, in the southeast–just 100 miles from the Vietnam border. Yes, there’s an active vibe here–but also a laid-back one. I was surprised to discover that siesta isn’t just for Spanish-speaking countries; it’s a thing here, too. From noon to 2 p.m.-ish, the campus where I teaches virtually closes down as do many businesses. I’m beginning to get into the afternoon peace and quiet. I even nap now and then, not my usual forte.
Yes, of course, there are big differences between China and America. But they aren’t hard to handle so far. The language, for example. I have not had the time (okay, discipline) to focus on learning it the way I’d like. Still, my husband and I can jump in a cab and say the right phrase to get us home. Translator phone apps help. And we are learning tricks, like collecting business cards, taking pictures of the fronts of buildings, or having someone write down our destination in Chinese. Just show the card or picture to the cabbie, and you’re off. And there’s always body language and contextual charades!
People enjoy interacting with us. They love to stop and ask us questions (Where are you from? Do you like China?) and take pictures. Yes, sometimes all the attention is a bit unnerving. Like when strangers crowd around you, wrap their arms around your waist and take a selfie. And another and another…until you have to smile and say xie xie (thank you) and sidle away.
Sometimes I’m just standing somewhere talking with a friend, and out of the corner of my eye I see several people snapping our pictures. It’s only fair, though. I often take pictures of charming strangers. No double-standards here.
I thought this attention was all about my whiteness…until I met an African American guy who has lived in China for 5 years and said it constantly happens to him, too. In a city of 8 million people where 7,999,900 have straight black hair and are of a smallish stature, a tall blonde or an even taller black guy with a bright white smile is a total trip.
Living on campus is great. With its food courts and canteens, two farmers’ markets, sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, many apartments and dorms, it’s like a city within a city. Everyone who works for the university–students, faculty, and staff–lives here, including retired employees. There are people of all ages around, including elderly and children. And on campus are schools (from preschool through middle school) for the kids.
The Chinese love exercise. On my way to class in the mornings (a five-minute walk), I see retired people playing volleyball and badminton. There are big sports fields here where people play on the equipment, kick balls around, practice Kung Fu, walk, jog, stretch.
In the evenings, groups of (mostly women) gather to “square dance”–which is more like line dancing to a boom box that’s blasting anything like traditional Chinese music or pop songs.
People ride bikes and motorbikes everywhere, which adds to the feeling that China = movement. All motorbikes here, by law, are electric. This has the pleasant effect of keeping down air and noise pollution. Some days are hazy here, but for the most part, it’s pretty clean and green.
Even though they exercise a lot, how most of the Chinese people are so slender is a mystery to me, given the abundance of great, inexpensive food–especially noodles and dumplings. I also love all the readily available fresh fruits and veggies at open-air markets. The passion fruit, purple dragon fruit, and small creamy bananas are to die for.
We have not yet bought meat or fish at the open air markets. Perhaps our western sensibilities just aren’t ready to pick from the mountainous slabs of raw meat, or to face a woman pulling a fish from a bucket of water and clubbing it to death for our dinner. Usually we get already-cooked chicken and duck at the fantastic deli in the grocery story.
Early on, we were invited to a mid-Autumn festival meal, where everyone participated in making pork dumplings. All the food was delicious–except the snake, which according to Dave was too spicy. I couldn’t get past the fact that it still had the skin on. More suitable for boots than appetizers, if you ask me.
Okay, snake is one of my exceptions to my proclamation of “delicious food.” Other exceptions include duck and chicken feet (you see them everywhere) and insects-on-a-stick.
In contrast to what people had “warned” me about–that Chinese students are not creative–the students are writing inspired poetry, creating extraordinary video poetry interpretations, and taking lots of creative leaps. In my literature class, they love to perform scenes from the book.
For the most part, the students are eager, kind, and thoughtful. “Class discussion” isn’t what I’m used to; they don’t like to talk unless called upon. However, when I structure discussion and activities using my bag of tricks (such as letting them write or talk out ideas with a partner before talking to the whole class), they get into it. They also love games and role playing.
The only thing I don’t think I will get used to is calling students by their chosen English name–when they are Hamburger, Watermelon and Xylitol. (I’ve learned that many Chinese people who speak some English prefer to use an English name so that non-Chinese speakers won’t mispronounce their real name.)
It’s the connections with people that have been the most rewarding. I believe that if more people traveled (with a warm, open mind) there would be no more war–because we would KNOW we are killing people who are valuable, individual souls with loving families who, just like us, want lives of peace and happiness.
We’ve gotten really close to Tina, our student assistant. When Tina’s bike disappeared, we knew this was an opportunity to buy a useful and meaningful birthday present for this young woman who has done so much for us. At first she refused, saying it was too expensive. But I pulled out all the stops, telling her the dollar was strong, it wasn’t expensive for us, and we would be extremely sad if she said no.
To get to what everyone calls Stolen Bike Street, Tina perched sidesaddle on the back of my husband’s bike. I mentioned she looked so at ease on the book rack, even as we swerved in the traffic madness and hopped over speed bumps. That’s when she told me that when she was young, her family was poor. They had no car, just a bike. Her mother did not like leaving her and her brother, who was an infant, at home. So she would put the baby in the basket, and Tina sat on the back of her mom’s bike. (She added that her parents eventually started a profitable business and now have a car.)
After the purchase of the bike and the eating of lunch, Tina told us she had something she wanted to say, launching into what seemed to be a prepared speech about how much we mean to her. She had barely begun when tears started streaming down my face. She thanked us for being so friendly, for never losing patience when she’s trying to figure out something. She recounted the fun experiences we’ve had, and said, “You have taught me thing about life.” And she was especially touched when one day I told someone she was like our Chinese daughter. She really is. Truly, I love her with all my heart and am amazed China has given us the gift of her.
I can understand dogs’ need to be around humans them but that clearly isn’t so with cats…
Where did anyone say cats “clearly” don’t need to be around humans? Domestic cats have as much need for a human as a dog does. Plus, if the shelters did happen to have enough room for the cats, but no one adopted them, they wouldn’t have room for very long. Cats need space, and not the tiny cages that shelters have to keep them in.
This is Loki:
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I adopted him today, just a few hours ago. That was him, at the shelter, crying and scratching at the glass door. He had a pretty big enclosure too. But he stood there crying, just because I was taking a picture of him instead of petting him right away.
This is him when we got home:
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He cries if we stop petting him for too long and pretty much just wants cuddles and naps.
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Just because cats are (typically) more independent than dogs, doesn’t mean they need human companionship any less. And they’re just as worthy of a home too.
Samarkand Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Meaty article. Very good. Summary of what came out of the SEO meeting. This is what is going on outside of the western propaganda bubble. Big news. Great stuff. Totally unreported. -MM
Below Google translate , too long, you have to do the rest yourself. Summary…
1) member states seeking similarities but allow differences 求同存异2) together we make a lot of money. 赚大钱3) Worth your time to read in full to understand the civilised nations universal values of inclusiveness, real democracy, mutual respect, mutual prosperity, and working towards a new world order of win-win, peace and harmony. 4) comparing the SCO declaration with the Western "me-only" International rule based order, one will easily understand the meaning of an "inferior civilization."
Samarkand Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
2022-09-17 09:44
The leaders of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "SCO" or "the Organization") held a meeting of the Council of Heads of State in Samarkand on September 16, 2022, and issued the following declaration:
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The world today is undergoing global changes, entering a new era of rapid development and great change. The trend of world multi-polarization is intensifying, countries are increasingly interdependent, and the process of informatization and digitization is accelerating. At the same time, the current international challenges and threats are more complex, the international situation is gradually deteriorating, and regional conflicts and crises are emerging one after another and continuing to escalate.
The widening technological and digital divide, continued volatility in global financial markets, shrinking global investment, unstable supply chains, rising protectionist measures and increasing other barriers to international trade have all contributed to the instability and uncertainty of the world economy.
Global climate change and the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic pose new challenges to economic growth, social well-being, food security and the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To this end, new approaches are urgently needed to promote more just and effective international cooperation and achieve sustainable economic development.
Member states hold similar or identical positions on current international and regional issues, and reiterate their adherence to the generally recognized principles of international law, multilateralism, equality, commonality, comprehensiveness, cooperation, sustainable security, and diversity of cultures and civilizations. Under the coordination role of the United Nations Center Through equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among countries, we will build a more representative, democratic and just multi-polar world order.
Based on the principles of the SCO Charter, member states oppose the solution of international and regional issues through collective, ideological and confrontational thinking, and insist on coordinating responses to security threats and challenges in traditional and non-traditional fields. Taking into account the opinions of the SCO member states, all parties reiterated that it is of great practical significance to jointly promote the building of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation and a community with a shared future for mankind.
The member states advocate the right to respect the political, economic and social development path chosen by the people of all countries, and stress that the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, equality and mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs, and non-use or threat of use of force are the principles of sustainable development of international relations. The basics. All parties reiterated that differences and disputes between countries should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultation.
The member states reiterate that the SCO will not target other countries and international organizations, and will, based on mutual interests, proceed from a common position to resolve regional and global issues, and in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the SCO, as well as the norms of international law, Extensive cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
At present, the SCO, as an authoritative and influential multilateral organization, is committed to maintaining peace, security and stability, jointly responding to new threats and challenges faced by the region, and deepening economic, trade and people-to-people and cultural relations among SCO countries.
The member states stressed that the SCO Charter adopted 20 years ago is of historic significance, and it provides the basis for the member states to carry out close and fruitful cooperation on the basis of the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and seeking common development. All-round cooperation has laid the foundation. Member states believe that adhering to the above principles will help build a new model of regional cooperation and play a constructive role in consolidating multilateral and mutually beneficial relations in the Eurasian region.
The member states are willing to further strengthen policy communication, security cooperation, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds, so as to jointly build a peaceful, secure, prosperous and clean world and realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
The member states stressed the significance of the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Long-term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation among the SCO Member States, and the leaders of the member states approved the "Outline for the Implementation of the Treaty on the Long-term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States (2023-2027)" . The member states will continue to strengthen the SCO's efforts in maintaining peace and security, and advocate the peaceful settlement of international and regional conflicts through political and diplomatic means, so as to deepen the relations among the member states and pass on the friendship of the people of the member states from generation to generation
The member states believe that Central Asia is the "core area" of the SCO, and support the efforts made by countries in the region to ensure peace and prosperity, achieve sustainable development, and establish a space for good-neighborliness, friendship and mutual trust. All parties support the further role of the SCO in maintaining stability in the region and promoting economic and social development, and welcome the regular meetings of the Central Asian heads of state. Member States noted the successful holding of the Central Asian Leaders' Meeting in Chopon Ata, Kyrgyz Republic, on 21 July 2022.
The member states believe that strengthening the connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia will help to achieve the common goal of ensuring prosperity and security in the SCO region through the establishment of sustainable economic, trade, transportation and communication links, and the promotion of dialogue among different civilizations.
Member States express their deep concern over security threats arising from any form of terrorism, separatism and extremism, strongly condemn acts of terrorism taking place around the world, and stress the continued implementation of the "Dutch" signed in Dushanbe on September 17, 2021. The importance of the SCO Member States' 2022-2024 Framework for Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism.
The member states reiterated that they will resolutely combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and continue to take active measures to eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism, cut off terrorist financing channels, combat the recruitment and cross-border movement of terrorists, and curb extremism and youth radicalization. and terrorist ideology to eradicate lurking terrorists and their hiding places.
The member states pointed out that it is not allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of combating terrorism and extremism, and firmly opposes the use of terrorist, extremist and radical organizations for personal gain.
Member States believe that it is important for the international community to work together to prevent attempts to recruit young people for terrorist, separatist and extremist activities, and attach great importance to combating the spread of religious intolerance, violent nationalism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, fascism and chauvinism.
The member states noted the effective work of the SCO regional anti-terrorist bodies in promoting cooperation among the competent authorities of member states in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, stressing that joint measures are taken to enhance the potential for practical cooperation in these areas. important.
Member States will, in accordance with their national laws, work to develop common principles and positions on the basis of consensus on a unified list of terrorist, separatist and extremist organizations that are prohibited from operating in their territories.
The member states noted the results of the "Pabi-Counter-Terrorism-2021" joint counter-terrorism exercise by the competent authorities of the SCO member states and the joint frontier operations "Unity and Cooperation 2019-2021" by the competent authorities of the SCO member states' border agencies, as well as the results of India's 2021-2022 Effective work carried out during the Chairmanship of the Council of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Institutions in 2018.
The member states believe that it is necessary to implement the resolution of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States "On Improving the Mechanisms of SCO Member States to Address Security Threats and Challenges" and to study the following recommendations: as a separate permanent body, in Duchamp.
Do not establish the SCO Anti-Drug Center (Republic of Tajikistan);
Upgrade the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Agency in Tashkent to the SCO Comprehensive Center for Security Threats and Challenges (Russian Federation);
Establish on the basis of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Agency SCO Information Security Center (Republic of Kazakhstan);
On the basis of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Agency, the SCO Center for Combating Transnational Organised Crime (Kyrgyz Republic) was established in Bishkek.
The SCO member states will be based on the Intergovernmental Agreement on Safeguarding International Information Security among SCO Member States, signed during the Yekaterinburg Summit in June 2009, and in accordance with the SCO Member States' Cooperation Plan for Safeguarding International Information Security for 2022-2023. ” and other WIPO documents, and continue to cooperate in safeguarding international information security.
Member States will strengthen cooperation among national authorities in the field of digital literacy to bridge the digital divide.
The member states emphasized the key role of the United Nations in addressing threats to the information space, and advocated the establishment of a safe, fair and open information space on the basis of respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
Member States believe that it is important to ensure that countries have equal rights in governing the Internet and have cyber sovereignty.
Member States firmly oppose the militarization of information and communication technologies, support the formulation of universal rules, principles and norms for responsible state behavior in this field, and welcome the launch of a comprehensive international convention on combating the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes under the auspices of the United Nations . The parties will continue to cooperate within the framework of the relevant negotiating mechanisms of the United Nations and other international platforms.
Member States call on the international community to play the central role of the United Nations, fully implement the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the principles of international law, strengthen global counter-terrorism cooperation, abandon politicization and double standards, and respect the sovereignty and independence of all countries. , and adopted the United Nations Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Convention on the basis of consensus.
Member States take note of the outcome of the International Conference on the 10th Anniversary of the Joint Action Plan for the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy by Central Asian States, held in Tashkent on 3-4 March 2022.
Member States take note of the high-level international conference held by the Republic of Tajikistan (Dushanbe Process), the co-organization with the United Nations in Dushanbe from 18 to 19 October 2022 on the "International and Regional Cooperation on Combating Terrorism and Preventing the Movement of Terrorists" Security and Border Control Cooperation” high-level meeting to promote multilateral cooperation to combat terrorism and terrorist financing in Central Asia.
Member States noted that the Republic of India, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Tajikistan are running for the UN Security Council for the 2028-2029, 2025-2026, 2027-2028, 2039-2040 and 2028-2029 respectively The non-permanent members of the Council, the Kyrgyz Republic and the People's Republic of China are running for members of the UN Human Rights Council in 2023-2025 and 2024-2026 respectively, the Republic of Kazakhstan is running for the presidency of the UN General Assembly in 2031-2032, and the Republic of Tajikistan is running for the United Nations Economic and Social Efforts made by Council members for 2024-2026
The member states took note of the outcomes of the meeting of the secretaries of the Security Council of the SCO Member States to be held in Tashkent from 18 to 19 August 2022, and reiterated their willingness to further deepen cooperation to address threats to the security and stability of the SCO region.
The member states noted the outcomes of the meeting of the defense ministers of the SCO member states to be held in Tashkent from August 24 to 25, 2022, and advocated further strengthening of defense and security cooperation. All parties stressed that it is very important to regularly hold "Peace Mission" joint anti-terrorism military exercises, which will help improve the level of cooperation in combating international terrorist organizations and armed groups and improve anti-terrorism methods.
Member States expressed concern at the serious threat posed by the growing production, trafficking and abuse of drugs, as well as the use of funds derived from illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs to finance terrorism. All parties stressed the need to form a common and balanced position on combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and their precursors, and pointed out the importance of implementing international conventions and other relevant legal documents in the field of drug control
Member States noted that illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and misuse for non-medical purposes seriously threatens international and regional security and stability, sustainable national economic development, people's health and well-being, and the exercise of fundamental human rights and freedoms. All parties stressed that joint efforts should be made to combat illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and support continued active and practical cooperation in this field.
Read more...
上海合作组织成员国元首理事会撒马尔罕宣言 — 中华人民共和国外交部
Please note: the United States, and the G7 (including the proxy nations Australia, Korea, and Japan) are all EXCLUDED. And the UN is considered, and treated as, a secondary body of influence.
Here’s the full text of Xi Peng’s statement to the SEO…
The truth of America’s GDP
Based on the criteria in place a quarter century ago, today’s US unemployment rate is between 9 percent and 12 percent; inflation is 7 or 10 percent; economic growth since the recession of 2001 has been mediocre, despite a huge surge in the wealth and incomes of the super rich, and we are falling back into recession. A picture of our economy today, ex-distortion, would reveal a nation in deep difficulty, not just domestically, but globally. Numbers Racket.
Kevin Phillips.
China calculates GDP by summing the value of what it produces. If it builds an airplane it adds the airplane’s wholesale price to its gross domestic product. If it builds a dam, it adds the dam’s cost to its gross domestic product. America calculates GDP by summing the cost of the airplanes it makes–then adding the imputed cost of services Americans provide for each other.
Most American GDP is generated by people taking in each other’s laundry: rent, tuition, healthcare, commissions, fees, and jailing millions of people. Are accounting, consulting, real estate commissions really ‘products’? Is Bitcoin? (Is prostitution? Britain says ‘yes’).
Services account for 61% of America’s GDP and 11% of China’s largely because of price inflation. Medical costs are 7% of China’s GDP and 19% of America’s because CT scans cost $2,000 in Kansas City, while a full physical in Shenzhen, including CT, cost 580 yuan, $92. My US cellular service, vastly inferior to Shenzhen’s, costs five times more. My San Francisco barber’s $85 haircut is indistinguishable from a $2 Kunming trim.
Does Japan in particular have a death wish versus China? Why does Japan think war with China over Taiwan is a good idea? Couldn’t China utterly erase Japan if they wanted to?
Japan doesn’t have a death wish, and it doesn’t think war with China over Taiwan is a good idea.
This is Japan right now.
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It’s a peaceful shopping day. The air’s a little still, because a typhoon’s on its way in.
The main thing on people’s minds is the 14% jump in prices that the Prime Minister announced will happen on October 1st. People are getting their shopping done.
No one here is thinking about war with Taiwan.
There was a gathering today in my local shopping street – not for “patriotic unity” or “standing against Chinese aggression.” Nope. It was titled “WorkShop,” and was about showing children various crafts. The local bank had a little table next to the children’s play space, walking parents through opening “My First Account” savings accounts for their children.
Domestically, the biggest political issue aside from prices is an examination of the political influence of the Unification Church in the wake of Abe-Sam’s assassination. Representatives are cutting ties to them and apologizing for accepting their help, on both the opposition and ruling party benches.
No one is thinking about war over Taiwan.
The average age of the Japanese military is 35. At 35 you can go without sleep, but you can’t be consistently stupid about it. 35-year-olds have families, mortgages, kids. They spend their weekends while on leave with their families at local festivals, opening “My First Account” savings accounts for their kids.
Japan is not thinking about war with Taiwan. It seems like the leadership of China is not thinking about war with Taiwan.
Why are you?
It’s a beautiful day. Maybe go open a savings account with a local bank. It’s probably a better use of your time than fantasizing about crushing the Japanese.
Full text of Xi’s speech at SCO Samarkand summit
SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) here on Friday.
The following is the full text of the speech:
Ride on the Trend of the Times and Enhance Solidarity and Cooperation to Embrace a Better Future
Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of The Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Samarkand, Sept. 16, 2022
…
Your Excellency President Shavkat Mirziyoyev,
Colleagues,
I am delighted to attend the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). I would like to thank you, President Mirziyoyev, for your warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements. I salute Uzbekistan for the great job it has done to promote SCO cooperation in various fields during its presidency over the past year.
Samarkand, renowned as the pearl on the Silk Road, witnessed the glory of the ancient Silk Road, a route that greatly boosted the flow of goods, spread of science and technology, interaction of ideas, and integration of diverse cultures on the Eurasian continent. Indeed, the ancient Silk Road has remained a historical source of inspiration for us SCO member states as we pursue peace and development.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the SCO Charter and 15th anniversary of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Between the SCO Member States. Over the years, guided by these two founding documents, we have succeeded in exploring a new path for the development of international organizations, and there is much we can draw on from SCO’s rich practices.
— Political trust. Guided by the vision of forging enduring friendship and peace among the SCO member states, we respect each other’s core interests and choice of development path and support each other in achieving peace, stability, development and rejuvenation.
— Win-win cooperation. We accommodate each other’s interests, stay true to the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits, enhance synergy between our respective development strategies, and keep to the path of win-win cooperation toward common prosperity.
— Equality between nations. We are committed to the principle of equality among all countries regardless of their size, consensus-based decision-making, and addressing issues through friendly consultations. We reject the practice of the strong bullying the weak or the big bullying the small.
— Openness and inclusiveness. We stand for harmonious coexistence and mutual learning between different countries, nations and cultures, dialogue between civilizations and seeking common ground while shelving differences. We are ready to establish partnership and develop win-win cooperation with other countries and international organizations that share our vision.
— Equity and justice. We are committed to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; we tackle major international and regional issues on the basis of their merits, and oppose the pursuit of one’s own agenda at the expense of other countries’ legitimate rights and interests.
These five points fully embody the Shanghai Spirit, namely, mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development. It has been shown that this spirit is the source of strength for the development of the SCO. It is also the fundamental guide we must continue to follow in the years to come. We owe SCO’s remarkable success to the Shanghai Spirit. And we will continue to follow its guidance as we forge ahead.
Colleagues,
Human society, like the natural world, has both sunny and rainy days in its development. Our world today is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, and it has entered a new phase of uncertainty and transformation. The once-in-a-century pandemic has continued unabated. Regional conflicts keep flaring up. The Cold War mentality and group politics are resurfacing, so are unilateralism and protectionism. Economic globalization has encountered headwinds. Deficit in peace, development, trust, and governance has grown. Human society has reached a crossroads and faces unprecedented challenges.
Under these new conditions, the SCO, as an important constructive force in international and regional affairs, should keep itself well-positioned in the face of changing international dynamics, ride on the trend of the times, strengthen solidarity and cooperation and build a closer SCO community with a shared future.
First, we need to enhance mutual support. We should strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication, deepen mutual understanding and political trust, and support each other in our efforts to uphold security and development interests. We should guard against attempts by external forces to instigate “color revolution,” jointly oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext, and hold our future firmly in our own hands.
Second, we need to expand security cooperation. A proverb in Uzbekistan goes to the effect that “With peace, a country enjoys prosperity, just as with rain, the land can flourish.” The Global Security Initiative put forward by China is to address the peace deficit and global security challenges. It calls on all countries to stay true to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture. We welcome all stakeholders to get involved in implementing this initiative.
We should continue to carry out joint anti-terrorism exercises, crack down hard on terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking as well as cyber and transnational organized crimes; and we should effectively meet the challenges in data security, biosecurity, outer space security and other non-traditional security domains. China is ready to train 2,000 law enforcement personnel for SCO member states in the next five years, and establish a China-SCO base for training counter-terrorism personnel, so as to enhance capacity-building for law enforcement of SCO member states.
We should ensure that the SCO-Afghanistan contact group and the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan’s neighbors continue to play their roles; and we should encourage Afghan authorities to establish a broadly-based and inclusive political structure and remove the ground that breeds terrorism.
Third, we need to deepen practical cooperation. To deliver a better life for people of all countries in the region is our shared goal. The Global Development Initiative launched by China aims to focus global attention on development, foster global development partnership, and achieve more robust, greener and more balanced global development. China is ready to work with all other stakeholders to pursue this initiative in our region to support the sustainable development of regional countries.
We need to implement the two statements on safeguarding international energy and food security to be adopted by this summit and better protect energy and food security. China will provide developing countries in need with emergency humanitarian assistance of grain and other supplies worth 1.5 billion RMB yuan.
We welcome the Comprehensive Plan for the Implementation of the SCO Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation for 2023-2027 to be adopted at this summit. We should fully implement the cooperation documents in such areas as trade and investment, infrastructure building, protecting supply chains, scientific and technological innovation and artificial intelligence to be adopted within the framework of the summit. It is important to continue our efforts to achieve the complementarity of the Belt and Road Initiative with national development strategies and regional cooperation initiatives, expand sub-multilateral cooperation and sub-regional cooperation, and create more growth drivers in cooperation.
We need to ensure implementation of the roadmap for SCO member states to expand shares of local currency settlement, better develop the system for cross-border payment and settlement in local currencies, work for the establishment of an SCO development bank, and thus speed up regional economic integration. Next year, China will host an SCO ministers’ meeting on development cooperation and an industrial and supply chains forum, and will set up the China-SCO Big Data Cooperation Center to create new engines of common development. China stands ready to carry out space cooperation with all other parties and provide satellite data service to support them in agricultural development, connectivity and disaster mitigation and relief.
Fourth, we need to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Exchanges promote integration among civilizations, which, in turn, enables civilizations to advance. We should deepen cooperation in such areas as education, science and technology, culture, health, media, radio and television, ensure the continued success of signature programs such as the youth exchange camp, the women’s forum, the forum on people-to-people friendship and the forum on traditional medicine, and support the SCO Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation and other non-official organizations in playing their due roles. China will build a China-SCO ice and snow sports demonstration zone and host the SCO forums on poverty reduction and sustainable development and on sister cities next year. In the next three years, China will carry out 2,000 free cataract operations for SCO member states and provide 5,000 human resources training opportunities for them.
Fifth, we need to uphold multilateralism. Obsession with forming a small circle can only push the world toward division and confrontation. We should remain firm in safeguarding the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, practice the common values of humanity and reject zero-sum game and bloc politics. We should expand SCO’s exchanges with other international and regional organizations such as the UN, so as to jointly uphold true multilateralism, improve global governance, and ensure that the international order is more just and equitable.
Colleagues,
The Eurasian continent is home to us all. Upholding its peace and development is the shared goal of countries both in our region and the world at large, and the SCO shoulders an important responsibility in meeting this goal. In recent years, an increasing number of countries have applied to join our SCO family. This fully demonstrates the power of SCO’s vision and the widely shared confidence in its future. By promoting the development and expansion of the SCO and giving full play to its positive impact, we will create strong momentum and new dynamism for ensuring durable peace and common prosperity of the Eurasian continent and the whole world. China supports advancing SCO expansion in an active yet prudent manner, and this includes going through the procedure to admit Iran as a member state, launching the procedure for Belarus’ accession, admitting Bahrain, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Myanmar as dialogue partners, and granting the relevant applying countries the legal status due to them. We need to seize the opportunity to build consensus, deepen cooperation and jointly create a bright future for the Eurasian continent.
Here I wish to express China’s congratulations to India on assuming the next SCO presidency. We will, together with other member states, support India during its presidency.
Colleagues,
This year, facing a complex and challenging development environment both at home and abroad, China has stayed committed to the general principle of making advances while maintaining stable performance, and it has striven to ensure both effective COVID-19 containment, economic stability and development security. We have continued to respond to COVID-19 and promote economic and social development in a well-coordinated way. Thus, to the greatest extent possible, we have both safeguarded the life and health of the people and ensured overall economic and social development. The fundamentals of China’s economy, characterized by strong resilience, enormous potential, ample room for policy adjustment and long-term sustainability, will remain sound. This will greatly boost the stability and recovery of the world economy and provide more market opportunities for other countries.
Next month, the Communist Party of China will convene its 20th National Congress. It will be an important meeting to be held at a critical time as China embarks on a new journey toward its second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country in all respects. At this national congress, the Communist Party of China will fully review the major achievements made and valuable experience gained in China’s reform and development endeavors. It will also formulate programs of action and overarching policies to meet China’s new development goals on the journey ahead in the new era and the new expectations of the people. We will continue to follow the Chinese path to modernization to achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and we will continue to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. By doing so, we will create new opportunities for the world with new advances in China’s development and contribute our vision and strength to world peace and development and human progress.
Colleagues,
Long as the journey is, we will surely reach our destination when we stay the course. Let us act in the Shanghai Spirit, work for the steady development of the SCO, and jointly build our region into a peaceful, stable, prosperous and beautiful home!
Thank you.
Are people exaggerating about the American health care system or is it that bad if you don’t have insurance?
It is that bad if you don’t have insurance. As a Canadian visiting Florida, my wife had a dangerously high fever and was slurring her words and couldn’t get out of bed. I reluctantly called an ambulance. (not because I didn’t want her to receive medical help, but because we would have to take out a loan to pay for it). My wife is fine now, but listen to this:
To make a long story short, she was in Emergency for 4 hours before they released her, fever down and ok to go home. Total hospital bill: $17,000 USD ($24,000 CAD). Surprise Doctors bill 45 days later $2000. Ambulance bill $1000 and a later bill from “TeamHealth” for two ghost doctor visits for $1800. She had a catscan which I would presume is the big expense, a saline drip, antibiotics and sent home. Only the wealthy can throw that kind of money around. The rest of us need a loan or mortgage our home.
Our neighbor in Florida was in the hospital for 3 days and had a bill for $30,000. She had to sell her house and move in with her daughter. She won’t go back into the hospital as she can’t afford it.
If my wife or I need any medical assistance while in the USA again, we will hire a private jet and a nurse to fly us to Canada where we can get all the help we need. Far cheaper than visiting a hospital even for a few hours. (if it isn’t urgent, we could take a commercial flight for $500. A private jet would be up to $5000 but still far cheaper than any visit under the healthcare system of the USA)
Dixie
Dixie is not mean but is painfully shy, the cats that get adopted are the ones that come out and rub your legs or jump in your lap; Dixie would hide or try to crawl into her cat carrier. She was adopted, a few times but was brought back, not because she was mean but because she would never come out from under the bed.
She was in the shelter/foster home for 5 years; fortunately one that let cats roam free instead of being in a cage. While there the other cats (the outgoing ones), got all the attention so she remained shy around people.
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A little over 3 years ago I adopted her (she had been at the rescue shelter for 5 years), I was warned not to let her get under the bed, and sure enough she found the bed and would only come out at night while I was sleeping, to eat, drink and use the litter box.
I did not take her back to the shelter, instead I wooed and courted her and after about 2 months she became daddy’s little girl.
After about 6 months I put her in the carrier to take her to the vet for a routine (twice a year) checkup.
Dixie let out the most forlorn heart broken meow I have ever heard, it was obvious she thought she was being rehomed again and was begging to stay with me. I felt like the most heartless human being in the world, but since I want her to live a long healthy life it was off to the vet we went
Once we got home from the vet she ran under the bed again, but came out after a couple of hours and wanted a lot of scritching and loving and reassurance that she is my favorite girl in the world.
She still hates going to the vet, but now knows she will always be coming home. Now when we come back from the vet, she runs to the front room to be sure her food/water/and litter box are still where they belong.
Here she is telling me I should really put down the camera, and commence scritching the cat.
It’s a very hot September weekend. I’m staying inside. Nursing a hangover, a head cold, and watching my kid make a lot of noise. It’s called “family life”. I’m throwing together this post, and I hope you like it.
Geopolitically, the SEO has organized and big changes are forecast for the world. The USA, however, is being left out, and they are trying desperately to disrupt the organization. Expect distant clamors in the near future.
Please enjoy.
Sleeping kitties
I’ve got a million pix of my cats sleeping, but I picked this one.
It makes me happy.
My husband, who I love more than anything. And the cat that I personally drove over an hour to adopt that shunned me and embraced my “I’m not a cat person” (now a devoted cat person) husband.
Just seeing my husband conked out after dinner, napping- and his beloved cat with him makes me so happy.
It’s so much MORE than just a picture of a cat sleeping.
It’s a picture of home.
Of happiness. Of having a life I never thought I’d ever have.
I know to many it may not look like much.
An older man in an (ugly😂) recliner with a non descript tabby cat.
But this my friends is heaven on earth.
It doesn’t get any better than this. Even my cat knows it (or should I say my husband’s cat knows it?).
But just so you know, I have my own fur baby.
This is his.
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Harry Nilsson – Coconut (1971)
This is a MUST watch.
An American talks about his experience in China
I had a very American-centric view; that is to say, I really didn’t give a ton of thought to China, which is kind of crazy. I see Americans now perceiving China in a way that’s hard to articulate but I think totally wrong. Let me give it a shot.
Americans are scared that China is going to ‘take over’ America in some meaningful way. Unless it’s important to your ego that the USA be the ‘greatest country in the world’, this is meaningless.
Might China’s economy beat the USA? Sure.
Might they be a military force to be reckoned with? Yep. But they are not our enemies unless we make them.
I only once encountered any form of anti-USA sentiment during my 4+ years there, and it was mostly just splash from anti-Japanese sentiment.
Almost everybody I met thought of America like the kind of wacky fun cousin. We make fun movies and are kind of crazy sometimes. America is a 200 year old country.
China is essentially a continent.
So the thing Americans miss is 5000 years of contiguous Chinese civilization. We’re forgetting that our biggest city is around 8–9 million; a small town in China.
You’ve never heard of the names of Chinese cities of 9 million, because they’re everywhere.
The Pearl-River-Delta is home to 148+ million people! That’s half the size of the entire United States.
There are vast swathes of China that are populated by Muslim populations, including ethnic groups with blue eyes.
There are tropical islands, and millions of miles of tundra.
Cities have their own unique dialects, and I don’t mean how southerners say y’all – I mean distinct languages with only minor cosmetic similarities.
So I guess I’ll say the biggest mistake I ever made about China, or misconception that I corrected, is that China is any one thing.
Classic Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken cacciatore—or chicken in the style of the hunter—is a warm and hearty stewed dish from the Italian-American culinary canon. This dish typically features browned chicken, herbs, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms and other deeply flavorful vegetables. On a cold winter night, this chicken cacciatore recipe is perfectly wonderful and a total crowd pleaser!
Classic Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken cacciatore has become a classic Italian favorite and it’s no wonder why.
The combination of chicken with vegetables, like peppers and tomatoes, makes this a warming and hearty dish.
In fact, cacciatore is Italian for “hunter” so this dish roughly translates to chicken cooked in the style of the hunter.
This does not mean the only authentic way to make this recipe is over a campfire in the woods, your stove will do just fine!
Rather, the key to making this dish is properly browning your chicken.
Classic chicken cacciatore involves lightly coating chicken in a flour mixture before cooking in an oil-slicked skillet over high heat.
Browning meat adds tons of flavor.
As your chicken cooks, the fat from the chicken renders, which provides a flavorful base in which to cook your vegetables.
Though it is recommended to drain off the fat after browning the chicken, your pan will retain flavor, which will be soaked up by the onions, peppers and tomatoes. If you’ve never tried chicken cacciatore, this five-star recipe is the perfect place to start,
Ingredients
3- to 3 1/2-lb cut-up whole chicken
1/2 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 medium green bell pepper
2 medium onions
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese, if desired
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Admiral McRaven Leaves the Audience SPEECHLESS | One of the Best Motivational Speeches
Good stuff.
Sad Satan
In 2015, a YouTuber named Obscure Horror Corner received an anonymous tip from a subscriber, only known as ZK. The YouTuber did a playthrough of the series, claiming the anonymous tip he received led him to a Dark Web forum with the game available for download.
The game consists of a first-person camera traversing a black and white maze, being chased by strange creatures. There is no plot, story, or mechanics. Random ends in the maze contain easter eggs, strange images, and cutscenes that are not discernable.
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The game gained popularity and a subreddit where internet gurus discussed the game.
Suddenly, on 4Chan, a user named ZK posted, claiming that Obscure Horror Corner did not play the “true” version of the game, which he included in a link.
This version of the game included a deadly virus and random cutscenes that showed gore, torture, and child pornography. Many sections also contain ASCII characters on the wall that translate to the phrases “I see you,” “You can’t escape me,” “I can track you,” etc. Given that the true version of the game was riddled with advanced viruses, these threats are likely actually true.
This game is riddled with easter eggs, containing child molester monologues in the soundtrack that are heavily stretched and processed in addition to the flashing video cutscenes depicting child abuse and murder.
The sheer amount of secrets, easter eggs, and other content hidden behind this seemingly plain game are mind-boggling and it is still poorly understood. To this day ZK and the true origins of this game are unknown.
These three mysteries are the most prominent in Internet history, although many many more exist, some of which involve child abuse, murder, and worse. While the internet contains lots of interesting things, you do not want to see everything it has to offer.
Dream On,
Jaiden
The Drew Carey Show – Auditioning Horndogs
The Dispilio Tablet and the Real Origins of Writing
Conventional archaeology claims that writing was not invented until some time between 3000 and 4000 BC in Sumeria. However, the discovery of a far older artifact in northern Greece appears to contradict this belief. Although the possibility of a previously unknown writing system during the Neolithic is an exciting prospect, why is it that so few people know about this discovery?
Breathing Life into Dispilio
Discovered back in 1993 by George Xourmouziadis, a professor of prehistoric archaeology, the Dispilio tablet was unearthed during excavations of a Neolithic lake settlement near the city of Kastoria in northern Greece. This ancient settlement was actually discovered back in 1932 during a dry winter when the water levels of Lake Kastoria were particularly low.
The site itself was occupied for many hundreds of years from about 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. The excavations unearthed several artifacts including tools, pottery, figurines and other personal ornaments. These have allowed archaeologists to piece together a picture of the economic and agricultural activities of the settlement, as well as proof of animal breeding and their dietary preferences.
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Dispilio in Greece is a prehistoric lakeside settlement and the location where the Dispilio tablet was found. ( Iraklis Milas / Adobe Stock)
Dating the Dispilio Tablet
The Dispilio tablet was one of many artifacts found in the area. However, the importance of the table lies in the fact that it was engraved with an unknown written text that goes back further than 5,000 BC. Researchers have used radiocarbon dating to pinpoint the date of the wooden tablet to about 5,260 BC, which would make it significantly older than the writing system used by the Sumerians.
The text on the tablet includes a type of engraved writing which probably consists of a form of writing that pre-existed Linear B writing used by the Mycenaean Greeks . As well as the tablet, many other ceramic pieces were found that also have the same type of writing on them.
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Samples of the carved signs on the wooden Dispilio tablet and other clay finds discovered at the site (a) as compared to Linear A signs (b) and signs found on Paleo European clay tablets (c). (Yorgos Facorellis / CC BY 3.0 )
OFFICIAL – Somewhere Over the Rainbow 2011 – Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole
I hope you all appreciate this great version.
Deciphering the Dispilio Tablet
The fact that this wooden tablet was hidden at the bottom of the lake for so long and remained preserved so many years later is impressive in and of itself. Unfortunately, by the time the tablet had been excavated and removed from its original environment, contact with oxygen started the deterioration process and it is now under preservation.
So far, the ancient writing system evidenced by the signs and inscriptions on the Dispilio tablet have not been deciphered, and decoding the writing is going to be difficult if not impossible, unless a suitable ‘ Rosetta stone ’ is found. Nevertheless, Professor Xourmouziadis suggested that it could represent a form of communication and could mean anything, including some kind of ancient inventory of possessions.
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One of the most significant discoveries in history, the Rosetta Stone allowed researchers to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. (British Museum / CC BY NC SA 4.0 )
Dispilio Tablet and the History of Writing
Sumerian cuneiform has gone down in history as the oldest form of writing. As explained in Greek Reporter , some scholars have questioned the resulting theory which claims that the ancient Greeks learned to write about 800 BC thanks to contact with the Phoenicians. They are unconvinced by the fact that the composition of literary works such as the ancient Homeric poems coincides with their supposed acquisition of writing skills.
.
“It would be impossible for the ancient Greeks to write these poetic works without having had a history of writing of at least 10,000 years,” explains Greek Reporter . So, what this means is that Sumerian writing is actually the earliest writing system to have been discovered so far and the discovery of the Dispilio tablet, an artifact engraved with what appears to be a pre-Sumerian writing system , will undoubtedly not be the last find of its kind.
Conventional history dictates that these kinds of Neolithic discoveries are merely evidence of proto-writing, a term which refers to a way of communicating limited information, rather than proof of an entire language. But should additional artifacts comparable to the Dispilio tablet emerge, they could completely change the history of writing , and with it the story of humanity.
Chinese information technology and the Internet
In the field of information technology and the Internet, China can be said to be unique in the world.
China has also exploded in the development and application of supercomputing. In the future, communication technology, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things have also been deployed very early.
China has a clear leading edge in quantum technology and quantum communication. On May 3, 2017, the first quantum computer has been made. Its computing speed is 24,000 times that of its international counterparts, and the classical algorithm is also 10-100 times faster than the world’s first electronic tube computer.
For the first time, researchers in China have achieved atomic quantum state operations with a fidelity of more than 99.99%.
This breakthrough means that the fault tolerance rate of quantum computers has been lower than 0.01%.
My fathers desk
I didn’t purchase the furniture in question, but I hope you like my story. I found a secret compartment in my father’s desk, and a treasure that is worthless to the world but priceless to me.
If you’ve cleaned out a house, you know what a gloomy job it is. We were moving my mom to memory care, and my three brothers and I (along with my two sisters-in-law, bless them) were disposing of mountains—generations—of clutter. Stuff my mom had kept for decades. She didn’t keep track of it anymore, or even really care about it.
Every item involved a decision. Donate? Keep? Toss? We had our own houses overflowing with clutter, so we couldn’t keep much.
Finally we came to Dad’s desk. My brothers and I avoided each other’s eyes. No one had room for it. For my part, I already had my grandmother’s desk. To ship another heavy piece of furniture across the country made no sense. But I felt like I was betraying my dad—a loving but mostly silent man who died of melanoma when I was 24. I know my brothers felt the same.
I can see him in my mind’s eye, puffing his pipe, reading medical journals, drawing neat graphs of his stocks on graph paper, clipping articles and filing them in vanilla folders (as I thought they were called). When he wasn’t there, the space beneath the desk was a favorite hiding spot for me and Otto, the schnauzer.
I wiped down the desk, outside and in—it would go to Goodwill in the last of seven trailer-loads. I always feel I have to wipe down anything I’m donating, although certain men in my life have mocked me for this. Today, it paid off, because that’s how I found the secret section at the back of one of the drawers.
In it was a black, leather-bound journal.
The first entry was April 11, 1951, the day that Truman “fired” General McArthur, as my father noted. (“A change in tactics which will be for the better. I don’t think too many people share my view though.”)
The entries, intermittent over the next several years, cover college and his early twenties. They were written by someone I had never met, young enough to be my son. Do we ever truly believe our parents had lives before we were born?
The story begins in Iowa.
Home from college for the summer, he tells of excursions (“safaris”) with his friends: “We had a good time, cutting across corn fields and dodging farmers.” It’s fun to read about the concerts he attended, and to try to track down the musicians on YouTube. I found Eddie Peabody the “Banjo King,” but many are forgotten, even by the collective memory bank known as Google.
He writes cryptically of various girls (women, we’d call them now). He refers to one as “top flight.” Another he calls “the sweet little flower of the Springtime.” It wasn’t until my second reading that one brief paragraph caught my attention and I did a double take: “Before school was out the long-awaited for happened. I need no reminder as to the events of July 10—This is My Beloved.” Of course, I found the song on YouTube, a now-tedious ballad from the stage musical, Kismet. The identity of his companion on July 10 is left a mystery.
My mom, apparently, is just one of many, and he writes of his hesitation in committing to her (in her version, the one I had heard over the years, the hesitation was all on her side). “The less said about busts ups and so on the better,” my father writes dismissingly in 1951. “So I’ll just try to get her out of my system . . . I think I was more thrilled in 1948.” He’s obviously puffing away: “I wonder what she would say if she could see me right now—she who thinks it looks ‘silly’ for a young man to smoke a pipe. Ha!”
The two of them (Joe and Jody) weren’t “pinned” until 1953. I think of their rocky marriage, happy and unhappy, mostly unhappy when I knew it. What if one or the other had chosen a different path?
In a less reticent section, he writes of a dazzling trip to Montana, where his aunt and uncle lived and where he caught his first trout. He calls Bozeman a town of “friendly people, clean silver money, and clear air” (even their money is cleaner than in Iowa, apparently). He walks into the countryside at daybreak, and lavishly describes a dewdrop clinging to the lower edge of a bluebell. The sun “bursts over the horizon in loud fortissimo” and “sweet is the kiss Spring presses on Earth’s eager lips.”
Reading this stuff made me remember my own youth, when I could walk around in a poetic cloud without the ever-present mental to-do list (you know what I’m talking about) intruding upon my bliss. The Dad I grew up with loved the outdoors—hiking and raking leaves, for example—but this ardent young man, open to the ecstasies of nature, was a revelation. I wished I had known about him sooner. Would we have had different conversations if I had?
To my amazement, he even wrote poetry. There is a poem he wrote about my mom the year they were engaged, at the height (perhaps?) of his love for her. I often thought of reading it to her, but I never did. Because of her Alzheimer’s she didn’t remember him, or only vaguely, and any mention of her youth seemed to make her cry. Once I showed her an old photo of herself with a group of friends, all laughing after playing tennis, and she ripped it in half and threw it in the wastebasket.
So I didn’t show her the poem.
Now I wonder if I should have. I doubt it would have gotten much reaction—life is not a Nicholas Sparks novel. Still, maybe it would have been the right thing to do. She died of Covid in 2020 so now I’ll never have the chance.
The poem is carefully penned out in Dad’s scraggly cursive and includes the lines,
Kiss me ever so sweetly now
Till every burden is as weightless
As the closing of your eyes.
I close my eyes now and think of Dad, and of Mom.
Of connections and discussions we could have had. Of the rawness of youth and the burdens of age. I look at my own sons growing into young men—all that intensity, all those decisions, all that life ahead of them.
Enjoy each moment, I want to tell them.
Enjoy it and let it go.
Our moments on earth are more important than we think, and less.
x
Chinese scientists make new breakthrough in quantum communication
HEFEI — Chinese scientists have made another breakthrough in quantum communication, demonstrating long-distance free-space quantum key distribution during daylight. In the past, long-distance free-space quantum communication experiments could only be performed at night, because sunlight, or sunlight noise, prohibits quantum communication in transmission under conditions of high channel loss over long distances.
Therefore, the world’s first quantum satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) launched by China in 2016, can only send photons at night, and it takes at least three days for QUESS to cover all ground stations around the Earth. .
A team from the University of Science and Technology of China led by Pan Jianwei, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has overcome the sunlight noise issue and demonstrated free-space quantum key distribution over 53 km during the day. Pan’s team chose a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers and developed free-space single-mode fibre-coupling technology and ultra-low-noise upconversion single-photon detectors to achieve the daytime distribution. .
The new technology was announced on July 24 in the journal of Nature Photonics. “Our experiment has proved the feasibility of satellite-based quantum in daylight, and laid a foundation for a satellite-constellation-based global quantum network,” said Pan.
Quantum communication is ultra-secure as a quantum photon can neither be separated nor duplicated. Accordingly, it is impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack information it transmits.
China is striving to set up the first-ever global quantum communication network by around 2030, through linking a satellite constellation consisting of dozens of quantum satellites and ground-based quantum communication networks.
I was living in a flat and needed some furniture, so down to the second hand shop, and bought a wardrobe for the bedroom and a set of matching drawers.
I got them back to the flat and was giving them a wipe over.
I found a false bottom in the wardrobe (I wondered why the guy at the second hand shop had not found it) , the screws were nearly invisible so that was probably why.
Anyways, I removed the bottom panel and found several old papers and bundles of cloth, so I thought as I didn’t know was in the cloth, time for some gloves.
The papers were very old (about 50 years), but due to the location they had not gone yellow.
They contained news of the day and advertisements, which I found very funny, you could buy a 3 piece suit, including extras(?) at a cost of £3.00 (about 4 dollars) and it was made to measure.
You could buy gas cookers for £4 (about 5 dollars and fifty cents) and lots of other items at silly prices, but when you think in those days the average weekly pay was about 10 shillings (about 60cents) if you were very lucky.
So I thought i would see what was in the bundles of cloth, (I’m glad I wore gloves for this one).
I unrolled the first one and it contained teeth, yep teeth, all tiny ones, (Obviously baby teeth), so to the next one, hoping this one was not teeth.
Well it wasn’t teeth, It was a pair of tiny baby shoes, hand stitched and still looked as though they had just been made, go on say it il’e wait. awwww.
To the next one, this contained personal items like combs, brushes, and hair clips? and a handkerchief, with initials on I think they were MA or something in that line.
At this point I started to think, that this looks alike a tragic episode in some ones life.
Reading between the lines, I had a feeling that the woman who’s items these were, had died shortly after giving birth to a child, the baby have survived for a while, then also died.
The next roll, this contained what i would call trinkets, bits of jewellery, buttons, hair slides (looked like they had been made from bone) and other little items, now down to the last roll.
This contained coins and rings, and weirdly shirt buttons, and collar studs, collar studs were used to attach the collar to the shirt, in them days they wore very stiff collars, that were starched and ironed flat, as shirts did not have collars attach, this was eventually changed, and the collars were attached to the shirts. so that was my collection.
What to do with it, I couldn’t chuck it in the bin, I did not want to keep it, so I donated the items to the local museum, they were on display a few weeks after.
I was invited to see the unveiling of the items, and the curator had some news about the items, the newspapers contained a story about a works accident at the local cotton mill, and it would appear the lady in question was trapped behind a spinning machine, and died of her injuries.
The husband had gathered her belongings and hidden them, for safe keeping in the wardrobe, a fascinating story of one family torn apart by tragedy.
All in a second hand wardrobe.
BEST EVER AC-DC impression by Jim Breuer
Amazing!
Why is the China Belt and Road Initiative leaving so many countries in debt?
Developing countries are poor. China lends money to these countries. Therefore, they’re in debt. Duh!
You have no money. A bank lends you money to buy a car or a house. Then, you’re in debt. Duh!
China lends money to help these countries build infrastructure which will help develop their economy. So far, none of them have defaulted on their loan.
When a country struggles to pay back the loan, China tries to accommodate them by renegotiating the terms of the loan, or in some case actually forgiving the loan!
If you can’t make your mortgage or car payments, what will your bank do for you? LOL.
Sweden is known for having some of the world’s highest taxes, yet the country’s tax agency is still one of Sweden’s most trusted organizations. How is this possible?
Because us Swedes have a very simple, equal, seethrough tax system. I pay 27% in tax on my salary, and 25% vat on anything I buy. That’s it!
I get a paper from the tax agency once a year with all figures for last year, check that I get back about as much as I have thought I’d get back (vague calculations in my head), and sign it electronically with my bnk-ID app. Takes me three minutes per year. The rest of the time I don’t think about the taxes, I’m just happy that I get as much as I get!
The tax agency is full of VERY kind and helpful people. I used to have my own company and every year after I had sent in my papers a person from the tax agency would phone me up and go through all faults I had done. I was fined ($1200) wrote them a letter explaining why I had done the fault (missing deadlines due to my chronic illness) and promptly got the whole fine back.
I love my tax, my tax agency, and my tax returns!
If I would be able to sum up ALL that I and my family recieve for the tax we pay… I would be overwhelmed! Never that we pay as much as we get back. Never!
Roads. Bridges. Roadsigns. Streetlights. Buses. Trains. Military. Police. Firefighters. Judges. Government. Parks. Nature reservs. Customs. EPA. Food administration. Schools. Childcare. Care for the old and infirm. Sewage treatment plants. Parental leave payment (1.5 years per child and I have 3), free healthcare during pregnancy, free baby delivery, free healthcare for the babis until they are 20 yo. Free healthcare for my whole life for my (and everybody else’s) Diabetes. Free dental care until 24 yo then subsidised. Subsidised kindergarten. Free school 0-9 (groundschool 6–16 yo children), free three year Gymnasium (16–19 yo), free University and both me and my husband and our daughter have a MSc AND a PhD as the first with degrees in my and hubbys families. Our 2 sons have about 6–8 years each at University with MSc in Economics AND Civil engineer degrees in IT.
All of us are accident prone with plenty broken legs and arms (skiing), my husband has had a massive stroke, I have had long Covid for 2.5 years, and when I sat fire on my garden (accident!) the firebrigade came before my house caught fire… When my sister in law had a broken artery (aorta aneurysm) she was flown in a hospital helicopter about 1 hour, wth two pilotes, one ER doctor an one ICU nurse. Her surgery took 12 hours, her heart was repaired, a new valve inserted, her aorta sawn together and strengthened and weeks at the hospital. Just that one trip with that helicopter… all he tax I pay for years (!) would not pay for that trip. And now she have done three such trips. Completely free!
I live an awsome life, with my and my family’s and all other Swedes basic needs provided for by all of us paying our taxes. It’s like having a safety net behind you and everything in front of you is WIDE OPEN making you FREE to realise all your dreams.
Yes, I found 20 stock shares of Apple…
No, I’m fooling.
I hope you get someone with a good story; I love the topic, too.
When I was little, I would explore old basements in Utah. People would build basements to live in while they saved up to build the houses above. These were abandoned, which is the next coolest thing, I think: exploring unused buildings. Anyway, we would go in these houses in the dirt—wallpaper tattered but still there. Sometimes we would find furniture. We were young, maybe ten, and this was back in the 1960s when you would still find such things.
About five years ago, I was doing an apartment and found an old pump organ from the turn of the 20th century. It was remarkable in that the old bellows worked. It was playable! Unique, too, because it was made by what would eventually be called Baldwin Instruments, one of the leaders of piano manufacturing.
I went through it carefully to talk about the condition with the buyer, and the idea of being able to play a song with it for him made it that much better.
As I was going through the hammers of the instrument’s front, I found a couple of prizes. The instrument was “imported” to where I am in Oregon—significant in that Oregon was a very spartan area at the turn of that century. Organs, while popular and plentiful in the east, were a novelty out here.
Mr. Rbt. Manning bought the organ in Chicago and had it shipped out on Feb. 21st, 1903. He paid $87.50 for it. Why all the detail? The receipt was in an instruction book of how to play the instrument, which was tucked into the framing on the instrument’s inside.
I had both out on display when I presented it to the new owner. I played a tune on the organ. It sounded horrible. Perfect tune—they never go out of tune—but it sounded more like impressionist jazz. It very well might need a tune-up after 117 years.
Thanks for the chance to relive the story.
Super Steel
China is the only country in the world that has realized the industrialized production of super steel, while the super steel of other countries has not yet come out of the laboratory.
As early as 2012, China’s microcrystalline steel (super steel) is in the leading position in the world.
The characteristics of super steel are low cost, high strength and toughness, environmental friendliness, saving of alloying elements and conducive to sustainable development, regarded as a major revolution in the field of steel production.
Super steel was developed by increasing the pressure to 5 times the usual pressure during rolling, increasing the cooling rate and strictly controlling the temperature. Its grain diameter is only 1 micron, which is 1/10~1/20 of ordinary steel, so it has fine structure, high strength and toughness, and can maintain high strength even without adding elements such as nickel and copper.
This major breakthrough will provide extremely important new lightweight materials for vehicles, ships, aviation, aerospace, construction and other fields, with broad application prospects and great strategic significance.
China is the only country in the world that has developed 2,200 MPa super steel, and the annual domestic production of super steel exceeds tens of millions of tons.
Whether it is a warship, an aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine, it can be built with domestic 2,200 MPa super steel to save a lot of import costs.
For example, an aircraft carrier is such an important naval warship that needs only 800 MPa high-strength super steel.
Nuclear submarines need 1100 MPa super steel.
The domestic 2200 MPa super steel can indirectly improve the performance of these military equipment made in China.
In the field of infrastructure engineering, bridges and buildings built with super steel will have a longer lifespan.
The Ugly American
On a cruise from Honolulu to Sydney in late 2012, my wife and I (and everyone else on the ship) witnessed a nice American turn into an ugly American before sanity prevailed and she was transformed into an ignoramus.
The cruise we boarded in Honolulu had started its voyage in San Fransisco (I think) where a pile of yanks had boarded for the long trip to Sydney. My wife and I were pretty much the only Aussies on board and this was our first real contact with “mainland” yanks (Hawaiians think of themselves as just that – Hawaiian).
Over the first 2 days, we met and became friendly with a lot of yanks from all over the place – Montana, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Nevada, California, NY, NJ, New Mexico – a really nice mix of people that we got on really well with.
Right up until a British couple we met asked about their right to bear arms. The poms weren’t looking for an argument, they just didn’t understand. 99.9% of the yanks understood this and a lively, spirited conversation broke out with a surprising 50–50 split between the pro- and anti- yanks.
All good hearted, with some considered and thoughtful opinions throughout.
And then there was Elaine.
Elaine and her husband Barry (may the Gods have pity on your soul Barry) were from New York and, while they were nice enough as a couple, she was exactly what I had thought a loud mouthed New Yorker would be like.
Late to the conversation, she immediately ran roughshod over any opinion that didn’t match hers – which was “The 2nd Amendment guarantees my right to bear arms and you’ll have to prise my guns out of my cold dead hands” – I kid you not – that is a verbatim quote. The more adamant she became, the louder she got, obviously of the belief that volume = correctness.
Most of the other yanks looked a bit sheepish and even the pro- group was asking her to tone it down a notch or two. The more people tried to placate her the more vociferous she became. In the end, she opened her handbag and showed everyone her handgun and said anyone who felt up to it could try and take her gun away.
Almost everyone in the group asked her if it was loaded and she said “Why wouldn’t it be? Pretty dumb to have an unloaded weapon.”.
We all tried to tell her that she was not allowed to carry a loaded weapon on a cruise ship. We all tried to tell her that she was not allowed to carry a weapon (loaded or otherwise) on a cruise ship. She was now at the point of yelling at everyone and this attracted the attention of a couple of stewards.
We explained that Elaine had a loaded weapon in her handbag and I have never seen shit hit a fan faster.
A steward got on the radio and within 2 minutes we had 10 of the ships security surrounding the group with one putting his foot firmly on top of Elaine’s handbag. This prompted another round of screaming and yelling from Elaine. Barry, by now, was trying to shrink to the periphery of the group, leaving Elaine to her own devices.
Within another couple of minutes, the Captain arrived and was given an overview of what had happened. He asked Elaine if she really had a loaded weapon in her handbag. She said she did as she was an American and had every right to carry – she was licensed to carry, her constitution said she could and she was.
The Captain then informed her that the American Constitution only carried water in the USA. This started a whole new incredible round from Elaine as to why the American Constitution was valid wherever American were. This argument went round in circles with Elaine refusing to see that the American 2nd Amendment really only counted in America.
After 5 minutes, the Captain had had enough and asked Elaine if she wanted to see where on the ship the American Constitution was upheld. Thinking she had talked him round, Elain said “Sure – show me.”. The Captain then got his security team to calmly restrain Elaine and marched her off, while the guy that had his foot on her handbag the whole time opened her handbag and removed a rather hefty handpiece. Laying it on the table, he ejected the magazine and ensure there was no shot chambered. The ammo and the handpiece were then placed into a plastic bag that was sealed and handed to the Captain.
Sanity descended, the beer resumed and we were all wondering where Elaine had ended up (while hoping she would remain there for the duration of the journey). We bumped into Barry that evening and asked where his wife was. His reply was precious – “She’s locked up in the brig and is being put off at the next stop where she will be collected by US Embassy officials. I’m trying to make up my mind whether to get off with her or not.”
The rest of the trip was fantastic and we made some lifelong friends.
Elaine is not one of them.
Barry is.
Now that they’re separated.
Hidden Surprises
I’ve never found a secret compartment in any furniture, but I have found things hidden in things I have bought.
I have found nude photos taped to the bottoms of drawers, cash and jewelry in the pockets of clothes from a thrift store and a bag of very old marijuana hidden inside a record player.
The biggest find was in a 1970 Jaguar I purchased from a junk yard.
I was in the yard looking for parts for an old car I was rebuilding and spotted a 1970 Jaguar xj6 that was dirty but otherwise looked to be in excellent condition.
I negotiated with the yard owner and bought it for $700.
This particular yard specialized in American cars and the owner had just planned on sending it to the crusher.
I towed it back to my warehouse and began tinkering with it.
After draining and replacing all the fluids, and replacing a cracked distributor cap, it fired right up.
Happy with my purchase, it sat in the warehouse for a month or so before I messed with it anymore.
When I got back to it, I began cleaning it up and saw that the rear seat had some rips in the leather.
I decided to pull it and patch the rips until I wanted to reupholster it he car as a whole.
Upon removal of the rear seat I found a mess of Morgan silver dollars in coin protectors.
That got me curious so I decided to go ahead and strip the entire interior.
Hidden in every knock and cranny were more of the silver dollars.
By the time all of the interior was removed the total was a little over 1000 silver Morgan and peace dollars plus 25 krugerrand gold coins.
The title I got from the junkyard was the original title issued so I had to assume it was a one owner car.
I had one of the Private investigators I know track down the owner.
The investigator discovered that the owner of the car was a reclusive older man who had recently passed away with no living heirs.
The junkyard I got the car from had gotten the car when the decedents home had been sold and the buyer was removing the contents.
So in the end there was no one I could return them to.
The investigator had discovered that the decedent was a WWII veteran and donated every year to a veterans charity.
The price of gold and silver was much lower then, and the melt price totaled approximately $13,000. With no one to return the treasure to I made a $15,000 donation in the owners name to the one charity it was known he contributed to and put all of the coins in an old wood crate I had laying around the warehouse.
Over the years I have given away a couple of the gold coins to a silent auction at my kids school and a few of the silver dollars to my kids and their friends when they had opened the crate one weekend that I had them cleaning up the warehouse for me.
The majority of the find is still in the same crate I put it in over 20 years ago.
In estimating the find on current melt prices means that crate is worth around $70,000, plus I still have the old jag.
Not bad for a $700 investment.
Chinese scientists make breakthrough in super steel
WASHINGTON — Chinese scientists said on Aug 24 they have developed a super steel that has a high level of both strength and ductility, a breakthrough that may have a wide variety of industrial applications.
Furthermore, its material cost is just one-fifth of that of the steel used in the current aerospace and defense applications, they reported in the US journal Science. Strength and ductility are desirable properties of metallic materials for wide-ranging applications, but increasing strength often leads to the decrease in ductility, which is known as the strength-ductility trade-off.
A Hong Kong-Beijing-Taiwan mechanical engineering team led by Huang Mingxin from the University of Hong Kong adopted a new manufacturing technique called deformed and partitioned (D&P) to addressed the problem.
“Steels have been the most widely used metallic materials in the history of mankind and can be produced with much higher efficiency than any other metallic materials,” the team said in a statement.
“Therefore developing a strong and ductile breakthrough steel has been a long quest since the beginning of Iron Age in mankind history.”
The team explained that it is very difficult to further improve the ductility of metallic materials when their yield strength is beyond two Gigapascal (GPa).
Now, they made “a successful attempt in realizing the above dream” as the newly developed method yields a “breakthrough steel” that has the “unprecedented” yield strength of 2.2 GPa and uniform elongation of 16 percent.
“The developed D&P steel demonstrated the best combination of yield strength and uniform elongation among all existing high-strength metallic materials,” the researchers said.
“In particular, the uniform elongation of the developed D&P steel is much higher than that of metallic materials with yield strength beyond 2.0 GPa.”
According to the team, the “breakthrough steel” belongs to the system of so-called medium manganese steel that contains 10 percent manganese, 0.47 percent carbon, 2.0 percent aluminum and 0.7 percent vanadium.
“No expensive alloying elements have been used exhaustively but just some common alloying compositions that can be widely seen in the commercialized steels,” they said.
Another advantage is that this steel can be developed using conventional industrial processing routes, including warm rolling, cold rolling and annealing.
“This is different from the development of other metallic materials where the fabrication processes involve complex routes and special equipment, which are difficult to scale-up,” said the team.
“Therefore, it is expected that the present breakthrough steel has a great potential for industrial mass production.”
The research outcome was a collective contribution from scientists at the University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology Beijing, City University of Hong Kong, and a university in Taiwan.
My mom’s mother died a week after my parents got married. Lung cancer. She was a habitual chainsmoker. I never got to meet her. My mom tells me she was a petite, fiery Southern woman who wore 5 inch heels till the day she died. I’m named after her.
Probably 8 years later, my pregnant mom was driving to pick my dad up from work. Two year old me was sitting in the backseat, happily blabbering away about anything and everything.
(For anyone who says that I can’t really remember these things, I was too young, my mom refuses to talk about what happened next. It gives her anxiety attacks, I think she suffered from PTSD from it for a long time.)
A bright red hummer rammed into the passenger side of our car doing sixty, trying to make the light that had long been red. Our car flipped over three times and, somehow, landed upright.
My mom was scraped up badly from flying glass. Her neck hurt so bad that EMTs strapped her to a back board and wheeled her away. My brother wouldn’t move for days inside of her, my parents feared the worst.
I didn’t have a scratch on my body.
The carpet from the front seat had, against the laws of physics, flown to the back and wrapped itself around me.
I heard someone with a strong southern drawl saying in my ear, “It’s okay. I have you.”
And I smelled old, stale cigarette smoke.
Dave Matthews Band – Cortez The Killer
Enjoy.
Keeping slim in China
My dad is originally from Shenyang and he was the one who taught me how to cook Chinese cuisines when I was a kid. Actually, he kind of tricked me into it, as he was wont to say “If you don’t learn how to cook, you’ll never find a wife.” No pressure.
I don’t eat “Chinese food” (or other Asian cuisines) for the purpose of being “slim and healthy” though. I eat it because that’s what I ate growing up, what I enjoy eating, what I know how to cook, and because to me, it is delicious. Of course, I am well aware that there are certain dishes that are healthier than others, and because I enjoy being healthy, I try to steer away from those that are not as healthy. For example, I cannot remember the last time I had 油條 (Yóutiáo, I am not sure what you call this in English. I think the closest food item would be a crueller?) or as I call it 油炸鬼 (oil fried ghost / devil… which might be an apt name, actually)
Am I “slim and healthy”? I think the “slim” part applies more to the ladies – I don’t aim to be “slim”. I think I am pretty average-sized, at 183 cm and currently 79 kg, but I used to be 83 kg. According to the Asian BMI calculation though, I am fat. Lol. Oh, dear. But if you see me in person, you’d probably say I am average-sized, or maybe even on the leaner side. I remember the doctor saying BMI isn’t that useful of a calculation for people who are athletic, but I can’t exactly remember why. Suffice to say, I make it a point to exercise at least 30 minutes every day, and so far, all my medical checkups have me in good health and shape, with % body fat levels about 14–16%, albeit a few years ago the doctor did say my uric acid level was a bit higher than normal.
There are as many Chinese diets as there are Chinese people in the world, what more when you apply it to all Asians, who make up 50-60% of the world’s population. I know. It may sound trite. But the truth is, Asia is a huge place. Each individual’s diet is going to be different to the next person’s.
Even in China alone, there are many different Chinese cuisines and schools of cooking, and people in different parts of the country eat differently. I remember watching a video on here, a while back, and there was a lady in a food establishment who was saying to a customer something along the lines of: “This will be great for you. You Guangzhou people like to eat X, X, X, etc. right?”
I’m not going to go through all the different Chinese cuisines because other people on Quora have already done it umpteenth times, and I think they have all done a fantastic job and knowledge-wise and they are very likely miles ahead of a lazy-in-research person like myself. I just know how to cook and eat.
If Chinese cooking was a degree, my major would be in 粤菜 (Cantonese cuisine) and 客家菜 (Hakka cuisine), with a minor in 潮州菜 (Chaozhou cuisine). I know some dishes from the other cuisines, but that’s about it.
Since I don’t eat Chinese cuisine for the purpose of keeping slim and healthy – and I am definitely not a nutritionist – I feel like I should leave it to others, perhaps non-Chinese folks, to tell you why Chinese cuisine might be helpful with that. Mr. Chris Ebbert has already done a good job at it, though I somewhat disagree with his assertion that even vegetables are served with plenty of oil (most of the time, in the cooking process, water comes out from the vegetable, like for example, if you cook spinach or tomatoes. That’s not oil.) I somewhat disagree because for me, the amount of oil depends on which Chinese cuisine. For example, I would say that 潮州菜, 粤菜, and 客家菜 all feature less oil than the other Chinese cuisines.
So instead, I’ll show you what happened when I attempted an eat-Chinese-food only meal plan a couple of weeks ago. I usually eat a mixture of Asian and Western food, and even for the Asian portion, I don’t stick to just Chinese. Why should I, when I can also cook Japanese, Korean, Thai, Singaporean, Malaysian, cuisine (I wish I knew Vietnamese cuisine better, though).
But, just for fun, I did try going all out Chinese-cuisines-only a couple of weeks ago.
You can look at what I ate – for one day – and you can make your own conclusions whether Chinese cuisines are healthy or not.
Disclaimer 1: Once again, I would like to repeat, I am just one person, who knows a tiny fraction about the great big world of Chinese cuisines and how to prepare them. I don’t claim to represent all Chinese people in the world, nor do I claim expertise in any Chinese cuisine, nor do I claim that what I cook is what “normal” people cook.
Note 1: I did take SOME pictures of the food I cooked, but not for everything. I mean, if you cook English or American-type food every day, would you be taking pictures of every dish, like the spaghetti dinner you had with your glass of wine?
So, most of these pictures are not mine – I just used them to illustrate what I cooked. I’m too lazy to mention which are mine and which are not. If it’s an ugly picture, it’s probably mine.
Note 2: These are bog-standard Chinese home-cooking dishes that probably to a Chinese person who eats Chinese food every day, would find utterly commonplace and nothing special, maybe even a little boring. I worked in Chinese restaurants previously so I know how fancy Chinese cuisines can get, but I don’t have the time, energy, money, inclination, or even the kitchen to replicate any of that. (Good luck trying to get “wok’s breath” on a mid-range induction stove…)
Note 3: Everything was cooked by me, to be eaten by me. I live alone. So it’s just a one-person portion, but usually with some leftovers, which are either eaten as a snack later on or in the next meal. To be fair, I think I might have a very healthy appetite. In my family, we tend to lose weight very fast, if we don’t eat above a certain amount everyday. Especially the men in my family. This is why I usually lose weight very fast during assignment or exam-season, because I eat less when I’m stressed,
Breakfast
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I made 燒賣 Siumai. With pork and prawns.
Please excuse the lazy wrapping technique.
Finished about three-quarters of this.
Mid-Morning Snack
釀苦瓜 Bittermelon / Bittergourd stuffed with pork and mushrooms.
This can be braised, but I also like just steaming it, and letting all that brothy liquid gather at the bottom.
I can eat 3 to 4 of these for a snack.
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Lunch
Not my picture but scarily accurate as to what I actually ate!
If I cook Chinese, I usually subscribe to the Three Dishes + 1 bowl of Rice setup because I’m too lazy to cook more than that. But adding the braised peanuts required very little effort.
From top to bottom:
粥 (Congee)
焖花生 (Braised Peanuts) – I just use the ones that come from a can.
炒菠菜 (Stir-fried Spinach) – Plain, with just garlic.
姜葱鸡肉 (Ginger Onion Chicken)
洋葱煎蛋 (Onion omelette) – great for lazy people. I like to let my onions caramelize a little before adding the eggs.
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Mid-Afternoon Snack
番茄炒蛋. Scrambled eggs and tomatoes.
Probably every Chinese person knows how to make this one.
I like this dish wet and juicy.
Because it’s meant to be “scrambled eggs” not “omelette”.
No leftovers. Ever.
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Dinner
Not my picture but again, very accurate to what I ate, except I didn’t have clams in my soup.
From top to bottom:
冬瓜湯 (Winter Melon Soup) – Whenever I make soup, I always try to make a big pot so that I will have soup for the next 1–2 days. Soup is love. Soup is life.
Rice
干煎味噌鸡 (Pan-fried Miso Chicken)
虾米炒四季豆 (Dried Shrimps with Beans)
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Dessert:
One to two mandarin oranges.
Eaten usually one to two hours after dinner.
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Bed-Time Snack
烤白薯 Roasted Sweet Potato.
I can usually eat two medium-sized ones before bed.
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After that snack, I go off to bed.
THE END
A secret surprise
I have found a secret compartment in a piece of furniture.
I inherited a scroll top desk from my family. It had been my grandfather’s. It had the year 1891 and the builder’s signature, if you took the center drawer out and looked up at the underside of the writing surface. He had been a lumber baron and general merchant in the Miramichi River area of New Brunswick, Canada during the early 1900s.
The desk looked a little like one of these –
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It had been pushed into a corner, so the right side was against a wall and couldn’t be seen without moving the whole desk. When I was taking the drawers out one at a time and examining them I didn’t notice at all until I had them all out that the dimensions weren’t quite right. Without the drawers, if you looked or felt inside and to the right you found a thin wall forming the interior. You would assume you were seeing or feeling the back of the outside side paneling surface of the desk. You wouldn’t notice that from the inside surface to the outside there was about an inch, unless you had all of the drawers out and were carefully examining it.
I moved the desk away from the wall and with a flashlight examined the side. Sure enough, there was a very small keyhole, one of what looked like several ventilation holes cut in a pattern around the edges of the panel.
I dug around through all the old papers, pigeonholes, inkwells, and detritus of a couple of generations and found one key to the scroll top and top drawers. The top drawers had locks and the top itself locked, so the writing area and pigeon holes were secure when the top was down. There was even an envelope mail slot on one of the sides of the work area so staff could push confidential or valuable mail into the desk without it being open. After a fair amount of digging, I also found another small key cut. Sure enough, I was able to open that side panel.
The space inside wouldn’t have held anything other than a few flat papers. There were a few old invoices or notes in there, but nothing I was able to recognize as having value.
A year or two later I had the desk disassembled and refinished. The restorer said one of his other customers offered $7,000 when he discovered it at the shop. That was around 1982 or so. The desk would have been around 100 years old at the time.
I still have it – it was worth more to me as a keepsake.
Electroslag remelting
Electroslag remelting is a method of smelting using the resistance heat generated when an electric current passes through the molten slag as a heat source.
Its main purpose is to purify the metal and obtain a clean, uniform and dense steel ingot.
The steel remelted by electroslag has high purity, low sulfur content, few non-metallic inclusions, smooth ingot surface, clean, uniform and dense, uniform metallographic structure and chemical composition.
On May 5, 2009, the world’s largest 450-ton electroslag remelting furnace was successfully commissioned and smelted for the first time.
The successful manufacture of China’s 450-ton electroslag remelting furnace will undoubtedly greatly enhance the manufacturing capacity of the large-scale forgings in China in the production of low-voltage rotors, generator rotors, and evaporators of steam turbines mainly used in second and third-generation million-kilowatt nuclear power plants.
Large nuclear power forgings such as tube sheets and electroslag ingots for large backup rolls have become a major leap in the domestic electroslag furnace smelting equipment technology.
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A family that hid things
I came from a family who used to hide things “to keep them in a safe place.” Diamond earrings might be in the bottom of a flower pot of nylon flowers. The heirloom silver I found in the attic in a box marked “old curtains.” Yes, it had old curtains, but it also had silver. Our son listened to all this as new discoveries were made.
With that background, our son got to work in our business when he turned 16. We paid him minimum wage, and he was told, “By the time you get out of high school, you’ll either love this business or hate this business. But either way, you’re working for us.” (By the way, he now lives several states away, and I think that was a wise move.) When he worked for us, he always did a conscientious job on everything he was given to do.
He was also the newest hired, and so he tended to get the worst jobs. We purchased a mobile home from the relatives of the old woman who lived there. It was still furnished, so we sent our son over there in the big truck to clear everything out after the large furniture had been moved. So, clear out all the drawers, closets, cabinets, and everything else he could find. Pitch it into the truck and then from the truck into the dumpster.
With his usual conscientious effort, he did just that, carefully looking through every garment, box, and paper. Way back in the closet, he found some of those gift boxes that department stores used to give out, the kind that fold flat for storage. As he went through the gift boxes, he found $500 in cash!
He finished the job, came back to the store and told his dad what he found. My husband said, “Well, the rule is that if you find something in a dryer you are fixing, then you get to keep it. (Dryers usually had less than a dollar in change inside.) The same applies here. Now it’s your money. Enjoy!” And that is just what he did!
Why are Americans and Europeans so soft with sanctions against Russia? Don’t they know that if they are too soft on Russia, the international world order will be broken and no one will be safe again?
Soft??? USA and EU have thrown every conceivable sanction at Russia. There’s nothing more they can do.
The international order is collapsing. We are seeing this happen in real time right before our eyes…
The Euro-American states are growing weaker and weaker, losing global influence, suffering high inflation and high fuel prices.
Major protests are breaking out across Europe, in Netherlands, in Czech Republic, in Germany.
They lost major wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They were unable to convince most of the world to sanction Russia.
They were unable to persuade OPEC to increase oil production.
Countries are starting to move away from the US Dollar. In fact, BRICS is creating an alternative reserve currency to the US Dollar.
The Euro-American states were unable to convince SE Asia to join in an anti-China coalition.
US politics is deeply and chronically divided. The country is practically in a state of civil war.
UK fucked itself with Brexit.
Germany fucked itself with anti-Russia moves.
Thank goodness for all this. We will finally see an end to all the fucking wars USA and NATO have been fighting for over half a century, wars that were absolutely pointless and useless.
A new multipolar world order will arise. We will see peace and prosperity for all.
Buried Loot
when I was in college a girl that lived in the same house I did bought a piece of furniture, it was like this super old weird shaped stacked drawer thing and after about 6 months of having it she was pounding on my door at 3am saying I had to come check this out.
I went into her room and she had found an envelope under a wooden lining of one of the drawers with a 9 page letter in it and it told the story of how this girls dad went to prison in the 70s when she was little and he had left her a map to a massive amount of cash hidden in an abandoned well but she never had the courage to go and get it thinking that she would somehow be taken to jail too for not turning it in.
It included her story, details, the maps he gave her, and names and dates. The location it gave was about 3–1/2 hours from us, so that weekend, 6 of us, all girls, loaded up and went on a treasure hunt.
To make a long story short, we found what we were looking for, we found the woman that wrote the note, and we found out that you don’t get to keep stolen money no matter how long it has been.
But we did get a reward, not much, but enough to pay our rent for the whole next school year.
And I know people are going to ask me, why didn’t you just keep it, well first off, it had a piece of steel that was about a 1″ thick and prolly 6 feet square laying on top of it that took 6 men and a backhoe to move, the rope that was tied to the bags had rotten and there was no way to pull them up with that, we had to go onto private property, so we basically had to share the story to get to do it, and there was no way possible for us to have taken the necessary equipment to the hole to retrieve the bags without a ton of people knowing.
So we basically just knocked on this woman’s door and said hey we think there is a ton of money in your backyard lol. Next thing we know, half the town including the fire dept was pulling bags of money out of an old dried up well.
Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Create a buzz around the dinner table, without all the fuss! Our stove top chicken Parmesan, made easy with Bisquick™, is the perfect weeknight meal or a satisfying date night surprise that brings delicious to the table every time.
2 cups Muir Glen™ organic Italian herb pasta sauce (from 25.5 oz jar)
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (4 oz)
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The Brass Bed
I had bought a brass bed when I was an antique dealer, and I personally used this bed for myself. It was my perfect size. My toes could touch the brass. It had very thick heads and feet columns. Often, I was looking at the columns and fantasized to myself that taking off those round caps, I could hide something in there, possibly in a soft cloth bag that I could send all the way down to the bottom with a little cord or chain. I played with this idea for months, but while living alone I could not share this fantasy with anyone else. My
kids were all married and living in their own houses. Having to tell someone else where I wanted to hide some special things bothered me.
Finally, the fantasy got the best of me and I decided to unscrew the cap from the left side. The interior of the brass column was clean and empty. Something, pushed me to do the same thing to the other side. My compulsion to do so, was unbelievable and voila’ , I managed to unscrew the other cap. To
my utter astonishment there was a string hanging in the column attached to part of a screw. The line extended to the bottom and there was a small black silk bag. I couldn’t believe that someone else had my same thought . My heart was beating to the sound of a locomotive in full speed. The excitement of finding some jewelry or money was leaving my breathless. I gingerly pulled the string which was light as a feather. I thought, it is too light to have something of value. I slowly brought the bag to the surface and I saw that there was a faded yellow paper. I smiled thinking that was someone’s love letters. I slowly opened the crumbled old paper. One single lonely line stood there staring at me: “Sorry, you are too late!”
The food only women can cook.
It’s not sexist, it’s Nyonya cuisine. The incredible precise techniques necessary to create the food that gives Nyonya cooking its revered status within Peranakan communities.
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Peranakan men are called Baba (uncle), women are Nyonya (auntie) – it’s not by chance that the spicy, piquant cuisine is named after the females. The matriarchal recipes are passed down from one generation to the next, and are expected to be mastered by the women in the family. I was made to cook some of the dishes when grandma lost her sight – I was 10yo.
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There were no recipes, it’s all in the head, by memory. Grandma barked instructions on the spot. Seemingly straightforward dishes like herbal rice required a precise blend of herbs and spices, pounded by mortar and pestle and mixed by hand to ensure the perfect temperature and consistency of the rice.
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Grilled fish were taken up a notch by being wrapped in banana leaves and grilled under hot charcoal to preserve the aromatics, and served with a sour, spicy sauce made from calamansi limes (juiced by hand of course) and belacan (shrimp paste).
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There were no juicer/blender then – even if we had, it’s not allowed – which is believed to compromise flavours. Instead, coconut milk was squeezed from hand-grated coconut meat by hand, and spice pastes are pounded in a mortar and pestle.
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Nyonya cuisine is slowly dying. Young Nyonya women are reluctant to learn old-school techniques, the technical practices that define Nyonya cooking – the endangered part of its culinary heritage.
Addendum:
Nyonya restaurants in Malacca (Melaka) – one of the major abodes for Peranakans – thrive to this day by tweaking recipes to cater to tourists and offering vegetarian dishes – which is unusual because most Nyonya dishes are meat based.
I have eaten at a few authentic Nyonya restaurants in the historical city and generally they are good, some dishes excellent.
Owner chefs are women of course, trained by their mothers and grandmothers in the kitchen in their youth – where “agak-agak”, the Nonya term for estimation of ingredients used, was an important part of cooking. Typical, no written recipe.
David Gilmour – Shine On You Crazy Diamond feat. Crosby & Nash (Remember That Night)
The meeting at the SEO concluded, and the rest of the world are divorcing from the United States led uni-polar order. Its ENDING.
Of course, the USA is going to do everything possible to disrupt the nations of the SEO. Expect it, and the rest of the world is READY for those efforts.
Buckle up.
Why is China so angry over the UN report on Xinjiang?
I’m not sure angry is the right word.
According to the Anglo Saxon press China “furiously slammed”, “vigorously denied”, the report or “lashed out” at the UN human rights office.
But there’s nothing in the report that wasn’t alleged before. No new facts or proof were presented. And China’s response was also just the same as before: “move along please, nothing to see here”.
Of course there’ll be some diplomatic soundbites to show that they don’t agree with the findings, but angry? I don’t think anybody is really surprised by anything in the report.
I think China should react the same as the gas station attendant in one episode of Columbo. There was a scene in the episode where Columbo drives up to a gas station in his old and rusty Peugeot convertible. While the gas station attendant prepares to fill his tank Columbo tells him: “watch the paint will ya”. The attendant looks at the car and replies: “sure, will keep that in mind when I find any paint”.
Similarly China could’ve just said: “thanks for the report and sure, will keep that in mind when we find any issues”.
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Treasure
I have inherited treasure. But my father is the one who actually found it.
Back around 1952, both my parents were still fairly fresh immigrants out of Poland, after WWII. In 1948, my mom, the oldest of 9 kids who survived the war, came over with her parents when she was 16 on this ship, the General A.W. Greely:
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And my dad came over the same year. The 9 kids and my grandmother worked on a vegetable farm for the farmer who sponsored their immigration. They lived in this shack which physically, wasn’t tremendously different than the Nazi labor camp barracks they’d spent years in. But, of course, they weren’t slaves here! They had food. They could come and go. And nobody was beating or murdering them.
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They were part of a Refugee Program for Displaced Persons. They were called DP’s. Right after the war, since they had no homes to go back to in Poland (they were destroyed [not to mention, now under communist control]), they were sponsored by a family of farmers near Buffalo, NY. The deal was, they would all live in this shack with a bunch of other families, and work all year round picking lettuce, strawberries, cucumbers. beans, and other crops, until their debt was paid off. The youngest of the kids was 2-years-old… my aunt. They all worked the fields. Their sponsor was the DeCarlo Family Farm in the town of North Collins. I have everlasting gratitude to the DeCarlos for treating my family well on that farm, as they became Americans.
My Dad and Grandfather both had jobs lined up at the local Ford plant, although they didn’t then know each other. Somehow, through some social function for immigrants, my mom and dad met and were soon married.
So, my dad was the first son-in-law. I don’t know how they did it, but within just three years, with everyone working on the farm or at the Ford plant, and having satisfied the terms of the immigrant sponsorship, both families had saved enough money to buy houses; both my grandfather and his whole family, and my newlywed Mom and Dad. That was crazy fast! But I guess with that large of a family, and everyone working, down to my 2 year-old aunt, saving pennies picking crops for three seasons added up quickly. They all had just survived the horrors of being right in the center of a World War for six years, so living in a safe peaceful place, in a shack, with the opportunity to earn money… they didn’t dawdle.
In 1951, my dad bought a really nice Victorian Era house in the Polish section of Buffalo, NY. And my grandfather bought a bigger one just down the street. So now, everyone worked just as hard cleaning up the houses, to move into. Out of these twelve people, my dad and grandfather were the only two men… the rest being my grandmother and 8 teenage girls (oh… and my 7 year-old uncle). But, of course, my dad was obliged to help out with the bigger house as well (even though he had his own house to work on).
One day, my grandfather wanted him to help clean out the 100 year old basement in the big house. This is the house as it looked in 2010. By this time, the house has gone to ruins, as you can see.
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But in 1951… this was a really grand beautiful house! Built sometime in the 1860s or 1870s, or so. It still had the very old, cast iron, wood-burning, kitchen stove down in the basement. My dad wasn’t all that keen on taking several days away from his own chores, but he helped my grandfather in that basement… under one condition. He got my grandfather to promise that if they found any treasure in that old basement, they would split it 50/50. It was kind of a joke actually, and my grumpy grandfather agreed. They got to work.
Well… of course… they DID find something valuable! And it couldn’t have been more cliché. My dad was poking around on top of the basement ceiling beams, and stuffed in one dark cobwebby corner, he found… a bag of money! An old pouch, full of dozens of very old silver coins! He literally found a bag of treasure! Woohoo!
Now… as fathers and son-in-laws are apt to do… they argued. My grandfather was really pissed off that he had made that silly agreement. He had agreed because he thought that actually finding treasure was a ridiculous hope. But, there it was. One bag of treasure. Now, you have to remember how important money was to these guys. It meant everything, as they’d never had it before; and what they did finally have, came from back-breaking double shifts, for years.
Of course, my grandfather had to abide by the agreement, and each of them took possession of a couple dozen coins, mostly 19th century silver dollars. They had no idea, what was what, so it was a simple matter of… “one for you… one for me… one for you… etc.”
Now, we move forward 18 years. My two sisters and I have by this time been born. I was 6 and my sisters were teenagers. The two families had by this time grown to about nine families, as all the kids grew up and got married off. My mom & dad, and my grandparents continued their hard-working, over-time, penny-pinching ways, during that whole time, and by the late 1960s, they both had saved up enough cash to take the next step in the American Dream. Moving out of the city, and getting a place in the country. In fact, building their own homes. By 1969, both my parents, and my grandparents had built their new beautiful modern houses in the small rural town of Eden, NY. Red-brick ranch style houses with an acre of land each. Fields and forest all around.
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That’s our house in the center, and the surrounding countryside. It’s where I grew up. Those forests are where I became a country boy, forever exploring, for miles & miles in every direction. I am eternally thankful for the hard work and sacrifices my parents undertook to provide me and my sisters an incredibly great place to grow up. My grandparents and us built our houses right across the street from each other.
A few years later… I think I was maybe eleven years old, or so… the story of the buried treasure came out. Of course, I wanted to hear all about it! And my dad was happy to finally tell it, as it was one of his greatest moments of “getting” his father-in-law in a “Gotcha!” They had a constant bitter-sweet relationship, for the last twenty years, always trying to out-do each other. It was often at the level of sit-com absurdity. So… we all heard the story at the dinner table that night. And obviously…. WANTED TO SEE IT!
Dad went to his secret hiding spot, and pulled out a cloth pouch of silver coins, and carefully spread them out on the table. Treasure! My eyes couldn’t get wider. Dad talked about his score, and that my grandparents had the other half. They were always meant to hand down to everyone’s kids. But, you see… my grandfather had to split his share amongst all his kids… who each had a pile of kids. So grandma would give them out at special occasions, to my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My dad, on the other hand, only had my two sisters and I to split them up with, so we clearly had the better situation. I don’t recall if my sisters were as eager as I was at the time, but as far as I was concerned… LET THE SPLITTING UP AND HANDING DOWN BEGIN! It’s TREASURE! Heck, yeah!
It’s clear that my dad was prepared to do so, or he would never have brought them out of hiding in the first place. But… to my dismay… we weren’t then getting our full shares. Just one a piece. My disappointment lasted about three seconds, as I got my first share of inheritance, at 11 years old. We got our own old silver coin, and we each eventually put them in our own secret spots. Apparently, not a single one of us knew a single thing about coin collecting. We just all saw they were old, from the 1800’s.
A couple or three more years went buy, and I eventually started looking into actual coin collecting. I bought a book. Strange that no one else had though to do that yet, but I asked my dad if I could see the remaining coins so I could look them up. He allowed me to do that. This is when I discovered that, for the most part, they were Morgan Silver Dollars. 1878 to 1904. I started to read about and understand what mint marks were all about, and learned that age wasn’t the only thing that mattered. There was mint mark and condition, too. Obvious now, but I knew nothing about this stuff before. Clearly, of most import, was the coin that I had as my own. I checked it out and found out that it was worth some $40 or so. Mine was one of the oldest. I believe it was an 1879 coin. I went through the whole pile, one by one. So I was seeing something like “$18… $20… $8… $75 (ooo!)… $20… $85 (!!!) … $8… $20… $2000 … wait, what?! $2000??!!! WOW!!!
One of the coins had the date of 1889 on the front:
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And more importantly… it had a “CC” mint mark, for Carson City, Nevada, on the back! (at the bottom, above the “DO” of Dollar.
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Holy crap! Being the burgeoning entrepreneur that I was, I immediately asked my dad if I could trade my coin for one of the others. Why? Well, I told him straight up… because it was worth more. He said fine. So… I swapped mine for the CC coin and gave the rest back. Hey… if my sisters had taken the time to read about coin collecting, they could have made the discovery themselves. But they didn’t. So my conscience was clear. My swapped coin went back to my secret hiding spot.
Life went on. We all grew up. Had our traveling, our colleges, our marriages (my divorce), kids, etc.
Close to thirty years passed and I found myself in Arizona, doing wildlife work. I was still kind of emotionally recovering from my marriage debacle in England less than a couple years earlier. And financially recovering. I was all-in on my field studies for various agencies and wildlife groups, getting a lot of great science done. It was just what I needed, as my head wasn’t yet in the game enough to commit myself back to my Engineering career. Unfortunately, half my work was volunteer work (which would pay off later), and the other half was the piddly amount that was usually available in research budgets, for paid field researchers. Emotionally, mentally, I was doing great.
Financially… not so much.
There was a lot of touch & go during those times, trying to make up enough cash to pay basic rent on my 3-room apartment in the “interesting” part of Tucson. Trying to scrape up enough for basic utilities. I cut back on food and went back to my $1/a day/plan that I had developed when I had gotten out of the Army and took on a beach lifeguard job in Florida, almost 20 years earlier. In case you don’t know… beach lifeguards don’t make a whole lot of money. It’s all about the benefits!
So, there I was… starting to love life again, but seriously strained for cash. I kept up selling things and found various ways to get a little here or a little there. But… the time finally came when I simply ran out of resources.
Of course… my coin had already been in the back of my mind for a few months. I really couldn’t consider it, though. I just couldn’t. …. Until I just had to. Okay… my most treasured family heirloom just had to be sacrificed. I was committed. I checked out values again, and noticed it hadn’t changed much. With a liberal estimate of “condition”… I still thought I might be able to get $2000 for it. So… not having internet… I started out to locate every coin buyer, numismatist, collector, and pawn shop I could find. I started making my rounds.
It didn’t start out very well, as I continued to get low-balled on my 1889 CC Morgan Silver Dollar. I was getting offers in the several hundreds, and not even near the $2000 I was holding fast to. I simply could not allow myself to take a desperate price for something that was so valuable to me in every other way.
After a couple of days of this, I found myself having just walked out of another collector’s shop, having been offered $800. Things were looking bleak. I was sitting in my Jeep, clueless, when my phone rang. It was one of the shops I visited the day before.
I guess he thought I would come back for his low-ball. Who knows… in another couple minutes, I may have! But, he said to come on back, and he would give me my $2000 for this coin that we both knew was pretty damn rare! HOLY COW!!! I tried not to act too excited, but I was back there within 15 minutes, and we made the exchange. Wow! I wasn’t going to be homeless after-all! I can’t express how difficult it was to hand over that coin, but I just was at a point of zero options.
So… with the economical way I was living, that was giving me a good three months of breathing room. I could certainly improve my position within three months. And I did.
However… that’s not the end of the story. At that point, Morgans were relatively rare, all over. And that was certainly the case for the really special ones. But fate took a very strange turn just a few weeks after i sold that coin. Turns out that the coin collecting world… at least the Morgan Silver Dollar collecting world… was turned upside down on its head, when an enormous stash of these very coins was found, someplace in America! Like … thousands of them suddenly turned up in the market, and their value steeply plummeted! My $2000 coin took a huge hit and lost well over $1000 in value. If I had waited just another couple weeks, things would have turned out far differently for me that summer in Tucson. Far differently.
I do feel for the unfortunate turn of events for that coin shop that took such a massive loss on his investment. But… what can I say? Collecting is always associated with risk. I got lucky. The coin shop didn’t.
In retrospect, I still see that I had no other options.
Still not the end. Years later, my dad was nearing the end and I was his 24/7 hospice keeper for his final few months. Those coins that he still had, had been given out here and there over the years. But there were still quite a few left. None were ever as valuable as my CC. But, they weren’t worthless, even after the Morgan Crash. So, he gave me the rest of them. I still have heirlooms. Not nearly as valuable, in one sense. But incredibly valuable in another. They are now in my secret hiding spot. And when the time comes… they will be handed down.
They are after all… real and true, found hidden treasure.
A “house cleaning” / purge of DDP membership is taking place
The DDP is the “independence for Taiwan” political party that currently rules Taiwan and is trying hard to work with the United States. I recon that United States pressures, and Chinese pressures are causing a severe rift in the political party leadership. Yet, I do now know what will come of this.
I do not know if the purges will cause the party to lean towards China or strengthen their ties with the United States.
Given what I know we can say the following are true…
The USA has ramped up an anti-China effort around Taiwan.
The USA is tossing about the Taiwan Act of 2022.
China has reacted VERY STRONGLY regarding it.
And now this…
The taiwan ruling party DPP expelled 26 party members who had left the party or violated discipline to run for municipal councillors, including Zheng Baoqing, who was registered to run for mayor of Taoyuan. You Yinglong, chairman of the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, said that the Democratic Progressive Party confiscated the primary election, and factions within the party arranged the right to nominate city councillors, leaving many talents with no way to participate, resulting in behaviors that violate discipline or leave the party to run for elections. If the party led by President Tsai Ing-wen still does not know how to introspect and review, will there be tomorrow?
I met an old entrepreneur that had several successful companies. He made millions and stills owns a lot of businesses. He doesn’t brag about the money, he speaks about the people he met (he quoted Steve Jobs) and share knowledge.
When he offered to pay our breakfast (50$ in Paris) he joked about being older and richer than me to not split the bill. He paid with a classic gold mastercard. Not a black card, not a centurion, a simple gold card.
We got out of the brasserie, and was I amazed by my scooter: a small electric Cityscoot moto that any one can rent for 0.2€ per minute in Paris
x
When he headed to his office, he went on foot. Not in a uber or expensive car. On foot. He has time, the most valuable thing in the world.
Being discreet wealthy is being able to pay things without showing off and to spend time instead of money.
Black (Live) – MTV Unplugged – Pearl Jam
Europeans talk about their visits to the United States
Here’s the answers.
Answer 1
There were only two things that shocked me when I came to the US.
the complete lack of maintenance for the infrastructure. I thought Americans loved to drive? So why not spend some money on maintenance. I’ve seen more potholes in 6 days in the USA, than in my entire life in the Netherlands
the way police officers and other other uniformed people behaved. It already started on the airport at border security, all of the guys in uniform acted like they were the most important person in the world and we were just measly worms. Come on, I know you have a job to do, but why can’t you just try to be pollite? If Dutch police officers would behave like that, they would be considered unfit for the job.
Answer 2
Sort of, yes.
The roads, first of all. They were exactly like the horror stories people used to tell from East Germany, pot holes in the highways and no maintenance for decades.
Then, the cheap stuff. The really cheap stuff in shops. All of so low quality that it would be illegal to sell in Europe.
And after a while, the widespread sheer squalor. I had expected the US to be much like Europe in terms of general standard of living, but it’s actually closer to North Africa, with actual slum areas.
Answer 3
As a Finn who visited a few states (CO, UT, AZ, NM) a couple of years ago, and especially as I see a lot of answers having a rather negative tone, I’ll chip in.
While I do agree with some of the points in other answers, they didn’t really shock me. We don’t have the best roads in Finland either, my daily driver is an off roader and I spent quite a lot of time on gravel. Finland also has tenth most guns per capita in the world and I’ve been to a range shooting AR variant just last week. So much for the “Europeans don’t get guns” myth. The US gets quite a news coverage on this side of the pond also, the pop culture has a huge impact and world geography and history are taught since primary school, so many of the differences were already known and expected. Issues are common and everywhere, just different and news are readily available, so they never shock.
What really shocked me was how beautiful everything was, the scenery was insane! I wouldn’t be able to describe it in words. I know many people are in awe visiting Finland, and I guess our nature has its charm, but when you’ve lived here all your life it’s really just flat and full of trees. Your average sightline at any given moment is in meters, not in kilometers, except in the northernmost Lapland. At these latitudes, we also have either sun all the time or snow, but rarely both at the same time. Definitely, the Sun is never straight above when there’s snow. It barely peeks from behind the trees before descending again. Here it’s either six months of twilight and snow, or summer and sun around the clock.
I was in total awe throughout my stay. The snow-covered Rocky Mountains, I70 flowing along the Colorado River, arid vastness of eastern Utah, Colorado National Monument, Arches National Park, Mesa Verde, dinosaur fossils, shallow mountain creeks, conifer, pine and juniper forests… I covered some 2000 miles in a week driving a Challenger and a Cherokee and visited many places. What I really encountered was beautiful nature, smiling people and great hospitality beyond what I, as a naturally introverted Finn, am used to.
Us Europeans like to nitpick and talk down on the US, sometimes very much deservedly so. I also like how we have things here in Finland and wouldn’t have it in any other way. But at the same time, my visit gave me exactly ZERO reasons not to visit again. All the issues encountered in various media around internet vanish to thin air when you are actually in there, in thin air, at the height of 3500 meters, driving a Challenger through a blizzard. Loved the place, loved the car and would love to visit again!
Answer 4
I wouldn’t say ‘shocked’ but certainly, having lived and worked in the US, there are notable differences.
American flags are everywhere. Flags on shops. Flags on cars. Flags outside malls, then flags inside malls. I even saw a cow with a flag sprayed on it. In Europe the only time we see so many flags not on government buildings is during the ‘soccer’ World Cup. Due to the whole rise of facism in the 1930s and 40s, Europeans tend to find this a bit unsettling. The Pledge of Allegiance being recited by kids gives us the creeps. But that’s us, not you! Bovine flags don’t scream facism though to us, just to be clear. That’s something every nation can benefit from.
Federal speak. No one talks of ‘unpatriotic’ behaviour or ‘unIrish’ or ‘unGerman’ acts. But ‘unAmerican’? There’s a language used by American federal institutions and the public that Europeans just find odd. If a European politician referred to their country as ‘this great nation’ we’d be rolling our eyes thinking they were hamming it up. Europeans find this constant ‘bigging up the country’ irritating because when people do it here, it’s usually to avoid talking about substantive issues by giving crowd-pleasing soundbites. Oh wait …
Speaking of waiting … Bureaucracy. This was the single thing I found most different. Americans love forms. And ballpoint pens. Get this form, fill it out, bring it to this desk where you’ll be handed another form to fill out, and bring ID and proof of address to this desk with that precompleted form and we’ll get back in two weeks with this other form for you to sign. It honestly felt like stepping back in time to the 1970s and a pre-digital world. Didn’t you guys invent the PC? I’m confused.
I found Americans to be happy, open, friendly people. Except when they get into cars. Or are ordering coffees. At that point some strange switch flips in their brains and they suddenly become neurotic, paranoid schizophrenics where any minor transgression or mistake is amplified into having some profound life altering consequence. Driving in a rental car, relying on Google Maps, often meant I got instructions to change lane a little later than I’d have liked. Americans have a very clear view of where you should have merged, and get vindictive if you don’t follow the rules they’re transmitting by psychic powers. Nope, not letting you in now bitch. You can sit in no man’s land while I pretend not to notice you! I can tell you did notice because of the throbbing vein on the side of your head. Then you have drivers with fly brains. I say that because I was taught to check my mirrors before moving off. The fly brain drivers can seemingly accomplish this in 1 nanosecond due to their quick reaction time and lean on their horns if you’re not accelerating away as fast as they expect. And coffee queues? God help you if you don’t blurt out your order in 4 milliseconds, along with exact change including tax in 5 milliseconds. ‘Liz … my name is Liz … only 3 characters to write on the side of the cup so don’t be sighing at the delay I’m causing you, Brandon or Bradford or Kayleigh or whatever name you’re about to give’.
Swearing and nudity. I used to laugh myself sick at the contrast. On the one hand, Americans are very much in favour of freedom of speech. On the other hand, if someone swears on a late night talkshow for adults, or a network shows a film with actual humans sans clothing the complaints come flooding in. In Europe, typically after 9pm, we assume programming is for adults. If I don’t like what I’m watching, I switch channel but I’m not going to have a thrombosis if an adult swears. American TV seemed sanitised and censored, yet Americans think this is something other, less ‘free’ nations do.
Now, Europeans can get all holier-than-thou over US gun laws. My sister and I took a trip to Vegas and went to a shooting range, where we paid far too much money for their, and I kid you not, ‘Assassin’s Creed’ package. We spent a few hours firing every weapon under the sun and had an absolute whale of a time. And very sore shoulders and arms for the next three days. There is no way in hell we could have done that in Europe. It was great craic, as they say here.
Answer 5
Back in January 1973 we were moving ing from England to NZ, and took a PanAm flight with no (overnight) stopovers. Alas, bad weather forced a stopover in LA, so we had to go through immigration there, and stay in a Hotel arranged by the airline.
There was a long queue at immigration, and the lad in front of us had a whinge at the officials, about why they hadn’t put on more staff to cover the huge queue. Within a second, security men had him slammed up against the wall, and dragged away. We were utterly shocked, but quickly accepted we had to keep our mouths shut and put up with the delay.
I had forgotten about this until now, but I realise this sort of scary stuff at US immigration has been going on a long time.
Answer 6
Yes. In order. Bad first:
The rudeness of passport control staff at airports.
Not making tea with boiling water (biggy)
Poor driving standards
The tipping culture
Open racism
Police everywhere
Price tags not including tax
Rubbish public transport
Weak as ditchwater coffee
Fox news
Flags everywhere
Religion
Flight attendants showing systemic distain for passengers
The large nos of clinically obese people
Bugs in summer
Strip joints and churches side by side
High cost yet poor quality groceries
Guns!
Good stuff:
Friendly people
Choice of restaurants
Easy internal travel
The wilderness areas and national parks
Great fly fishing (a biggy)
“Can do” attitude
Customer service
Brilliant museums
Respect for armed services and veterans
That’s enough for now. Well done getting to the end of the list.
Answer 7
I am a bit of a Doors fan and always liked the idea to discover the USA. So I did do this, went alone on a road trip for 4 months and had very low budged. If I was lucky I had a hostel to stay in, sometimes couch sometimes not even that. This way I did meet a lot of people. I had possibility to get to know Florida for some weeks, Texas, Arizona.. north lake Tahoe, valley of death.. California.. New York. What I could.
Things I noticed!
Insanely diverse and beautiful nature. As a Finnish person nature is important. I never forget how many stars you see in Valley of Death at night. Swamps in Florida. Huge Trees in north..
Everything is Big. I have discovered Europe a lot. Here we have age old cities that you can walk in and discover medieval districts (many rebuilt after war to its original look/ many not not). And yes, you can walk! In USA it felt like streets are very wide and big and a Car is a must to get anywhere.
Tipping culture goes deep. This is super hard to understand for a Finnish person. I never knew when and how to give tip. You pay a coffee 1 dollar and give 1 dollar tip. Then you get extra cup.. It is not that I would not like to tip, but in Finland we never give tip because people earn the money by collective agreements and services are expensive.. So it was hard to get around.
Segregation. I have never been in such obviously segregated country. Often I saw areas for White, areas for white trash, areas for black, areas for homos (the most expensive), areas for lesbians.. clear divisions inside a country to different groups.
Religion is important. I am agnostic and I had a talk with many people. I learned rather fast to avoid religion topic, you never ever know is the person you talk to religious. They often do not get over “not being christian” part.
Awesome people. Perhaps the best people I have met. There were amazing personalities and super high level of compassion and hospitality with the people I saw, many were veterans and people who have been in jail and somewhat “on the wrong side of road”. And random people too who learned I am foreigner did find me a nice chap to talk to and vice versa. And also students and other youth who were such a great people.
High level of suspicion. I might roll a cigarette, while kneeling down because of the wind and someone comes at me that I am removing tires from cars. Or I am at night walking (no place to stay) and people become to question my intentions. It felt that when you look even a bit trashed you get attention that you must be some kind of problem..
Occasional looming feeling of danger. I went with bicycle trough “black” neighborhood and a kid came at me and tried to hit my head with basket ball. And I had a few times a little feeling of anxiousness at nights at certain areas.
Proud to be american. This is the most strongest part of USA citizens. No matter how bad things were, it seemed no one complained really ? I met people who had little issues and slept in the car (with me) and they went to work next day at any place there were.. often no jobs. No one blamed the state or anyone else than themselves. I am very amazed of this attitude in good and bad.
Proud to be american part 2. I make it clear! USA is not even close as bad as many Russians I have met when it comes to their historical role. But it is clear that very often USA feels like they also have historical mission. Feeling of supremacy might happen “rarely!” when talking to people, “what did Finns ever do?”. Also avoiding 2nd WW topic is intelligent move. They do not understand why Finland could ally with Nazis, and at the same time they were happy to ally with Soviets. They also had issues of understanding that genocides in Europe were done as much as possible by both parties at the time.. and before and after. USA does not have in their psyche the feeling of being annihilated. They are not being invaded.. ever. As a Finnish person our nation would have been wiped out into Siberia if we were annexed. Same fear is on the psyche of many European nations, this is a huge difference between the psyche we have.
A safe place for smart people. I met people around the world, best Russians also! In USA. It gather the best of the best and most ingenious, that is what I believe.
Homeless people. I jumped from a bus of gray hound in San Francisco. Turned back to station after 5 min walking. I was like “I got the point”.
Drugs ! Depending what you like, not always a bad thing. But they were everywhere, what I heard from the big boys at least..
Local cultures and lack of law. This is interesting thing. Super harsh system to punish people, but people seems to do things that are “illegal” on regular basis. And actually be proud of it. Many people I met does not like to be told what to do, and they did show it.
Certain level of authority and manly culture. When talking to older people, it used to be worse and women were being a bit second class.. and still there is rather strong “bro culture”. Many groups of men had “pack leader” who the other guys turned to in situations.
If I have to say I was disgusted by something as European. LAW and Jail. It does not get into my head why you have to punish everyone from small mistakes. If you make a mistake you might go to jail where they make you even worse. And you get so harsh punishments from a thing that I have done in my life so many times. If was thrown to jail that they have there I would become a complete “ruffian”. Stigmatizing people who have been in Jail is also terrible. I do believe that pathological cases and sexual violence and murders (with no motive) should be put out for life. BUT! Why to punish young people from petty crimes or even a bit bigger ones so badly.
And perhaps way more things. But It is a country of everything. I have a feeling why USA is so great and also why it might be in danger internally. I think USA is indeed a great place overall, it has some unique features and atmosphere. Feel free to disagree.
Answer 8
After reading a few mostly negative answers, I feel the need to add a balanced answer, so we Europeans don’t appear too snobbish, once again :).
First trip to the US (actually first trip outside Europe) was at the age of 13.
Totally amazed when driving to Manhattan by cab – I couldn’t see the top of the buildings from within the car, no matter how I tried! This doesn’t happen in my home country (Switzerland) or elsewhere in Europe!
Fascinated by the easy-going nature of the service personal in the hotel – having a funny talk with a waiter right at your breakfast table in a 4* hotel just happens not that often over here.
Fascinated by how big a large ice cream can get! Was this meant for a whole family? Couldn’t eat half of it! Cool from a boy’s perspective! 🙂
Right when we were in NY, the first Gulf War started. Live coverage from CNN. Strange times.
Next trip at the age of 17
Actually after a random contact via FIDO net (who remembers it? Before the internet was a thing?), got an invitation to visit them – wow!
Pizza in NY: Ordered a large one for two. I still hear the waiter asking “Are you sure guys?” Sure we were sure (we were really hungry). They had to add an extra table for that cart wheel sized pizza. We managed to eat exactly half of it.
A beggar was begging at us from outside the restaurant window. We thought we’re nice and give him some of that remaining pizza when we left. He cursed at us and quite aggressively asked for money. So much for that. Was next to Harlem as I remember.
NY subway: Really, just cool. They call it dirty? So what – it’s darn cool – end of story!
Washington subway: What’s that – cleanest subway in the world probably? Couldn’t believe the difference. Same goes for people’s attitude. If you ask me: I still prefer N.Y. any day. If you run into people, they’re entitled to say or at least think “asshole” imho – no need to apologize for the other if I ran into them. You know what I mean.
Amtrak to Chicago: Ok, I was bit shocked by how slow a train can go! Then it even had a breakdown right before Chicago, no power, no A/C, and many hours delay in total. This was well – not shocking but also not expected for a Swiss lad :).
One day our hosts in Wisconsin just dropped us at a party of youngsters about our age. Strange thing, we didn’t know anybody. Still – was a superb party, we instantly felt welcome. Wouldn’t happen the same way over here.
Some folks there drove an old car in circles until tires broke, then replaced them with the next (old) set? Interesting game! We weren’t even allowed to drive at that age (from 18 in most of Europe).
That party went a bit wild: Kids got hands on a barrel of beer, and tried to drink their Swiss guests into the ground. Learned that “Three—man” drinking game – which we brought back to home, as cultural exchange. But – these guys had zero experience at drinking beer it seemed (in Europe at the age of 17 back then you well – knew more about it :). One after the other dropped out, my colleague and I just had to pee all the time. That weak 2.5% beer just had no other effect on us 🙂
Visited New Glarus (original Glarus is a small town in Switzerland) on 1st of August (Swiss national holiday). Oh my! The people there held the most intense and traditional Swiss National holiday I’ve ever witnessed – felt like being back in time 100 years or so.
Ok, I should stop writing now, as this is most likely boring for everyone except me poking around in old memories :).
Time (and a few more trips to the US) passed since then, and my next visit will be with my son – maybe one day he can write a similar love-letter. Maye about his first walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan after sunset.
Answer 9
They have been exposed to American media for 100 years, there are few things that will shock them.
They do find things that surprise and amuse them. Europeans have related some to me over the years
They are surprised by the popularity of baseball and American football. Basketball was taken up by most of the world, but baseball and football are unusual to them.
The food, especially the portion sizes. They think we tip too much. Americans will eat food in their cars!
Complete strangers are outgoing. Europeans have a bit more reserve around strangers. They think Americans are too nosy and could ask you anything. They might even hug you.
American car culture is kind of shocking. 100 miles is a long distance to Europeans. The US is bloody big and you really can’t get around properly without a car. Americans will drive a car two blocks to the store rather than walking.
The suburban sprawl of American cites is quite unlike Europe. Yet there remains vast rural countrysides,
They think Americans are excessively patriotic and religious.
Sales taxes surprise them.
Americans work a lot and don’t take many vacations. The work ethic that Americans expect from each other doesn’t exist in many European places. On the other hand Asians think Americans are lazy.
Answer 10
A college of mine, who went to Disneyland with his family was certainly surprised in a very bad way.
It started on arrival in the airport, where they let his wife and children pass, and detained him for hours, and he got to endure quite some racist behavior, as he has a colored skin.
They only released him when he threatened to file a formal complaint and asked why someone with NATO clearance, who the US security services trust to work on sensitive NATO and US communications systems, could not be trusted to take his family to Disneyland.
When we told this story at a meeting with Cisco Belgium, the Cisco employe told us that at some point in time, the Cisco CEO threatened to stop all deliveries and maintenance contracts with US airports because of the racist behavior of airport security people, after that, Cisco employees, were left alone when they showed their personnel badge, but other colored people remained being treated badly by the racist airport security people.
Then the bad things continued, on the way from the airport to their hotel, when their taxi halted on a traffic light, a criminal pushed a gun under their nose and demanded their money and other valuables.
And the treatment in the police station afterwards also was not really good, the same racist remarks as from the airport security came back.
So yes it was quite a shock to visit the US.
The end of the USD is happening NOW!
Is China ever going to be more advanced than the USA?
Yes, China is already and going to be more advanced than America because China has a 100% complete industrial system that is unique in the world.
China must make strategic decisions and strategic deployments from the national strategy, often involving a wide range of talents, resources, and disciplines in its cutting-edge technology development plans.
The system superiority of China is often reflected incisively and vividly such as the concentration of thousands of research and development units across the country to jointly develop satellites, manned spaceflight systems and aircraft carrier projects.
The high-tech device, shaking table is one of the necessary equipment in launching rockets.
During the launch of the rocket, a huge thrust is often generated. Due to the sudden acceleration of the speed in a short period of time and the influence of the airflow on the rocket, it will cause the rocket to vibrate to different degrees, which may cause the equipment to fail.
The rocket could explode. In the research and development, the parts of the rocket or the other equipment are put on the vibrating table.
The vibrating table is run to simulate the conditions of strong vibration and see if these parts are intact. As long as they pass the inspection, they will be judged as qualified, so as to ensure that there is no problem at all. It is not only the necessary equipment for the development of large spacecrafts and rockets, but also the key equipment to greatly improve the reliability of various large-scale military and civilian products.
x
The Chinese scientists and engineers independently developed the world’s largest electric thrust rocket shaker.
Western countries all want to import China’s unique technology, including the United States, but China proposes conditions.
First, the equipment made in China must be controlled by Chinese researchers when it is used, and the data involved can only be analyzed by Chinese researchers.
The result can’t be questioned! Second, this equipment cannot be used in the military field. It cannot be transferred to a third country without the consent of China.
It cannot be disassembled and repaired without permission in case of failure. Third, such a unique technology of China can only be rented for short-term, and long-term use and sales are not allowed.
Alegria (final)
Guys comparing their dicks in China
There’s a quite famous post on Tianya community (one of the most prominent Chinese online community). There’s a sub forum on Tianya specifically for people to showoff their wealth. And one day, some guy start showing off his watches:
x
IWC watch.
x
Other people step in and start competing with him
more watch
x
Luxury cars
x
(there’s a lot more, I won’t post them all, since they’re pretty much the same thing, watches, cars, diamond rings and such)
x
Then, things start to get interesting, some guy post this: Government approved mining permit. You ever heard about how Chinese coal mine owner could afford a dozen Hummers, private jets? Yeah…
x
And then, another guy post this, bank account with nearly 1 Billion Yuan (about 150 Million USD).
x
And the post got quiet for a bit until this guy show up, posting bunch of land ownership certificates (the little white note says: all fucking go home!)
x
x
And the post got quiet for a long time, and then this guy stepped up and ended the discussion once and for all:
Level 2: Possession of raw materials (mines, oil, steel…)
Level 3: possession of large amount of money
Level 4: possession of land.
Level 5: Access to the power core.
The guy might not even belong to core power, but the mere access to it, you have that kind of connection is valued more than any material wealth.
There’s your basic Chinese social structure in one sentence.
Vermicular graphite iron casting technology
China successfully developed its own vermicular graphite iron casting technology.
The strength of Chinese internal combustion engine materials is 75% stronger than that in the past, with twice the extra elasticity and fatigue resistance.
With the substantial increase in the production capacity of vermicular graphite cast iron, the popularity of high-performance internal combustion engines has also allowed Chinese products which were originally low-price advantages to catch up with high-end Western products sold higher prices in terms of performance.
x
Fiona
This is Fiona. She is the office manager where my daughter works.
x
She showed up very pregnant one day and introduced herself to everyone.
Then over the weekend she had four babies.
When the girls came to work Monday morning she led them to where she had had her babies and asked for some help.
The girls quickly took her and the babies in and helped Fiona start raising them.
x
When they were old enough all four were adopted into good forever homes. Now Fiona is enjoying her best life indoors at the company where everyone knows her story and loves her.
A web site that posts images and info of people OPPOSED to Ukraine in its fight with Russia, by strange coincidence seems to see some of the people whose photos and info they publish, GET KILLED. Now, we find, that web site . . . is hosted on (derives content from ) NATO servers!
Ok, so for those of you that can verify, I suggest the following:
Go to this Ukrainian website page, showing a composite image of many on the hit list: [link to myrotvorets.center (secure)]. If you examine the page source, depending on browser do something like = -> "Developer" -> "Page Source"
.
See that the image comes from here:
[link to psb4ukr.natocdn.net (secure)]
.
Now, unix people can use a command called 'dig'.
Type:
dig natocdn.net
.
what comes back:
;; ANSWER SECTION:
natocdn.net. 300 IN A 152.152.31.120
.
So then we see whois this IP address, by typing the command 'whois':
whois 152.152.31.120
.
What comes back:
===
inetnum: 152.152.0.0 - 152.152.255.255
netname: NATO-HQ
org: ORG-NHQ1-RIPE
descr: NATO Headquarters
descr: Leopold III ln
descr: 1110 Brussels
country: BE
person: Eddy Vanderstraeten
address: NATO Headquarters
address: 1110 Brussels
address: BE
phone: +32 2 7075150
nic-hdl: EV431-RIPE
mnt-by: RIPE-ERX-MNT
created: 2004-02-02T14:54:06Z
last-modified: 2004-02-02T14:54:06Z
source: RIPE # Filtered
Engines
On September 16, 2020, the development of internal combustion engines in the world ushered in a historic new breakthrough. Weichai Group officially released the world’s first commercial diesel engine with a thermal efficiency exceeding 50% in Jinan, Shandong, China.
China has mature technologies in coal-to-methanol production. Methanol can be used as motor fuel directly and to produce synthetic gasoline.
On December 30, 2008, the Shenhua Ordos Coal Direct Liquefaction Demonstration Project was officially put into operation, which became the world’s first million-ton industrial demonstration project built with modern coal direct liquefaction technology.
The total construction scale of the project is 5 million tons of oil products per year, and the conversion rate is as high as 60% to 70%.
At the same time, the refined oil produced by direct liquefaction has the characteristics of low sulfur and nitrogen content, large specific gravity and low freezing point.
On December 28, 2016, the world’s largest single set of 4 million tons/year indirect coal liquefaction demonstration project was completed and put into operation.
China has formed a sole world class complete system in the field of direct and indirect coal-to-liquid chemical industry in megaton scale.
Coal-fired power generation is no longer the main source of air pollutants in China. By the end of 2021, there are 160 million-kilowatt ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generating units in operation in China, more than the sum of other countries.
China, the only country in the world, has mastered UHV technology, and the UHV technical standards of China are also the only technical standards in the world.
After 10 years of development and construction, China has completed 13 large-scale UHV transmission networks, with 5,000 kilometers of lines spanning the whole of China, with an annual transmission capacity of 98.6 million kilowatts. The smart grid technology of China also leads the world.
Deadly STINGER Anti-Aircraft Missile Seized by German Police for Sale on black Market; came from Ukraine!
Police in Bremen, Germany have arrested at least one man in possession of a fully operational U.S. “Stinger” anti-aircraft system – originally sent to Ukraine as military aid – which ended up on the black market. This is one of the most deadly, accurate, and fully portable systems in the world!
A Stinger missile, fired from the shoulder of any single man, can hit and destroy an aircraft flying up to 15,000 feet, and up to five miles away!
It has been previously reported that an enormous amount of weapons being sent to Ukraine by the United States have been stolen by Ukrainians, and then offered for sale on the black market. In fact, it is now an open secret that only about thirty percent (30%) of the weapons sent, actually make it to the Ukraine military!
One such batch of weapons included U.S. “Stinger” shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft missile launchers.
The image above is the actual Stinger missile seized by German Police. It was fully operational and could have downed a plane. The man who had it, was selling it on the black market.
Hal Turner Remarks
Police in Germany have been ordered to keep quiet about this, due to the embarrassing situation for the US and NATO, that our own weapons are being stolen by Ukraine and sold on the black market.
They were also ordered to keep this quiet “so as not to cause public panic” that military-grade weapons systems are now being sold to anyone who has enough cash, inside Germany, where such systems might actually be used.
Air-cooled two-dimensional active phased array fire control radar
An oldie, but goodie. For those of you who are still convinced that China uses 1960s radar technology. -MM
In May 2017, the world’s first air-cooled two-dimensional active phased array fire control radar was successfully developed in China.
This type of radar uses high-efficiency air-cooled heat dissipation technology to successfully solve the worldwide problem that the traditional PD radar fighter cannot directly upgrade the active phased array radar in-situ.
In-situ direct replacement under any changed conditions can greatly reduce the replacement cost, shorten the replacement cycle, and greatly improve the comprehensive combat effectiveness of the aircraft.
The successful development of the radar is of great significance for enhancing the national defense strength and improving the international competitiveness of airborne radars in the aviation industry of China.
It has broad application prospects at home and abroad and is expected to produce good economic benefits.
UK Banks Changing Account Terms; Can Limit Withdrawals
Banks in the United Kingdom have begun changing the terms of Bank Accounts to LIMIT or REFUSE withdrawals that “may affect their financial stability.”
Account holders at Yorkshire Bank, for instance, received notification that the Bank changed account terms to say “We have the right to restrict transactions where we reasonably believe our financial stability may be at risk, such as actual or potential abnormal levels of withdrawals.”
Put simply, if a whole slew of depositors start losing faith in the bank, and start taking THEIR money out, then the bank gives itself the right to prevent YOU from taking YOUR money out.
Changes like this don’t happen by chance or for no reason. It seems logical to many account holders that the reason the banks are doing this is that they fear something in the future will cause people to come withdraw their money.
Bank account holders in the UK should look carefully at their account terms to see what rights the banks give themselves. It may actually be safer for people to keep a significant portion of money OUT of banks. This way, YOU can get to it no matter what happens to THEM.
The Wallflowers – One Headlight (Official Music Video)
How much does the CCP pay people to comment on Quora?
I assume that you are asking because you would like to earn some money by commenting on Quora.
I am not aware of anyone on Quora who is being paid to post comments for China on Quora and there is no news about China having a budget for propaganda through news agencies or individuals.
But the United States has one.
A huge budget.
An example is the following:
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So if your intention for asking is to get some funds through commenting on Quora or writing articles in any publication, you should contact the US government about writing articles against China.
The world’s first intelligent, interconnected CNC system
The “i5” CNC system is the world’s first intelligent, interconnected CNC system. The first five-axis machine tool VMC0656e equipped with i5 system was made and its mass production began in 2015.
The original address authentication of IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) was pioneered, which laid the foundation for the security of the next generation Internet. Chinese scientists have also proposed the transitional technical scheme of “IPv6 over IPv4” for the first time, which provides an important solution for the transition between the first-generation Internet and the second-generation Internet.
Why shouldn’t the world reject the US?
The world is starting to reject USA…
China and Russia are forming all kinds of economic and security alliances that unite the world. BRI. BRICS. RCEP. SCO. And so on. USA is left out in the cold.
Most of the world’s nations have refused to follow US sanctions against Russia. Even some EU countries have broken with US sanctions to trade with Russia!
OPEC refused to increase oil production despite America’s pleas.
BRICS is creating an alternative global reserve currency to the US Dollar. No more sanctions!
SE Asian countries refused to join a US coalition against China.
South Korean officials refused to meet with Pelosi when she visited!
USA is losing diplomatic influence around the world.
Except for the Western hegemonic powers, nobody wants to risk going to war with China. It would be an economic, military, social and catastrophic bloodbath.
China and Russia are standing up to USA militarily.
They’re pushing back against US bullying.
Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence (Live on Letterman)
Why is the Biden administration trying to use more sanctions and spread propaganda to compete with China than building, developing, and trading?
Hasn’t it occurred to you that when a person reverts to bad mouthing another to try to get ahead cannot be very good at what ever it is doing.
The US simply cannot develop its own nation, helped its own people and retrain and develop industry because it’s political and economic structures are obsolete and crumbling.
Hence the only thing left to do if you cannot do is to prevent others from doing. It’s no different from a despicable office worker, to a bully in school picking on nerds, to a dysfunctional nation.
Sanctions and fabrication simply don’t work in 2022, it may work up to late 1900s as China or other nations simply cut out the US further. The US will implode faster and deteriorate speedily. But it prefers to commit suicide economically go right ahead.
I feel sorry for Americans. Leaders do things that benefit their politics not for their people and their nation. So the people will suffer higher inflation, higher unemployment, lower standard of living.
The world’s longest boom pump truck
More Chinese innovation. This truck is common all over China. It's been mass produced and is used everywhere. -MM
The self-developed 86-meter pump truck, the world’s longest boom pump truck, was successfully rolled off the production line in 2013.
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The world’s largest die forging hydraulic press, 80,000-ton hydraulic press, is 27 meters above ground and 15 meters underground, with a total height of 42 meters and a total equipment weight of 22,000 tons. It is one of the important contributors to the successful test flight of the domestic large aircraft C919 of China.
China has a complete industrial chain of gantry cranes, and its products are more affordable and world’s top level highest quality than all the second best and have unparalleled advantages. In the world’s large-scale gantry crane market, Chinese products have a monopoly position.
Why does raw milk taste different from pasteurized milk?
This is (to my mind) a very important question, and well worth taking some time with. I have been personally involved in this topic for the past 8 years.
My wife is a dairy farmer, on a small island in Scotland, and like most dairy farmers we know, we drink our milk raw every day, copiously. It has a wonderful, rich and deeply satisfying taste. My wife is 53 and has drunk raw milk pretty much daily all her life. However, we know the hygiene of our cows and of our milking process, and we know our herd is free of TB and MAP. I am NOT a raw milk advocate for the simple reason that these health and safety issues are tough, and serious. So I would not drink the raw milk from another farmer’s cows. There’s simply too much risk.
First of all, there is the hygiene question. If the cows have laid their teats down in some of their dung overnight, has this been properly washed off prior to the milking? If not, there is a risk of E. coli contamination. We always take great care to wash the udders carefully each time the cows come in for milking.
Then there is Bovine TB. This is pretty common in the UK among herds of cows, especially in England, where the government have a controversial policy of culling badgers to try to control it. Before WWI it was pretty common to get tuberculosis from drinking raw milk, and many thousands of people died from it each year. It is a risk not to be sneered at..!
And most likely you have never heard of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, normally abbreviated to MAP. It is a bacteria which causes Johnes Disease in cows, and it is far more common than Bovine TB. It is a wasting disease of the gut, and its symptoms are identical to those of Crohn’s Disease in humans. And while we KNOW that MAP causes Johnes Disease in cows, we cannot know for certain if it also causes Crohn’s Disease in people. Why? Because of the ethical challenges of any study. You would need to take a large group of healthy people, divide it into two, and via blind process, inoculate one group with MAP, and then see what happens to them in the years that follow. Not something anyone would contemplate doing, for obvious reasons..!
But this is a bit ironic. Studies have found that in the UK approximately 10% of supermarket milk is contaminated with “viable” quantities of MAP bacterium. That is to say, contaminated with sufficient MAP to pose a likely health risk. And so, due to the ethical problems surrounding any study that could determine if MAP causes Crohn’s Disease in humans, no such study is ever done. Instead the entire UK population are exposed to the health risk of milk contaminated with viable levels of MAP.
Back to the pasteurisation question.
Circa 1906 some very clever Public Health officials in Massachusetts put a great deal of time and effort into finding a protocol for pasteurising milk effectively without losing the rich wonderful flavour of the milk when raw. This was because at that time thousands of people in Massachusetts alone were dying from TB each year, from the contaminated milk supply. But the most common ways to pasteurise milk involved bringing it close to a boil, and this ruined the taste. So the public avoided buying pasteurised milk, as it did not taste good.
What these Public Health officials arrived at was a protocol that came to be more or less universally adopted by the time WWII came along. And with the development of home refrigerators after WWII, this protocol became even more widespread. It is really very simple: heat the milk to 63˚C (145˚F) and hold it in the heating tank at or just above that temperature for 30 minutes. Technically, the milk needs to be above 62.7˚C in order to kill off the pathogens. This is actually a pretty low temperature, and must be maintained for the full 30 minutes. But it has the great merit that it has a minimal impact on the flavour of the milk.
Milk is a wondrous and very complex substance, with hundreds of different compounds in it. And of course, these are altered more and more if the milk gets heated. The brilliance of the research back in 1906 was to discover that there was a temperature (63˚C) at which pathogens were very effectively killed off, yet at this temperature the taste was not significantly altered.
As soon as you reach 64.5˚C then very substantial changes occur in the milk, and the proteins in particular become more and more “denatured”. In common parlance, the milk becomes “sticky”. We notice this in our production room: if someone forgets to turn off the heating elements of our pasteurising vessel at the correct moment, the temperature with creep up inexorably beyond our target of 63˚C. And if it hits 64.5˚C or above, then we find that cleaning the vessel becomes a big headache: all the inside of the vessel is now coated in sticky milk, and must be scrubbed by hand. Normally, we only have to do a simple chemical rinse with something called D90, in hot water, to clean the tank. But even the venerable D90 cannot cope with milk heated to 64.5˚C. So we pay attention, to avoid that happening..!
We bottle our pasteurised milk, and send it out to shops across Scotland. When we started our pasteurising process 7 years ago, it was very difficult to find any information regarding the pros and cons of the two main protocols that exist. But we found that heating our milk to just 63˚C meant it still tasted wonderful, and so we stuck with that approach. For a time we were the only dairy farm in Scotland that were doing this. 30 minutes is a long time to wait for your milk.
So… the other protocol has become pretty universal in Europe and North America in the past 40 to 50 years. It seems that researchers in North America in the 1970’s found that you could kill off TB and E. coli bacterium in milk in just 15 seconds, if you heated the milk to 73˚C (163˚F). That’s 120 times faster than the other protocol. If you want to pasteurise 100,000 litres of milk each day, and someone says to you Hey, you can do that 120 times quicker, you will listen to them..! And listen they did. Nearly all milk in North America and Europe is pasteurised with this 73˚C protocol. In the UK the industry switched over if about 1980. It was all so tempting, the idea of the huge cost-savings, at a time when of course the supermarkets were putting great price pressure on the dairy processing industry.
The drawback? Well, there are two big problems with this faster protocol.
It ruins the rich wonderful taste of the milk. In the years since the change in the USA, per capita consumption of milk has declined by 40%. No wonder. Milk that has been heated to 73˚C does not have a lovely rich flavour any longer. It is really only fit for adding to coffee or tea, and maybe pouring onto breakfast cereals.
The MAP bacterium happens to be somewhat resistant to being killed off by short spikes in the milk temperature. That is unlike the Bovine TB bacteria, or E. coli, for which the 15 seconds at 73˚C is very effective. So they have tried 20 seconds, and 25 seconds. But to no avail. If you have milk contaminated with MAP, then the old protocol of 63˚C for 30 minutes is fully 10 times more effective at killing it off. If the milk is held at 63˚C for 35 minutes, it is a thousand times more effective than 73˚C for 15 seconds. So the old protocol was far more effective at stopping MAP being a problem in the milk supply.
But back in the 1970’s the researchers weren’t looking at MAP. Their only concerns were with Bovine TB and E. coli. It is only in the past 20 years, as more and more people have developed Crohn’s disease, that the dairy processing industry have (very quietly, don’t want to alarm anyone…) spent a great deal of time and money trying to find an effective solution to the MAP problem, that does not involve scrapping all the millions of $ of machinery they have put in place for the 73˚C / 15 second protocol.
My understanding is that in Australia the milk is pasteurised with another protocol, at 81.6˚C for 2 seconds.
From our experience at our farm, I can say that milk never tastes as good as it does when it is raw. It is truly a wonder food, rich and deeply satisfying. But milk is a perfect medium for bacterial growth. Hence the need to pasteurise. But as milk gets heated up, the hundreds of compounds in it begin altering. Heat it up higher, and more of those compounds are altered, or altered even more. And so there is a trade-off: safety vs taste.
But the shocking discovery for me of these past 7 years has been to discover that the old protocol, of heating milk to the minimum temperature required to kill off the pathogens (63˚C), and holding it at that temperature for 30 minutes, produces a pasteurised milk that is far safer than the milk that is heated briefly to 73˚C. Milk heated to 63˚C tastes very nearly the same as it is when raw. If the dairy industry wanted to provide milk that is both the safest it can create, and at the same time having a rich wonderful flavour, then they would use the old, slower protocol.
But sadly the industry is driven far more by the desire to cut costs, and so an inferior, less safe product is provided to the public.
Over 99% of milk these days in the UK these days is pasteurised using the 73˚C protocol.
Can I grow so much food that I never have to buy food again?
You? I don’t know you, but statistically I’d say probably not.
I have a small garden. It’s 15 feet wide by 30 feet long, in the middle of a pasture with excellent sunlight from east to west.
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I moved it into raised beds because I got tired of fighting the pasture.
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This year we’re growing jalapenos, cherry and beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, romaine, spinach, radishes, and a couple kinds of green onions. Plus I also keep a bunch of herbs in big pots; rosemary, sage, oregano, cilantro, thyme, parsley, basil, and mint. I’ve done dill and tarragon in the past but we didn’t use it enough to keep growing it. We pretty much never buy herbs except occasional bay leaf and other stuff I can’t grow conveniently.
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Basil
There is no way I could feed myself with that garden. First it’s seasonal, so there would be nothing in winter unless I canned and preserved, and even then there wouldn’t be enough. I do pickle cucumbers and peppers when I get a big enough harvest.
Pepper harvest from last year. Top to bottom: jalapenos, bananas, cuban sweet, and fresno’s.
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Second, there’s a serious lack of filling carbs in my garden. Tomatoes and cucumbers are great, especially fresh, but you can’t live on them. Maybe if I planted another 15×30 garden with nothing but potatoes and onions, and another 15×30 with leafy greens, maybe some carrots, something like that. Replace the greens in my current garden with green beans or peas or something. Then maybe. If I also had chickens. Not nearly enough proteins in my garden to survive, but a dozen chickens means a few eggs every day and a couple chickens in the pot per year, and that might get me by.
Except there are two more people in my household. So triple all that.
And then comes the work. I weed and water and check all the plants for signs of problems every day. It’s maybe a half hour a day, but if I had 2 more gardens for all the carbs and roughage, it would take 3 times as long. And times 3 again because I’m feeding 3 people, so more like 4–5 hours a day. Double that for planting season, and the underground vegetables would have a harvest season, so spring and fall would be a full work day for at least several weeks. And you’d need a good-sized root cellar, or multiple refrigerators to keep them.
You pretty much have to do something with your harvest within a few days, fresh fruits and vegetables don’t keep if they aren’t treated with preservatives (like industrially farmed food is), so expect full days of canning, pickling, and other long storage tasks for the week after harvest.
And now you’re talking about a full-time job. Yeah, you’ll have days when you only have to work 3–4 hours a day, but you’ll also have days that are busy 8–10 hours, and then you’ll spend another several hours at night in the kitchen preserving food.
This is why they had big families back in the day. Kids are laborers who work for food and shelter, and while the husband and sons are out harvesting and caring for livestock, the wife and daughters are in the kitchen preserving and planning for winter. The traditional family roles didn’t happen by accident.
It’s not just a full-time job, it’s several full-time jobs.
The world’s first marine 3D CNC bending machine
The world’s first marine 3D CNC bending machine of the latest hull panel processing equipment was launched in China in 2010.
It's been in use for over a decade now! -MM
The machine can automatically form the ship plate according to the data of mathematical stakeout and use special calculation and control software.
The system can automatically detect, calculate and control in real time, with learning and intelligent functions; the control panel is graphically displayed, and the user interface is rich, making the operation convenient and intuitive.
By shortening the shipbuilding cycle, improving shipbuilding quality and operating conditions, and reducing labor intensity, the marine 3D CNC bending machine can comprehensively improve the processing efficiency of hull panels by more than ten times, which is conducive to the advancement of shipyards’ digital shipbuilding technology and the competitiveness of shipbuilding production.
In recent years, the heavy equipment in China has become super-large, and the nuclear power, military industry, shipbuilding, construction machinery manufacturing, …, etc. have developed rapidly, and the demand for extra-thick and extra-wide steel plates with a thickness of more than 100-300mm has increased significantly.
At the same time, the development of small commodities, home appliances, automobile markets, and high-speed trains has greatly increased the demand for die steel.
The world’s largest straight-arc super-large wide-thick slab continuous casting machine designed by China Heavy Machinery Research Institute has been successfully tested recently.
These are just some typical examples of how much China is going to be more advanced than the USA technologically. China is no longer the poor and white country it used to be, and it is no longer controlled by others and confined to a small area.
2,600-Year-Old Halloumi Cheese Uncovered in Saqqara, Egypt
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Imagine cheese left out of the fridge for longer than a few hours in a hot, arid climate. You might imagine smelling wet socks and dirty feet. Now, imagine cheese left unattended in some obscure storage for 2,600 years! This was the scene facing archaeologists working in Egypt’s Giza in the Saqqara antiquities area , who stumbled upon blocks of halloumi cheese that had been lying unattended for over two and a half thousand years – what if you got a whiff of that?
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Some people think aged, smelly, moldy cheese is delicious, but ancient Egyptian halloumi?! ( uwimages / Adobe Stock)
What is Halloumi? A Rubbery Cheese with a High Melting Point
Halloumi is a traditional Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat, sheep, and sometimes cow’s milk, with a ‘squeaky’ texture. Although it can be eaten raw, with a high melting point, it can be easily grilled and fried, allowing it to be substituted for meat. Its rubbery, semi-hard texture could be compared to mozzarella.
Halloumi became popular in Eastern Mediterranean cultures . The Cypriot Turkish name hellim stems from this source, along with the name of the different modern Egyptian cheese, halumi. Modern day halloumi is made from the cheapest and most widely-available milk in the industrial world, cow’s milk .
The earliest mention of halloumi was recorded in the mid-16th century by Italian visitors to Cyprus. There is no definitive answer as to the origin of the quintessential halloumi recipe. Was it invented in Cyprus, then carried to Lebanon and the Levant area? Did basic cheese making and melting techniques evolve over time in various parts of the eastern Mediterranean? The latest discovery in Egypt is adding to the story.
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Halloumi is still enjoyed today, frequently grilled or toasted. ( Ruslan Mitin / Adobe Stock)
Blocks of White Cheese and Halloumi in Saqqara
According to Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities, these blocks of molded white cheese were found inside a group of pottery vessels with inscriptions in Demotic, an ancient Egyptian script discovered on the famous Rosetta stone . The cheese was discovered as part of an Egyptian mission at Saqqara, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reports.
The Saqqara area has been a treasure trove of ancient relics. In recent years, more than 100 sarcophagi have been discovered in the necropolis area, becoming the subject of a 2020 documentary on Netflix . The Egyptian Antiquities Mission has been working on the site since 2018, and through five archaeological excavations, have uncovered a hoard of exciting discoveries!
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What other incredible discoveries await in the Saqqara necropolis complex? ( travelview / Adobe Stock)
The pots of halloumi have been dated back to the 26th and 27th Egyptian dynasties (roughly 664-404 BC). Ancient white cheese was called haram, which was changed to halloum during Coptic times (from the 3rd to 7th centuries BC).
Moving Forward: What’s Been Happening in Saqqara Archaeology
There are still several unopened vessels, with plans to open the rest and check for more cheese in the pipeline. The first time that ancient Egyptian cheese production was uncovered and identified in 2018, it was even older than the current find, more than 3,200 years old! The subsequent research confirmed that the cheese, found in the Saqqara necropolis , had a really acidic bite. Would you have volunteered to taste it?
Since 2018, “Wahi”, the tomb of a Fifth Dynasty priest, has been discovered, as well as 7 rock tombs, three tombs from the New Kingdom, and four tombs and a façade of a tomb from the Old Kingdom. In addition, more than a thousand faience amulets, dozens of wooden cat statues, and cat and animal mummies were discovered, as reported by See News .
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Previous excavations have revealed stunning finds from the 26th and 27th dynasties. ( Public Domain )
The finest of the discoveries was in 2020 , when 100 closed sarcophagi from the Late Era (664-332 BC) were found in pristine condition inside burial wells. This haul also included 40 statues of the god of the Saqqara cemetery, Ptah Suker, with gilded parts, and 20 wooden boxes of Horus.
As recently as May 2022, 250 sarcophagi with well-preserved mummies were found and displayed at Saqqara. Excitement awaits the uncovering of the remaining pots of cheese (presumably) and future excavations at Saqqara!
Onion and Bacon Cheese Sandwiches
Give everyday grilled cheese a boost! Top sandwiches with cooked bacon pieces and sliced onion.
Onion and Bacon Cheese Sandwiches
Ingredients
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
8 slices (3/4 oz each) Cheddar cheese
8 slices Vienna bread, 1/2 inch thick
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DaTong miners
Let me tell you a story:
In 1986 I went across China, from Beijing to Urumqi, Turpan, and Kashgar. On the way I stopped off in DaTong, on a mission to find an American guy who had moved there (turns out he had already left China— but that’s not relevant to the story).
On the train I met a young PLA soldier who spoke pretty good English. He was traveling home for the first time in over a year, and hadn’t been in contact with his family all that time. It would have been reasonable had he simply said goodbye to me at the station and went on his way, but instead he took me to his home. His mother cried when she saw her son and rushed out to buy meat, fish and other really expensive things. This was a coal mining family, with one room, and everyone heating and sleeping on top of the one kang . (An entire row of these houses shared one outhouse— three brick walls, two bricks on the ground for squatting.)
Of course I was too ignorant to be embarrassed about this lavish treatment.
Then after dinner, instead of sitting around reconnecting with his family, he helped me find people back in town who might help me with my mission.
My opinion of China and the Chinese? After over 30 years I’m still here, and still have a warm feeling when I think about that special dinner with the DaTong coal miners.
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart (Official Music Video)
Cornish Pasty
In a little known factory hidden in the South-West of the UK there is a team of food scientists who have perfected the ideal one-handed meal. Years of research have gone into this, extensive testing has been done by locals and this product is now available.
It can be held in one hand, in fact it has a specially designed grip for ease of use. It contains all the nourishment needed for a meal, has meat, vegetables and potatoes included, and leaves no waste. It has no packaging and can be frozen. Truly a miracle of convenience.
What is this culinary masterpiece? – I give you the Cornish Pasty !
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Note how it sits in the hand, look at the wonder of the crimped edging to offer a firm grip. A masterpiece indeed.
It looks good on the inside too,
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A complete meal you can hold in one hand and eat while driving a tractor.
Cornwall’s gift to hungry tractor drivers.
Chicken Saltimbocca
Sensational can be simple—for proof, try these prosciutto- and mozzarella-covered chicken cutlets.
Chicken Saltimbocca
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
4 slices prosciutto (about 3 oz)
4 slices (1 oz each) mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
3/4 cup Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
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Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole’s Iconic Performance at 1996 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.
Lately I’ve been sick. I caught a small cold from my daughter, who caught it from Kindergarten. This coupled with the insane levels of change in my personal life, has made it very difficult for me to keep up. But, I’m still churning stuff out. I don’t know how, but yeah I am.
Now, of course, every step is taken to keep colds out of school, but little kids have bad habits, and no matter how had you try, sickness sneaks in. And of course, my little daughter doesn’t yet know the importance of covering her face when she coughs.
Sigh.
Please enjoy this installment.
The reason why Telsa is unable to leave China (even with Biden incentives)
Telsa factories in China have 95% of their supply chain are localized. These supply chains also supply to the USA and the rest of the world. By leaving China, the supply chain disappears, and without parts, Tesla disappears.
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is suspending plans to make battery cells in Germany as it looks at qualify for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing tax breaks in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
He makes money spewing this nonsense. Any day now, eh?
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It’s so easy to spew nonsense if your readership wants to read it.
It’s sort of like how people want to read how to lose weight by eating deep-fried pork fat.
China’s exports rose an additional 18%
China's July exports rise 18% to $333 bn, with trade surplus at record high
China's export growth continued to rise in July, sending trade surplus to a record high, according to government data.
China’s export growth continued to rise in July, sending trade surplus to a record high, according to government data.
China’s exports grew 18% to $333 billion compared to the same period last year, and were up from 17.9% in June, according to data from China’s customs.
Imports, however, remained soft, growing 2.3% in July compared to a year ago. That was lower that economists’ estimates of 4%, and suggests weak domestic demand amid lockdowns across the country as China attempts to stem the outbreak of COVID-19.
China’s total trade surplus reached an all-time high of $101.3 billion in July, breaking the record set in June.
The country’s economy has rebounded from earlier in the year, when tough COVID-19 restrictions including a two-month lockdown in Shanghai and other measures across China disrupted manufacturing and logistics.
While manufacturing and supply chain issues have eased, recovery may be affected by fresh COVID-19 outbreaks, weak domestic demand and external uncertainties such as rising inflation in developed countries including Britain and the U.S.
The International Monetary Fund in July predicted that China’s economy would grow 3.3% this year, below the ruling Communist Party’s target of 5.5% set in April.
The United States is repositioning forces from Japan to Guam
Interesting.
As I write this, the US Department of Defense is ramping up the militarization of my homeland – part of its $8bn scheme to relocate roughly 5,000 marines from Okinawa to Guam. In fact, ground has already been broken along the island’s beautiful northern coastline for a massive firing range complex. The complex – consisting of five live-fire training ranges and support facilities – is being built dangerously close to the island’s primary source of drinking water, the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer. Moreover, the complex is situated over several historically and culturally significant sites, including the remnants of ancient villages several thousands of years old, where our ancestors’ remains remain.
‘Our children’s lives on the line’: the ongoing battle for Guam
The construction of these firing ranges will entail the destruction of more than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of native limestone forest. These forests are unbearably beautiful, took millennia to evolve, and today function as essential habitat for several endangered endemic species, including a fruit bat, a flight-less rail and three species of tree snails – not to mention a swiftlet, a starling and a slender-toed gecko. The largest of the five ranges – a 59-acre multipurpose machine-gun range – will be built a mere 100 feet (30 metres) from the last remaining reproductive håyon lågu tree in Guam.
If only superpowers were concerned with the stuff of lowercase earth, like forests and fresh water. If only they were curious about the whisper and scurry of small lives. If only they were moved by beauty.
If only.
Among Chinese history fans, the Emperor Wang Mang of the short-lived Xin Dynasty is often jokingly referred to as a time traveller for having many surprisingly modern ideas.
He usurped the throne from the Han Dynasty and become the Emperor himself in 1 AD.
COINCIDENCE??? Actually, yes, probably.
(Correction: he became regent in 1 AD. Remind yourselves, dear readers, to never write about history purely from memory.)
Anyhow, Wang Mang tried to abolish slavery and serfdom, carried out land reforms, introduced egalitarian economic policies that can be described as proto-socialist, and even instituted a welfare system for the unemployed.
His monetary policy was also profoundly different from the conventions of the time as he issued coins face-valued at much higher than the actual value of the bronze coins, so much so that the face-value of these coins were totally detached from the value of the metal. In this way, the coins became abstract representations of value, which is how modern paper currency works.
Unlike all previous emperors who never care for such lowly things, Wang Mang encouraged the development of technology and even invented things like the sliding caliper:
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Wang Mang sought medical advances and commissioned a dissection of a rebel’s corpse in order to learn more about the human anatomy. This was the first ever recorded incidence of a dissection being carried out for medical purposes (Correction: No, it wasn’t. Read comments below). Han historical records are not kind to him about the incident, writing that Wang Mang only claimed the dissection was for the purpose of healing people; where as his true intention was to exact cruel revenge on the person whose corpse was being dissected. Maybe it was both; we will never know.
And in what was perhaps one of the biggest shockers of ancient China, Wang Mang’s wife once received court officials at their house wearing a short skirt that barely covered her knees.
Although that last one was probably an attempt by Wang Mang to demonstrate how frugal (rather than immodest) he and his family were.
Jane’s Addiction – Jane Says (Official Music Video)
Dreaming with my cat
I used to dream with my cat, literally.
The first time it happened, he was sleeping next to me, as we did, I was using his little rump for a pillow, and he had pulled my hand close to his head, laying it on my hand.
We were both asleep.
I had a dream (or he did) that a bird flew by, diagonally, from the lower left to the upper right. As the bird flew by, he startled me awake by waking up, shooting his head up and looking in the direction of the bird that I had just dreamed flew by.
I’ve never been so close to a soul in my life.
I lost him, at the young age of only 11, just 3 and a half weeks ago. His name was Makana. It means ‘gift’ in Hawaiian.
He certainly was.
I’ll miss you forever. 🙁
Kitty dream time.
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Indians want King Charles III to return Kohinoor, a massive 105-carat diamond worth $591 million
As news broke of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, one word started trending on Twitter in India: “Kohinoor”.
It is the name of the most expensive diamond in the world and has a long history with the royal family, having been worn on crowns by generations of queens.
Most recently it was just one of 2,800 stones set in the crown made for King Charles III’s grandmother, the Queen Mother.
But there is some debate over whether the 105-carat oval-shaped diamond belongs to the House of Windsor.
The precious diamond has been fought over for centuries, so much so that British royal legend says the diamond will bring bad luck to any man who wears it.
Indians believe it came from the south of their country, in what is now modern-day Andhra Pradesh.
Now, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, many in the country are ramping up the campaign for the $591 million jewel to be sent back to them.
Why did China’s zero-covid policy ‘fails miserably’ in curbing infection?
I’m curious where did you learn that China’s zero outbreak policy “failed” to contain infections?
Where is your basis?
As far as I know, China has never given up the fight against the new crown virus. With the help of the current efforts to overcome the epidemic, it has also achieved very good results. It has proved the necessity of the zero epidemic policy with practical actions.
Where does the term “failure” come from?
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China’s COVID policies is that the starting point is wellbeing of its people. The word “people” here does not specifically refer to the strong & young people or just the powerful class, but also including the elderly and infants, including the vast majority of people in both big cities and small villages.
Unlike America, where society is deeply divided, China cares about poor people’s lives. The overall death rate in poor counties was nearly twice as high as in wealthy ones, at one point reaching 4.5 times as high. In the top 300 counties with the highest death rates, an average of 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
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China cares about minorities’ lives. While The infection rate, hospitalization rate and death rate of American Indians were 1.6 times, 3.1 times and 2.1 times that of whites, respectively. African Americans were 1.1, 2.4 and 1.7 times as likely as whites.
China cares about older people’s lives. While in the U.S., three-quarters of COVID-19 deaths were among people 65 and older, and 93% were among people 50 and older.
China cares about children. While there are more than 250,000 “COVID-19 orphans” in the US who have lost parents to the pandemic. An average of one in 12 U.S. orphans under the age of 18 lost their parents to the pandemic, and an average of two students in every public school lost their guardians.
China’s policy focuses on the overall situation, putting people’s lives rather than economic interests first. Therefore, it is impossible for China to do European media’s calculation that “the death of hundreds of thousands of elderly people will save billions of dollars in pension”, let alone the American politicians who say that “the elderly should voluntarily sacrifice for the economy”.
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However, I am not saying that China’s policy is perfect, but it is capable of self-renewal and revolution. Since 2020, China has been adjusting and optimizing its policy, which has been widely understood and cooperated by the public. Now, thousands of permanent nucleic acid testing sites have been set up in Beijing, Shanghai and other places, indicating that social life will gradually return to normal after the end of lockdown and quarantine.
Each country needs to find COVID policies that suit its own national conditions. The important thing is not to always be right, but not to give up on finding the right path. The US can shrug its shoulders and say “c ‘est la vie” as the pandemic rages on, but one day China will vindicate its policy when reopening its ports, lifting its lockdown, getting its economy back on track and growing rapidly.
What it is like being a kid in China
This short 5 minute video only ended up getting around 30 views. Sheech! Please check it out if you haven’t already.
China is busy raising tough little kids to man the next generation of nation building.
Germany Takes Control of 3 Russian Oil Refineries
The German government on Friday seized three oil refineries in the country owned by Russian energy giant Rosneft, in its latest effort to deal with a mounting European energy crisis stoked by Moscow.
The move puts shares of the refineries — PCK Schwedt, MiRo in Karlsruhe and Bayernoil in Vohburg — under the control of a government agency, Germany’s economy ministry said in a statement.
“The trustee administration counteracts the impending threat to the security of the energy supply and lays an important foundation for the preservation and future of the Schwedt location,” it said.
“The decision is accompanied by a comprehensive package for the future, which will bring a transformation boost to the region and support the refinery, to ensure the supply of oil via alternative delivery routes,” it added.
The PCK Schwedt refinery is a major source of fuel for Berlin, Germany’s capital city.
Germany has committed to halting imports of oil from Russia under European Union sanctions that come into effect in December. That threatened the future operations of the refineries, given their ownership, according to the ministry.
Rosneft Deutschland accounts for 12% of Germany’s oil processing capacity, making it one of the biggest oil processing companies in the country, the ministry said. Germany imports crude oil worth several hundred million dollars from Russia each month via its units, it added.
Germany has been caught in the heart of a crippling energy crisis as Russia chokes off supply to the nation in retaliation to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow. Its leaders have accused Moscow of “weaponizing” its energy supplies as it cut then completely halted flows of natural gas to Germany via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
Like other European countries dependent on Russian energy imports, Germany is scrambling to find ways to secure fuel supplies before winter hits, with its usual seasonal rise in demand. It has stockpiled gas and has brought in measures such as reviving coal-fueled power plants to generate electricity to help secure the energy needed.
The move comes after Rosneft Oil, Russia’s largest state-run oil company, reported that profits climbed 13% in the first half of 2022 to about 432 billion rubles, or roughly $7.2 billion.
Expensive global crude prices allowed Rosneft to rake in more net income than the prior year despite sanctions from Western nations aimed at squeezing Moscow’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine.
What animal species live near the Chernobyl power plant?
The wildlife situation around Chernobyl currently is something of a controversy in science. This 2016 paper
says that:
With few exceptions, wildlife in the zone shows a strong pattern of declining abundance
However, many other scientists say that the local fauna is clearly on the rise, and the popular media seems to have almost invariably gone with their conclusions.
In any case, since – as far as I’m aware – all the studies saying that Chernobyl’s wildlife is in decline are by the same two authors, whereas there are several different biologists who have written papers on increasing animal populations in the area, I’ll assume that the latter are correct for now.
Various camera trapping operations have revealed that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has grown a healthy population of large mammals, such as grey wolves:
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European badgers:
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Wild boar:
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Roe deer:
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And even moose:
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There are also abundant smaller mammals, including Eurasian beavers, least weasels and voles. Among the birds, there are some “flashy” species, such as the enormous white-tailed sea eagle (Europe’s largest raptor):
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And black storks:
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And that’s just the native wildlife. Since the disaster, people have released other Eurasian mammals into this involuntary oasis, including European bison:
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And wild Przewalski’s horses:
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There’s even evidence that animals not seen in the region for over a century are returning, including Eurasian lynx:
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And brown bears:
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It’s pretty amazing, and also rather sobering, to think that the sheer presence of humans was worse for the environment than a catastrophic nuclear disaster.
If a time machine took me back to the late Carboniferous period, could I find safe food, water and shelter to survive the remainder of my life?
I found this a fun read. -MM
Ladies and gentlemen. Please fasten your seatbelts. We are about to depart to the end of the Carboniferous period, 359 – 299 million years ago. Our current time travel technology can only take us there one way. There is no going back.
Time travel is only the first temporal effect that the traveler would experience. His circadian rhythm would be severely disrupted and affect their life because the day length was only about 22 hours in the Carboniferous period. There would be insomnia, immune system dysfunction, increased risk of cancer, problems with the heart and even early death from all the above combined.
An additional factor that would shorten the life span of travelers would be the increased oxygen level in the atmosphere. It was about 28% at the beginning of the Carboniferous period, it dropped to about 24% in the middle and rose again to about 27% at the end. Over the lifetime, so much oxygen would damage the tissues and increase the speed of aging of humans not adapted to these levels and cause health problems that would cause even earlier death.
Another weird temporal effect would be noticed after landing. Animals would seem slower, more sluggish than us. At the time, they might have perceived reality in fewer frames per second than us on average. We do it at 60Hz after additional hundreds of millions of years of evolution of vertebrate animals. There were no warm-blooded creatures at the time yet, so there were no very active animals. They only had sprawling legs while walking, which made them slower. All of this lead to slower reaction times sufficient for survival. Insects might have been faster but even they only just evolved relatively recently. They weren’t as great at what they did at the time yet.
The air was filled with copious amounts of spores of various plants. Breathing might even result in death from an extreme allergic reaction, anaphylaxis. We are more adapted to pollen, which didn’t exist in the Carboniferous period.
This also means that there were no fruits and we need Vitamin C to survive. We would need to eat leaves, make teas from bark or eat buds of leaves of ferns, the fiddleheads.
The good news is that animals shouldn’t be that dangerous at the time and it might be easy to hunt them for food at least on dry land. They weren’t that big, fast or even smart yet. Although, many formidable crocodile-like and crocodile-size temnospondyl amphibians with massive teeth existed in aquatic habitats and widespread swamps. There were also giant, 2.5 m/8 feet centipedes. It’s hard to tell how dangerous they were but I’m learning they weren’t. They were outcompeted by reptiles soon and died out anyways. Large, flying, 0.7 m/2 feet insects similar to dragonflies shouldn’t have been dangerous to humans. A more significant danger might be venomous tiny animals like scorpions or spiders.
The travelers should better take a lot of metal tools with them because producing them in the Carboniferous period would be tricky. It’s hard to obtain high enough temperatures for working on metals without coal, which originated in this period and didn’t form underground yet.
The good news is that there might be less danger from diseases. It’s unlikely that many would affect mammals like humans. But who knows? There might be an odd outlier that could infect us. Maybe some mysterious virus. For bacteria, we should take a lot of antibiotics with us.
If we traveled in a time machine back to the late Carboniferous period, it should be possible to build shelter from trees, which evolved recently. Water should not be a problem. There would be an issue with obtaining a balanced diet because there were no fruits, which evolved less than 180 million years ago. The lifespan of the travelers would be severely shortened from all the issues described above.
We Just Witnessed Something That Hasn’t Happened Since 2008, And It Is Causing The Housing Market To Crash
This didn’t have to happen. The reckless behavior of the Federal Reserve and our politicians in Washington created a horrifying inflation spiral, and now the Fed is feverishly raising interest rates in a desperate attempt to get inflation back under control. But everyone knows that rapidly raising rates is going to absolutely crush the housing market. When the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, that puts upward pressure on mortgage rates. And as mortgage rates go higher, more and more potential homebuyers will be forced on to the sidelines. With fewer potential homebuyers in the market, that will put downward pressure on home prices. This is basic stuff that you would learn in an ECON 101 class, but Fed officials can’t seem to understand that what they are doing is going to be extremely destructive to the U.S. economy as a whole.
Do you remember the pain that we went through in 2008?
That entire crisis was precipitated by a collapse of the housing market, and now a similar scenario is starting to unfold right in front of our eyes.
In fact, something just happened that we haven’t seen in all of the years since 2008…
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose above 6 percent for the first time since the financial crisis, according to federal data released Thursday.The average mortgage rate for the benchmark home loan rose to 6.02 percent as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac, up 0.13 percentage points from last week and 3.16 percentage points above its level a year ago. It’s the first time the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate was above 6 percent since the week of Nov. 20, 2008.
When mortgage rates get really high, the wealthy can still afford to buy homes because many of them don’t even need mortgages.
Already, it has ushered in a sea change in the housing market by adding hundreds of dollars or more to the monthly cost of a potential buyer’s mortgage payment, slowing what was a red-hot market not so long ago. Higher rates are forcing some would-be buyers to continue renting. Since the start of the year, the average mortgage payment has risen 38.5% to $2,306 from around $1,700 at the start of the year.
Demand for mortgages is drying up really fast.
Last week, the number of mortgage applications was 29 percent lower than it was during the same week one year ago.
And the number of applications to refinance mortgages has seemingly dropped off a cliff…
As mortgage rates rise and home prices remain high, home sales are slowing.With rates essentially double where they were a year ago, applications for home loans have dropped and applications to refinance into a lower payment have fallen off a cliff, down 83% from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
If you work in the mortgage industry, I feel really badly for you right now.
Of course everyone involved in real estate is going to be feeling a tremendous amount of pain in the months ahead. According to the chief economist at Redfin, this is the “sharpest” downturn that we have seen since the meltdown of 2008…
“This is the sharpest turn in the housing market since the housing market crash in 2008,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s Chief Economist.
Billionaire Barry Sternlicht is even more pessimistic.
He just told CNBC that he believes that the Fed’s policies will cause a “major crash” in the housing market, and he is also warning that we could soon find ourselves in a “serious recession”…
“The economy is braking hard,” the chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.“If the Fed keeps this up they are going to have a serious recession and people will lose their jobs,” he added.
Sadly, he is right on target.
Even if the Federal Reserve stopped raising rates right here, we would still have a real nightmare on our hands.
But the Fed isn’t going to stop.
Fed officials have repeatedly told us that they are going to keep raising rates until inflation is under control, and that could take quite a while.
In fact, we are being warned that next week we could potentially see “the biggest Fed rate hike in 40 years”, and that would really shake up the financial markets.
So what can we do to protect ourselves?
If you are selling a home, I would recommend trying to sell it as rapidly as you can while home prices are still ridiculously high.
If you are looking to buy a home, I would recommend waiting until home prices come down quite a bit.
And something that we can all do is to prepare for the “serious recession” that Billionaire Barry Sternlicht says could be coming.
During the crisis of 2008 and 2009, millions of Americans lost their jobs. Without any income coming in, all of a sudden a lot of those people couldn’t pay their bills and many formerly middle class Americans also ended up losing their homes.
You don’t want to suffer the same fate.
So I have been encouraging my readers for a very long time to build up a sizable emergency fund.
A large emergency fund will allow you to continue paying your bills no matter what comes along.
And it will also keep you from losing your home.
In addition, I would encourage everyone not to take on additional debt at this time.
When hard times come, you will want your finances to be as “lean and mean” as possible.
Now is not a time to party.
Now is a time to batten down the hatches financially.
Very rough weather is headed our way, and everyone can see it coming.
The wise will prepare in advance, but those that are foolish will do nothing because they assume that our leaders have everything under control.
Russet Potato Salad
A twist on traditional potato salad with mustard flavor and plenty of celery for crunch.
Russia and China are ready to provide stability to the world: the results of Vladimir Putin’s speech and meetings at the SCO summit
This is the result of the SEO meeting. Not at all reported in the West. -MM
The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in Samarkand for two days in a row, from 15 to 16 September
Oleg ADAMOVICH
During the two days of the summit, Vladimir Putin managed to personally meet with more foreign politicians than in the last two months combined. On Thursday alone, he had seven (!) official conversations.
But even though more than a dozen world leaders came to Uzbekistan, including the heads of India and China, no fateful decisions or statements were made. At least publicly. The main formal outcome of the summit: Iran became a full-fledged member of the SCO, and Belarus began joining the organization.
But on the other hand, this is not enough. One of the US's main enemies, Tehran, is now in an economic alliance with the US's main trading partner. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Washington's first allies in the Middle East, also became "dialogue partners". Countries outside the collective West are merging with each other without America's involvement.
By the way, the protocol meetings of Vladimir Putin also show quite well what kind of relations we have with different countries:
KYRGYZSTAN
We give them money to restore what was destroyed after the skirmishes with Tajikistan and to purchase rescue equipment, and in return they do not interfere with the study of the Russian language. They even build new Russian-language schools.
Such "soft power" means a lot when Turkey tries to subjugate the whole of Central Asia under the auspices of the revival of the "Turkic world".
TURKMENIA
Joint gas projects are developing well in this country. But now, when the pressure on our hydrocarbons will grow, non-primary ties are important for Russia.
- We aim to diversify our economic ties through other areas of interaction. This refers to agriculture, the textile industry. We are ready to increase the supply of non-primary products to the market of Turkmenistan, - said Vladimir Putin.
IRAN
Tehran is just glad that they will now deal with it normally. For too long the country has lived cut off from the developed world. Iran is ready to export to Russia whatever we want to buy from them. Basically, we are talking about replacing sanctioned Western goods.
- The first major business mission visited Iran in May this year. Many members of the delegation then told me about their impressions: they were pleased with what they saw at Iranian enterprises in terms of the development of high-tech areas. To be honest, we didn’t even expect it,” Putin admitted.
And yes: Iran categorically condemns anti-Russian sanctions and will never join them. Expected, but it needed to be said.
PAKISTAN
Islamabad is looking forward to two mega-projects.
First: Russia is modernizing Pakistan's railways. Not the whole system, of course. We can supply inexpensive and high-quality passenger trains.
Second: the construction of a gas pipeline to Pakistan.
- This is also possible, part of the infrastructure in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has already been created. We need to resolve the issue with Afghanistan. There are problems related to political stability, but, bearing in mind our mutual good relations with the Afghan people, I hope that this problem can also be solved, the Russian leader said.
Putin added that Pakistan could influence the authorities in Afghanistan to speed up the laying of the pipe.
CHINA
With China, Vladimir Vladimirovich is already ready to discuss the fate of the world. After all, the second economy in the world.
- The foreign policy tandem of Moscow and Beijing plays a key role in ensuring global and regional stability. We jointly stand for the formation of a just, democratic and multipolar world order,” Putin said.
- We highly appreciate the balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. We understand your questions and concerns in this regard. During today's meeting, of course, we will explain in detail our position," he added.
Xi Jinping is the first at the SCO summit to whom the Russian president promised to tell about the situation in Ukraine.
MONGOLIA
Mongolian politicians do not hide the fact that they want to make good money on transit from Russia to China. Now we are updating the railways of the Central Asian republic, which will significantly increase their throughput. There are also plans to build a gas pipeline through the territory of Mongolia.
INDIA
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the second person Putin promised to tell about Ukraine. Nobody touched this topic anymore.
- I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express. We will do our best to stop this as soon as possible. Only the leadership of Ukraine announced its refusal from the negotiation process, stated that it wants to achieve its goals "on the battlefield." Nevertheless, we will always keep you informed of what is happening there,” Vladimir Vladimirovich said.
Modi responded by saying that he was particularly concerned about the food security of his own country. This has already led to an eightfold (!) increase in the supply of fertilizers from Russia. In the end, the politician, with the peacefulness characteristic of the Hindus, concluded that a bad peace is better than a good war.
- Now is not the era of wars. Democracy, diplomacy, dialogue - these are important tools for us to find solutions, the Prime Minister of India stressed.
TURKEY
Well, Erdogan openly earns on anti-Russian sanctions. Transit through Turkey is now exported and Russian grain and gas. Blue fuel goes to Europe along the Turkish stream. This is so beneficial that the republic was the first to agree to give up dollars if Moscow insists on it.
- We are ready to significantly increase our deliveries in all areas that are of interest to you. In the near future, our agreement on the supply of natural gas of Russian origin to Turkey with payment for 25% of these supplies in Russian rubles should come into effect, Putin reminded.
AZERBAIJAN
From the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, one thing is now needed: that he stop shooting at Armenia.
- Today, we are all very worried about the aggravation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It is good that the escalation was finally stopped by coordinated efforts, but, as far as I understand, it (the situation - Ed.) still remains tense, the Russian leader admitted.
- The main thing is that we managed to stabilize the situation and transfer it to a peaceful course. Now the main thing is not to destroy the beginning process of normalization of relations, but to move in this direction. We welcome the efforts of Russia aimed at this, - Aliyev answered diplomatically.
EUROPEAN EGOISM
Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Council of Heads of State, once again spoke about the fate of Russian fertilizers. The head of the country accused Europe of selfishness.
- It turns out that sanctions (against fertilizers - Ed.) have been lifted only for EU member countries. It turns out that only they can purchase our fertilizers. But what about the developing, poorest countries in the world? Taking advantage of the presence of the Deputy Head of the UN Secretary General, Ms. (Rosemary) DiCarlo, I ask colleagues in the European Commission to influence them to remove these obviously discriminatory restrictions, the Russian President urged.
By the way, after the end of the council, DiCarlo really approached Putin and talked to him for quite some time.
Cats are normally very clean animals. They spend a great deal of time grooming themselves. They groom to remove much of their scent. This helps them as they hunt prey. A prey animal can’t smell the cat easily
Most people would think a cat has very little smell. If you put your nose right in their fur, it tends to just smell clean and fresh.
A cat who can’t groom because of injury or health problems can start to smell. Some of these cats will require that you bath them to keep them clean
My mom had a cat, Cookie who lived to be 25 years old. During her last couple years, she had trouble grooming herself. My mom would gently bath her a couple times a week. Then mom would carefully brush her. My mom loved that cat.
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I don’t have a picture of Cookie but I found this picture online and it looks very similiar to Cookie. Cookie crossed the rainbow bridge about ten years ago. My mom has a new black cat named Herman now.
How have we not went to war with China yet? They brought fentanyl over here. Covid started there.
Firstly who’s we? I’m guessing an American? Secondly why would you be at war with China?
You can’t seriously be blaming China for your stupid government reaction to a pandemic, so not that. Also most people known the virus probably didn’t start in China anyway and was already circulating in Europe and the USA, but they were too inept to notice.
Let’s see. . Is it the old, “they’ve taken our jobs” story? Your government took those jobs away from you, not China.
What else? They’re not a democracy? Is that it?? Why should they be? Damn commies, not acting all civilised like us. Look at how well your democracy is working out, you’ve just had an election, and now your president is childishly throwing his toys out of the pram because he hasn’t won. Jesus.
Is it possible that’s it’s because they’ve improved their country more than you could possibly imagine in the last 40 years, whilst here in the west we’re still stuck with the same old sad infrastructure? How dare you improve yourselves! You were just supposed to make stuff for us but stay uncivilised and underdeveloped. That could be it, because they’re doing so well while we stagnate.
Do you know how many days China has been at war in the last 40 years? 0. None. And America has been at war constantly, do you know how much money that’s cost you? Trillions, that could all have been spent improving your education system, your trains, your roads and bridges, on you. Do you know how many countries you’ve been at war with, that have a nuclear arsenal?
Maybe that’s why you’re not at war with China. Firstly, you don’t have a valid reason for one, they’ve done nothing to warrant it. Even though America is doing its best to brainwash people into believing China is evil in every way it can, we don’t believe you. Look at Mike Pompeo for example, have you heard what he says? We all know he’s a professional liar, he admitted it stupidly on film. He’s desperate for you to think China bad, us good, but what he says looks bizarre to anyone with any real knowledge about China. How would it look to your average citizen to know China’s system is actually more democratic than yours, and is way more effective?
Secondly, China does have a nuclear arsenal, and if you try going to war with them you’re going to die. What a weird question.
Flying
Flying isn’t hard. The plane wants to fly—punch the power at the end of the runway, and, chances are it will take off and fly without a whole lot of input on the controls.
Landing is hard at first. I think I made 20–30 approaches before I finally put wheels on pavement by myself.
Navigating can be tricky, but I’ve only gotten lost once so far.
So what’s hard?
This.
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That’s your view out the windscreen. A beginning VFR (Visual Flight Rules) pilot like me, flying into a cloud bank, statistically has less than 3 minutes left to live.
Not only can you not see where you are or where you’re going, you literally cannot trust your senses to tell you which way is up. I scoffed at this idea when I first heard about it, but when it came time for me to put on the foggles (special glasses that restrict your view to the instruments) I just about threw up—my body thought we were leaned over 20 degrees, even when my instruments said we were dead level—and I had to trust the instrument. I had to actively ignore a built-in sense my body had that had been keeping me safe for 40+ years.
Learning to tune in the right radio frequencies, and correctly follow a pair of wavering needles down to within 200 feet of the ground—that’s hard. Especially when you already know what 200 feet looks like, and you’re praying you’ll see the runway any second now, before you slam into it.
Being able to do this is called instrument flying, and it’s a huge part of what makes scheduled airline travel possible.
Are China and the United States of America moving toward a new kind of cold war?
John Mearsheimer put it best when he said that with regard to the issue of how to treat China, that the US will not tolerate the rise of any potential peer competitor. He listed four instances where this concept has manifested itself and also when the US prevailed:
Imperial Germany
Imperial Japan
Nazi Germany
the Soviet Union
China is just the newest challenger. In his writings and talks he makes it clear that there is no other reason, moral or otherwise, that the US should stop China’s rise. You cannot get more nakedly hegemonic than this.
Many others in the US, mostly influenced by the China hands at the Hudson institute, feel that the rise of China represents an existential threat to the united States. Which is actually true if and only if one can ONLY think of the US as number one. So their idea of existential threat doesn’t mean that the United States will disappear from the face of the earth, it just means we won’t be the biggest economy or the most influential culture.
China has no choice but to engage in whatever role we push them in. China is one-fifth of humanity, by comparison the United States is only one twentieth of the global population. Even if China has no ambition to replace the US as the global hegemonic power, if its only goal is to give China’s own citizens a standard of living comparable to the US, it will have to grow its GDP to roughly five times that of the US.
One cannot grow to become the biggest economy without protecting it.
China and India have experienced the consequence of not protecting their economies before, both were one and two by GDP until the 1870’s (the positions switched occasionally).
Naively, both India and China never thought to protect their economic interests from physical aggression and by the middle of the 19th century, naked aggression destroyed their people’s lives.
In India’s case, the subcontinent was colonized.
In China’s case, parts were colonized, then fought over in very brutal great power struggles.
By right, if China aspires to attain a standard of living equal to advanced industrialized economies (and it should or its leaders should be deemed derelict) it should also sought to protect its economy from the sort of aggression by Western powers and their proxies.
What does this mean for China? It means that Beijing should aim for building up bigger armed forces, protecting the sea-lanes (this one is counter intuitive to many) such as in the South China Sea routes, and opening up other trade routes such as the BRI or the OBOR, including oil and gas supplies overland such as from Russia.
China has no choice but to grow a very powerful armed forces that is at least powerful enough that the United States will not choose to be in direct military confrontation with it. Since World War II, the United States has not chosen to fight wars where the direct enemy is a much, much smaller force.
The United States will try to stop China’s rise by non-military means — proxy wars, economic decoupling, etc. — which really just means a cold war.
A hot war will be a last gasp measure in a hopeless cause.
What types of cats at shelters are the least likely to be adopted?
Me and my wife adopted Aurora this year. She’s 5 (6 in a month!) and has been such a sweet cat. The PetSmart where we found a cat named “Jackie” whose cage had been labeled “male” with a note that said “I don’t like other cats.” Obviously, a cat who has a “no cats” policy is a deal breaker for most of the people who are adopting cats regularly, since they already have cats. Luckily, we didn’t have any cats so this wasn’t a deal breaker for us.
When I saw that she’d been there for over a month, it made me really sad. In hindsight, I think she’d been moved between different locations for much longer than that. The employee let me hold her and she grabbed me so tight and didn’t want to let go. My heart melted and we brought her home that night.
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At that time, we still thought she was a he and so we gave her the name “Augustus.” A few days later, while looking at her medical information, we noticed that her sex was clearly labeled “Spayed Female.” After a good laugh, we renamed her “Aurora.” She was shy at first but now she loves to curl up in our laps and enjoys plenty of pets.
I honestly don’t see any other explanation for why she remained unadopted for so long. She did hiss at the other cats in the caged area but she may have just been anxious because of the environment. It’s sad to see how much suffering can be caused by a seemingly helpful note. I don’t know for sure but I suspect that she would be able to adjust to living with another cat now that she’s comfortable.
Violence In California Reaches “Epidemic” Levels As Our Society Rapidly Deteriorates All Around Us
I can’t understand why anyone would still want to live in California. Yes, there are lots of high paying jobs and the weather is very nice, but crime is completely and utterly out of control. As you will see below, a new report that has just been issued is warning that violence in the state has now reached “epidemic” levels. The police are doing what they can to try to contain the violence, but at this point they are vastly outnumbered by the predators. Sadly, this is the end result of literally decades of cultural rot, and what is happening in California is going to happen to the rest of the nation if we do not take urgent action to turn things around.
Originally, I was going to write about something else today. Tens of thousands of rail and port workers are threatening to go on strike, and this could definitely cause some substantial economic disruptions…
America is bracing for chaos as tens of thousands of railway, port, and hospital workers look set to strike over the winter – plunging the country into further disruption.As many as 60,000 railway workers, 15,000 nurses, and 22,000 West Coast port workers are plotting mass walkouts as they seek better working conditions.Several US freight railroads said they were preparing for widespread strike and service interruptions Friday, a deadline set by two holdout labor groups in protracted talks with railroad carriers about better benefits.
But even though these strikes could cause severe short-term problems, they will eventually be resolved.
So in the greater scheme of things, they really aren’t a major concern.
On the other hand, our cultural decay is a massive ongoing crisis that isn’t going to go away.
As I mentioned earlier, a brand new report that was just released is warning that violence in the state of California has risen to “epidemic” levels…
The Golden State is losing its luster. A troubling new report labels physical and sexual violence in pandemic-era California a statewide “epidemic.” To put it simply, violence is on an alarming rise.According to the new annual report from the California Study on Violence Experiences across the Lifespan (CalVEX), violence statistics have seen a significant increase since COVID-19 emerged. The report, conducted by scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, reports more than one in six Californians (18%) experienced either physical or sexual violence in just the past year.
If you live in one of the biggest cities in California, this isn’t news to you.
Once upon a time, the state was a place of great beauty and great tranquility, but now it has been transformed into a crime-infested hellhole.
I was particularly alarmed by the numbers on sexual violence in this new report…
While more than 1.5 million adults in California admit to committing acts of sexual violence in the past year, men were more than two times as likely as women to report that they perpetrated sexual violence and intimate partner violence.Women also showed greater mental health impacts and life disruptions due to violent experiences, with 82 percent of women reporting anxiety or depression as a result of physically aggressive, coercive or forced sexual behavior.
Of course much of this violence is being fueled by illegal mind-altering drugs.
Some of these drugs are so immensely powerful that they literally put people into catatonic states for an extended period of time…
I will never understand why people would willingly do that to themselves.
Today, we are facing the biggest drug crisis that we have ever seen in American history, and addicts will often do whatever it takes to get another fix.
Sadly, this is one of the factors that is contributing to skyrocketing rates of shoplifting all over the nation…
We are all painfully aware of the huge rise in shoplifting and even violent robberies of stores. We watch the videos of thugs brazenly raiding stores, and read about the organized crime rings that have sprung up to profit from the trend. Shoplifting has become a big, if criminal business. Chances are that if you use eBay to purchase a wide range of products at reduced prices you have unwittingly purchased stolen goods. No good way for eBay to stop the practice.
One homeless man that originally came from Alabama recently admitted that he regularly shoplifts in order to fund his heroin use…
There have been homeless addicts in the streets of San Francisco for years, but now we have reached a point where they are seemingly everywhere.
I saw complete hopelessness in the eyes of haunted souls dragging themselves down the street looking for their next fix.I saw men and women of all ages hunched over on the sidewalks with open wounds all over their bodies.I saw the filthy tent cities stinking with human excrement and strewn with needles and pipes.I saw children staring in horror at people dying right in front of them.
At one time, such activity was limited to the bad portions of the city.
But now addicts that have been drugged out of their minds are pulling down their pants and crapping in the streets right in front of some of the most expensive real estate in San Francisco.
This has made the wealthy people really angry, and Mayor Breed says that she is finally going to “get serious” about this crisis.
Of course “getting serious” doesn’t mean arresting a bunch of people and throwing them into prison.
That just wouldn’t be very “progressive”.
Instead, authorities in San Francisco are getting ready to launch a “soft-touch” program that will seek to “interrupt” drug trafficking…
City supervisors released a resolution for a vague ‘soft-touch’ initiative called ‘San Francisco Recovers.’And here’s the catch, and it’s a doozy: the plan is being touted as, ‘a way that nobody’s going to jail but we’re doing an effective job of interrupting the drug market and drug scenes.’Is this a sick joke?
Yes, it certainly sounds like a sick joke to me.
Good luck with all that.
If major cities such as San Francisco actually want to have a chance of turning things around, they need to send the police out to round up all the drug dealers.
Unfortunately, police forces in many of our biggest cities are rapidly getting smaller.
In fact, a whopping 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022 alone…
The liberal city of Seattle is losing police officers amid a major spike in crime, 770 KTTH reported.“We’re screwed,” former King County Sheriff John Urqhart said, according to 770 KTTH.In total, 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022, including six that left in August, 770 KTTH reported, citing a police source. Since the city council voted to defund the police department in 2020, nearly 500 police officers have left the force.
I wouldn’t want to be a police officer in a major west coast city at this point either.
They are underpaid, the politicians treat them with tremendous disdain, and they are often hindered by absolutely ridiculous regulations which keep them from doing their jobs effectively.
We like to think that we are so “advanced”, but the truth is that if you compare video footage from major cities on the west coast from decades ago to video footage from today there is absolutely no comparison.
Our society is melting down right in front of our eyes, and if we stay on the path that we are currently on there is no future for our country.
But the politicians insist that people like me have it all wrong.
They continue to tell us that things are better than ever and that a glorious future for our nation is dead ahead.
You can believe that if you want, but the truth of what is really happening to our society is on display for the whole world to see.
America is dying, and we are quickly running out of time to turn things around.
Graduation. Some people are (for certain) going home. Small steps open up to larger ones. A path is being formed. So many are on that path. i can see it. Congratulations all.
I know.
I know what is going on with some of you. Some have told me what is going on, and with others… well… I get “reports”. Ha! And you thought that I was out of the loop in these things, eh?
It’s like a big bolder that you finally got up and out of the graound and now you just started to push it down the hill. Yeah. It’s going so far, and then it hits a platform, a tree, or a level space.
Not to worry.
It’s a level completed.
It’s a graduation.
For some of you, you don’t need MM any longer. Though you are always welcome to visit and keep in touch. For others, just hang on loose.
A couple of you all have really reason to celebrate. You know where you are. And it should be on “that” plateau, level area. Many more to go… but you hit the first one.
Of course, remember. Do not be like Matilda. Do not be tricked. There is no “another chance once you do …”. Don’t be in a rush.
So many have or are reaching, that point. It is time to celebrate. But don’t be “big headed”…
Keep your affirmation campaigns.
Keep chatting with your mantids.
And keep on; going on.
I salute every one of you!
Here’s my celebration of your accomplishment. I hope you all enjoy it. Plus some normal day-to-day MM stuff.
Faith No More Epic, My Generation (With Klaus Meine & Bo Diddley) Live Wembley Arena 12/06/91
Dealing with a bully
When I was a kid I used to be bullied by a bigger kid that lived down the road. At the weekend – in Summer – my Mum used to make me wear a silly hat outdoors to protect me from sunburn, and he always made fun of it…as well as push me around.
One day I hatched a cunning plan…
I would put my silly hat out the front of my house with a rock under it. Said bully will ride down the road on his bike after school, spot my silly hat and run over the hat and rock – and maybe fall off on the grass… What could go wrong?
Well it kind of worked…
He spotted the hat and aimed straight for it – but instead of running over it, he decided that he would drop his foot and kick it/scoop it up…
Unfortunately neither the hat nor the rock moved and he smashed every bone in his foot!
His parents were on the warpath – screaming at my parents – blaming me…
I just said that I had been out front and put the hat over a rock to stop it blowing away – and I had forgotten about it…
I think that he was in plaster for months!
The family eventually moved away and he never bullied or laughed at me again…
Metallica – Master of Puppets (Live) [Quebec Magnetic]
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How did people preserve meat back then?
Well, coming from Portugal, people didn’t have electricity in the countryside until the late 70s/80s So in order to conserve the meat, my great-grandma (and every Portuguese people who weren’t rich) had a thing called “Salgadeira”, something like “Box of Salt”.
They had tons of salt and they would submerge the pieces of meat in the salt. A little context, Portugal was very, VERY, poor in the 40s, 50s, 60s. In late October, a pig would be slaughtered and EVERYTHING was prepared to be eaten in the future.
Belly, snout, feet, intestines (sausages and blood sausages), tail, ears, testicles, everything was used and all of that was put in the “Salgadeira” (Expect for the sausages, they had a special room called “Fumeiro”) and would stay there until the people decided to eat it.
Now you ask “Wasn’t it salty?”
Yes, of course.
That’s why the day before, the people would take out the piece and put it in a basin full of water during the night before and the whole day and it would be perfect to be cooked. This pig lasted a whole year and they had to make it count! I hope I helped and sorry for the extensive story. <3
As far as I know, there are many popular stars from Xinjiang in China. So why does Pompeo insist that the Chinese government is committing “genocide” against the Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang?
Why does Pompeo do this? Because he’s trying to smear China’s reputation and prevent China’s rise. China threatens American hegemony.
Here’s the fundamental problem…
ANYTHING positive that is reported about China is regarded as Chinese propaganda and not to be trusted.
So you can show as many videos of Uyghur culture as you like, and they’re all considered fake.
You can show demographic data of the Uyghur population increasing for the past decade, and since they’re official Chinese stats, they must be fake.
The ONLY way to prove that Western media and Mike Pompeo are lying about the Uyghurs is to go visit Xinjiang and see with your own eyes.
Millions of foreign tourists already have. And do you know what they all see?
Happy Uyghurs. Uyghur culture flourishing. Mosques practically around every corner. Uyghur children playing in the streets. If China is committing genocide, either racial or cultural, she’s doing a very bad job of it!
Unless you think Xinjiang is one vast Potemkin village, you must conclude that Western media is lying.
But here’s the thing: most people in the West will never have the opportunity to visit Xinjiang or China. They either can’t afford to, or they don’t have the time nor inclination.
Mike Pompeo and his ilk are counting on this. They’re counting on most Westerners being unable to verify the truth. This is how they get away with propaganda lies.
P.O.D. – Satellite (Official Music Video) [HD]
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As a Chinese citizen, what are the main flaws with the Chinese government?
The incompetency, or rather, the inconsistency of competence, of the local governments of various levels.
First and foremost, the current Chinese government runs more or less on the principle of meritocracy, that is, the better you do on your job, the more likely you are to get promoted.
The result of which is that the central government consists of the brightest, most capable, and most experienced individuals of the entire Chinese political system, while the local governments – especially the lower level provincial and municipal governments – are more of a mixed bag.
It is not rare to see the local governments failing miserably at their jobs, people get angry, the central government had to step in and, as we would call it in China, “wipe their butts for them.”
And that’s also why the infamous system of petitioning (信访/上访) is…well, infamous.
Through the system of petitioning, officially known as public complaints and proposals, petitioners are, in theory, able to directly get into contact with the central government to report issues they have with the local government.
The problem is, in order to reach the central government, you must first petition with the local government.
And, naturally, when the issue of the petition in question is directed at you, the local incompetent official, you are not very likely to just allow the petitioners to go to the central government. And the end result would be rather grim for some of the more vocal petitioners.
Over the years, the central government is becoming more aware of the issue and, with more effort put into anti-corruption and power abuse since Xi, the central government is trying to achieve a balance between improving the petitioning system itself to allow petitioners to reach the central government, and improving the efficiency of the local governments so that the guys in the central can better focus on their actual jobs.
The 2016 Feng Xiaogang Film I Am Not Madame Bovary is a satire-comedy that criticized the petitioning system and the incompetence of lower level officials, and was well received:
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Definitely worth a watch if you’re interested in the topic.
How safe is Singapore while the whole world is in turmoil?
I’m confident Singapore won’t have to suffer food shortages like Sri Lanka. We have invested billions over decades to diversify the entire supply chain to all corners of the globe, and centralized our stockpile, especially the climate controlled storage of key necessities.
The recent chicken export ban from key supplier Malaysia hardly ruffled feathers here.
I’m confident Singapore won’t have to suffer ruinous energy price increase in the multiples, like the UK and Germany. A severe recession is guaranteed given the rate hikes still to come. Cheap Russian energy cannot be easily replaced, especially the price point.
I’m confident Singapore won’t have to deal with currency devaluation and persistent high inflation. The Singapore dollar uses the exchange rate to control domestic inflation and it has shown remarkable strength next to the ntd, krw, jpy and cny, bucking capitulation in the rest of asean (bar Brunei).
The latest iPhone remains affordable, relative to wages.
I’m confident Singapore won’t have the headache of revolving door politics like we’ve seen in the UK, France, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and many more. Stability wielded by experienced, wise heads gave us the platform and latitude to navigate the treacherous curveballs hurled at us time and again by covid. The scorecard gave Singapore first dibs on returning business flow. Singapore remains the jewel of SEA, as investor confidence clearly demonstrate.
I’m confident racial and sectarian violence won’t break loose, particularly anti-chinese sentiment fueling hate crimes and witchhunts in the Anglophone first world. Singapore takes the constitution seriously. The pledge of one United people regardless of race, language or religion is taught in preschool. Tolerance, and respect, are values deeply ingrained in the Singapore psyche. Long may that continue.
Ultimately, Singapore’s size condemns us to be price takers. We will take material hits when the global situation deteriorates, especially if great power competition escalate into full blown war. But I’d like to think my tropical island home will preserve the last vestiges of sanity as the rest of the world devolve into anarchy.
But that’s just me.
“No Soup For You!” | The Soup Nazi | Seinfeld
Should the United States engage in direct combat against China?
No. First of all, there is no reason to engage China militarily. China is not an enemy of USA.
Second, a war with China would be devastating for the whole world, possibly leading to global nuclear destruction.
Third, USA cannot win a war with China. The Pentagon has conducted numerous war game exercises involving China in East and South China Seas, and in each and every one of them, China won. The lesson here is: Do not fight a war in China’s own backyard.
China has operational hypersonic missiles and so-called “carrier killers.” Does USA want to see all their supercarriers sink to the bottom of the Pacific?
Fourth, generally speaking, war is immoral. It takes a sick mind to contemplate unnecessary warfare. This question falls into this category.
P.O.D. – Alive (Official Music Video) [4K]
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Would you like to live under a Chinese world authoritarian rule or a United States world lead democratic rule?
Let me help you rephrase your questions fairly and accurately.
Would you like to live in a supposedly authoritarian rule in China that is free for you to go anywhere and at any time without the fear of being shot at by random mass shooter ever other day? Or ever stopped by the police and suffers police brutality all because your colour of your skin differs from his?
Or would you prefer like to live in this so called authoritarian nation that has only one nineth per million incasserated compared to this self claimed world leader in democracy who by the way has 25% of the entire world prison population?
This self proclaimed democratic leader allows you to choose between two leader chosen for you by a tiny fraction of its rich and influential people. And yes you chose whom you hate less! Would you like to live in this self proclaimed democratic leader nation that is neither democratic nor leader, who priotised foriegn interventions yet leaves 35% of their people without health insurance?
Or do you prefer to live in a supposed authoritarian nation that gives universal health coverage, haves zero poverty, and provide free college education? Or chose to live in this so call democratic nation that have a million people homeless.and living in tents, and kids get into debts just for going to college!
As you can see a question put in accurate depiction of reality versus a trick question filled with lies and innuendos lead you to broken dreams.
But I got a better choice for you in America. Stay home and push your nation to be really democratic and care more for you! If you are Chinese, words means nothing, deeds are everything.
What is the most unhealthy ‘health food’?
What could be better for you than sitting down to a nice cold glass of fruit juice? I mean, after all, the word “fruit” is right there in the name. How could you go wrong?
Truth is, you might as well be drinking a can of soda with your breakfast. Ounce per ounce, fruit juice contains as much sugar and as many calories as a can of Coke. Maybe more.
Sure there might be some vitamin C and antioxidants in your juice, but that hardly makes up for all that sugar.
Let’s look at a comparison between apple juice and Coca Cola.
Coke: 140 calories and 40 grams of sugar (10 teaspoons)
Apple Juice: 165 calories and 39 grams of sugar (9.8 teaspoons)
Even if you are careful to pick up the juice labeled “100% Pure” and “not from concentrate”, that doesn’t mean much. In a commercial process, once the juice is squeezed from the fruit it is usually stored in massive oxygen-depleting storage tanks for up to a year.
This has the unfortunate effect of removing most of the flavor from the product. To make it palatable again, manufacturers have to add “flavor packs” to their product.
What is a healthier alternative? Just eat the actual fresh fruit itself. It will taste better and be better for you.
The Cult – She Sells Sanctuary
Beijing may use Anti-Secession Law to seek Taiwan reunification, Chinese foreign minister says
Wang Yi says if the law is violated, Beijing will take ‘resolute actions to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’
He also warns that US approach may have ‘subversive impact’ on ties, during meeting with former secretary of state Henry Kissinger
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said Beijing could invoke its Anti-Secession Law to seek reunification with Taiwan, in an escalation of rhetoric over the self-ruled island.
Wang also warned that Washington’s pro-Taiwan, anti-Beijing approach might have a “subversive impact” on US-China ties, during a meeting with former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger on Monday. Wang is in New York for the general debate of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly this week.
It follows US President Joe Biden’s latest pledge to defend Taiwan if Beijing were to attack the island – the fourth time he has vowed to do so – and after the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 cleared a US Senate panel last week.
How did you know your cats chose you to be their owner?
I know my cat chose me.
I was talking to my friend outside her apartment. There were cats all around, ferals and strays.
As we talked, I suddenly felt fur on my leg. I looked down and saw a beautiful black cat brushing past my leg, loving me, choosing me.
I sat down on the curb and petted her (by now I knew it was a girl).
She pushed her little head into my hand and licked me.
This was love at first sight for her.
A lady came out of her apartment and told me she feeds the cats and this little girl, and that she’d been a stray for many months.
Next day I took her to the vet where she got a wellness check, all of her shots and a pill to kill worms in her tummy.
She had no fleas or sores.
I took her home.
She hid under the couch until she got hungry and came out to eat. She found the litter box by herself.
Two nights later she began sleeping with me and has ever since. She’s the love of my life.
Here’s Charlotte
Charlotte
Why do some people send back food at every restaurant they go to?
My aunt and uncle were exceedingly generous people, and one of the things they liked to do was to take friends to new restaurants they had discovered. I used to tell them that once a restaurant had their seal of approval, it was like giving them a Michelin Star!
They once took a couple out, and were having a great time until the husband complained about the steak—after he’d eaten about half of it. The waiter comped his meal. My aunt put it down to the fact that not every dish that comes out of a kitchen can be 100% perfect all the time, and did not think any more about it.
Until a few months later when they took that couple to a different restaurant and the same thing happened—the husband ate about half his meal, complained to a waiter, got his meal comped. My aunt said something along the lines of how bad his luck was and how embarrassed she was that two of their restaurant choices had not pleased him.
He replied, “Oh, the meals were perfectly fine. Great, even. But I fill up on salad and bread and drinks, eat some of the entree, call a waiter over and then get the whole meal comped.” He bragged that no matter how nice the place, there was always something to “complain” about. Too cold, too salty, too spicy, not done enough, too well done, had an ingredient not mentioned on the menu, etc.
My aunt likened it to stealing and he just scoffed, “Look at it this way, I’ve saved you about $25 both times we’ve gone out.”
My aunt and uncle stopped taking this couple out to dinner after that.
CANDLEBOX – Far Behind (Official Video)
Anti-U.S. base incumbent Tamaki secures 2nd term as Okinawa governor
2022 09 11: Anti-U.S. base incumbent Tamaki secures 2nd term as Okinawa governor
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki won a second four-year-term following Sunday's gubernatorial election, obtaining a renewed mandate for his efforts to discontinue a plan to relocate a U.S. base within the island prefecture.
Opposition-backed Tamaki defeated former Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima, 58, who was supported by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. Sakima ran on a platform of pressing ahead with moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago.
Reviving the all-important tourism industry was also a focus of the election with the Okinawan economy having taken a heavy battering from travel restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic
Why is Xi Jinping acting so stubborn in this trade war, and could it be a huge mistake?
Another political viewpoint dressed as a question.
The line of questioning implies China must bend to American pressure, otherwise her leaders are being foolishly stubborn, and dangerously so.
If America wants something bad, she never negotiates. She makes demands, and expects every other country to bow. In international affairs, the Chinese from the time of Mao and Deng called America a 超级大国 or a superpower. Superpowers dominate, bully and exploit people everywhere.
Blackmail, tariffs, media pressure, asymmetric pressure, all in an effort to force China into an unequal treaty that threatens China’s very sovereignty. And that is just the opening salvo. The Americans will never be satisfied once they’ve tasted blood.
Precedents are always begging to be reused.
China will not gamble her long-term internal stability and sovereignty without putting up a massive fight.
There are lots of tools in the Chinese arsenal. They have just not been used out of respect for the global hegemon. Just take a look at the strength of the Yuan relative to the rest of the BRICS. It may actually be a good time to cull the excesses in the Chinese economy brought about by the immense credit expansion post-financial crisis.
China isn’t being stupid. Neither is this a China-driven charade or Xi’s dictatorial decision. The Standing Committee exists to decide important affairs by vote.
Is it true that many anti-CCP Chinese became pro-CCP after having learnt how Western media are biased against China?
I don’t know anyone who has visited China become or remain anti China. The anti China haters are, to my knowledge, people who have never been to China and who wish to hate China from a distance. Maybe they just want to hate. The US media creates lies about China to callously make money based on other’s suffering and to cover up the guilt of the USA. And to try and generate anti China sentiment. Their only hope is with the ignorant people.
I do firmly believe, that if any of these anti China people actually went to China, they would stop their ignorant thinking and become pro China.
The main problem is, that these anti China people don’t want to learn the truth and they wish to want to continue hating innocent people to blame their nation’s (usually the USA), weaknesses on someone else. Like the Nazis blaming the Jews, it all comes from fear of their own inadequacies and jealousy of other’s strengths.
All who visit China, I believe, will realise that China is a good country.
Def Leppard – Hysteria (Live)
Chocolate Silk Raspberry Tart
Smooth slices of this attractive tart combine the classic combination of chocolate and raspberries.
Chocolate Silk Raspberry Tart
Ingredients
20 creme-filled golden sandwich cookies, crushed (2 cups)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
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x
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NEIGHBOURS CAT & OUR DILEMMA!
I'm really hoping someone can give us advice on this stressful and now cruel situation as we are struggling with this now. A cat started sleeping in our garden on the grass overnight through summer and we assumed her to be a stray. We stroked her, we left only water outside and very quickly she started to come in to our kitchen and meow and pur for cuddles.
We noticed she didn't look stray (not overly skinny, good fur) so I decided at this point to snap a few pics and post her to a local FB page in the hopes of finding her owner.
Several people came forward who ended up just having similar cats and this wasn't resolved. I did some more digging determined to find the owner and spoke to more people in the area and finally found her owner.
I was so relieved so I sent her a message to tell her about the situation. She came back to me saying things like 'omg she's been missing for weeks thank you so much' - seemed genuinely relieved.
She asked me to take the cat indoors this once and was happy for me to feed her this once to ensure that she had eaten something and collected her that evening.
Now the problem lies here: For whatever reason, this cat does not like being at home. For weeks if not going on a months now, we've had a back and forth with this lady about her cat darting through our house desperate to come in at any chance.
We love this cat to bits and we don't mind her being here but we've followed her owners instructions all the way through the weeks (please shoo her out, don't feed her, ignore her, close your blinds, close windows) and it is not working!
All that's gained from this is a cold and hungry cat who still won't go home and sits outside all night looking desperate for us to let her in. We seem to be repeating a cycle with the owner now and it goes along the lines of: she keeps her indoors for a day, let's her back out, the cat runs here immediately, we have to ignore her for multiple days as per her request (which upsets us to do), the owner then asks us to let her in after 3 or 4 days of her being ignored by us/sleeping rough as she's still not gone home and does respond to her owner when she looks for her, then collects her from ours.
Repeat.
This cat is actively choosing to sleep under outdoor furniture rather than go home to this lady and it's not fair on this cat.
She would willingly come into our home if we would let her, but we're not allowed as per the owner so the cat just suffers outside because of this.
We are now sick of seeing this poor cat desperate to come in to our home all the while I'm messaging the woman her whereabouts constantly and she never manages to find her and take her in.... But also doesn't want us to take her in, either... so she's stuck in the middle of this and left outside!
The last time this happened she kept her in for a full week.
It's now been 3 days since she let her out and surprise surprise, the cats been in my garden most of this time. We literally saw her bolting her way over down the street.
I've told the owner again and again where she is with pictures of her just sitting here and her reply was ''oh she's so naughty please can you start spraying her with water so she comes home" - this is something I will not do and this will not make her go home!
What would you do in this situation? Is it time to offer adopting the cat? She's clearly happy at my house and willing to come indoors?
I am not prepared to keep living in this pointless cycle with my windows closed, blinds closed, my doors not being open at this ladies request to stop this cat coming in to my home! Please help!
Look, I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but cats don’t actually have owners. They have staff, and friends. They choose their staff, and their friends.
If a strange cat comes to you and decides that you’re their friend / staff, I personally choose to respect the wishes of the cat.
A cat that comes to me, comes inside my house, sleeps near me, eats my food… I really don’t concern myself with the previous “ownership” status of the cat.
This is Zeus:
x
Zeus came to me while I was trying to befriend a feral cat. Zeus wanted pets, so I petted her. She wanted food, so I fed her. Three days later, she walks into my house, jumps into my bed, and falls asleep.
I’ve had her for about 5 years now. When I took her to the vet and found out she was chipped, I literally didn’t care; she’d picked me, and had AMPLE opportunity to “go home.”
The truth of the matter is that she found home. She likes me.
This is Sam:
x
He was a neighborhood stray, who was eventually “taken in” (i.e. imprisoned in inhumane conditions against his will) by a local cat hoarder.
After 18 months he escaped; his fur was patchy, he’d lost like 25% of his body weight, he had a grotesque and untreated wound on his neck (9 stitches needed), and he came straight for me.
Straight to me.
I didn’t bother trying to find his “owner.”
He wanted in to MY house, he wanted ME to pet him and take care of him.
For the first 3 years I had him, he had an actual cat-door to the outside that was unblocked at all times.
Infinite freedom; he could come and go as he chose.
He’d go out and vanish for 8 hours at a time, but he always, always, always came back.
I don’t second guess cats.
If I have a cat and it leaves me, then I can be sad, sure… but it’s the cats decision.
If a cat shows up and wants me, I accept it, and care for it, and don’t concern myself with its past ownership history.
The cat chose.
I let the cat choose.
If I were you, I’d just let the cat in next time it shows up, and block the “owners” number.
It’s your cat now, should you so choose.
Vladimir Putin’s address
It is historic, significant and will shape what we will all experience in the near future. It is also BLOCKED in the West. Good luck finding it.
Vladimir Putin: Dear friends! The topic of my speech is the situation in the Donbas and the course of a special military operation to liberate it from the neo-Nazi regime that seized power in Ukraine in 2014 as a result of an armed coup. Today I appeal to you, to all citizens of our country, to people of different generations, ages and nationalities, to the people of our great Motherland, to all who are united by great historical Russia, to soldiers and officers, volunteers who are now fighting on the front lines, are on the combat post, to our brothers and sisters - residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and other areas liberated from the neo-Nazi regime.It will be about the necessary, urgent steps to protect the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Russia, about supporting the desire and will of our compatriots to determine their own future and about the aggressive policy of part of the Western elites, who are striving with all their might to maintain their dominance, and for this they are trying to block, to suppress any sovereign independent centers of development in order to continue to crudely impose their will on other countries and peoples, to plant their pseudo-values. The purpose of this West is to weaken, divide and ultimately destroy our country. They are already directly saying that in 1991 they were able to split the Soviet Union, and now the time has come for Russia itself, that it should disintegrate into many mortally hostile regions and regions. And they have been planning such plans for a long time. They encouraged gangs of international terrorists in the Caucasus, promoted the offensive infrastructure of NATO close to our borders. They made total Russophobia their weapon, including for decades they purposefully cultivated hatred for Russia, primarily in Ukraine, for which they were preparing the fate of an anti-Russian foothold, and the Ukrainian people themselves were turned into cannon fodder and pushed to war with our country, unleashing it, this war , back in 2014, using the armed forces against the civilian population, organizing genocide, blockade, terror against people who refused to recognize the power that arose in Ukraine as a result of a coup. And after the current Kiev regime actually publicly refused a peaceful solution to the Donbass problem and, moreover, announced its claims to nuclear weapons, it became absolutely clear that a new, yet another, as it had happened twice before, large-scale attack on the Donbass was inevitable. . And then, just as inevitably, there would have been an attack on the Russian Crimea - on Russia. In this regard, the decision on a pre-emptive military operation was absolutely necessary and the only possible one. Its main goals - the liberation of the entire territory of Donbass - have been and remain unchanged. The Lugansk People's Republic has already been almost completely cleared of neo-Nazis. Fighting in the Donetsk People's Republic continues. Here, for eight years, the Kyiv occupation regime created a deeply echeloned line of long-term fortifications. Their head-on assault would have resulted in heavy losses, so our units, as well as the military units of the Donbass republics, act systematically, competently, use equipment, protect personnel and step by step liberate Donetsk land, clear cities and towns from neo-Nazis, provide assistance to people whom the Kyiv regime turned them into hostages, into human shields. As you know, professional servicemen serving under contract take part in the special military operation. Volunteer formations are also fighting shoulder to shoulder with them: people of different nationalities, professions, ages are real patriots. At the call of their hearts, they came to the defense of Russia and Donbass.In this regard, I have already given instructions to the Government and the Ministry of Defense in full and in the shortest possible time to determine the legal status of volunteers, as well as fighters of the units of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. It should be the same as that of regular servicemen of the Russian army, including material, medical support, and social guarantees. Particular attention should be paid to organizing the supply of volunteer formations and detachments of the people's militia of Donbass with machines and equipment.In the course of solving the main tasks of protecting Donbass, our troops, based on the plans and decisions of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff on the general strategy of action, liberated from neo-Nazis also significant territories of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and a number of other regions. As a result, an extended line of combat contact was formed, which is over a thousand kilometers. What I want to say publicly today for the first time. Already after the start of the special military operation, including the talks in Istanbul, the representatives of Kyiv reacted very positively to our proposals, and these proposals primarily concerned ensuring Russia's security and our interests. But it is obvious that the peaceful solution did not suit the West, therefore, after certain compromises were reached, Kyiv was actually given a direct order to disrupt all agreements. Ukraine began to be pumped up with weapons even more. The Kyiv regime has launched new gangs of foreign mercenaries and nationalists, military units trained to NATO standards and under the de facto command of Western advisers. At the same time, the regime of repression throughout Ukraine against its own citizens, established immediately after the armed coup of 2014, was strengthened in the most severe way. The policy of intimidation, terror and violence is assuming more and more mass, terrible, barbaric forms. I want to emphasize that we know that the majority of people living in the territories liberated from neo-Nazis, and these are, first of all, the historical lands of Novorossia, do not want to be under the yoke of the neo-Nazi regime. In Zaporozhye, in the Kherson region, in Lugansk and Donetsk, they have seen and are seeing the atrocities that neo-Nazis are doing in the occupied areas of the Kharkov region. The heirs of Bandera and Nazi punishers kill people, torture them, throw them in prison, settle scores, crack down on, torment civilians. More than seven and a half million people lived in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions before the outbreak of hostilities. Many of them were forced to become refugees, to leave their homes. And those who remained - about five million people - today are subjected to constant artillery and rocket fire from neo-Nazi militants. They hit hospitals and schools, arrange terrorist attacks against civilians. We cannot, we have no moral right to hand over people close to us to be torn to pieces by executioners, we cannot but respond to their sincere desire to determine their own fate. The parliaments of the people's republics of Donbass, as well as the military-civilian administrations of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, decided to hold referendums on the future of these territories and turned to us, Russia, with a request to support such a step. Let me emphasize that we will do everything to ensure safe conditions for holding referendums, so that people can express their will. And we will support the decision about their future, which will be made by the majority of residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.Today, our Armed Forces, as I have already said, are operating on the line of contact, which exceeds a thousand kilometers, they are confronting not only neo-Nazi formations, but in fact the entire military machine of the collective West.In this situation, I consider it necessary to make the following decision - it is fully adequate to the threats we face - namely: to protect our Motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories, I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to conduct partial mobilization in the Russian Federation.I repeat, we are talking specifically about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all those who served in the Armed Forces, have certain military specialties and relevant experience .Those called up for military service will undergo additional military training without fail, taking into account the experience of a special military operation, before being sent to the units.The decree on partial mobilization has been signed.In accordance with the law, the chambers of the Federal Assembly - the Federation Council and the State Duma - will be officially informed about this today by letters.Mobilization activities will begin today, from 21 September. I instruct the heads of regions to provide all necessary assistance to the work of military commissariats.I would like to emphasize that Russian citizens called up for military service by mobilization will receive the status, payments and all social guarantees of military personnel serving under a contract.I will add that the Decree on partial mobilization also provides for additional measures to fulfill the state defense order. The heads of defense industry enterprises are directly responsible for solving the tasks of increasing the production of weapons and military equipment, and deploying additional production capacities. In turn, all issues of material, resource and financial support for defense enterprises must be resolved by the Government immediately.In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed every line. We constantly hear threats against our country, our people. Some irresponsible politicians in the West not only talk about plans to organize the supply of long-range offensive weapons to Ukraine - systems that will allow strikes against the Crimea and other regions of Russia.Such terrorist strikes, including with the use of Western weapons, are already being carried out on the border settlements of the Belgorod and Kursk regions. In real time, using modern systems, aircraft, ships, satellites, strategic drones, NATO carries out reconnaissance throughout southern Russia.In Washington, London, Brussels they are directly pushing Kyiv to transfer military operations to our territory. No longer hiding, they say that Russia should be defeated by all means on the battlefield, followed by the deprivation of political, economic, cultural, in general, any sovereignty, with the complete plunder of our country.Nuclear blackmail was also launched. We are talking not only about the shelling of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is encouraged by the West, which threatens a nuclear catastrophe, but also about the statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia - nuclear weapons.
To those who allow themselves to make such statements about Russia, I would like to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for some components more modern than those of the NATO countries. And if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people.
It's not a bluff.The citizens of Russia can be sure that the territorial integrity of our Motherland, our independence and freedom will be ensured - I emphasize this again - with all the means at our disposal. And those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the wind rose can also turn in their direction.It is in our historical tradition, in the destiny of our people, to stop those who strive for world domination, who threaten with the dismemberment and enslavement of our Motherland, our Fatherland. We will do it now - and it will be so. I believe in your support.
Does China hold big influence globally today?
Yes, indeed. It’s arguable whether Chinese influence can match US influence but there’s no question that China wields considerable global power.
China is the economic engine and manufacturing hub of the world economy. China is the crucial link in nearly all nations’ supply chains.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is making many, many friends around the world. Over 149 countries have signed up to BRI — that 3/4 of the world’s nations!
China is forging powerful economic and security alliances in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation).
China is pursuing diplomacy throughout the Middle East rather than bombing the shit out of the region. Recently, she signed a 25-year cooperation deal with Iran.
China is negotiating with the Taliban instead of invading and occupying Afghanistan for 20 years.
BRICS is creating an alternative basket of currencies to rival the US Dollar.
China is a true and real superpower.
When and how will China’s zero COVID policy fail?
I’m not buying this narrative that Zero-COVID is a mistake.
One reason for this is that if Zero-COVID will lead to China’s collapse, as many have asserted, then it is curious as to why the west wouldn’t just let it happen.
Some new information has come to light recently, which somehow flew under everybody’s radar. Macau’s Health Code (which is an online system encompassing vaccination records, nucleic acid test results and such information, to help curb the pandemic) is recently shown to have been attacked over three million times in May alone, by hackers from Europe and North America.
And yet, this is nothing compared to the way the Beijing Health Code was attacked by hackers based outside of China, especially during the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Why would they actively sabotage Zero-COVID, if they are certain the policy is actually harming China more than any trade war or sanction? COVID is essentially a bad case of flu, right? So why not just let China destroy itself by overreacting to it?
Why interfere? Why would they actively do something to prevent China’s collapse?
Unless, of course, [1] COVID isn’t just some freaky flu, and [2] Zero-COVID really isn’t leading to China’s collapse any time soon?
China-Eurasia Expo kicks off in Xinjiang, rebukes US-led crackdown
Over 3,600 companies from 32 countries and regions attended the 7th China-Eurasia Expo, which was launched on Monday in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as the region strives to build itself into a bridgehead of Belt and Road cooperation despite the US' economic suffocation of this strategically important region.
Underscoring China's commitment to make Xinjiang a core hub for the building of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the opening of the expo, expressing hope that all parties can take this opportunity to tap the potential of cooperation and drive toward shared prosperity.
Xi said that China is willing to work with other countries to promote the Silk Road spirit that incorporates peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning as well as shared benefits, with the China-Eurasia Expo being a platform.
In July, during an inspection trip to the autonomous region, Xi pointed out that as countries jointly push forward the BRI, Xinjiang is no longer a remote inland area but forefront of the opening-up.
The expo, which will last from Monday through Thursday, was held even though the US and some Western countries, together with anti-China forces, have smeared China's governance in Xinjiang and made groundless accusations of "genocide" or "forced labor."
On June 21, the US' so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) took effect, which bans products made in China's Xinjiang, smearing the Chinese government over "oppression" of the Uygurs and other minority populations in its Xinjiang region.
The expo, held both online and offline due to a local epidemic flare-up, has attracted 3,600 enterprises to attend its online events, where nearly 17,000 exhibits of these enterprises from 32 countries and regions are to be shown.
It is expected that over 300 deals worth several hundred billion yuan will be inked during the expo, according to Urumqi Evening News on Sunday.
It comes on the heels of the recently concluded SCO summit, where countries agreed to foster energy sector cooperation, regional connectivity, financial cooperation featuring cross border settlement in local currencies and supply chain elasticity.
Analysts and exhibitors at the expo said the opening of the event and the efforts by Xinjiang to seek deeper cooperation with neighboring markets serve as a strong rebuke to the US' economic suffocation of the region.
Rebuke to the US... Read more...
After our first visit to Japan here are our “only in Japan” moments.
After checking into our hotel, next morning I get a letter taped to the door. It read
x
2. My wife and I casually stroll past a tea tasting event. We showed the slightest of interest at one stall. There was a group of 4 already seated and only 1 empty chair. So we thought never mind, lets keep walking. The host tells us to wait 1 second. He runs, and I mean SPRINTS, about 20 paces to a truck. Grabs an extra chair and runs back to us. I thought this guy will do anything for a sale! So we sit down and try the teas, tastes good, lets buy some. He’s not selling! Turns out it was all part of some free educational event.
3. Maid cafes. Its a cafe, the waitresses dress like french maids. They act super cute like anime characters. Oftentimes sickeningly over the top, like calling me “master” and drawing cute animals on my food. But what surprised me were the people who didn’t work there.
It was not a busy period when we went. Besides us there was another table of tourists. There was a big guy with a deep voice dressed in FULL DRAG. He kept getting up every 10 mins and came back in a different outfit. There was a grumpy old man and a normal looking Japanese guy.
So before the dancing starts, they try to sell you some glow sticks and firecrackers for audience participation. They dim the lights. Disco ball lights up. Normal guy opens his bag and takes out his OWN glow sticks and bunny ears. Grumpy man’s face lights up like a child. Guy in drag gets up and starts stretching. The music starts, a candypop / eurobeat thing. The maids dancing is not bad but all the weirdos join in! They know all the moves, are more enthusiastic than the maids and they look ridiculous. One of them was trying to get us to join in. Only in Japan.
4. No taking calls on trains. If someone forgot to turn on silent and gets a call they will quickly reject the call. One time a guy sprinted to the place between carriages to take an important call.
5. We took a cable car up a mountain. On the way down a friend in our party left her sunglasses up there. A worker must have seen it and radioed the guys at the bottom. When we got out of the cable car, a worker informed us to wait while someone brings it down on the next cable car. Bravo.
6. We go to check into another hotel and behind the check in counter was this.
x
7. Construction zones. One place had a decibel meter to make sure the construction did not make too much noise (perhaps only during certain hours). If the construction blocked a sidewalk and you need to walk around, someone will be there to apologise for the inconvenience.
8. Airport security. You know how you can’t bring a bottle of water through most airport checks. Some Japanese airports have a machine that scans your bottle for flammable liquids. If it passes you can bring it. Just goes to show their attitude to not inconvenience you that they will invent a machine to do that. In Australia the attitude is more like “F*** that, we don’t care what’s in your bottle we’re confiscating it.” In China, they used to say “Are you sure its not a flammable liquid? Prove it, take a drink.”
9. Go to an arcade. Everyone has the reflexes of a ninja.
Japan is an amazing place where being polite and attention to detail are taken to the extreme. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
Head East: Never Been Any Reason (Live)
What is the weirdest order that you have ever heard at a fast food restaurant?
This answer will concern a pizza place I worked at. A customer came in and ordered 2 slices of “garbage pizza”. I asked him if he meant our ‘Everything slice’ which has 3 meats-pepperoni, ground sausage, ground hamburger, and green peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, and extra cheese on top.
No.
He said “ I’ve gotten this before, just write it down, they’ll know…”. I’ve never heard of this and I’ve been working there for over a year, it’s the middle of lunch rush but Sure! Let me just throw a wrench into this smooth process!. I’m not sure what to write as the order, so I asked the cooks. They looked confused. The gentleman said that Joel made it for him. So, I went to the back and asked my manager, Joel, to come to the front. So up he comes, and upon seeing the customer and hearing the request he smiled hugely and said “I got this.”
He washes his hands & puts on an apron & gloves, jumps behind the line and starts layering ingredients on these slices. Now, our slices were large but this was a challenge! The finished slices contained: pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, green & black olives, spinach, fresh garlic, fresh tomatoes, broccoli, pineapple, banana peppers, jalapenos, ricotta, feta, and mozzarella cheeses, and for the final touch…a mix of iceberg & romaine lettuce!
In to the oven it went, and a few minutes later out it came, smoking slightly more than normal, but we had a very happy customer! (And I had a long line to take care of, but that’s a different story, children.)
-Sara
Why did the Western media stop to make documentaries about the incredible infrastructure of China?
Simply because it’s humiliating.
Check this out…
.
You can read some comments on China on Quora and reddit. Many Quorans and even more redditors seem to think China is a “stone age” country.
In fact, Alex Mann is really funny he made a post a mere 5 months ago thinking that China still used bi-planes and that the F5 was STATE of the ART and could blow anything Chinese out the sky.
There are loads of people like that.
You see if they show stuff about China? It will make people question hold on. If a STONE AGE SOCIETY like them can manage stuff like that? Why can’t we do things like that too?
It allows a direct comparison.
Chinese high speed rail for instance.
In the UK HS2? Gordon Brown in 2006 announced it, with his oops we forgot to add VAT to the cost. In that if we’re considered subhuman filth by the MASTER race westerners yet we can out do them on many things what does that make them?
Autograph – Turn Up The Radio
Why have Europeans lost their faith in the USA?
Because you just don’t make any sense as a country. You treat your citizens abysmally despite the fact you’re the wealthiest nation on earth. You prioritise the wealthy elites in the armaments industry ahead of the safety and right to life of your own children and adults. as well as people in other countries. You prioritise the bottom lines of the health insurance companies, big pharma and law firms ahead of the rights of your citizens to decent healthcare regardless of financial status. You prioritise owners of privatised educational establishments ahead of the need to properly educate your citizens and equip them with critical thinking, instead trying to ensure that they never gain the ability to think critically as that would endanger the brainwashing of the population. You prioritise the profits of private prison owners ahead of the rights of citizens to proper and fair justice.
You don’t allow your citizens real choice in how and by whom they should be governed – instead giving them just two options – invariably both supporting the status quo. Even within that choice of 2 leaders you will quite often make the one the people voted against POTUS. If anybody makes any suggestions around policies that would benefit the regular citizen ahead of the wealthy elite. you have brainwashed vast swathes of citizens to angrily denounce such notions as Marxist, communist, socialist with great disdain, demonstrating clearly that they have not the foggiest idea what any of those words even mean.
You are run by big business, by lobbying and by corruption. No country is exempt from this but you just bring to a totally different level. Almost 50% of voters deemed one of the most famously corrupt, cheating, lying, self-serving, delusional, mysogynistic, racist and morally bankrupt people on the planet to be an appropriate leader. First time round it was somewhat understandable that you might take a punt on someone hopefully representing a change from the status quo. After he had spent 4 years demonstrating that he represented everything that was worst about the status quo, but bringing it to new levels and represented nothing that was reasonably good about the status quo … after he had clearly demonstrated that his idea of “draining the swamp” was to become the biggest swamp rat of all – even more people and almost as big a proportion of voters decided that his behaviour, his essence was appropriate to lead the wealthiest nation on earth.
How can anyone expect us to take the US seriously? I mean we have to in the context of their wealth and their military might … but in terms of leadership, intelligence, morality, how can we possibly have any respect?
I’m referring entirely to the system here as opposed to the citizens. Even the citizens who somehow believe Trump, who somehow feel an archaic law for another time and other reasons to have the right to bear arms “trumps” the right for citizens, including innocent little children, to be safe and to live are only so warped in their thinking because of the brainwashing carried out on an ongoing basis by the status quo. Most Americans I’ve met have been equally as nice as people of other nationalities. Ok, we do struggle sometimes. particularly with those who have never travelled beyond the US, by their sheer ignorance about the rest of the world allied with their unshakeable belief that everything in the US is better than the rest of the world and that every other nation should be envious of them.
Apart from the incredibly corrupt and unrepresentative political system and the sickening brainwashing, I think that the main issue is the educational system. I mean you allow crazy people to teach creationism as fact to children in your schools. What hope is there really?
You have incredible entrepreneurial ability in your country. You have many positive things yet you typically allow your people a choice of being governed by two old, rich, white, “status quo” men, totally out of touch with the real world as experienced by citizens. You’re the richest nation on the planet yet you’re happy to have schoolchildren slaughtered because of your laws, happy to have people die because they can’t afford private healthcare or go bankrupt because insurers try to avoid paying out the cover for which they have paid. You’re happy to have widespread homelessness while your government ploughs billions into an army already multiple times more powerful than anyone else – guess who profits from that?
I feel almost as much sympathy for citizens of the US as I do for those of war-torn, drought-stricken African countries. Almost as much … but those poor folks would happily change their circumstances if they could – you folks just keep voting and accepting more of the same.
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What facts about the United States do foreigners not believe until they come to America?
I’m from Bangladesh and here are a few things that I find hard to explain to peeps back home.
– Fruits and vegetables are way more expensive than meat and poultry.
– That, generally speaking, the poor is more obese than the rich.
– That Americans in general are incredibly confused about the use of the apostrophe. Like seriously bad.
– A lot of couples adopt children, sometimes in spite of having their own, and treat them exactly like their own. (To me, this alone is a marker of a great people)
– By and large, people do not carry cash.
– That you address your boss (and some of your professors) by some abbreviated variation of their first name. And that applies to pretty much everyone, regardless of how much older they are than you.
– Parents can get arrested for physically punishing their children.
– Severe poverty, homelessness, etc., no matter how limited, actually exist. Even in America.
– A name as common and as easy to pronounce as mine is almost invariably incomprehensible to most Americans.
– America is literally HUGE. My home country is roughly the size of Florida, one of the fifty states.
– In spite of the society being openly hedonistic and liberal, the social norms and standards still have very strong conservative religious influences.
– People don’t really care about the FIFA World Cup even though USA qualifies.
– The importance of credit rating/ credit score.
– Return policy
– The history behind Thanksgiving
– Black Friday and the frenzy associated with it.
– Amazingly friendly, hospitable and helpful people. Yet, a very conveniently private lifestyle.
– That, American foreign policy is a very inaccurate reflector of public consensus.
– Grinding. The dance form.
– That you cannot purchase alcohol unless you are 21 but can purchase a gun if you are 18.
Kix – Don’t Close Your Eyes (Official Music Video)
What should I not do when I visit China?
It’s about the drugs!
He’s dead.
Peter Gardner : A New Zealand-born Australian.
If you are in China, for god sake, never do anything illegal related to drugs.
You can’t imagine how serious is the anti-drug moment in China. Narcotics Control in China is a very serious and comprehensive process.
x
June, 2020.
There is virtually 100% chance of being caught for drug related offences.
You might know the penalty already: capital punishment is a legal penalty in China.
x
Aug, 2020.
Frankly, drug abuse has been responsible for numerous social issues in China.
If you understand Chinese history, you will realize how drugs created trouble for China. Opium Wars (鸦片战争) are just an example.
Hence, the government is extremely serious about eradicating the drug offences.
We expect everyone to cooperate with law enforcement.
China is a beautiful country. You are welcome to visit China. Eat, drink, and have fun. Just keep in mind that you have to respect the law.
AC/DC – Jailbreak (Live at Donington, 8/17/91)
How do doctors handle patients who think they’re not sick when they really are?
I was that patient.
I was completing an internship as part of post-graduate studies. I had two weeks left of my placement, and I was eager to get it finished, as I also had a small part-time business and a family.
Over the course of several years, I had developed what I described as a “cranky digestion,” requiring me to manage my diet carefully to avoid episodes of pain, nausea and diarrhea. This became a regular part of my life, and I had almost normalized it.
But while supervising a client with autism at his volunteer placement in a hospital laundry one day during my internship, I became aware of sudden, acute nausea, not quite like any nausea I had ever experienced before. I was also experiencing upper right abdominal pain, but the worst thing was this overwhelming, disorienting nausea. I found myself moaning and rocking, unable to stay still. Telling my client I would find someone to stay with him while I sought help for myself, I collapsed. Unable to stand, I began to crawl toward the employee health clinic, which was fortunately located on the same level of the hospital.
The employee health nurse who greeted me sent me immediately to the nearby acute-care hospital’s emergency department. I was, by now, in terrible pain, and the strange nausea was even worse.
I was quickly given IV morphine and dimenhydrinate, which got the pain and nausea to manageable levels.
Diagnostics indicated a badly diseased gallbladder and a large gallstone stuck in the common bile duct. I was admitted to hospital, where the plan was to break up the big gallstone and then, once my condition improved, remove the gallbladder.
My liver values were described to me as “terrible,” and I continued to feel awful for several days. But once the big gallstone was out of the common bile duct, I felt a fair bit better. I still wasn’t eating, but my pain and anti-nausea medications were able to be reduced, and I felt pretty much like myself.
I wanted to leave the hospital, finish my internship, and then get on the outpatient list to return to have my gallbladder removed. The residents and nurses kept telling me that was “not a good idea” and “it would be best to deal with the gallbladder right now.”
Well, sure. In a perfect world, that was true. But I wanted to finish my internship, graduate with my classmates, get back to work and take care of my family. If, as I had been told, my gallbladder had been diseased for years, surely it could wait a few more weeks or even months to be removed.
One day, the attending surgeon strode into my hospital room.
“I hear you want to go home,” he said, quite brusquely. “That’s a terrible idea. Why won’t you stay and deal with this now?”
“Well, I need to finish my program,” I said. “And then I can wait on the outpatient list for having my gallbladder removed, right?”
“Your gallbladder is in disgusting condition,” he said. “It should have come out years ago, and I’m planning to have a word with your family doctor about why you weren’t referred for your chronic pain and nausea. But the point today is that given the number and size of gallstones you have, you have a 100 percent chance of having another attack like the one that brought you in here, and a 25 percent chance that any attack will be fatal quite quickly. Your liver was failing when you came in through emergency. If you had waited until the next day to come in, I feel sure your family would have been planning your funeral.”
Right.
I agreed to stay as an inpatient and have my gallbladder out. The surgeon seemed a little surprised by my quick acquiescence.
But here’s the thing: none of the other medical personnel had explained the issue to me. I wasn’t trying to be difficult or heroic. I just didn’t know how sick I had been. I really didn’t understand the risk.
When the two residents and my regular nurses heard what the surgeon had said to me, they were scandalized. They assured me that he was an excellent surgeon, but had a terrible bedside manner.
As far as I was concerned, his bedside manner was just fine. I didn’t need platitudes, I needed facts. He told me what I needed to know to make the best decision for my health. I ended up spending nine days in the hospital. By a special arrangement, I was able to graduate with my class and finish my internship after the fact.
The surgeon came in to see me again just before surgery and again, briefly, the day I was discharged. I found he was consistently informative and blunt. No, he wasn’t warm and fuzzy, but I didn’t need a prom date, I needed a surgeon who would be honest with me. I am still grateful for his “terrible bedside manner.”
Queensrÿche – Jet City Woman (Official Music Video)
What has NATO got to do with China?
Absolutely nothing. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as the name suggests, is only responsible for North Atlantic defence. Asia, and in particular China, does not fall into NATO’s bailiwick. China has never threatened EU countries, only traded with them.
However, USA has coerced NATO into inserting itself into Asian matters. This is very dangerous. It opens the possibility for military conflict between China and NATO. In the worst case scenario, this conflict could lead to nuclear world war.
Why do so many US people not understand how advanced China has become?
I have been to China many times. I understand what is happening in China. It is hard not to be impressed after landing at one of the world’s largest airports and taking the Maglev to Longyang Station at 430 km/hr. This is the fastest commercial ground transportation system on the planet.
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Shanghai has huge and growing subway system. In the downtown area of Puxi, there are multiple levels of highways .
I went to Semicon China last year and saw a vending machine that only accepted WePay, no cash or credit cards. This simply follows the trend to allow everyone to accept payments phone to phone. Unlike with Square, there is no additional hardware required to use WePay, since your smartphone already has the ability to scan QR codes.
The high speed rail system connects the country in a way that makes the ICE, TGV or Shinkansen look small by comparison.
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When I first went to China in the 1990s, little of this existed. There were no multi-level highways in Shanghai. There was no Maglev, nor Pudong airport. The subway was partially built but the high speed rail network was still a dream.
There may be people who believe that China is a poor country living in the last century without the benefits of modern technology. All I can say is that they should visit China and see the reality with their own eyes.
Cheech and Chong greatest hits!
If China is collapsing, how come it is a threat?
That question can be easily answered when you take on the perspective of an American billionaire. How does an American become a billionaire and maintain her/his enormous wealth? By investing in enterprises that hold monopolies in their respective markets and supporting government policies that incentivize and subsidize such practices and by lobbying legislators, the President, governors, and judges to enact, enforce and safeguard those policies. All of these activities are perfectly legal in the United States. They are even enshrined as the pinnacles of plutocratic capitalism.
China, on the other hand, is a socialist country and its economic policies can only be best described as state capitalism. Because the Chinese Communist Party was founded on the principles of Marxism, it does not support monopolizing and profiteering from patents. As the British historian Adrian Johns succinctly put it: “[Patents] projected an artificial idol of the single inventor, radically denigrated the role of the intellectual commons, and blocked a path to this commons for other citizens — citizens who were all, on this account, potential inventors too. […] Patentees were the equivalent of squatters on public land — or better, of uncouth market traders who planted their barrows in the middle of the highway and barred the way of the people.”
China also criminalizes the practice of “influencing” public officials as bribery or grafting. President Xi Jinping was notorious for enforcing party disciplines with his signature anti-corruption campaign that resulted in the dismissal of several prominent incumbent as well as retired party members, including those within the Politburo Standing Commitee. His nationalistic policies have time and again antagonized many American corporations hoping to expand their market shares in China. President Xi’s growing popularity with his foreign policies advocating free trade and globalization is what irks American billionaires the most.
Imagine you are one of those American billionaires. Why do you love America so much? Because you have an obscene amount of money, you can buy off any political candidates you want through the use of PAC contributions. Because both the Democrats and the Republicans pander to your interests, you can readily “influence” them to provide you with tax cuts and subsidies for any investments that you may own. Because you can profit the most from monopolies and protectionism, you definitely do not want free trade. Because you want your bank investments to stay bullish, you are naturally opposed to banking regulations. Because the Chinese are promoting the Belt and Road Initiative with their own state-sponsored financing, your foreign bond investments are not going to be as lucrative as before. Moreover, the worst fear of all is your poorer fellow citizens are clamoring for socioeconomic reforms that lean toward a socialist system. That is the biggest threat to most American billionaires. The rest is just propaganda concocted to convince others to shun socialism.
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The story of Miller’s Pub in Chicago
Miller’s Pub in downtown Chicago is legendary, and I first visited in the 1990s.
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What I didn’t expect to find there were my favorite buffalo wings in America. I had eaten every famous buffalo wing in Buffalo, New York, from whence they first came. Although they were all spectacular, Miller’s (located more than 500 miles from Buffalo) was somehow superior!
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After discovering these chicken wings in 1999, I made an annual pilgrimage to Chicago just to eat them. And that was a 448-mile (721 km) drive from my house one way (nearly 900 miles round trip)! I brought a different friend each time I went up there, year after year after year. I think it was about 2008 when it all came to a crashing halt.
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A friend of mine had never had these wings, so off we went. I drove him 7.5 hours from Nashville to Chicago just to eat the wings at Miller’s Pub. That was the sole reason for the trip. They had been so magical, so complex, so perfect. Most importantly, they had been beautifully consistent over the years.
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Sitting at the table in rapt anticipation, the wings arrived from the kitchen. They looked different, far too red, and way too saucy. Miller’s had changed the recipe! Why? What we were served was akin to chicken wings tossed in ketchup. It was horrible!
And that was the end of my visits to Miller’s Pub in Chicago.
Remember The Name (Official Video) – Fort Minor
Classic Beef Stew
It’s hard to say what’s better, the aroma or the taste of this homemade beef stew. Our recipe is loaded with potatoes, meat and spices and is a savory dish your family will ask for again and again. It takes just four simple steps to make and only one bite for our beef stew to transport you to a cozy pub in the British Isles. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, our beef stew with potatoes makes for a wonderful lunch. Should you only have one serving left, there’s no shame in hiding it in the back of the fridge. This way, only you know where to find it. We would do the same!
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or shortening
1 lb boneless beef chuck, tip or round roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large unpeeled potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
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Triumph – Lay It On The Line (Official Video)
Why do many Chinese people become much more patriotic and defensive about China after living in the West?
I am ethnic Chinese, but I was born and grew up in Taiwan, and have never lived in China.
I want to give you a blatant example of what can make a Chinese person more patriotic after being in closer contact with the western society.
New York Times, the beacon of freedom and salvation to the world, and staunch champion of all under-privileged and exploited Americans, the poor, the Blacks, the Latino, the Muslim, the native Americans, against institutional and cultural repression, is more than happy to join the oppressor when it comes to the Chinese.
Take a look at this reader’s comment (July 24, 2020):
After several paragraphs of red-neck style China bashing, the last paragraph says:
“Can someone cite for me one world-changing innovation China has contributed in the last century? Or, for that matter, in the last five hundred years?”
in a thinly veiled racist attack, directed clearly not at a political entity, but at a culture, an ethnic group, a people.
I am not interested in disputing this nonsensical comment, but more alarmed by the following:
This comment was singled out from 228 other comments by the New York Times editor as “Times Pick”, clearly agreeing with and even cheering on the commenter for his blatant racist-minded ranting. I can almost see the smirk on the editor’s face for having someone else speak his/her mind without having to own it.
If you replace “China” in that paragraph with “Africa”, “Muslim world”, or “Mexico”, you can be sure the ultra liberal New York Times editor will not only disallow its posting (not to mention “Times Pick”!!), but will be all up in arms castigating this commenter for being the racist he is.
But hey, Chinese are fair game in America, lampooned and mocked and verbally abused by news media, entertainers, politicians, etc., who would otherwise be the most politically correct, the staunchest of champions for all underprivileged groups (except the Chinese of course), who would not in their wildest dreams imagine belittling Black culture or Hispanic culture!
So do you blame these Chinese expatriates for becoming more patriotic? They enjoy a position, ethnically and culturally, at the bottom of the ladder, fair game for everyone a few rungs up with impunity.
By the way, this is not only in America. It is pretty much in all the “enlightened” and “liberal” western societies. And as I mentioned, the behavior is not limited to right wing xenophobes, but to liberal beacons like New York Times or Der Spiegel.
Actually, the more liberal the media or person, the worse it gets. At least an American mountain man in the Appalachia may hate Blacks and Asians equally, without such discrimination.
Shame on you, New York Times!
The Black Crowes – Remedy
My (white American) mother says that when she was a child there was a loaf of white bread and butter on the table every night regardless of what else was for dinner. Was this common in the 1950s and does anyone still do this?
It certainly was common in my family in the 1950s, with one exception. No butter.
We had sticks of margarine which had a uniquely grainy texture when you tasted it.
That wasn’t bad as long as you had plenty of grape jelly to spread on your white Wonder bread. We knew this bread was extremely healthy and good for you—after all, it “builds strong bodies 12 ways.”
And at my grandmother’s house there was definitely bread and “butter” on the table for anyone to eat at any time. However one of my uncles did not use either butter or margarine.
He spread white lard directly on his white bread. No time to toast it. But he was also extremely healthy, or so it seemed. In his spare time he worked as a truck mechanic, but his regular job was Farmer. Picking up bales of hay and tossing them into the back of a pickup truck, lifting farm machinery, and working 12 or 14 hours a day must have burned a lot of calories.
This man was the most superbly conditioned human being I’ve ever seen.
He washed his white bread and lard down with plenty of black coffee. And let us just say that he drank liquor too—or that was the rumor. At age 10 or 11 the adults did not discuss such matters with me.
In later years when real animal lard got rare—he would spread Crisco on his bread.
He was very healthy as I said—although he also was a heavy cigarette smoker, as was nearly every man of the WWII generation.
He was outstandingly healthy right up to the day when he failed to get up from his chair on the front porch of his house one hot Sunday afternoon, and was found dead by his wife returning from church.
He had died of a massive coronary. He was, I think, about 60. Most of my uncles lived well into their 60s.
That white bread had several other important uses.
Meals at my grandmother’s house always involved meat, potatoes, and some kind of gravy. This gravy was so wonderful that we sopped-up and ate every particle of it on our plates. Using that same white bread.
A little later, when my cousins and I were on into our late teens and 20s, we would eat white bread in the early evening before partying.
This was well known to facilitate your ability to drink more. You laid down a base of bread in your stomach which then soaked up alcohol like a sponge—which is essentially what Wonder bread was.
Edible sponge.
Personally, I never noticed that this drinking strategy had much of a salubrious effect, but many of us swore by it.
And if you’re in a hurry to get to work, the ability to grab bread and slather something viscous on it on your way out the door—well it was a lifesaver.
In addition to grape jelly—homemade using mason jars and pectin and cans of frozen Welch juice concentrate—some of my uncles put molasses on their bread.
Sorghum molasses right out of a bottle. It had the consistency of honey but was less sweet and had a slightly sour/bitter “kick” that you had to get acclimated to.
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Do people still use white bread and butter this way today?
No one I know does. We eat egg white-only omelets with grilled asparagus and follow it up with a few slices of fresh fruit. Blood orange is a favorite of mine. I use butter in cooking but I no longer spread it—or anything else—on bread. In truth I very rarely eat bread.
Of all these things—the only one I really miss is my grandmother’s gravy. It must have had some secret ingredient because I’ve never been able to replicate it.
Or maybe it was the prospect of impending nuclear war that made all that food taste so good.
We were quite sure that the war was coming—soon!
No one was more surprised than me when it hadn’t happened by 1970 or at the very latest, 1980.
Why is vanilla the “default” or “plain” ice cream flavor?
It’s unfortunate that vanilla — a very exotic flavor indeed — has come to be synonymous with plain, neutral. The low-risk default option least likely to offend anyone.
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But because its flavor is so agreeable, pleasing to so many, it’s the go-to choice when one’s aim is to pick a flavor that won’t meet with any serious resistance.
Other flavors (you name it, any kind of ice cream flavor you can think of, strawberry, chocolate, caramel, nut flavors, fruit flavors, etc.) will have strong defenders and advocates, an equal number on each side who like it, or strongly dislike it. You can’t please everybody.
Except, sometimes you can. Vanilla stands alone in being one flavor that rarely stirs up any disagreement. If you’re sent to the store to get ice cream for a party of 20 people, vanilla is the safe bet, the default choice to arouse the least displeasure. Not many people will say that they love vanilla. But very few people hate it. What’s not to like?
What makes vanilla special?
Vanilla is an orchid. The aroma and flavor is so complex, so mysterious, and so desirable, it’s become the most famous flavor in the world. The ubiquity of vanilla makes it easy to take for granted, or view as common.
I would personally like to see vanilla get more respect, more recognition for how unique and genuinely exotic it is. Every bit as exotic as the cocoa plant, perhaps more so.
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Here’s a segment describing a little about this unique plant.
It comes from the only orchid that bears edible fruit among thousands of orchid species, thriving only in tropical climates within 20 latitudinal degrees of the equator.It’s earned a reputation for being the most labor-intensive agricultural crop in the world.What’s more, it is estimated that between 250 and 500 distinct organic compounds make up vanilla’s beloved flavor and fragrance profile.Whoever uses the term vanilla as a euphemism for ordinary is seriously misinformed.That phraseology drives “Spice Boss” Tom Erd bonkers.“Vanilla is a complex set of flavors. To say something is vanilla that’s plain just sticks in my craw,” he said ….… If anyone knows vanilla, it’s Tom Erd. He compares the complexity and nuances of high-quality pure vanilla to those in wine or coffee.His favorite? Madagascar. “I love the Madagascar flavor and aroma by far,” he said.Describing the different vanillas merely using words can be difficult, according to Erd. The Mexican and Madagascar are similar, with the Mexican being a little spicier. Most people couldn’t pick up the difference in finished foods, he said.The Tahitian is “way different,” he added, “more fruity. It reminds me of black cherries.”[1]
The word vanilla has even come to be a shorthand label for ho-hum dull people, personalities, tastes, or habits — including sexual tastes —- that are square, plain, and boring. This is really unfortunate, emblematic of how we modern people often take our unprecedented abundance of exotic things for granted.
Next time you hear the word used that way, remind them that the vanilla plant is an exotic orchid! It’s only because we live in a very fortunate time of advanced plant cultivation, spice trade, and increasing prosperity, that we are privileged to have such an exotic flavor available to us any time we want. This familiarity breeds, if not contempt, a casually dismissive disregard for how common and routine this once-rare flavor is.
The kind of exotic spices and flavors that we routinely enjoy today (including the cocoa plant) were once reserved for royalty and the elite aristocracy, who funded the efforts of explorers, merchants, and speculators, pioneering trade routes into distant corners of the world.
If you get a chance to have really good vanilla, scooped right from the bean, and used in recipes, you’ll know what I mean.
Can someone born into wealth ever understand what it’s like to be poor?
I grew up in great comfort. I never knew what it was like to be cold because heat is too expensive, or what it is like to go hungry. If I needed to eat, I opened the pantry or the refrigerator. If anything, food spoilage was a bigger issue, because we had so much. I always had Ralph Lauren and expensive clothing. I couldn’t imagine shopping at Wal-Mart for clothing. It would be like going to a thrift store. Not that I was above it. It just wasn’t on the radar screen. It wasn’t part of my world.
Then I turned 17.
“You need to get a job!” my father commanded.
“Why can’t you just give me a little bit of money each week?” I said.
“You need to learn the value of a dollar,” he said. “Don’t be goddamn lazy.” He had a way with words.
So I did. I needed money to buy gas when I went out with my friends. And I needed spending cash. I got a job at a family restaurant, a corporate-owned business. It proved to be life-changing.
I met men and women who were older than me, 25+, who had limited education. Most had high school or almost-finished high school levels of education. Their lives were really hard. They were tired. A few lived in motels, where you pay by the day. One of the waitresses came to work, late. Her eyes were filled with tears.
“My car’s transmission went. $1,200. I don’t know what I am going to do,” she said.
She had a friend give her a ride to work. It might as well have been a million dollars, because she didn’t have it. I don’t recall her having it fixed. I think she ended up getting rides from people.
There was an older man named Russell. He was hunched over. Maybe he had ankylosing spondylitis. I don’t know. He had been a teacher for a few years. Now he worked as a salad bar stocker. He cut coupons. He did everything he could to save money. But he was fucked.
I saw how busy the restaurant was. The regional manager always dressed so nice, and had a BMW 700 series. On busy days, the restaurant was killing it. All of the workers were paid minimum wage, except for the managers, who were salary and did a little better. They were always working.
I got to see what it was like to be working class. It was hell. And no, these people weren’t going to go “learn computers,” as President Clinton and Hillary Clinton liked to glibly state. Not everyone is cut out for computers. Russell could barely check himself in and out using the buttons on the computer terminal.
I saw the horrors of what capitalism is all about. And it lit a fire in me that has only grown stronger through time. Can the rich know what it is like for the poor?
Yes, we can. And we should.
Message…
You only got one shot. One shot.
Opportunity only comes once in a lifetime…
Lose Yourself by Eminem | Eminem
What is the most surprising/disturbing/mind-blowing family secret you’ve ever found out?
This isn’t anything lewd, but my family still has a house in China.
A mansion.
And it’s just sitting there, in a little-known rural village, doing nothing.
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A house in outer Fuzhou (this is not the house I’m talking about; I’m showing this image from the internet to give you a rough idea of what our house looks like)
My father’s side of the family was originally from the rural outskirts of Fuzhou. They started coming to America as early as WWII, starting with my grand uncle who fought in the US military, and was able to bring other members of the family over — including my grandparents, who in turn brought dad over, who in turn brought mom (who came from urban Fuzhou) over, who then gave birth to me. As more and more members of my extended family immigrated, the village where they grew up shrank; it still exists, but it’s a shadow of what it once was, and half of its houses are abandoned and awaiting demolition.
But despite being in the US for decades, my dad’s side of the family, especially my grandparents, never 100% abandoned the village from which they came. They would visit the village every time they returned to China; moreover, they would invest in it from time to time, all in the name of “revisiting our roots” and giving back to the community. Their money went to a renovated ancestral hall, a basketball court (both public)…and a mansion, with three floors, a balcony, a fancy garage and security gate, just for us.
No one lives in the mansion, though. Not even our family; when we return to Fuzhou, we live in the city center with my mom’s side of the family. Our mansion, that we paid money to build and maintain, only gets a visit from us when we pay a visit to the ancestral village. We unlock the door, explore the house from bottom to top, make sure all the furniture is in place, re-lock the door, then leave. Here in America, my grandparents and parents are rentiers who make money from tenants. But we don’t bother making money from the mansion in China that belongs to us, that we don’t make any use of.
I used to think that the mansion was just a vanity project, something my grandparents wanted to build either because they thought it would look good, or because they wanted a vacation home…except they never actually lived there when they were on vacation. Or because they wanted a retirement home…except they’ve been retired for years and they haven’t moved.
Turns out the mansion was built for some other reason, and it’s not one that I like to think about.
My grandparents have always been low-key worried about an eventual military conflict between the US and China.
They’re American citizens, just like everyone in my family who lives in the US; the oldest in our family have been legally Americans for nearly half a century now; we have established ourselves here, some of us were born here, so we’re not supposed to be going anywhere (despite building a house in China, my grandparents seem to get that, as they’ve bought their graves in Pennsylvania…go figure).
But my grandparents, from day one, premised this assumption on our country of residence being at peace with our country of origin. Miraculously we managed to have that for quite a while, to the extent that we were ready to take it for granted, but the thought of the “unthinkable” happening never truly left the minds of our family. Somewhere inside, even during the “best” of days, my elders sensed that there was never a zero chance of total war, and as long as that was the case, a contingency plan was in order. They were convinced that if things do get to that point, it wouldn’t matter how long any of us have been in this country or have been its citizens — we wouldn’t be able to carry on our lives as usual, to put it diplomatically.
Which is where the mansion comes in. For whatever it’s worth, according to those who wanted it, the mansion is designed to function as a potential place of refuge for our family in case the United States goes berserk during wartime and targets ethnically Chinese people. China would therefore be the only place on Earth where we could blend with the crowd and not get beat. We’ll move into the mansion, and because it’s our property we will be able to live there for as long as we have to.
One reason I find the mansion to be silly is that I highly doubt we would be able to get out of America in the first place if the government or somebody else goes after us, and no one in our family is certain about the situation escalating to such a level, hence “contingency plan.” Besides, if the government is at war with China, how would we be able to travel to China anyway? Well, smartass, we would go to China via a third country! Or however many third countries it takes. The important thing is that we have a home outside of the US in case we can no longer call the US home.
I don’t think we’ll ever permanently reside in that mansion — I don’t want to think we’ll ever have to. Sometimes, I hear my family joke about moving into the mansion if war breaks out, so they don’t seem to take the idea that seriously either; they prefer believing, as I do, that China is no place for Chinese Americans. We shouldn’t have to live there unless we’re on vacation, or we’re too incompetent to live here.
But whenever I think about how my family put all that money into building a possible refuge from World War F****g Three, I’m not going to lie: I am spooked. Spooked that we could plan for something like this. More spooked when you consider the possibility of a conflict and realize they weren’t entirely paranoid. But also reminded of just how precious peace is.
What are the most overpriced cuts of meat that people often buy from their local butcher?
My local butcher has the foulest mouth and the strongest opinions of anyone I have ever met in a customer-facing role. I think it’s hilarious.
I once bought some skirt steak from him, because I wanted to try making carne asada. First he tried to tell me I wanted sirloin, because it’s better and it’s the same price.
And I told him no, I’m doing a recipe and it needs skirt steak. And he asked what I was making, and I said carne asada, and he grudgingly admitted that should be made with skirt, so he goes and gets some skirt.
And as he’s cutting it up and weighing it he was moaning.
“It is fucking overpriced, this stuff. Overpriced, you know what the problem is, don’t you? It’s those bloody chefs. They get hold of it and put it on *waves knife* fucking Masterchef or something, and then everyone wants it and the price goes up. That about do ya?
Right, good. And then the wholesalers put the price up. And then I have to rip my bleeding customers off, don’t I? Fucking eleven quid a kilo! Nice bit of sirloin would cost you that. Here you go.”
I pointed out, laughingly, that in that case he ought to be grateful idiots like me watch Masterchef, or he’d never sell any.
“Yeah, yeah, true, well! Not as bad as this bloody woman who come in the other day, wanting ox tail. You know about ox tail? Why would anyone want ox tail? It’s been shat on it’s whole life. Ten quid a kilo, because of the bloody chefs, full of bones, and it’s been shat on it’s whole life.
Then again, she said she wanted fillet for a stew, so she didn’t know what she was talking about anyway.”
And as hilariously foul-mouthed as he is, there’s no arguing with his logic. Ox tail is ridiculously overpriced.
Ox Tail
Is China moving into a recession over the next two years?
Nope, absolutely not.
China has the strongest economy in the world, even stronger than America’s, which is teetering on the edge. China’s economy is based on tangible things such as manufacturing and construction. America’s economy is based on stock market speculation and low-wage services.
And America carries a crushing $30 trillion national debt! Not to mention crumbling infrastructure.
Message…
It’s time. You all are so close now.
Graduation. Some people are (for certain) going home.
Yeah. My house fuse reset, and that sent a spike into my computer which then auto-launched my last post prematurely. It’s like an elbow bump.
For those of you who have no idea how serious the new American Taiwan Relations Act of 2022 is, check this out…
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Duh!
Have you ever tried to annoy a scammer who called you? If so, what happened?
I work in a hospital and was sitting at the station when the phone rang.
‘Excuse me, ma’am. This is Microsoft Security and we have found a number of viruses on your PC …’
So I prepared myself for the usual BS where they get you to bring up some list of tasks with scary-looking X’s next to them, and then effectively get you to set up remote access so they can lock you out and look for cash to unlock. Yawn!
Well, I just gave him the answers he was looking for until eventually I stopped and just said:
‘At this point I must now inform you that you are currently in conversation with a law enforcement officer and that all further communications will be recorded under Section 11.b of the Digital Data Protection Act 2016. Any further attempts to gain access to this machine is a violation of criminal law and you may be prosecuted. My name is Detective O’Callaghan …’
‘Fuck you!’
‘Sir, there is no need for profanity. Under the rights granted by the aforementioned act, we have begun a tracing algorithm through your voice-over-IP broker and …’
He hangs up.
About 10 seconds later, the phone on the other side of the desk (sequentially the next number) rings.
‘Excuse me, ma’am. This is Microsoft Security …”
‘Yes. This is Dectective O’Callaghan. We are still in the process of tracing your location and all outgoing traffic has been routed to our server.’
This time there’s an uncertain pause. Then he hangs up.
About 30 seconds later, the phone halfway down a corridor starts to ring. Well, I moved like Usain Bolt to grab it.
‘This is Microsoft Security …’
‘This is still Dectective O’Callaghan …’
At which point there was an immediate hang up and no nearby phones rang again.
Barney in Real Estate
What explains the absence of Russophobia in China?
The Chinese people seem to be very friendly towards Russia and Russians.
Yes, today’s China-Russia relations are very close and friendly from the government level to the non-governmental level. This is a model of a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation and has also contributed a lot to the maintenance of world peace.
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So how should we understand the Chinese people’s favor for Russia? I think this can be traced back to the Soviet era. When the PRC was just established, the domestic social economy urgently needed development, but at the same time, it was blocked and isolated by the West. The Soviet Union provided important political, economic and talent support to China.
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On October 2, 1949, the Soviet Union took the lead in announcing the recognition of the PRC, and then strongly supported China’s industrial construction. From 1949 to 1960, at least 20000 Soviet experts came to work in China to help China with its economic reconstruction. From 1950 to 1958, nearly 7500 Chinese college students and teachers were sent to study in the Soviet Union. These assistance and exchange activities have deeply planted the seeds of China-Russia friendship in the hearts of the Chinese people.
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In 2001, China and Russia signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, which marked a new stage in the development of China-Russia relations. China-Russia exchanges have witnessed vigorous development. Since 2006, China and Russia have successively held national cultural exchange activities, and the exchange mechanism has been very perfect. In 2019, the number of Chinese tourists to Russia reached about 2.26 million. More and more Chinese have personally felt the Russian people’s enthusiasm and friendship for the Chinese people.
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In addition, I think a more important point is that Russia has expressed firm support for China on many major issues in recent years. Russia is an active participant for the Belt and Road Initiative and the AIIB, and also fully supports China’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Many Russian media also spoke highly of the development of China’s human rights protection and the great achievements in poverty alleviation. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the West has repeatedly blackened China on the issue of virus origin and vaccine, the Russian government and experts also expressed their firm support for China. These friendly moves have been firmly remembered by the Chinese people. Therefore, China-Russia friendship has a broad foundation among the people.
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the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry supported China’s fighting against COVID-19 in Chinese
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For the Chinese people, China-Russia relations have great particularity. The friendship between the two countries has a profound historical tradition. Today, Russia is an important strategic partner of China and a good neighbor and friend who can stand the test of international changes. Sincerity, reciprocity and mutual respect are probably indispensable elements for maintaining friendship.
PEPPER STEAK | recipe Chinese style
What burger chain is the oldest and still active in the USA?
The oldest burger chain still operating in the US is White Castle. In fact, White Castle is generally considered to be the first fast food chain ever.
White Castle began in March 1921, in Wichita, Kan., selling their small burgers for 5 cents apiece (about 75 cents in 2021 dollars). They opened up a second restaurant the following year, they introduced carryout service in 1927, and within a decade after opening they had dozens of locations stretching between Wichita and New York.
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Oldest White Castle building still in existence, built in 1927 and located in Indianapolis
Throughout their history, White Castle has remained concentrated in the Midwest and the Northeast, although their Northeast presence currently is only the in New York and New Jersey. In recent years they’ve started opening up a few locations in western states and in Florida.
White Castle is not the oldest existing chain that sells hamburgers. That would be A&W. However, A&W has not always been a burger chain.
The first A&W opened in Lodi, Calif. in June 1919. However, for their first few years, A&W sold only root beer – no food. A&W didn’t open their first restaurant until 1923, and even then the menu was limited and, from sources I’ve been able to find, concentrated on hot dogs and snacks. Larger menus including burgers didn’t appear until the 1960s and 70s (although some scattered locations may have served them previously; franchises for the first 45 years of the chain simply bought rights to the root beer recipe and name, and there was no standardized food offering, and the vast majority of locations were still primarily root beer stands with limited food offerings).
So, while A&W as a business is older, the first half of its history is burger-free, leaving White Castle as not only the undisputed oldest burger chain still operating in the US, but the oldest burger chain, period.
Hart To Hart S02e06 Murder Wrap
How does the Chinese government manage corruption among government officials?
25 years ago there was rampant corruption in China.
You could literally go to houses of CPC officials and find stacks of gold or bricks of 100RMB notes.
It was pretty bad.
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After around 2005 there was a sea change.
Part was the Internet, and part of it was the Corruption Police. -MM
Where people report others if they’re living life styles beyond what they can afford. So a CPC member/politician suddenly has a nice car appear outside their home that is way above their pay grade?
People take photos and complain. Other people take photos and complain this this causes the official to get investigated.
They were found corrupt?
They get the death penalty typically.
Today with the advent of cashless payments and old people like me wandering around Shenzhen trying to pay for shit in cash 😀 it’s even harder to get away with as it’ll be flagged by computers monitoring transactions – THIS IS NOT UNUSUAL.
I got flagged a few times and investigated by HMRC when I first started business.
I’d chuck £15000 into my account after a great sale and I’d literally get tax inspectors banging on my door.
It happened quite a few times.
So while corruption can still happen and undoubtedly there are CPC guys with bricks of RMB in their homes.
They’re Robert De Niro in goodfellas…
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The moment they buy anything they get flagged up by citizens. So they can’t buy anything.
Oliver
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This is Oliver. Pre-named at the shelter, so I just couldn’t change his name right? He is a total love bug now, but for quite a while during his two years here, was very skittish and hated being held or touched.
He’s come out of his shell, and now won’t leave me alone once the purr motor comes on. Lots of rubs and kisses, will allow me to hold him for short periods.
I used to work at a bank. And many of my coworkers and managers had a “bootstrap” view on homelessness. They figured that with so many jobs available, anyone begging for money in the street was lazy. “Just get a job, they’re everywhere” one of my managers said.
Well, clearly the Homeless God heard her, because some time later an obviously homeless man strolled into our branch and asked to speak to our manager. I called her over. She came over, clearly not pleased to see this homeless guy hanging out in our branch, but she asked him what he wanted.
He pointed out that the sidewalks around our branch were snowy and icy (Michigan in winter), and offered to clear it up for some money. Or in other words: he wanted a job.
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My manager gave him some excuses on why we couldn’t take him on and got him out the door.
When we were all alone in the branch, she started badmouthing that guy. “I can’t believe that homeless guy just came in here like that! That kind of thing just pisses me off. It’s so rude!”
Of course I’m just sitting there like
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Oh yeah. Rude for that homeless guy to do exactly what you said homeless people should do.
My guess is that this is not uncommon.
Country of Georgia says it’s considering military action against Russia
The country of Georgia, located south of Russia, >lost part of its territory, South Ossetia, in a 2008 war. Their Prime Minister says they’ll have a referendum to decide whether to re-open that war with Russia! But their military is much weaker than Ukraine and their government is split between pro and anti-Russia Members of Parliament.
Georgia allows the possibility of a public referendum on opening a “second front” against , said Irakli Kobakhidze, head of the ruling Georgian Dream party. He promised that the authorities “will act as the people say.”
Georgia is being pushed by Ukraine to open a second war front, with the hope that it will take Russian military pressure off Ukraine.
(HT Remark:This has U.S., E.U. and NATO fingerprints all over it. Their efforts at harming Russia are likely to cause a very bad Russian reaction; one they are not equipped to deal with.)
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The economics of work.
Do the math:
Minimum wage in 1970: $2.10/hr
Price of 1 oz of gold in 1970: $37
— — > Back then, 17.62 minimum-wage-hours were needed to buy 1 oz of gold. ($37 / $2.10)
Today…
Minimum wage (Texas): $7.25/hr
Price of 1 oz of gold: $1,800 (aprox)
— —> Today, a minimum wage worker needs to work 248.27 hours to afford 1 oz of gold. ($1,800 / $7.25)
THAT’S 14X MORE!
In today’s dollars, a minimum wage worker would need to make: $7.25 x 14 = $101.50/hr to have the equivalent purchase power of 50 years ago.
When will this trend stop?
It won’t.
The value of labor will continue to be depreciated.
Stop working for money — instead, invest your time building assets that make money for you.
Elijah Blake – Hanging Tree
What are some common misconceptions about Chinese culture that Americans seem to believe?
Not sure whether this falls under “culture” but well, a tale’s a tale…
When I was living in Seattle, I was living with a landlady who had some … quaint thoughts about Chinese folks. Don’t get me wrong – she was a kind and pleasant enough lady, a retiree who taught CPR classes on alternate days and helped out a local animal shelter by fostering cats and dogs. Just that some of her… preconceptions… about Chinese folks surprised me.
I remember, several days after I’d moved in, she said, “You know, I’m glad you took the trouble to learn English before you came here. I know English is really hard and challenging for you people, but you seem to have done quite well for yourself.”
I could almost feel the words gathering at the tip of my tongue, suturing themselves into a verbal volley, calling out to be unleashed in a fusillade of smart-aleck remarks.
However, out of politeness, I kept my lips sealed.
Another time, not long after that incident, was when she remarked that I must be a “giant” back home. (relax, I’m only 183 cm).
I said, “Errr… how tall do you think the average height for men is “back home” ?”
She brought her right hand up hesitantly, an invisible tape measure dangling from her fingers.
“About this height?”
“And for women?” I said.
She brought her hand down, this time, with certainty. “I’d say about here.”
Interesting, I thought.
According to her invisible yardstick, the average height of Chinese men was 155 cm, and that of Chinese women was around 145 cm.
She didn’t believe me when I told her, politely, that my height is pretty average on my father’s side of the family.
Unlike some of the armchair “China-experts” on Quora, my landlady bore no ill-will toward the Chinese. It soon became obvious to me that it was merely a case of ignorance and, according to her own admission, a lack of contact with Chinese folks.
Later on, in the summer, she even volunteered to take in two Chinese boys who were on some Learn-English-in-the-US-and-live-in-an-American-homestay type program, for about four weeks.
I think she learned more about the Chinese from those four weeks of summer than she perhaps had in all the years of her life before that point.
If only every case of misconception turned out to be like hers, the world would be a much better place.
What do you think about China?
I just have a one – week business trip to Guangzhou, China last week and it was like an eyeopener for a girl from a neighbor – developing country where most of people here don’t like Chinese as well as have a lot of negative thoughts about China.
I feel so lucky to be able to see China through my lenses.
I think China is CLEAN and GREEN
I have heard a lot about how polluted China has been, the air here is so bad, until I come here.
There are trees and flowers everywhere in the city. I don’t even need a mask when going out because the atmosphere is so good. I can breath the qualified air with very green background, green ponds full of fishes along the road.
No motorcycle here but cars, bycicles and electronic vehicles.
And almost all of the public toilet I have been here are so clean. Very impressed!
Even a small pond in a small village is taken care very well
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And there are a plenty of fishes in this small pond, too
2. I think the country is very MODERN and CONVENIENT
Guangzhou is so big but everything is very in order. The road is big, clean and in order, too. Even the pavement here has the size of a road in my city.
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The public transportation system here is so developed. Wow. Metro and buses here connects all areas of the city, you can go everywhere in the city by metro and buses. Using Baidu app is super convenient, you don’t need to understand Chinese to use the app, just put the Chinese address in and then, they will show you exactly which metro or bus you should and the guide you there.
So, don’t worry if you cannot speak Chinese, everything is as comfortable as a peice of cake.
3. Chinese payment system is at ANOTHER LEVEL
No one uses CASH here. Everything, I mean every single thing in every corner of China, is paid by QR CODE (Wechatpay and Alipay) and Face Recognition. So, it feels very weird for people here when I use cash to pay.
You came to a convenient store, take something, go the the cashier, stand in front of a camera and your payment is done. So crazy to me.
Chinese people don’t need to bring cash alont with them. And my friend told me China started to apply QR Code payment system since 2013, so 6 years already.
The very old people in very old village use smartphone, too.
Even begger or vendor on street has their own QR Code. So, no cash please.
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4. It is super SAFE in here
A girl walking on lonely street at 11pm or 12am is safe here. Camera is everywhere with Face Recognition technology, so everything you do is tracked. That’s why it’s super safe here.
It was 11pm when I was there.
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Even on DIDI app (similar to UBER), there is always a button to call police at anytime. And if you take a taxi after 11pm, the app requires you to put “an emergency number”, just in case.
Every time you go to a metro, there is always a security check gate.
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5. China can maintain their TRADITION VALUE so well
Though Guangzhou is a very modern and developed city but you can very easily find a lot of traditional houses, buildings, villages all around the city.
Been watching Chinese historical and costume movies since childhood, it was like walking inside a real movie to me during my very first time here in China. Everything I have been just seeing through a screen, now I can witness by my eyes and temporary be a part of it.
This is a real Chinese village, just beside a very modern area full of tall buidings.
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Inside this village, I can see so many houses like this, exactly what I have seen in those movies thousands time before.
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One more thing, the people here are very friendly, though I cannot speak Chinese but everytime I ask for something, they always try to help me extremely.
So, no worry if you cannot speak Chinese when you’re here.
Remington Steele S1E13 A Good Night’s Steele
Jingles
A few years ago I had moved to Orange, Tx after my wife passed. Jingles was 12 at the time.
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There was this woman that kept coming over ( I guess she was hoping to get dating going). One day she brings her 2 year old daughter that was REALLY hard into the “ Terrible Twos”.
Jingles was leery of small children ever since she was a kitten and the grandchildren was gonna decide who got to hold the cat with a game of Tug o’ War with her being the rope.
Anyway, the instant the woman set down this tiny terrorist, she immediately makes a beeline running for Jingles.
I try to cut her off, saying “ No, no, leave the cat alone.”
The mother yells at me “ Don’t tell my child what to do and if that cat even looks at her wrong, I’ll kill it.”
My temper instantly went from zero to the raging fires of Hell.
I looked her straight in the eye and said “Jingles is home and you are not… There is the door.”
She started with “Don’t you….”
I added “ While you can still walk.”, cutting her off.
She grabbed her daughters hand, almost dragging the terror while I crowded them down the hall and out the door.
She went around for weeks telling the neighborhood that she was afraid that I was ready to murder her that night. To be honest, I wasn’t far from it.
Tucker Carlson: Is anyone noticing this?
This is precious. As I have repeatedly stated; the United States has a caste system.
Look who he picked!
This little boy went to the shelter. Parent told him you can pick any animal you want, dog or cat. This is the animal he picked. Oh this makes my heart hurt. Wonderful!
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Vaccine Narrative Collapses! Harvard Study Shows Jab More Dangerous than COVID
As boosters that have not been tested on humans are being rolled out across the country, a new study indicates that the jab is far more dangerous than COVID-19 itself. And the CDC has provided false information regarding their tracking of adverse events linked to the vaccines.
As government officials and mainstream media urges the vaccinated to inject a second so-called “bivalent” booster said to be targeting the Omicron variant, it turns out that this substance hasn’t been tested on humans. And the only animal trial that has been performed included eight mice.
“It hasn’t been proven in a clinical trial, because we don’t have time to do a clinical trial because we need to get the vaccine out now because we have such a situation throughout the world and certainly in the United States, we’re having 400 deaths per day and up to 5,000 hospitalizations a day,” NIAID Dr Anthony Fauci explained in an interview.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has also stated that the boosters must be expedited in order to work properly. A delay would potentially render the shots “outdated” as new variants would form, Walensky argues.
STUDY: WORSE THAN THE VIRUS
A new study conducted by scientists from Harvard and Johns Hopkins, currently in pre-print, reveals that the COVID-19 vaccines were up to 98 times worse than the virus itself. The study is critical of the booster requirement for American university students, stating in the abstract: “Using CDC and sponsor-reported adverse event data, we find that booster mandates may cause a net expected harm: per COVID-19 hospitalization prevented in previously uninfected young adults, we anticipate 18 to 98 serious adverse events, including 1.7 to 3.0 booster-associated myocarditis cases in males, and 1,373 to 3,234 cases of grade ≥3 reactogenicity which interferes with daily activities.”
FALSE INFORMATION
As first reported in the Epoch Times, CDC has provided false information regarding their tracking of adverse events caused by the vaccines. At the same time, Walensky admits that there is a causal relationship between the mRNA vaccines and myocarditis:
In a letter dated September 2 from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to Senator Ron Johnson, the director states that “CDC consistently performs extensive data collection and analysis to detect potential adverse events and safety signals and then communicates this information to the public. For example, VAERS staff conducted assessments showing that causal associations exist between thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome and Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine and between myocarditis and mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.”
In the same letter, Walensky also stated that the CDC did not analyze certain types of adverse event reports whatsoever in 2021, despite having previously stated that they did start this tracking in February of that year.
How To Make Bánh Cuốn, Vietnamese Rice Rolls
What’s made you ashamed to be an American?
Back in 2010, I made a very grave mistake.
I watched the FIFA World Cup.
IN ENGLAND.
IN A PUB.
SURROUNDED BY ENGLISHMEN.
ALL OF WHOM WERE IN VARIOUS STATES OF INEBRIATION.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES, AS IT WERE.
I’ve house-sat for millionaires. I’ve walked the mean streets of Los Angeles at night. I’ve hiked in the jungles of Africa. And I’ve never, ever felt that I needed a gun on my hip as much as I did that day.
Let me back up here and explain.
I had friends living in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. I’d befriended them when we all taught at the same school in South Korea from 2008–2009. In 2010, with all of us back home in our respective countries, these friends of mine contacted me and said, “Hey, why don’t you come visit us in Newcastle? We can watch the World Cup!”
Sitting in a La-Z-Boy in the middle of the Mojave Desert, I didn’t think that watching the World Cup in an English pub would be all that dangerous. It sounded like a hell of a time, in fact. I’d never been to England and I was looking forward to the chance to see my old chums again and maybe sample the pub life in Great Britain. So, of course, I enthusiastically said yes, and booked myself a flight.
Then I got off the plane, and I began to realize what exactly I’d gotten myself into.
Every single goddamn building I saw looked like this:
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I’m not much of a soccer fan—I played when I was a teenager, then became a referee during summer for pocket money—but I liked the sport. Little did I realize that it was possible for an entire culture to live, sleep, eat, and breathe a sport every four years, and love it to bits in between.
From that point on, my mindset changed. I was no longer an American tourist. While the World Cup was on, and while I was in England, I was a foreign combatant, stranded behind enemy lines. The thought was sobering. My steps became furtive and cautious. My pro-American banter, which I had carefully prepared on the flight over, suddenly deserted me. I became, in the span of an instant, the most polite and inoffensive American tourist the world has ever witnessed.
After a quick run to the supermarket for some gameday essentials (sandwich bread, bacon, some bottles of cider, and a 24-pack of Stella Artois), we repaired to my male friend’s mum’s house to pregame. And by “pregame” I mean “watch the South Korea/Greece match.”
That is correct, ladies and gentlemen—the English pregame for a football match by watching a football match.
To be fair, the English did have some skin in this game. The Korean footballer Park Ji-sung, worshipped as a god in his home country for playing midfield for Manchester United, was playing for the Korean team. Perhaps not surprisingly, the match was a shutout. Two-nil, Korea.
Then it was time. The cab rolled up to the curb. We were off to the pub to watch the first real game of the day.
England vs. the US.
Ho boy.
We met some friends of my friends outside the pub, and then went in and sat down. Those big pub doors gaped wide—a black mouth ready to swallow any traitor in our midst. I walked through those doors with the cautiousness and trepidation of Indiana Jones entering an ancient and highly booby-trapped temple. The inside of the pub was just as caked with English flags as was the rest of the town outside. I vowed to keep my unironic utterances of the word “soccer” to a minimum.
We sat at a table in front of the big projector screen. We bought a pitcher and drank and talked. The pub was everything I’d imagined. Squeaky-clean glasses. Dark wood bar. Brass taps. Iron-hard tables and chairs. Big windows that didn’t seem to admit any light at all.
Speculation flew back and forth across the table about England’s chances in this year’s competition. The general consensus was that this first game would be a piece of cake. England would steamroll the US and move on to the next round. I bantered a little, half-heartedly, but the cutting and incisive cheek which I’d cooked up on the plane ride over had crumbled to dust under the weight of the storied pomp of Europe. Then, this being England, the question of betting came up. Not being one to back down from a challenge, no matter what the odds—and the odds were 19 to 1 in this case—I put a pound on the US to win.
And then…it all began. The pub hushed reverently. The enormous pitch at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa flared into view on the projector screen. I took a nervous swig of beer. This was it. This was what I’d come here to see. This is what every red-blooded Englishman had waited with bated breath to witness. This was the World Freakin’ Cup.
Three minutes into the game, England scored.
It was as though Jupiter himself had sundered the very heavens. Cries and wails and howls and roars erupted in the pub, falling upon the ear like a million onrushing gallons of piping-hot tea. I looked around to see if Napoleon’s Imperial Guard was retreating, but couldn’t make them out. The roars and cheers of the Britons in the pub continued, and my friends at the table joined right along in, laughing and pounding the table and slapping each other on the back.
So this is what it’s like to be a real fan of “the footie,” I thought.
Exactly thirty-six minutes later, I was up at the bar ordering another pitcher. I happened to glance up at the screen, and, without any warning at all, or as much as a by-your-leave…
…the USA scored.
My American-ness, which had been lying dormant ever since I’d emerged from the airport and seen all those St. George’s Crosses festooning every house and car and fence, abruptly reasserted itself. The Star-Spangled Banner started playing in my head. Red, white, and blue fireworks burst in my mind’s eye. The bikini-clad Statue of Liberty threw her arms around my neck, wrapped her legs around my waist, and stuck her tongue so far down my throat that I could taste soufflé. A grizzly bear wearing a cowboy hat, spurs, and a matching pair of ivory-handled Colt revolvers, with a can of Budweiser clenched in his furry paw and an anything-but-Cuban cigar in his teeth, crashed through the wall on a John Deere tractor, at which point both bear and tractor exploded into a mushroom cloud of bald eagles, apple pie, Big Macs, ranch dressing, tax rebates, and jury summons.
Every nerve ending and muscle fiber in my body was suddenly ready to jump and jive. I had the sudden overmastering urge to leap into the air and drench the entire pub with the contents of the pitcher of Foster’s in my hand. My mind—which never has been very interested in my survival, nor the health, welfare, or wholeness of my body—imperiously demanded that I shout some ludicrous pun, like “BOOYAH! YOU’VE BEEN SOCCER-PUNCHED, BABY!”
Fortunately for me, my reptilian brain (a hard-bitten survivalist) managed to wrest control of my body away from my so-called higher brain and prevent my mouth from following through on this mad impulse.
Then he clamped down on the rest of my body to prevent it from leaping into the air. As the muffled curses and moans of beefy Geordie shipbuilders filled the dim air of the pub, I stood there, body quivering, eyebrows seesawing back and forth, arms vibrating as they sought vainly to shoot skyward. With every ounce of self-control I possessed, I turned, politely handed the barman his £7.50, and sat back down at the table with my friends.
But it was on, now. On like Donkey Kong. I was hooked. I was in it to win it. Suddenly, I was a mutha-humpin’ fan of soccer—er, football. I was invested in this game. I leaned forward, planted my elbows on the table, and glued my eyes to the projector screen.
The rest of the match was fiercely contested. The ball changed hands—er, feet—dozens of times. My hungry eyes followed its every move, enraptured. Numerous attempts on the goal were made, glorious charges thwarted, desperate retreats sounded. It was a battle in every sense of the word. Disaster loomed for both teams, over and over and over again. The fate of my one-pound coin hung precariously in the balance. My heart beat so fast I thought it would leap out of my chest.
As an honored guest of England and a recipient of English hospitality, I felt embarrassed to be praying for a win. As a red-blooded American male, I felt embarrassed to be praying for a loss. I momentarily felt bewildered by the unfamiliar sensation of being embarrassed by everything, but then I remembered that I was in England. I was fitting right in.
I relaxed and resolved just to be embarrassed no matter what happened. I looked around to see if there was perhaps someone I could apologize to for nothing in particular.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was as embarrassed as I’ve ever been to be an American.
As it turned out, the mischievous gods of English football had one more surprise in store for me:
The game ended in a tie.
Putin Denounces Lunatic Western Obsession with Global Domination in Meeting with Xi
Current attempts to push for a unipolar world “have taken an absolutely ugly form lately, which the overwhelming majority of nations of the planet find unacceptable,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.The remark came as he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.Russia and China “stand together for a just, democratic, multipolar world order based on international law and the central role of the UN, and not on some rules that somebody invented and attempts to impose on others without even explaining what they are,” Putin said.
roflmao.
Putin is so great.
These people have literally not even explained the rules – but they keep saying “rules” over and over!
The administration of US President Joe Biden has been using the phrase “rules-based world order” to describe the way it prefers the world to operate.During the meeting, Putin thanked Xi for China’s balanced stance on the crisis in Ukraine. China has criticized Russia for having attacked the country, but blamed the US for triggering the escalation by its push to expand NATO.Putin also reiterated Russia’s support of the ‘one China’ policy and Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the island of Taiwan. The Chinese government has accused the US of undermining its territorial integrity by increasingly treating Taipei as a separate nation rather than a self-governing part of China.Putin praised the SCO as “a forum for constructive and creative cooperation.” He remarked that the members of the group have different cultural traditions, economic models and foreign policy priorities. Their willingness to work together as equal partners respecting each other has helped bolster the SCO’s prominence in a relatively short period of time, the Russian leader remarked.“It is now the biggest regional organization in the world, uniting a vast geographic space and about half of our planet’s population,” Putin stressed.
Iran has signed a memorandum paving the way to transition from its current observer status to full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).The Middle-Eastern nation, which the US has long sought to undermine with diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions, made a formal step on Thursday to become the ninth member of the organization. Among the SCO’s heavyweights are Russia and China, two major powers that are on Washington’s list of geopolitical opponents.The SCO was created in 2001 as an intragovernmental forum aimed at fostering trust and developing economic and humanitarian ties in Asia.It currently has eight permanent members: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The last is currently hosting the annual summit of the leaders of the member states in the city of Samarkand.
India is going over that way.
If Saudi Arabia joins, the dollar will probably just completely collapse.
What the West is doing obviously doesn’t make sense from an America First perspective. But the shocking thing is that it doesn’t make any sense from a Jews First perspective.
What the hell is the plan here, even?
Sino-Friendship is unstoppable.
Advantages of cat sitting
I just got home from a two week trip and left my two-year-old rescued kitty with a lovely friend.
She told me he hid under the bed in his own private room for the full two weeks coming out to eat at night and not behaving at all like the darling cat I love who typically plays all the time and craves petting!
I was very worried that we would both get back home and have a new period of adjustment to deal with.
But apparently no sooner did he walk in the door of this apartment then he was clearly happy and friendly and I had not even gotten home yet.
I got back today and our love fest began again.
The moral to the story is, if you can leave your cat in his home and have others come take care of him it will be far less traumatic then displacing him. I realize there are different opinions on this but I can only report what happened to my darling Louis!!
x
Married with children one of the best episodes!!
As a police officer, what’s the most disturbing thing you’ve ever experienced?
Most disturbing?
A man who raped his biological 6 year old daughter, and when we came into scene, he was throwing things at us, yelling,“She is my daughter, I made her, it’s my right to do what I want with her,” The moment of carrying that child… maybe that one is? Hmm.
A man killed his ex-wife and when we came into scene, he charged us with a knife and curse upon lips. The moment of entering the room, fully painted red by blood of newly hacked human flesh… maybe that one is? Hmm.
Back in early 2000′s, life was hard in Mongolia. Biggest trading partner,Soviet Union fell. Mongolia’s communist government changed into democratic one just decade ago. Everything was in chaos. Factories stopped working, jobless people were everywhere. That’s how street vendors were born. Everywhere there were these women and children selling gums, old books, cheap juices, water, and cigarettes.
(With 5 cents you can see your weight or for similar price, you can make call from his phone.)
And there was this old lady who sold cigarettes, around 80 years of age. She had a small box like above picture and instead of phone, she’d put a few packs of cigarettes inside and open it, sell it one by one for small price of 1 cent. I am not good at math. Can’t convert into dollar but it was around that. You don’t need whole pack, but want to smoke 1 cigarette? Go to old lady.
Streets were full of these people. And this one law of Mongolia,“You don’t run business if you don’t have permission.” They did not have permission of course, you need at least a little cabin to sell stuff or something like that to get that permission. But patrolmen like me or these people themselves never obeyed this law. They are doing it to survive and we street policemen knew it. They didn’t steal or rob people. They’re doing what they could to survive and we just walked around it looking other way.
Then one day, one certain high ranking government official rose from his soft chair and decided to see life on the streets. From his high priced car window. When he came to his office, he called our district commander of police department and said probably something like this,“Your streets are crawling with unlawful street vendors, clean that or be fired.” I don’t know what exactly was said, but our commander was angry and told us one day just before our daily routines of foot patrol.
“Someone from higher ups wants this law to be obeyed. Move them from streets by any means necessary. Use force if you need.”
Well we patrolmen can not question clear orders. We have our oaths to obey our direct superiors. Streets must be clean. Order was given. We started removing those people from streets. After half day, streets became clean. At least in our area that we are responsible. Except one.
The old lady. She was sweet and she was kind. She called us Sons.
“My son, buy one cigarette?”
She says that to us everyday while smiling. Every morning she comes to the same spot, walking slowly with her pack of cigarettes, settles there and remains at the same spot for the whole day. When we buy one cigarette, she never forgets to thank us. That’s why no one touched old lady while we were forcefully removing street vendors.
When our superior was checking our work, he saw her. And he radioed to us.
“There’s one left. Whose area is it? Unless you want to be punished remove her and do your duty,”
It was ours of course. We tried to persuade her to leave from there, and she was trying to counter-persuade us to let her stay there. She was pleading with us like we’re some land owning barons who have right to let someone settle in his lands.
Somehow superior was still there watching us from his car nearby parked. He again radioed.
“Are you policemen or beggars? MOVE HER!”
After some hesitation, we carried her box and her from there. Cigarettes on box scattered on the ground. Old lady was crying. She was not throwing stuff at us, she was not hurling curses, she was not swinging knife…she was just softly crying still calling us sons, pleading to let her stay there. Damn that feeling. I felt like I am not enforcer of law, but enforcer in the organized crime syndicates who demand protection racket money from small businesses or break their stuff and remove them from their turf in those mafia movies.
That was my worst disturbing feeling. And sorry for my English.
The Flintstones At The Airport
To all the doctors, have you ever asked a patient to leave your office?
Many years ago when my children were young and needed a Pediatrician, we witnessed the doctor evict a set of parents and their children.
We had been waiting for a a while when a family came into the lobby for the medical office. They immediately checked in and the terrorism of the lobby began. The parents sat down and allowed the children to run wild and walk, jump, kick, yell, and be obnoxious. No attempt was made by the parents to control their children.
A staff member came out and asked the parents to calm their children down. In reply the parents indignantly said they didn’t believe in restraining their children.
The look on the staff members face was priceless. She politely turned around and went back into the offices. Thank God the door into the office was unable to be opened from the lobby. The “little darlings” were mimicking her and being real little brats.
My children were politely sitting next to me and watching. I looked at both their faces and they were upset with what they were seeing.
About ten minutes later the door to the office opened and the doctor came out and approached the parents. Very politely, he told them they would need to collect their children and leave, that he no longer was their doctor.
Those two people were no longer calm and started really cussing him out.
His response was to explain they would either politely leave or security would escort them out. After which he stood there and waited for them to get their things together and leave.
The parents sat there and stared at him in disbelief.
Again he stood there and said, “You have two minutes to corral your children, get your stuff and leave, or security and possibly the police will escort you and your children out of the building.”
About that time two building security guards came up the staircase into the lobby area and waited.
It was obvious the parents were trying to control the doctor’s decision and it wasn’t going their way. The kids were still yelling, and walking over furniture, He turned to security and nodded. They came forward and said, “Come on, let’s go.”
The front desk was watching and they must have known it wasn’t going to get better. The male parent began to mouth off to the guards. He then rose up and took a swing at about the same time the local police came up the stairs and witnessed the action.
It really got better than.
The real police came forward and took the man to the ground and handcuffed him.
The woman must have thought better than to run her mouth and join him. By now the two little brats were standing next to her quiet as little angels.
One of the building guards helped her with her stuff and escorted her and the brats out of the building. The man in cuffs went into a police car that we could see from the lobby outside the entrance doors.
My children witnessed it all and afterward, my son said, “Mom, you’d never allow us to act like that.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
When we finally saw the doctor, he apologized for the scene in the lobby. I told him, it wasn’t his fault and I sure agreed with the way he handled the situation. He smiled and said, “I hope your children learned from what they saw.”
My daughter spoke up and said, “Those were brats and the parents were too.”
The doctor and I smiled.
Unstable Spy: Hogan’s Heroes
A Laid-Off Story
Well, I didn’t get fired, I got laid-off.
I had almost 15 years in and I totally wasn’t feeling the same vibe anymore. I was exhausted and burnt out by the constant changes (I was basically my own dept). I came in at 5 am and left around 5 pm, came in on Sat/Sun just to get filing done.
I was so tired, I wanted to cry. Which I did some days. I would just go into an empty room and sit there, staring at the wall for 30 minutes, trying to gather enough mental strength to go back out there.
Finally I had enough. My aunt told me to quit, offered to let me move in with her while I searched for a new job. I gladly took her up on that offer. Typed up my letter of resignation when I was called into the big bosses office. There was a woman in the office with him that was introduced as an HR rep.
I was informed that Senior Mgmt made the difficult decision that they were doing away all the staff at my level. In return, they were offering me 6 months severance and if I stayed for the next 6 weeks, I would receive a bonus of $2,500.
I started laughing hysterically, almost crying as I hastily signed the paperwork. After the woman left, he asked me why I started laughing and I told him I was planning on resigning today. He started laughing (he had had no choice in the decision) so he was quite willing for me to ‘stick it to them’.
I stuck it out to the end, went on unemployment and had a new job (more money/better benefits!) within 6 weeks after my last day. I essentially was collecting two paychecks for the next several months.
It was glorious!
Radar being psychic for over a minute
As a member of law enforcement, how often do you have to tell someone that their loved one has died?
Probably more than 60 and fewer than 100. Death notifications are truly one of if not the worst part of the job. I awakened to a reoccurring nightmare of one such call tonight as I do many many nights.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood outside darkened porch of some poor family at 3:00 in the morning waiting to ring the doorbell and trying to gather my thoughts on what I will say when they come to the door.
I’m always very aware that the people inside are living the last few moments of happiness in their life that they will probably ever truly have. Until you’ve had to look a mother and father in the eye and tell them that their child was killed and will not be coming home again is one of the most horrific things that a person can be asked to do in the line of duty.
Even worse is that we really can’t use euphemisms of any kind like they have are no longer with us for example. You must use the word dead or died or killed. Saying passed away or some other kind euphemism often seen in everyday speech just doesn’t do the job. The loved ones will not even hear it or comprehend subtlety. For the loved ones in shock you must say “died, dead or killed” simply so their mind can even comprehend the message. This makes it even more difficult because you naturally want to be delicate. In our training we’re taught that delicate wording and euphemisms just don’t cut through the shock and trauma the loved one is experiencing.
Anyway, it’s truly a soul-destroying moment for them and to an extent for us. After one child who died in a particularly horrific way, I recall sitting in my squad car for what must have been an hour. I could hear laughter and joy in the living room as I walked up. It’s impossible to explain the feelings that I get when my duty requires me to tear someone’s soul and put them in pain that will never end. Often I would sit in my car after and just want to cry. The time I’m speaking of in particular that always comes to mind (and my nightmares several nights a week) a beautiful 8-year-old boy was eaten alive by a pack of feral dogs in a Park. I lied and said he died of a dog bite and went quickly with no pain. A blatant lie but of course every loved one’s first question is “how”? If you ever tell a family member that there has been an unexpected death in the family and they don’t demand to know how and where it’s almost always true that they killed them or knew in advance. Off topic but interesting.
Regardless of cause the most common means of death in order of frequency were vehicle accident, medical issue, miscellaneous accident and murder). Seemed like murder made it much worse by the reaction. People are always scared their loved ones will get killed in a collision or drop dead of a heart attack. Murder is time brutally cut short and many times is associated with for lack of a better term, a “worse death”, involving more pain, terror. When they told me my Grandfather dropped dead in a Wiggly Wiggly from a massive heart attack it didn’t haunt me like it would if someone had killed him.
You soon learn there is no way to ease their pain and the best method is to be brief, direct, absolute and straightforward…then leave them to their grief. Honestly they don’t hear a word you say after “they’re dead and how it happened”.
People have literally no idea how difficult the job is. If they did people that despise us would be a very infinitesimal minority instead of the enormously popular hobby that it is today. I’m retired and haunted nightly by such things as this topic as well as seeing horrible images in my nightly dreams of things like a young boy totally devoured by dogs like a pack of hyenas eating a gazelle.
I know this is off-topic but it is after 4 a.m. as I write this. I awoke to a dream of a time I arrived at a vehicle accident just in time to watch an elderly woman confused and sitting in her car as flames reached her and she burned alive 3 feet from me while making eye contact and screaming in agony. The flames that started in the leaking gas tank ruptured when her son-in-law rear-ended her after he was rear-ended by a drunk and slammed into her car by the force. I broke the window and was 3 seconds from cutting her seat belt and yanking her head-first out the window (the door was inoperable). Then as I reached in to use my seat belt cutter I always carried since my Fire Rescue/Auto Extrication days, it was as if a man with a flame thrower standing in the rear of the car suddenly blasted her, engulfing her body and the front seat in a huge volume of intense flame so hot I was burned on my face and arms standing outside the vehicle. As the flame totally engulfed her she kept gripping the steering wheel and turned to me and gave a haunting scream of intense agony. Her grown son-in-law was standing at my side. Knowing if I had taken the correct on-ramp to I-70 I would have been there just in time to pull her out with no injuries. Ten seconds between life and an agonizing death.
An hour later I was at a nearby Fire Station with this man who essentially rear-ended and killed his mother-in-law (not his fault but still) giving him emotional support as he had to call his wife. Imagine explaining to your wife you crashed into her mother and she burned to death as a result of the collision.
I ended up taking him to OT Hodges (a local 24-hour diner that Cops, Firemen and Drunks frequent at night to get chili, chili cheese fries, dogs and coffee). We just sat there in silence for what must have been two hours after I was off duty trying to process in our minds what we had just seen. He was barely able to function and I was slightly better because I wasn’t related to the victim we had just watched be cremated alive 36 inches away. I took him to the Adams Mark (a luxury hotel by the Arch downtown) and had a Concierge friend of mine check him into a suite with gratis room service. I made sure department trauma counselors and Red Cross disaster response professionals got over to see him in those first critical hours the next day as well as contacting the Police in his hometown to make sure the wife received help as well. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to get help. I think I thought that it was just part of my job and I needed to “suck it up” and deal with the calls on the job myself (i.e. push those horrors into a dark recess of my mind and ignore them).
I could go on and on. Last messages from husbands for their family as they lie bleeding to death in my arms. One time working as a Firefighter on a nearby departments ambulance to accumulate medical experience necessary in Trauma to be qualified as a Paramedic (Granite City Illinois) taking down the last words of a man cut in half by a truck’s rear bumper. He was on a loading dock and would die instantly when the truck was moved which was the only thing keeping his organs from his bladder to his diaphragm from falling out when it backed into him pinching his waist line between the bumper and the dock. Delivering those last words to the wife and children. Talking to a man on a roof and not finding the words that would convince them to not jump followed by the horrible thud sound of a man hitting concrete. Cutting a family out of a car crushed between two semi trucks compacting it to a 5 foot by 5 foot cube, removing the parents and two kids one piece at a time – the biggest chunk the size of a soft ball. The last gasps of breath of a teenager, shot I was holding as he died. The sound of the blood pooling in their lungs as they slip away first looking at me …then off into the distance right through me. You know when people are dying when you have seen it happen a lot. I always tried to keep them calm and kind of, I don’t know how to describe it in a word…be there as they died. I always try to prompt them “do you want me to give a message to anyone” (they don’t always know just how fast they’re circling the drain and often won’t realize that if they have any last words they should be now …kinda thing).
Really watching what must have been over a hundred people’s life slip away waiting for an Ambulance after every conceivable way to die from falling off a roof to being shot or hit by a car. Not to mention just the average things that stick in your mind like finding the eyeball of a guy who died after a head shot from a 12-gauge and having to pick it up and bag it. Finding fingers and legs/arms and other parts on the side of the road after motorcycle accidents and having to drive them to the morgue to put with the rest of the body. Being at the morgue as a Detective having to watch a victim be autopsied so I can maintain the chain of evidence and collect the bullets pulled out of them to bring to the ballistics lab for analysis. I luckily didn’t do the Morgue thing often. I wasn’t a Homicide Detective and rarely had business at the Morgue. The place creeped me out. They’re pretty gross. Our was built in the 1920s or something with weird old tiles and greenish fluorescent lights. Picture the Morgue in 7 Deadly Sins with Brad Pitt.
I avoided it when possible and was lucky I spent a lot more time as a regular Beat Cop in there than as a Detective. One gross thing people don’t know Cops do is get called to any body that is found. Someone finds an old man that lived alone 3 weeks in a 98 degree room dead. Usually the smell 3 floors away initiates the call. Then the Cop has to sit there. With that body. That decaying, slipping, oozing maggot infested body for hours of just “maintain the scene”. What you’re really doing is just waiting for the Coroner’s guys to get around to coming and collecting the body cause our Detectives are done. So whichever Cops particular Beat that is, he wins the “you’re gonna smell that body in your nose and not eat right for a couple days contest”. Best way to deal with dead body smell is a 3 pronged attack. 1. Vicks UP IN that nose. Not on your lip like on TV. 2. Take coffee grounds, put them in a pan and turn heat on medium. The smell of burned coffee cancels out dead body. 3. Cigars. Smoke em up. Cigar smoke + burning coffee + vicks up in that nose and you can sit and have your bag lunch watching the guys TV with him in the other lazy boy.
I read so so much rage and hate for Police here in Quora and it really does hurt and aggravate those open wounds we suffered protecting the very people who live to insult and hate us. People we would give our lives to save.
I saved so many more lives as a Cop than I ever did as a Marine, Paramedic and Firefighter combined and am left with the nightmares, mental and physical wounds (spinal cord injury and chronic pain for life) but it is the ingratitude and hate of Americans that is my most horrific wound.
Sorry for the rant but it’s just where my mind is tonight as I try to center myself and get through the flashbacks as best I can. I know there are bad people in every profession but if just one reader sees this and has just a small moment of empathy and connection with the pain we bear in the emergency services it will be well worth it.
At least I’m still alive and coping. I have lost many many friends/co-workers who couldn’t cope. One of my best friends packed up all his belongings in his home and wrote and addressed several letters to family and friends. He took report sheets from work and wrote his own death report for the officer that would get the call for his suicide so all they had to do was sign it. He left us a case of Scotch with the letters to his families as well as belongings he wanted his Detective Squad to have. Things from cash to gun/photographs of sentimental value, etc. He drove his car onto the Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi between St. Louis and Illinois. He left his wallet, side arm, badge and ID on the seat of his car with a note giving his address and instructions making identification and the investigation easier for the responding Cop…then jumped off the bridge into the icy swift current of the Mississippi channel in December. In the end all he cared about was the impact it would have on the Cops that caught his case and making it easier for us.
He worked as a City Copper for over 30 years and absorbed more poison and trauma than his mind could cope with. He was a wonderful man. He was my friend and I considered a mentor. He left me a note apologizing in his way . It was the final lesson of an old school Cop who made sure his life saving experiences were passed on to a newly minted Patrolman he took under his wing right out of the Academy and guided for years until he couldn’t take the suffering the job caused a day longer. He said he lived years longer than he might because he knew the effect his suicide would have on me and some others. I ended up disabled years many years later by a good hit to the back by a man on PCP (or in some kind of extreme diabetic crisis) who was freaking out in bezerker mode in a fight that lasted 15 minutes and ended up injuring my spine.
Best job I ever had. I miss it everyday. Having worked every job on the other end of the 911 line it was the one where I had the most power to save lives and help people. As a fireman/medic I could only wait for disaster and try to mitigate the harm. As a Cop I could intervene and stop the most evil monsters lurking among us from walking free and preying on the people I swore to defend. I only wish people wouldn’t lump in all 1.3 million of us with the truly tiny percentage that tarnish the badge and disrespect the honor we worked so hard to uphold. For a comparison with another profession…Physicians, MD’s kill over 250,000 Americans each year due to incompetence and professional errors. Police kill fewer than 100. Imagine hating your doctor because you heard that they’re all incompetent and cursing all doctors for the actions of the bad ones. Yet Police are frequently grouped together as malicious and brutal killers and the tiny bad percentage of our profession is no where as lethal as Doctors just as an example. Yet hate and derision for us is literally an American pastime.
You would never dream of lumping your Doctor in with the others that kill a quarter of a million (the numbers they maim from malpractice and improper med doses could be in the millions) and number in the tens of thousands if not more in terms of numbers that kill and maim people with incompetence and lack of skill/training. For every Cop that makes a mistake that kills a citizen there are thousands of Doctors that kill…and not just one or two but repeatedly kill hundreds or more in a career, maim thousands and are never punished or lose their credentials. I offer this not as an excuse for the terrible and disgusting behavior of the minority of Police we all see caught on camera, but as a comparison to other professions and how they’re treated as compared to police despite their racking up hundreds of thousands of kills compared to fewer than 100 questionable deaths Police are responsible for. Not making excuses, just comparisons to show the absurdity of the obsession/hate/disrespect for my profession. I have lost 5 friends gunned down in the line of duty. I lost 4 friends as a Firefighter killed in buildings they were in rescuing victims…1 ran out of air or burned to death and 3 at one time, crushed by collapse of walls and floors. I can’t begin to count the number maimed and disabled like me. I won’t even address the PTSD, suicides and mental trauma on both the Police and Fire side.
*Edit 9/16/20 Since June 1st this year my department alone have had 9 Police shot in the line of duty with 1 dying. 10 shot and 2 dying if you count a retired city Police Captain who was now working for another department who came back to the city to help stop the riots and was murdered by looters at a pawn shop. He was a friend of mine. The last kid killed last week, shot in the forehead leaving 3 kids. Barely on the job a year and was trained by a good friend of mine I went to the Police Academy with. When one of us dies we have family like connections to each other. I feel so bad for Cops today and thank my lucky stars I left with a pension before people stood outside the hospital where two shot Police are in surgery fighting for their lives chanting “WE HOPE YOU DIE”.Crowd gathers outside hospital, chants ‘We hope they die’ after 2 LA County deputies were shot
It was incredibly difficult job. Now it’s actually impossible to do correctly.
FRANCE Warns Natural Gas Prices to Rise 500%; Electricity to rise 1,000% in 2023
The Prime Minister of France announced yesterday that the French people should expect natural gas prices to rise 500% over 2021 prices, and electricity to rise 1000% over 2021 prices . . . next year.
Élisabeth Borne is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since May 2022. A civil engineer, government official and manager of state enterprises in the transport and construction sectors, Borne previously served as minister of transport and minister of ecology.
She announced yesterday that prices for natural gas and electricity will skyrocket throughout France next year. This, due to economic sanctions being applied against Russia over its Special Military Operation inside Ukraine.
For decades, Russia has supplied cheap, plentiful natural gas to most of Europe. But when Russia drew a red line at the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, and when Ukraine began using its army to attack civilians in the states of Luhansk and Donetsk (collectively called The Donbas), Russia felt forced to take action. They entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022 to “de-Nazify and De-militarize” Ukraine.
For some reason, known only to God, France, the rest of Europe, and the United States, sided with the Nazi regime in Ukraine and began sanctioning Russia. No one in the US or European Union (EU) would be buying Russian natural gas or oil.
This forced most of Europe to try to get natural gas from other places. But those other places were already supplying much of the rest of the world. So when all the new buyers came from Europe, prices skyrocketed.
Now, people in France, and the rest of Europe, are seeing Utility bills that are about TEN TIMES HIGHER, because utilities use natural gas to generate electricity. The utilities are passing-along the increased price they must pay for the natural gas and it is forcing people throughout Europe to choose whether they eat, or have lights on.
This winter, everything will get all that much worse, when homeowners will have to choose between eating and heating. It is now widely predicted that some people in Europe, unable to pay, could literally freeze to death in their own homes because prices are so high.
For some reason, elected public officials in France and elsewhere in Europe, seem to think this is an acceptable position to be in.
Many, however, say that supporting NAZIS in Ukraine is untenable from the start, and freezing Europeans to death in their homes because the self-inflicted sanctions have raised prices so much, is an absurdity.
There is now political push-back from the general public against the economic sanctions that have caused this. Whether that push-back becomes strong enough to cause public servant government officials to change their actions, remains to be seen.
Alex P. Keaton: Human Disaster
What was a loophole that you found and exploited the hell out of?
Sort of a loophole. Back in the mid-eighties, I was working, living in a small apartment, and my mom was living with me. My sisters and I pooled our money and bought mom a Sears Kenmore microwave oven for, I believe, around $300. That was a typical amount back then for a microwave. Anyway, it came with a one year warranty. After one year and one month, that microwave stopped working. I took it to a nearby appliance repair shop for a diagnostic, and paid $25 for them to tell me the problem was the magnetron, cost to repair was over $200. I said thanks but no thanks, took the microwave home and put it in a closet.
About a week later, my mother told me that a woman from Sears called while I was at work, and mom told her to call after 6 pm and talk to me because she wanted to sell an extended warranty on that microwave. So, I took the call when it came. She offered to sell me an extended warranty for one year or for two years. Cost was approx. $15 for one year, $25 for two years. I said that sounded good, I would like a one year extended warranty please. She tried hard to sell me the two year warranty and I was like no, no, just one year. I got the one year warranty paperwork, paid the $15, and waited one week. I then took the microwave and the warranty paperwork to the Sears repair shop saying “it’s not working”
So, for the $25 diagnostic and the $15 warranty I got a repair done worth over $200. And that microwave worked for more than 15 years.
Serious New Development: China Publicly Supports Russia Actions in Ukraine
For those who have been paying attention to international affairs, the following will come as no surprise. For others, cheering for “Team Ukraine” however, the following should be a gigantic wake-up call. It isn’t just Russia handling Ukraine . . . it’s China too.
Li Zhanshu is the head of China’s legislature: the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. He’s Number 3 in the rigid hierarchy of the CPC. A VERY big fish.
So where was Mr. Li last week?
Well, at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia. He met and talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Li also had a key meeting with Russian State Duma (The Russia Legislature) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin – and other Duma leaders.
This is what he told the Duma. Pay VERY close attention:
“We see that the United States and its NATO allies are expanding their presence near the Russian borders, seriously threatening national security and the lives of Russian citizens (…) “We fully understand the necessity of all the measures taken by Russia aimed at protecting its key interests” (…) “We are providing our assistance.”
How explicit is that?
Well, China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Putin will have a special meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Samarkand summit tomorrow.
They will discuss Russia’s Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine IN DETAIL. Especially the next steps.
Then, afterwards, we may be able to ascertain what Li meant when he said, “We are providing our assistance.”
Ham and Cheddar Breakfast Sandwiches
Breakfast for a crowd has never been easier! The trick to these ingenious breakfast sandwiches is baking the eggs and ham together in your 13×9 dish. Top with cheese, and serve with Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Buttermilk Biscuits.
Why did a stray cat on the sidewalk stare me down and completely block me from walking and wouldn’t yield no matter what I did to the point where I was fearful of being attacked?
Cats get in your way when they want help.
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Cats can’t talk, so they try to be as obvious as possible. Somehow, though, people are often oblivious.
Whenever a cat gets in your way, you should try to figure out what the cat wants. Maybe the cat wants attention, food, help with kittens, etc. If you don’t want to help, find someone who can help the cat.
The cat is going to a lot of trouble to get your attention and ask for help.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning issued a final warning to the United States and NATO regarding Ukraine: “If the U.S. decides to supply longer-range missiles to Ukraine, they will cross the red line and become a direct party to the conflict.”
This final warning was spoken by Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This is now a rapidly developing story. Check back for further updates.
My Latest Video
A somber moment for Service to Others sentience; a view from China today. It is about a BIG BIG event going on inside of China.
I posted it and only ended up a 60 some views. Pathetic.
Please watch it before the thought-censors at you-tube take it down.
Yeah. The United States pokes and provokes China left and right. Still, China remains peaceful. Not doing anything. Seems out of character for a “belligerent, aggressive, evil, authoritarian communist dictatorship” eh?
The pushing is turning into shoves. And China adroitly steps to the side, like a slow-motion scene out of the movie “The Matrix”.
Soon, the United States might need to make some real aggressive provocations. Worse than ever before. I see, though my spyglass, a False Flag incident in the Taiwan waters. Don’t you know.
Let’s go through today’s pile of dung…
Chinese delegation banned from attending Queen Elizabeth lying-in-state
A nation that supports Nazi's, is banning China because of made up lies. Natural for the dim witted morons of the West. -MM
LONDON – The Chinese delegation visiting London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday will not be allowed to view her coffin at the lying-in-state vigil inside Parliament, the BBC reported on Friday.
Some parliamentarians had raised concerns about inviting representatives from China after several British lawmakers were sanctioned by Beijing for criticising alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China denies any such abuses.
The BBC said, without citing sources, that it understood the Chinese government delegation had been banned from attending the lying-in-state after the Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament had refused them access to Westminster Hall on the parliamentary estate due to the Chinese sanctions.
The Speaker’s office declined to comment. The House of Commons said it does not comment on security matters.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Liz Truss has said it is for Buckingham Palace to set out the guest list after taking advice from the foreign office, which, according to convention, invites representatives from nations with which Britain has diplomatic relations.
China is invited to the Queen’s funeral next Monday, with Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan expected to represent the country, a British foreign office source said on Thursday.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning told a briefing in Beijing that she had not yet seen the BBC report.
“What I want to say is the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is an important event for the United Kingdom. Foreign delegations participating in the event upon invitation from the United Kingdom is a sign of respect to the Queen and the importance accorded to (relations with) the United Kingdom,” she said.
“As the host, the United Kingdom should uphold diplomatic protocols and proper manners to guests.”
World leaders, royalty and other dignitaries will attend the funeral.
Visiting dignitaries will be given a timed slot to attend the lying-in-state over the weekend.
The attack by Azerbaijan against Armenia is already escalating very severely. That attack commenced on Tuesday. Yesterday, Iran began mobilizing troops to protect its border with Armenia and told Azerbaijan they will “not tolerate a change in Armenia geography.” Today, Turkey began moving 45,000 Reserve troops because they support Azerbaijan, and Iran upped the ante by commencing movement of heavy armor to back-up its troops.
Within days, the world could see the outbreak of yet another war; this on the south side of Russia . . . which is precisely what NATO. the EU and the USA want, so as to create havoc and require Russia to fight two wars on two fronts.
This all due to Russia entering Ukraine to de-Nazify it.
UKRAINE NAZI STATUS
Those claiming Ukraine is “not Nazi” and further claiming that “it is only propaganda,” would do well to analyze CNN video from today.
Here is a still image from a CNN report celebrating Ukraine’s counter-offensive which recaptured some territory previously conquered by Russia.
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Note the white Cross painted on the front of the Ukrainian tank . . . and then note the image below from World War 2, showing what is on the side of the NAZI tanks from World War 2 . . . the exact same logo as the Ukrainians are using today on their tanks.
Ukraine has, in fact, gone NAZI. By aiding and abetting Ukraine, the United States and the European Union are, in fact, NAZI Collaborators.
REPORTS OF NATO ACTIVITIES IN MOLDOVA & GEORGIA
Four months ago, in April 2022, AFTER Russia had entered Ukraine, NATO began making overtures to the countries of Moldova, and Georgia. Below is video of NATO Chief Stoltenberg with the leaders of both those countries:
Here we are, just 5 short months later, in the country of Georgia, the political leadership moved to hold a public referendum on re-starting the war they had with Russia back in 2008, in which Georgia lost a land area known as South Ossetia. The map below shows the area:
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Starting a second front would, it is thought, provide relief to Ukraine by forcing Russia to fight on two fronts.
In addition, REPORTS (unverified) are coming out of Moldova today indicating NATO Armor may be moving into Moldova from Romania. Awaiting verification of those reports.
We CAN VERIFY that the United States/NATO has mustered a very significant number of HIMARS Multiple Launch Rocket Systems on the Romania border with Moldova. Video below, taken today, September 16, 2022, shows the HIMARS on the roads inside Romania AT the border of Moldova.
From this position, these HIMARS can completely cross over the territory of Moldova and enter southwestern Ukraine, hitting (Russian) targets there.
HAL TURNER ANALYSIS AND EDITORIAL OPINION
We are now clearly seeing actual evidence of World War 3 preparations. OUR GOVERNMENT in the USA, conspiring with governments in Europe, are literally moving troops and armor into position to fight a war against Russia, which WILL lead to nuclear war.
Russia has told the world from the beginning that if NATO comes against Russia, “it will be a war that no one will win.” Those were the precise words of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As most readers know all-to-well, the only “war that no one will win” is a nuclear war.
Yet our government is preparing to take actions that will result in exactly that.
Alice In Chains – The Killer Is Me (From MTV Unplugged)
How are some people so delusional as to believe Russia is a free democratic country and China is helping struggling nations?
How is such ignorance in such a big scale possible?
I’ve never heard anybody say Russia is a free democratic country. Who says that?
China is helping developing countries build infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This is a fact.
Over 149 countries have signed up to BRI. Thousands of BRI projects are under way. These nations are grateful for China’s infrastructure assistance.
Western banks have tried to help these countries as well. But IMF and World Bank loans come with onerous political strings attached.
China’s loans are string-free; they’re purely business. And China is producing tangible results. In fact, China builds infrastructure much faster than anybody else in the world.
You ask about ignorance. Who is the ignorant one here? You appear to have a very poor understanding of China’s BRI.
Fuel – Hemorrhage (In My Hands) (Official HD Video)
Swedish Media Outlet Publishes Claimed U.S. Document Outlining How to CRUSH Europe Economy thru Ukraine War Effort
Nya Dagbladet, a media outlet in Sweden, has published what it says appears to be classified US plans to crush the European economy by means of a war in Ukraine and an induced energy crisis.
Nya Dagbladet goes on to report as follows:
RAND Corporation’s think tank, which has a huge work force of 1,850 employees and a budget of $350 million, has the official aim of “improving policies and decision-making through research and analysis”. It is primarily connected to the United States Department of Defense and is infamous for having been influential in the development of military and other strategies during the Cold War.
A document signed RAND, under the opening heading of “Weakening Germany, strengthening the U.S.”, suggests that there is an “urgent need” for an influx of resources from outside to maintain the overall American economy, but “especially the banking system”.
“Only European countries bound by EU and NATO commitments can provide us with these without significant military and political costs for us.”
According to RAND, the main obstacle to this ambition is the growing independence of Germany. Among other things, it points out that Brexit has given Germany greater independence and made it more difficult for the United States to influence the decisions of European governments.
A key objective that permeates this cynical strategy is, in particular, to destroy the cooperation between Germany and Russia, as well as France, which is seen as the greatest economic and political threat to the United States.
”If implemented, this scenario will eventually turn Europe into not only an economic, but also a political competitor to the United States.”, it declares.
The only way: “Draw both sides into war with Ukraine”
In order to crush this political threat, a strategic plan, primarily focused on destroying the German economy, is presented.
“Stopping Russian deliveries could create a systematic crisis that would be devastating for the German economy and indirectly for the European Union as a whole”, it states, and believes that the key is to draw the European countries into war.
“The only possible way to ensure that Germany rejects Russian energy supplies is to draw both sides into the military conflict in Ukraine. Our continued actions in this country will inevitably lead to a military response from Russia. Russia is clearly not going to leave to the massive Ukrainian army’s pressure on the Donetsk People’s Republic without a military response. This would make it possible to portray Russia as the aggressive party and then implement the entire package of sanctions, which has already been drawn up”.
Green parties will force Germany to “fall into the trap”
The green parties in Europe are described as being particularly easy to manipulate into running the errands of American imperialism.
“The prerequisite for Germany to fall into this trap is the dominant role of green parties and European ideologies. The German environmental movement is a highly dogmatic, if not fanatical, movement, which makes it quite easy to get them to ignore economic arguments”, it writes, citing the current foreign minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, and the climate minister, Robert Habeck, as examples of this type of politician.
“Personal characteristics and lack of professionalism make it possible to assume that it is impossible for them to recognise their own mistakes in time. I will therefore be sufficient to rapidly form a media image of Putin’s aggressive war – and make the Greens into ardent and tough supporters of sanctions – a ‘war party’. This will make it possible to impose the sanctions without any obstacles”.
Baerbock is, i.a., well known for declaring that she will continue the suspension of Russian gas even during the winter – regardless of what her constituents think about the matter and the consequences for the German population.
– We will stand with Ukraine, and this means that the sanctions will stay, also in winter time – even if it gets really tough for politicians, she said at a conference in Prague recently.
“Ideally – a complete halt of supplies”
The authors express a hope that the damage between Germany and Russia will be so great that it will make it impossible for the countries to re-establish normal relations later on.
“A reduction in Russian energy supplies – ideally, a complete halt of such supplies– would lead to disastrous outcomes for German industry. The need to divert significant amounts of Russian gas for winter heating will further exacerbate the shortages. Lockdowns in industrial enterprises would cause shortages of components and spare parts for manufacturing, a breakdown of logistics chains and, eventually, a domino effect”.
Ultimately, a total collapse of the economy in Europe is seen as both probable and desirable.
“Not only will it deliver a devastating blow to the German economy, the entire economy of the entire EU economy will inevitably collapse.”
It further points out that the benefits of US-based companies having less competition on the world market, logistical advantages and the outflow of capital from Europe, would mean that they would be able to contribute to the economy of the United States by an estimated 7-9 trillion dollars. In addition, it also emphasises the important effect of many well-educated and young Europeans being be forced to immigrate to the USA.
RAND denies originating the report
RAND Corporation issued a press release on Wednesday denying that the report originates from them. No comments are made regarding what parts of the report are false or what is accurate, apart from simply writing that the content is “bizarre” and that the document is “fake””.
Forgotten Children
The idea of finding something valuable in an abandoned storage unit has made TV shows like Storage Wars and Auction Hunters popular. In those shows, as in real life, if a storage unit goes unpaid or has been abandoned, the owners of the facility can auction off its contents. The bidders don’t know what they might find—it might be valuable art or jewelry; it might be nothing but empty boxes. And sometimes, as in a recent case in New Zealand, it might be something horrific.
On August 11, 2022, after trying their luck by bidding on abandoned storage items in an online auction, a family in Auckland brought home their unknown winnings. They hoped to find something of value. What they found instead, crammed into suitcases, were the remains of two young children, between roughly five and ten years of age.
Authorities were called to the scene, and investigators say the remains have likely been in the suitcases for several years. Although their names have not been released, the children have been identified. After a South Korean woman was linked to the victims, the Korean National Police Agency became involved in the ongoing investigation.[1]
Will Australia most likely invade the Solomon Islands to prevent them from having a Chinese military base?
Like how the US invaded Grenada back in 1983 during the Cold War?
No. Australia won’t invade the Solomons. But first, some background:
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Did Australia’s new Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, know that China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi would arrive in the Pacific Islands just when she was touching down? Did she know that the Australian Government triggered riots
in the Solomons last year? Did she know that Solomons appealed to China for help because of the riots?
Apparently not.
Empty-handed, she hogged every camera and drew giggles promising to treat Pacific countries with respect. As if. And though Chinese development loans are famously free of strings and bankers’ forbearance saintly, Wong virtue-signaled by promising “a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached” and one that won’t impose “unsustainable financial burdens”. Not an edifying spectacle, even to us whiteys. Imagine how it looks to the Islanders.
Gift-Laden
Foreign Minister Wang, by contrast, was laden with gifts and bubbling with ideas, among which was a code of behavior:
Equal treatment
Mutual respect: “China has never interfered in the internal affairs of Pacific island countries. The country neither attached political strings, nor sought any geographical selfish interests in dealing with the island countries.”
Win-win cooperation
Openness and inclusiveness: “The South Pacific region should serve as a stage for cooperation, not an arena for destructive competition. China’s cooperation with the Pacific island countries does not target any country and it should not be disrupted by any country. China respects the contacts the Pacific island countries have already established with other countries. China, acting in the spirit of openness, is ready to conduct the third party market cooperation with other countries in and outside the region”
PM Sogavare thanked him for defending the Solomons at the UN Security Council, and hopes for more coordination with the Chines in international affairs. He said China’s direct investment in the PIC has risen
400% since 2016, to $4.5 billion, as did the fisheries industry. He explained
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China has become the biggest cooperative partner of the Solomon Islands on basic infrastructure and a reliable development partner. Our thanks to China for providing anti-pandemic supplies, rapid-test equipment and sending medical teams to this country. We also appreciate the Chinese side for sending policing supplies and police advisers to help maintain social order in the Solomon Islands after the riot in Honiara. The Solomon Islands and China have conducted cooperation on the basis of equal treatment and mutual respect, and the connection in various fields has become increasingly close, bringing tangible benefits to the Solomon Islands people, the prime minister noted.
Then Mr. Wang unpacked China’s more tangible gifts, including a five-year, fully-costed and -financed action plan to unite all ten Pacific nations with a common data network, cyber security, smart customs, a Free Trade pact, support for action on health and climate change, ‘a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and protection of national security’.
China and the PIC will accelerate duty-free, frictionless trade, and China will give the PIC a global digital platform for its environmental message, and global audience of billions of people to see and hear it. It will build the data uplinks, lay the ocean cables, and provide 2,500 government scholarships so that young people will help the Islands enter the digital age prosperous and united.
Says Chris Devonshire-Ellis , “In recognising the Pacific Islands Community as one body, China has given the group an identity and decision-making capability previously inaccessible through traditional channels. It provides the PIC with enhanced political strength and purpose – for most of the islands have similar needs which heretofore were addressed bilaterally, if at all”.
Funeral Home Storage
While storage units have been used many times by killers trying to hide evidence, sometimes the remains are of people who died of completely natural causes. The crimes perpetrated against them and their families instead occurred after death by the very people trusted to handle their remains with dignity and care.
In one such case, the winner of a storage auction in Rhode Island was shocked to find the bodies of two adults and one infant in his unit. The remains of the adults were so decomposed their gender could not be determined, while the infant, found in a small coffin, was thought to be a female. The unit had been rented by funeral home operator Alfred Pennine of Providence. Dozens more sets of remains were discovered in the funeral home he operated. Once his crimes began to come to light, Pennine committed suicide.[3]
Germany seized the local unit of Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC as Berlin moves to take sweeping control of its energy industry, secure supplies and sever decades of deep dependence on Moscow for fuel.
Alongside its THEFT of the Rosneft unit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration is in advanced talks to take over Uniper SE and two other major gas importers, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Germany is pressing ahead with an historic overhaul of its economy just two and half years after the Covid-19 pandemic, outright stealing a huge chunk of its industrial base to prevent shortages and blackouts this winter.
A decision on the next moves could come within days. The need for action is urgent with Uniper losing 100 million euros ($99.7 million) a day as it tries to replace Russian gas to maintain deliveries to local utilities and manufacturers.
“Over the next few months, we’ll have to continue to preserve critical infrastructure in order to achieve energy independence,” said Verena Hubertz, a leading lawmaker for Scholz’s Social Democrats. “Further measures will follow.”
Are the Chinese economy numbers “fake”?
No. Chinese economy numbers are not fake. In fact, they are understated.
Some experts on Chinese stats:
Understanding China’s Economic Indicators. Tom Orlik (FT Press, 2012).
. Carsten A. Holz, Stanford University. “While some believe that the collapse of China is inevitable, others see the emergence of a new superpower that increasingly poses a threat to the US”. Assuming there was no collapse, then “extrapolating past real GDP growth rates into the future, the size of the Chinese economy surpasses that of the United States in purchasing power terms between 2012 and 2015; by 2025, China is likely to be the world’s largest economic power by almost any measure” (Holz 2006: 1). Holz’s extremely accurate forecasts suggest economic growth between 2005 and 2015 in the range of 7 to 9 percent (Holz 2006: 9).
“The unserious ones are those advanced by nonspecialists, typically analysts for hedge funds or other financial firms, alleging that Chinese data on GDP, or energy consumption, or inflation, or whatnot are falsified by the government in order to cover up some major problem. These claims, often hyped by the media, are best ignored. Economic data in all places are subject to various problems and distortions, which are addressed by the constant revision of published data and the underlying methods used by national statistical agencies, as well as by enormous volumes of academic econometric research that seek to refine our understanding of how numbers relate to reality. …Many serious analysts do believe that the government tends to smooth out the quarterly GDP growth numbers, underreporting growth when it is very hot and nudging the figures upward when it is cool. Most other data problems and inconsistencies can be explained by ordinary analytic econometric work, without resort to conspiracy theories about deliberate falsification.“The falsification theory also fails a simple logical test. If the government publishes false data, it must either rely on this false data to make economic policy, or it must keep a secret set of true data. If it uses false data, economic policy will quickly run aground, as it did during the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s, when reliance on bogus agricultural production numbers led within a couple of years to a catastrophic famine that killed tens of millions of people. …This leaves the possibility that the government uses a secret set of true data to form policy, while feeding lies to the public. No evidence has ever been presented that such a secret data set exists. There are certainly a few data series that are not published but are reserved for the internal use of government officials. What is interesting is how boring these prove to be when occasionally they come to light through a leak—as, for instance, when a classified unemployment figure was accidentally disclosed at a press conference. The figure was 5 percent, compared to the published “registered unemployment” figure of 4 percent. In any case, if the government really kept a full set of secret accounts, the falsity of the published data could be exposed by the same statistical tests used by forensic accountants to prove chicanery in corporate balance sheets. These tests have been applied, and have failed to show any evidence of systemic falsification. …The more serious claim, made by several economists, is that China’s long-run growth rate has been systematically overstated, not because China sought to bamboozle the world but because its statisticians employed faulty techniques. The most recent version of this argument is by Harry X. Wu of The Conference Board, who heroically reconstructed China’s national accounts for the sixty-year period 1952–2012 in order to arrive at a better understanding of long-term trends in productivity growth. Wu concluded that, thanks mainly to weaker than reported productivity gains, China’s average annual real GDP growth during the reform era (1978–2012) was 7.2 percent, well below the official figure of 9.8 percent. …This is an interesting exercise, but it raises some conceptual problems. If we assume that the size of the Chinese economy was accurately measured in 1978, then the lower growth rate compounded over thirty-four years implies that China’s economy in 2012 was less than half as big as the official data say it was. This is impossible, because the economy’s present size is roughly confirmed by a wealth of information, including the government’s own economic censuses, and indicators including exports, foreign exchange reserves and consumption of physical items such as automobiles, oil, steel, and cement that are independently verifiable and not subject to falsification. If, on the other hand, we assume that the economy’s reported size today is correct, then the lower growth rate compounded back thirty-four years implies that China’s economy was more than twice as big in 1978 as the government believed it to be. This is slightly more plausible than the first case, but not much. Alternatively, we can try to pick values for China’s 1978 and 2012 GDP that are not so obviously incredible, for instance that the economy was two-thirds bigger than reported in 1978 and one-quarter smaller in 2012 (in which case we need merely explain away $2 trillion—an India’s worth—of phantom output). Any way you slice it, it is quite hard to reconcile the arithmetic of these alternative growth calculations with observed reality.
An easy way to check the quality of national statistics is by comparing them to wages–which are easy to verify. Here’s what that looks like:
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A story about Pizza
Boy do I have a story for you. This happened to a friend of mine. We’ll call him Austin.
Austin was a college student who worked at a small local pizza place, and got a delivery right before closing. When he took down their address he saw it was in a bad area of town and thought to himself jokingly, ‘I’m probably gonna get robbed.’ Their order was less than $20 but they asked if he could give change for $100, and he said no. ‘Well, I’m probably definitely getting robbed,’ he thought, still jokingly.
He drove to this neighborhood – not somewhere you’d want to be after 1am – and pulled up to the house. There were no lights on anywhere, but he could see an outline of two people sitting on the porch.
‘Oh my God, I might ACTUALLY get robbed,’ he thought to himself, less jokingly.
He walked up to the dark house and approached the two guys on the porch to deliver the pizza. One of them was comically short. ‘So you have change for $100?’ one of them said. Austin said no and reminded them he had told them this on the phone.
They said nothing, the short guy went inside the (still) dark house to get money.
Austin stood outside awkwardly with the other guy, who just stared at him wordlessly. 2 minutes passed, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes. The pizza was starting to get cold. The house was still pitch black inside, the other guy just kept staring. Austin had a bad feeling and began to feel genuinely uncomfortable. He looked at his cell phone clock and saw his shift should have ended a little bit ago.
Feeling freaked out, he told the guy, ‘well, my shift is up, and I have to get home, consider the pizza free,’ he turned around and started to walk off the porch back to his car.
About halfway there, the porch light came on and he heard the door shut, and for a split second remembers seeing both their shadows, one long and one comically short.
A half second later he heard a swooping sound as they both leapt off the porch. A half second later, one guy grabbed Austin by the arm and pulled a knife on him, and the short one held his other arm.
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ he said.
The first thought to go through Austin’s head was that he was right about being robbed, the second was that this was a really crappy way to thank someone for free pizza. The third thought was a conscious effort not to crap his pants.
Now, Austin had taken karate lessons, but he had not had much practice. But being strong and stubborn, in the heat of the moment, he tore his arm free from the short guy and used his pizza bag as a shield against the knife, and turned and tried to do some kind of Mortal Kombat-esque move on the side of the guy’s face that, he said, seemed like a better idea in his head.
‘But I missed,’ Austin said at this point in the story.
Austin missed the side of his head and his fingers plunged straight into the guy’s eye socket. Austin freaked out at holding what felt like a grape and pulled his hand away, and inadvertently popped the guy’s eyeball out of the socket. You read that right.
All three of them started screaming at the same time, the one guy because his eye had just been torn from its socket, Austin because he realized what he had just done, and the short guy because he had just witnessed the whole thing -and ran screaming into the darkness somewhere behind the house.
Austin picked up the dropped knife and called 911 while the guy lay writhing on the walkway.
Upon telling the operator what had transpired, about five police cars show up and the officers think the situation is hilarious, calling the guy on the ground ‘pirate.’
They ask Austin to describe the short guy and he does, and one of them says, ‘hang on,’ and two disappear behind the house.
10 minutes later they come back with him.
They all know this guy, evidently they had been to that house many times before, and he was a repeat offender.
‘Mikey, we meet again! Didn’t you just get out of prison?’ one of them said.
Austin went to the police station to give a statement where several employees in earshot asked him to relay the story again.
Austin got a nice raise and worked at the same pizza place until he graduated.
Alice In Chains – Rooster (From MTV Unplugged)
What are the reasons that the US doesn’t invest in infrastructure to the same extent as China?
The reasons are quite diverse:
The US is now run by the wealthy elite, the capitalist owner class, who don’t give a rat’s ass about the nation’s welfare. Their sole objective is to line their own pockets.
There is no profit in building infrastructure. To the wealthy elite, infrastructure is a money sink.
The US prefers to spend the money on militarism to support its imperialism. It uses its military power to steal natural resources from other countries. It overthrows foreign regimes it doesn’t like.
The US knows it can no longer build infrastructure like it used to in the 1950s and 1960s. It takes too long. It costs too much money. Look at the “Big Dig” in Boston, for example. Or the high-speed rail line in California. China can build infrastructure 10X faster and more economically!
Do you think having cats is a burden?
Cats are so easy to care for. They eat a little food. They poop and pee a little in the cat box, and with the new, high-tech litter, you hardly even know it’s there. They have evolved into adorable beings, so that they don’t frighten us, and we’re in awe of their cuteness.
They have poses: bread loaf and Sphinx, which bring smiles to our faces.
They don’t love us to death, and we don’t have to walk them three times a day, causing harm to our arthritic knees.
We’re never to be seen walking shamefully behind them, picking up their warm, foul loaf with a plastic bag. Other than their “meaty breath,” they smell only of a warm lavender candle or fresh hay.
What’s the burden?
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What’s your craziest experience while buying a car?
This was crazy. It’s about one of these.
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In ~2003, North Central Ford of Richardson Texas agreed to sell me the lst 2004 Ford GT that they got, at MSRP. That was going to be ~$150K. At first, I had to explain to the Sales Manager what it was, show him the first picture of it that he’d seen, and a picture of the Prototype at Pebble Beach in 2002. He said he figured I was a legit buyer because I went there in my BMW Z8, a comparably priced limited production car, that he did actually recognize.
On my 2nd visit, I got the Sales Manager to sign a 1-page (3–4 sentence) agreement letter. Afterwards, I dropped in the dealership to see him about every 90 days to follow up on the car’s highly anticipated delivery, and to remind them of our agreement, which he always acknowledged verbally. On two such visits, I brought along a car-guy buddy as “witness” to our agreement. Some of these meetings were simply quick meet & greets in the hallways where the terms of my deal were discussed briefly.
In late ‘04, when I became aware that the 1st cars were being shipped and in transit, I went by the dealership again, for about the 5th time, but I was told that the former Sales Manager no longer worked there, so I asked to see the new Sales Manager, and someone took me upstairs to his office.
I made the new Sales manager aware of the details of the deal I’d made with the dealership before he worked there, and he said “well, that’s bullshit. There is no way we’re gonna do that. That car is all over the press. We are going to sell that car on EBay Motors for $300K.” I re-iterated that we had an agreement in writing signed by his predecessor, and, at his request, showed him a copy. He read it and said “Well, the agreement says what you said it does, but we ain’t going to do that.”
I said “Well, you leave me no choice but to pursue this by other means.” and he said “Good luck!”. As I turned to walk out of his office, I turned back briefly and said “I assure you, luck won’t have anything to do with it.” (I couldn’t resist)
I found a young freshly-minted SMU JD-grad lawyer, and when the car showed up 2 days later, my lawyer filed a lawsuit and got a judge to put a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the car. It prohibited the dealership from offering it for sale, removing any of the shipment protection materials, dis-allowing anyone (including their employees) from driving it, until further notice. Even the mechanics in the service department couldn’t put a wrench on it.
I went up there, and went to the service department where the Service Manager let me come in their shop in the back and look, but not touch. This was the 1st or 2nd Ford GT delivered in the DFW metroplex. This was a big deal. There was a story on the cover of the Dallas Morning News business section.
There were dozens of people back there in a service bay, ohh-ing and awe-ing, including a a new car salesman that didn’t know me. I told him I was ready to pay cash at MSRP, but he said that “the car has a little legal cloud hanging over it” but as soon as that was cleared up, he could sell it to me for $240K, and wrote that number on the back of his business card without even writing down my name. The car had the TRO court order taped to the driver-side door glass.
The judge in this case made us go to mediation before it could go to trial, and so me and my young lawyer met with the recommended licensed mediator (a former Dallas judge) and the dealership brought in 2 suits from the headquarters that owns the dealership – Sonic Automotive of Nashville, TN (same guys that own the Texas Motor Speedway Indy/NASCAR track in Fort Worth), not to mention owning about 200 other car dealerships. They claimed to be representing the 2nd biggest car dealership company in the nation, after Auto Nation.
After polite introductions in the main conference room, the parties were situated in separate conference rooms, and the mediator started playing shuttle diplomacy, going back and forth between us, giving the other party’s argument and pushing for a settlement. As one point she told me and my lawyer that they knew I had high-end cars, and at trial they would show that I was an “opportunist, not a genuine Ford product buyer, and and they would characterize me as just an exotic car flipper hoping to profit unfairly”.
I told the mediator to tell them that my rebuttal in court would be: “I have an 11 year old Jeep, a 6 year old BMW, a 4 year old BMW and a Yukon Denali. Furthermore, I haven’t sold but one car in the last 5 years. But at trial, and I will insist on a jury, I will characterize them as … car dealers … and as redundant as it may sound, dishonest ones at that. And I will make it stick.”
Suddenly it became a price discussion. I agreed unilaterally to add $10K (good faith, for a total of $160K), but they insisted on the $300K number. Then, I let them know that they had quoted $240K to me, and I could prove it. We went back and forth on whether or not that was a bone fide offer, and I then provided more information – that $240K was also what they quoted a friend of mine who went by to look like I did but later in the day. He would be called by me as a witness. They caved, and agreed that $240K was their “best & final” asking price. But I rejected the new offer. I wasn’t done with them yet.
After a few back and forth rounds about how rock-solid my MSRP deal was, they offered a cash settlement of $20K for me to just abandon my lawsuit and walk away. I said “Tell them no, and that if I see them again, it will be in a downtown Dallas County courtroom”. The mediator tried to talk me out of taking such a hard stand, but carried the message to them anyway.
She came back in about 10 minutes and asked if we could agree on a cash settlement somewhere in the middle, and I said yes, of course, but it would have to be smack dab in the middle between my best offer of $160K and their best asking price of $240K. In other words, we were $80K apart, and if they want to write a check for $40K, I’ll go away and abandon my claims to the car. Otherwise, I’d pursue my rights to buy the car for the $150K list price in my 1-page agreement.
The mediator came back and said we had a deal, and we signed a settlement agreement that they were able to prepare quite quickly. And two hot-shot Nashville lawyers went home with their tails between their legs, probably more concerned about catching their flight.
Three days later, I got a $40K check, and paid my lawyer $6K for about an hour of prep and 2 hours of an arbitration meeting that had left his head spinning.
And literally the next day, Ford recalled all the Ford GTs nation-wide due to upper-A-arm cracks, so the initial Ford GT owners had to put their brand-new cars back in the shop and wait about 6 months to get them retrofit with yet-to-be-designed beefier A-arms.
That was the best car deal I ever did. No tax, no title, no license, no insurance, no gas and a nice financial result for me (and my new lawyer buddy). I bought a 1/18 scale model Ford GT that’s on my trophy shelf, with the Sales Manager’s business card tucked under its tiny little windshield wipers.
Is that crazy enough?
Puddle Of Mudd – Control
Meanwhile in Spain…
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In our capital of Port of Spain we have a major homeless problem and it is advised that you don’t give them any money. This story is an example of why.
Some years ago there was a homeless man that would come in front of the bank pictured above and sit on the sidewalk. There is a taxi stand alongside that bank and the taxi drivers would watch as the man sat there convulsing and twitching in some sort of drug induced euphoria. He wore something that resembled a dirty loin cloth, that did little to cover his privates from being displayed to the public, which included parents walking with their little children.
A sympathetic taxi driver approached him and spoke to him gently telling him of the situation and that he needed to cover up for the sake of the children in the area. The taxi driver then went to his trunk and opened it. He was also a gardener and inside the trunk contained several gardening items which included a shovel and a pair of old jeans. The taxi driver gave the homeless man the jeans and told him that he would give him $20 to wear it from now on. The homeless man agreed and was happily rewarded with $20. He went his merry way and all was well for the rest of the evening.
However the following the day, the homeless man returned. This time he was stark naked. He sat on the pavement and proceeded to stroke his semi erect penis in full view of the public and the taxi drivers who stood in shock and disgust. He recognized the taxi driver from the day before who gave him the $20 and brandished a wide smile. It was as if he told himself that he found a good means to make money and the more obscene he behaved, the more repulsed he made people feel, the more money he could coerce people to pay him to stop.
The taxi driver calmly told him to come to him as he went and opened his trunk. Inside the trunk was the driver’s gardening items which included the shovel and another pair of jeans. The homeless man smiled, expecting to be given the jeans and quite possibly double the amount of money from the day before. Instead he watched as the taxi driver whipped out the shovel and in an instant he felt the searing pain of the back of the shovel as it whacked against his raw, exposed buttocks.
The homeless man ran off to the distance whilst the taxi driver hurled obscenities towards him saying that he would, ‘F**king kill him the next time he comes here with his p***k hanging out.’ The entire taxi stand and several pedestrians applauded the vigilante taxi driver. From that moment on the homeless was never seen near that area again.
Was it nice what the taxi driver did? No.
Was it justice? Damned right it was.
Why are citizens in prospering but unfree countries like China okay with state censorship? Has all desire for freedom stopped since the 1980s?
You have a highly Westernized view of freedom. China holds a different view of freedom, one that is much more practical than ideological.
China protects its people and keeps them safe. It knows that Western influence can be corrosive and harmful to society. Have you ever asked yourself why Western societies, for example, in America, are so fucked up?
And, by the way, the West also practice censorship, much more so than the Chinese. If you’re unaware, then you’ve not been paying attention. Or you have blinders on.
Puddle Of Mudd – Blurry (Album Version) (Official Video)
What actually happens to citizens of China who do not support the CCP?
I am a Chinese citizen, 53 years old this year. I have been extremely anti-CCP since I was 15 years old, and until 2010, I was still a radical anti-communist.
After 2010, my anti-communist stance began to falter. I became a mild anti-communist.
By 2015, I was neither against the CCP nor for them, when I was neutral.
By 2017, I started to support the CCP a little bit.
By 2019, I had become a staunch supporter of the CCP.
When I was in college, my classmates were 100% anti-communist, we all participated in the protests that swept the country in 1989, and one of my classmates and I went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to participate in the protests.
Throughout the 1990s, my classmates and I also adhered to an anti-communist stance. One of my classmates and I tried to form a secret political party to overthrow the CCP.
In the 2000s, some of my classmates began to change their views, and I was one of the last to change their views.
In China, many of my peers have gone through a spiritual journey similar to mine, from opposing the CCP to supporting the CCP.
So, when you ask “What actually happens to citizens of China who do not support the CCP?” I will tell you a fact: Most of the people who were once against the CCP have now become supporters of the CCP.
Based on my observations, my remarks probably represent the vast majority of those who have ever opposed the CCP.
In response to a request from some in the comments:
Many people ask me the reason for the change of opinion, but this question is difficult to answer completely, because so much has happened in 30 years, my change of opinion is the result of all the things that have happened in 30 years, a highly educated Mature-minded adults usually do not change their beliefs quickly because of a few events.
While I can’t list all the reasons that influence my opinion, there are two main reasons that led me to go from a radical anti-communist to a staunch CCP supporter:
1. I have seen with my own eyes the various changes that have taken place in China in the past 30 years;
2. I have visited Western countries many times and browsed a lot of Western media, so I have a more direct and in-depth understanding of Western countries.
I myself have been a news reporter for a few years, and I am very aware of the various methods used by the media to manipulate public opinion. Therefore, I will not unconditionally trust any media, nor will I be brainwashed by the media. I have my own means of checking the facts and all my opinions come from the facts and not any media reports.
It’s also not true that someone commented that I became less radical as I got older, from being an anti-communist to accepting and conforming to reality. In fact, the 50-60-year-old Chinese are still the group with the highest proportion of anti-communists among all Chinese people. People of this age are more supportive of the CCP than us. They did not become anti-communists because of their youth.
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK in 4K60 UHD (1993 SONY MUSIC STUDIOS) STONE TEMPLE PILOTS LIVE
How long will it take for China to take control of the Taiwanese territory if war breaks out?
It will take China at least 45 minutes to take control of Taiwanese territory if war breaks out.
Taiwan is already deeply integrated with China, its main, most profitable trading partner and employer.
All China needs to do is announce, “”As of midnight tonight, all goods and personnel moving into and out of Chinese Taipei must clear China Customs and Immigration. The Taiwan Straits are now PRC domestic waters and all aircraft must observe reunited China’s combined ADIZ. The PLAN and PLAAF will patrol and enforce the orderly observance of this process”.
No power on earth can stop, or even delay, this process without being destroyed. Taiwan is visible from the PRC and, unlike Ukraine, has no contiguous neighbors.
And China’s army, navy, and air force are bigger and more powerfully armed than American forces in the West Pacific.
Everlast – What it’s Like (Official Music Video)
Have you ever seen someone being literally laughed out of a courtroom?
My first wife was very angry at our divorce.
We had 3 dogs—standard poodles that I adored. When I left the home and the marriage….she was adamant that I couldn’t take or see the dogs.
She took me to small claims court for….DOG SUPPORT!
The judge was measured….asking about all of the expenses and damages. I was sweating by the time the judge asked me what I had to say for myself.
I said simply that it would be one thing if I had access… but…
The judge interrupts and said….I agree.
Judgement for the defendant plus costs. As my ex wife was about to lodge a protest…the judge said… it’s about choices ma’am….you chose to block access… and ma’am….as much as dog lovers think their pets are kids….they don’t have the same standing as children.
As the judge stood up….he was looking down….shaking his head… and laughing.
I celebrated for a week!
Tonic – If You Could Only See
Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
“Why is Russia invading Ukraine?”
In our official propaganda, Ukraine has been a US springboard for future conquering, dismembering and enslaving Russia. An alleged “genocide” of ethnic Russians in self-declared states of Donetsk and Lugansk is a proof to that.
To prevent the ongoing genocide and future threats, President Putin sent the troops that now have been de-Nazifying and de-militarizing Ukraine for the last five days.
This move was based on a following set of working assumptions by our president.
Russia’s Top Five Assumptions for Invading Ukraine:
1. Ukraine is governed by a US puppet regime not embedded in the Ukrainian society.
2. The dysfunctionality of the Ukrainian state and political divisions between their oligarchs make it possible to overthrow them in a swift military operation.
3. Large parts of Ukraine secretly sympathize with Russia and are ready to embrace new pro-Russian rulers.
4. Civil society does not exist. Pro-Western activists are a small group of paid agents that can be chased out of the country, arrested, or killed.
5. The West is too weak and divided to stand up for Ukraine.
Below, one of our loyalist political cartoons by Yevgény Samóilov illustrating the core of President Putin’s assumptions.
A motley crew of Ukrainian nationalists are addressing an unenthusiastic public. To the right, mayor of the city of Kiev Klichko
. The person wearing a Stalhelm to the left is there to show a “Nazi presence” at the forefront in Ukrainian politics.
The hydra of Anglo-Saxon globalism manipulates all of them. The poster fixed to the pulpit says “Raise up, Ukraine!” The discarded ones on the floor say, “Raise up, Syria!”, “Raise up, Egypt!”, “Raise up, Libya”. This implies that the Arab Spring a decade ago was a product of American machinations, just like what happens now in Ukraine.
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All for money
Even when murder is not involved, the lure of money can cause some people to do unimaginable things. After her father apparently died from natural causes in June 1990, Judith Maria Broughton concocted a plan to steal his Social Security benefits, beginning in 1997. Leasing a storage unit at Econo Self Storage in Lexington, Kentucky, Judith stored the body there and kept collecting her father’s retirement funds.
On January 8, 2014, authorities discovered the mummified remains of Luther Broughton and charged Judith with the theft of nearly a quarter-million dollars. After pleading guilty to the theft, Judith was sentenced to ten years in prison.[8]
Why does it seem like anti-China posts are everywhere now? Even in places where you least expect it?
For years now, Western media have been publishing endless stories that criticize China. These stories have their roots in government, particularly the US government but also governments in UK, Australia, Canada, India, etc.
All of these stories have whipped up emotions throughout the West. Emotions of fear and hate. The public is in a frenzy. It’s like a river full of piranhas feeding on a hapless egret.
That’s why you see anti-China posts everywhere.
It’s important to note that Western media support their stories with fabricated evidence. They NEVER have genuine evidence. They publish coached testimonies. They publish photos and videos taken out of context. They quote government officials who themselves lie through their teeth.
Eve 6 – Here’s To The Night
Catching the theme of today’s post, eh?
Is Li Hongzhi a CIA Agent? Tracing the Funding Trail Through the Friends of Falun Gong
So the Falun Gong was an NED / CIA operation…
In 2000, Mark Palmer, one of the National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED’s) founders and Vice Chairman of Freedom House—an organization funded entirely by the U.S. Congress—founded a new government-supported group, Friends of Falun Gong (FoFG).
By perusing FoFG’s annual tax filings, one discovers that FoFG has contributed funds to Sounds of Hope Radio, New Tang Dynasty TV, and the Epoch Times—all Falun Gong media outlets.
FoFG has also contributed to Dragon Springs (a Falun Gong ‘compound’ that hosts a Falun Gong school and a residency complex) and to Shen Yun (a Falun Gong performance company), as well as to Falun Gong’s PR arm.
In order to contextualize the U.S. government’s funding of Falun Gong, it will also be helpful to examine a handful of additional U.S. agency activities, such as the NED’s funding of Liu Xiaobo, the Hong Kong protests, and other China-related and Tibet-related groups.
The elite that has taken almost all the money is now after everything else as well | Neil Oliver
Why does it seem like every US tactic against China is doing China a favor?
We really can’t call those dirty work against China by US a “tactic”. Seriously. There is no wisdom at all in the actions, only malice.
Take us individuals as example, if you are the top student in your class, or the top staff in your company, and then suddenly you find another student or colleague is going to surpass you soon by studying/working hard and intelligently.
Then, as a normal and smart reaction, what should you do?
You may work harder to better yourself, to further improve yourself, anyway, you still have a lot of potential to be a better self.
Or, to join hand with the one catching up, to work harder together to create a better overall atmosphere for your class or company to achieve greater performance as a whole — we have seen reports of university students of the same dormitory helping with each other so that all of them passed the post-graduate exams here in China.
So this can be realistic and practical.
But, you may also place all kinds of obstacles to the one catching up, making his/her road as bumpy as possible, by threatening, coercing, bullying, smearing…by whatever dirty work you can come up with, just to ensure your win and the others’ lose.
And obviously, the US is taking the third road to contain China’s development.
So, actually, the US not only does not improve itself to be a better one, instead, it is investing too many of its efforts to stop China’s development, meanwhile too few efforts to solve its piles and piles of domestic turmoils.
There is an ancient Chinese saying, “When you are sailing against the current, you’ll either go ahead or keep falling,” or “He who does not advance loses ground.”
This is exactly the case the current US is in — it was once advancing very fast, but today, it has stopped growing, for the US, stopping there means falling behind in a rapidly developing world of today.
Meanwhile, China has been focusing on its internal issues, including but not limited to: building better infrasctructure across the country, providing better education, medical care, more job opportunities, etc. for its people, alleviating millions and millions of its people out of extreme poverty, catching up in the high-tech fields, upgrading its industrial system, fostering closer and muturally beneficial relations with more countries, increasing trade and other exchanges with more countries, helping other developing and under-developed countries and regions to improve their economy, etc.
Though there are still lots of domestic issues to tackle with, Chinese leadership know clearly what they are, and are struggling to find better solutions to deal with them, for example, its fight against corruption which has indeed brought concrete results with thousands and thousands of corrupted officials being discplined, published, or even jailed; its fight against pollution, as a Beijing dweller for more than two decades, I have personally witnessed the deterioration of the air quality in the city, but now also the coming back of the blue sky and clean air. There are many other similar examples.
In short, the US has nearly stopped growing but is still investing too many of its efforts to “solve” its “enemies,” while China focuses more on its own business and is making more friends around with its sincere help and efforts. By comparison, even if China only makes small steps forward, it’s moving faster than the one who stands still, let alone China is taking strides, even with leaps and bounds, on its road of development.
Back to my metaphor, as two students in a class, or two colleagues in a company, who do you think will laugh to the last?
So, my suggestion to the US, is as always: choose to be a nice guy, instead of a demon, to take the second road I listed above, to join hands with China, to bring a better tomorrow for both the US and China, and to the whole class or the company — our Earth, who is already suffering.
But will the US listen to me? Unfortunately, NO!
Jet Ski
I bought a van to move the contents of my house back to Scotland from Andalusia in Spain. I was in between contracts and had plenty of time.
I took me several trips and I advertised the fact I was travelling empty from the UK to Spain. I collected cargo on the way which paid for my trips.
On one occasion I arranged to stay at an old Friends house on the way. A small village in the mountains North of Granada. I had a pretty full load when a chap from Edinburgh called me and asked if I could take a Jet ski down. I told him I didn’t have room so he offered to pay for a tow bar to be fitted to my van plus £200 cash.
What a result I thought. Tow Bars cost £400.
x
He duly turned up with the jet ski and I hitched it up. I knew it was going to southern Spain and he gave me the address. It was in the very village I was going to be stopping at! I asked him why he was taking a jet ski to a mountain village and he said his uncle lived there and it was going to be stored in his garage until he was ready to take it to the coast. I fessed up and admitted I was actually going to that very town to visit my friend anyway. I explained he was a retired lawyer from Gibraltar. My client asked if his name was Steve xxxx….
It turned out my friend was his uncle and the jet ski was going to the very house in Spain that I was stopping at anyway.
I get goosebumps every time I tell that story.
Carrot Cake Quick Bread
This treat boasts the flavors of carrot cake in a quick bread form. It’s bursting with carrots, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg and is finished off with sweet cream cheese frosting.
4 oz (half of 8-oz package) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
x
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Hungary can ‘no longer be considered a full democracy,’ says EU Parliament
Hungary can “no longer be considered a full democracy,” the European Parliament said in a statement following its adoption of a report on Thursday.
The Parliament said the situation has “deteriorated such that Hungary has become an ‘electoral autocracy.’”
“Overall, [The European Parliament] expresses regrets that the lack of decisive EU action has contributed to a breakdown of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary, and turning one of its member states into hybrid regime of electoral autocracy,” the report read.
“There is increasing consensus among experts that Hungary is no longer a democracy,” the report added.
In their report, Parliament members listed a range of concerns, including about the functioning of the country’s electoral system and judicial independence. They also expressed fears about academic and religious freedoms, as well as with the rights of vulnerable groups, including “ethnic minorities, LGBTIQ people, human rights defenders, refugees and migrants.”
What’s the most absurd question someone has asked you about Australia, or life in Australia?
I have had a few. All asked and answered in the United States by Americans.
Politics #1
Him “You got a democracy down there in Australia?”
Me “ 98% of people vote in every election – It is compulsory”
Him “That sounds like communism to me. “
Our government goes to a lot of effort to make sure everyone has a chance to vote.
x
Aussies voting in the Australian region of Antarctica
x
Aussies voting at the beach.
Politics #2
(Someone campaigning for an American electoral candidate.)
Her “Here is some information on Senator X”
Me: “Sorry we can’t vote here, we are Australian.”
Her “It doesn’t matter what state you come from, vote Republican!”
(Thanks to Peter and Sherry for this one)
Driving #1
Him: “You drive on the left? Hell that must be hard. “
Me “It isn’t really, most of us do it.”
Him “Still that’s gotta be hard”
Me “Not, really, the steering wheel is on this side of the car.”
Him “What? How do you get it over there?”
Me “Well some people pay the dealership to do it, but most of us buy a keg of beer, get a few mates over and do it ourselves. You can get a kit with videos and everything.”
Driving #2
(Actually asked in Hawaii.)
Him “How long did it take to drive here?”
Wildlife
Him “If I go down to Australia, can I bring me back one of those cola bears?”
Me “You mean koalas?”
Him “Yeah, like the ones in the Qantas ads”
Me “The Bald Eagle is your national bird right?”
Him (Puffs up with pride) “Sure is!”
Me “Can I bring one of those home with me?”
Him “I see your point.”
Language
Many people asked this one.
Him “You sure speak English good”
(In my head I’d reply “Rather better than you do.” But out loud I’d say “Thank you.”
Him “What language do you speak down there in Australia?”
Me “We speak Stralian mate.”
Him “Say something in Stralian”
Me “Javagoodweegend” [ Translation: Did you have a good weekend]
Him “What did you say????”
Me “It’s a traditional greeting we say on Mondays.”
Him “Only Mondays?”
Me “Yeah, unless Monday is a holiday, then on Tuesday we say ‘Javagoodlongwegend’ “
Then I’d get them to practice it.
JAVAGUD WE GEND.
There are many Americans wandering around today thinking that they can speak Stralian.
(I share credit with Derek for this one)
Edit:
I am not sure where I got this one from, it wasn’t asked of me, so I can’t claim it.
Him “So you drive on the left?”
Aussie “Yeah, all the time”
Him “ So you leave the freeway from the fast lane????”
What people do for money…
Money has always been a powerful motivator for murder, and hiding a victim’s remains while continuing to rob them is not as rare as one would hope. In one such case in Las Vegas, the bodies of an elderly couple were hidden in trash bins for ten years while their killer stole their Social Security income. The remains were found in a unit at All Storage at the Lakes in 2015, but the last time Joaquin and Eleanor Sierra were seen alive was in 2003.
Their killer, Robert Dixon Dunn, had apparently met them at a nursing home where his own mother was living. After killing them, he succeeded in stealing from them for all those years by moving around the country and using a fake name. After someone reported him for suspected fraud, he was finally caught. His ex-wife said Dunn claimed he was concealing the bodies of his aunt and uncle, who had committed suicide. In truth, the bodies were found to contain drugs and injuries caused by a sharp object.[1]
Why doesn’t Japan excel in software as they did in hardware?
Ah… Finally. My time has come.
Where to begin?
In Japan software development is not held to the same standard as other engineering positions.
Japan has always had a custom where every year, new university graduates in their thousands march through giant career fairs searching for a job. This is something I call the March of the Penguins – every one of them is adorned with a new black suit with a pristine white shirt.
There the companies will take their resumes, interview them and perhaps extend an invitation to the next interview. None of these companies care about what you studied or what your passions are. They might perk up if they hear that you are from one of the top flight schools (Todai, Keio, Waseda, Tokyo Tech et al).
The whole idea here is that everything you need to know about doing your job will be taught to you.
Now I know people working at somewhat (emphasis on somewhat) internationalized companies like Mercari or Rakuten (the Japanese eBay and Amazon respectively) will tell you that this is not how tech companies hire.
The sad truth is that they do. While there are enough foreigners who will stand up to being told to hire and train clueless graduates and mold them into proper software developers in more international companies – the huge majority of software development firms don’t operate like that.
Naturally, many Japanese software development firms have engineering teams of pitiful quality.
Software development is looked at as any other skill that can be picked up in a few months to a year: accounting, secretarial work, project management, business analysis etc.
They don’t speak English
Naturally when you cannot read or speak English, the tools you use to develop software as well as the methods you use to develop them will be those that have managed to percolate downwards from English sources due to the magnanimity of people willing to volunteer their time to translate documentation and articles.
At any given time, the cutting edge of software development in Japan is 6 months to 7 years behind the rest of the world.
Software development is a reversed pyramid scheme
Most technology consulting firms who are awarded contracts do not actually have developers – or have only a handful at hand. They will sub-contract their work to firms down the totem pole who will in turn sub-sub-contract their work to a lesser firm.
The actual developer working on your product could be a sub-contract 5 contract levels removed from you.
Good luck managing changes in business requirements.
All this works because the people who award the contracts are as technologically illiterate as the ones proposing them. If there ever was an apropos time to use the word circlejerk this would be it.
Consumers have extremely conservative tastes
Anyone asking this question by now will have seen the absolutely antediluvian website designs that are still being employed by Japanese firms. (Behold the largest online travel agency site in Japan: www.jalan.net).
x
We have actually done user testing and A/B testing with non-trivial sample sizes.
Japanese websites don’t look like trash because the designers wanted to do this. They look this way because the Japanese audiences like this. They like the huge and distracting flashing banners. They like the overwhelming amount of text. They like what you and I might call crass and unpolished advertising masquerading as website content.
So you can either create modern designs that will bring in international attention, but alienate domestic users, or serve your existing customers as you have been doing for decades.
That’s an easy choice for many companies.
Dishwalla – Counting Blue Cars (Official Video)
As an American who has moved to New Zealand or Australia, how does the lifestyle differ from where you lived in the States?
Hi,
American living on the lower North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand here.
My lifestyle is different than when I lived in the US, and my quality of life is better.
Housing –
In the US I lived in a 3600 sq ft (~350 sq m) McMansion in an affluent suburb of Dallas. While it was a nice neighborhood there was a lot of pressure to put up a certain facade of just how successful I was. It cost a minor fortune to heat and more importantly, cool. It was filled with stuff that I rarely used and didn’t miss when I got rid of it.
In NZ, I live in a 110 sq m home (~1200 sq ft) home and I don’t have any pressure to outdo my neighbors. I heat my home with a wood stove using about $400 worth of firewood for a winter. To cool my home in the summer, I open the windows.
True, insulation and double glazed windows are only just becoming a “thing” in NZ homes, but we retrofitted for those when we bought the house.
Education –
Our eldest went to school in the US where the bulk of their time was spent in classroom learning so they could score well on a standardized exam.
Our youngest is in primary school in NZ and spends part of his day in classroom learning too, plus a good part of his day outside learning how to garden, care for animals, build things and swim.
Work –
I still work for the same company as I did in the US, where I worked 10-14+ hours per day and often on weekends I and while on vacation.
In NZ, in the same job, same company, I work 7.5 hours per day and more every once in a while. I’m encouraged to take my vacation and shut off while out of the office.
Food –
In the US we ate out a fair amount, but still less than most. We drank milk that was full of hormones and eggs that had been stripped of their protective coatings and required refrigeration. We couldn’t grow our own garden because it was simply too hot where we lived.
In NZ we have fruit and nut trees and a lovely garden that produces all year. Our milk is hormone free, our eggs are local and sometimes still have a few feathers stuck to them. We don’t eat out much, but prefer to have friends over, or go to their places.
Free time –
We are never too far from a beach or a mountain hiking trail in NZ, but in the US this would require a long drive in most places.
Security –
In the US I was always afraid that one misstep or accident would ruin myself and my family. Either a health issue or accident can bankrupt most Americans. I also worried that some idiot with a gun may shoot me or my family.
In NZ that is not something we worry about. If we have an accident, it will be covered by ACC. And we don’t have a litigious society, so I’m not worried that someone will maliciously try to ruin me. Plenty of people have guns here in NZ, but we use them sensibly and responsibly.
In summary, life is less complex in New Zealand, we have less stress and pressure, plus we get to live in some of the most beautiful land in the world. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Staind – Outside (Official Video)
What are the differences between Chinese and Japanese food?
Xiaosong Gao, a famous Chinese TV presenter and producer, once interviewed Yukimura, a Japanese chef. He asked Yukimura if he could use some simple words to summarize the difference between Japanese and Chinese cuisine. Yukimura said,
Japanese cuisine is Water, while Chinese cuisine is Fire.
Xiaosong said he got goosebumps on arms when he heard this.
I would say, so did I.
I’m not sure if this metaphor means anything to the people who’re not so familiar with Asian culture. Born and raised as a Chinese, I felt it mind-blowing. Water and Fire are always among the very basic elements in Asian culture. Yukimura’s summary does explain the difference between Chinese food and Japanese food just right. Let me show you some example of the dishes.
Chinese food – Chongqing Hotpot
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Chinese food – Mapo Tofu
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Japanese food – Nagashi sōmen
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Japanese food – Sushi
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I’m not saying all Chinese foods are spicy and hot or all Japanese foods are delicate and peaceful like what I’ve shown in the examples, but you get the idea.
As a Chinese, I know that there is a very important term in Chinese cooking is Huo Hou (火候, fire timing). It basically means the art of controlling the strength of fire and how the food are cooked on the fire (in a pot or not). But in fact this is the most hard-to-explain technique that a Chinese chef needs many years to master.
Most of Chinese food needs the perfect combination of different kinds of spice to be added or long time cooking so the taste of food can be stimulated and extracted out and dissolved in the broth or juice.
It’s just like fire, they are strong, shining, and you can’t help but to embrace them when seeing or smelling them.
On the other hand, most Japanese food are delicate, small-portioned, beautiful while at the same time using as little spice as possible. It’s just like water, they are pure, clear, making you comfortable. Like water can fit into whatever shape container, Japanese food can comfort you when you are in whatever mood or appetite.
Alice In Chains – Nutshell (MTV Unplugged – HD Video)
I hope you all “get” me.
New change at the Pentagon waters down focus on Taiwan
From Politico. Hum…
The Pentagon has made administrative changes in how it handles Taiwan policy, a shift that lawmakers and former officials say sends the wrong signal to Beijing as the Chinese military steps up drills around the self-ruled island.
The move — which involves placing the Taiwan portfolio under the office responsible for China policy — could provide a new line of attack among President Joe Biden’s opponents who claim he is weak on China.
The changes come as officials are increasingly worried about Beijing’s aggression toward Taiwan, particularly after a crisis erupted in the Taiwan Strait in August after China launched unprecedented military exercises, including sending missiles over the island, in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.
“Anything that dilutes America’s focus on helping Taiwan to defend itself is a really bad idea,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) told POLITICO. “Pulling Taiwan back into a portfolio dominated by China sends the wrong signal to Beijing — that they can dictate our relationship with the island democracy. Or worse, it will facilitate consultation with Beijing on our approach to Taiwan’s security needs.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his Central Asian neighbors on Friday not to allow outsiders to destabilize them with “color revolutions” and offered to set up a regional counterterrorism training center.
Xi’s comments at a security summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from Central Asia, India and Iran reflect official Chinese anxiety that Western support for pro-democracy and human rights activists is a plot to undermine Xi’s ruling Communist Party and other authoritarian governments.
“We should prevent external forces from instigating a color revolution,” Xi said in a speech to leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, referring to protests that toppled unpopular regimes in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
Xi offered to train 2,000 police officers, to set up a regional counterterrorism training center and to “strengthen law enforcement capacity building.” He gave no details.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SEO) was formed by Russia and China as a counterweight to U.S. influence. The summit is part of Xi’s first trip abroad since shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began 2 1/2 years ago, highlighting the importance to Beijing of asserting itself as a regional leader.
The group also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran is an observer and has applied for full membership.
The one-day summit in the ancient city of Samarkand occurred against a backdrop of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a “dialogue partner” of the group, attended the summit and planned to hold talks with Putin on the status of a deal under which wheat exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea resumed.
Xi is promoting a “Global Security Initiative” announced in April following the formation of the Quad by the U.S., Japan, Australia and India in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. Xi has given few details, but U.S. officials complain it echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India have been strained by disputes about technology, security, human rights and territory.
This is an older patreon video that I am now making public. In case you all are not subscribers to my You-tube channel, here’s the video. Please enjoy.
It’s getting surreal. Ukraine is in flux. America continues to die. Pro-Russian bloggers are freaking out and pointing fingers every which way and starting to eat each other. American PSYOPS is in gleeful overdrive. China is grim, serious, and making sure that the dragon doesn’t have any chinks in it’s armor.
I just want to smunch. I just cannot take everything so serious for such a long extended period of time.
Encino Man – Dinner Scene
Why are the US and other western nations suddenly copying the Chinese Belt and Road initiative?
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the most ambitious infrastructure project in human history. It aims to help Global South countries, as well as some European countries, build their infrastructure. Over 149 countries have signed up. They include countries from Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
BRI reveals that China is a peaceful and benevolent world power, in stark contrast to the United States. Instead of waging wars, China builds infrastructure.
This makes USA look very bad. Desperate to prevent this global perception, USA is doing everything it can to diminish BRI and contain China. This includes creating competitive alternatives to BRI.
In recent years, we’ve seen a number of failed attempts…Blue Dot Network, Build Back Better World, Global Gateway, and now Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) is yet another try. I guarantee you that PGII will also flop.
Western nations are unable to get their act together. They are economically and politically inept.
Modern PSYOPs are more powerful than ever
You cannot believe ANYTHING and EVERYTHING said in the Western “news” media. It’s all “War Propaganda”.
From The Saker. Andrei makes great points.
Andrei makes great points.
Cowboy Junkies – SWEET JANE (LIVE).
For anyone who’s ever had a heart.
NASA accuses China of intent to take over the moon, China rejects
Nothing new here…
"In April, he accused China of continuing to display a lack of transparency and willingness to cooperate with the US and other countries in space. Earlier he said in a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that "we want cooperation that has not been forthcoming from the Chinese government [but] it takes two to tango."
However, the absence of cooperation between China and the US is not a result of unwillingness of the Chinese side, but an act that the US enforced on itself - the Wolf Amendment passed in 2011, which essentially prohibits any direct cooperation between NASA and its Chinese counterparts. “
Russian Gazprom Doubles Export Revenue Despite Delivering 43% Less Gas To Europe
ZeroHedge - Sep 13, 2022, 10:00 AM CDT
This year, Gazprom supplied 43 percent less gas to Europe than last year, but raised prices by three times on average.
This translated to the company’s European export revenue increasing from $53 billion to $100 billion, wrote Olivér Hortay, head of the energy and climate policy research at Hungarian think tank Századvég Konjunktúrakutató, in his Facebook post in response to an article published in the Financial Times.
Mazzy Star – Fade Into You – 10/2/1994 – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Russia has found a simple and economical solution to launch satellites
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Translated.
…that China continues to troll the US that no one supports hegemonic initiatives! This time, an official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry noted that 85% of the world's population did not impose anti-Russian sanctions, and he did not limit himself to facts, but decided to draw another conclusion, saying that "only the majority represent the international community."
Now this is a serious statement. In fact, China in a diplomatic form, avoiding harsh language, but stated two fundamental theses at once:
First, the countries of the West are not the majority, but the minority of the world. The statement is very far reaching! A minority can be treated with respect, its rights can be respected, but a minority cannot claim power - it must obey the will of the majority.
Moreover, if earlier the West could still say that we may have fewer people, but the world economy is almost entirely the countries of Europe, the USA + Canada, Australia and Japan. Yes, and the military force is also mainly the West, and therefore - there are many of you there, in Asia, Africa and other continents, or few - but you are freeloaders, so sit quietly on our necks. Now the Western world cannot say that: it is enough to sum up the economies of two countries, India and China, in order to put the entire West in its place! ..
Secondly, the phrase that "only the majority can represent the world community" suggests that the West has lost its right to leadership. That is, to come out and speak on behalf of all countries: that they condemn something, that they need something, that they are dissatisfied with something, or vice versa - they are very happy from some decision - the West cannot do all this anymore. His role is to be among the ordinary members of the community, but not to lead it.
Continues…
In fact, it is cruel: to tell the West directly that it no longer has the right to speak “on behalf of and on behalf of”, as they used to say in Soviet times, that now completely different people will speak on behalf of the world community, and America and Europe can only to express the opinion of their small sect, which is rapidly falling not only in economic and military, but also in technological, and most importantly, in human potential. In these countries, not only is there a powerful surge of depopulation, and most likely intentional and conscious, but at the same time there is also a monstrous degradation in education. In general, for many years there has been a joke that American universities are a place where Russian professors give lectures in mathematics to Chinese students. But if earlier it was possible for the United States to lure and bribe the best students, students and teachers,
An example of the scientific and technological backwardness of the West was demonstrated at the recent Army-2022 forum, but oddly enough, not at all in connection with the achievements of our weapons, but on the contrary, the achievements were in a purely peaceful sphere, moreover, in the field of space and its exploration , what they like to talk about in America now, and what they have made a fashionable topic.
As you know, Elon Musk has been appointed their official rock star, designed to convince the whole world that the United States in the field of space is ahead of the rest. But Elon Musk's methods are reminiscent of the technologies of the Soviet Union of the 80s: he still continues to struggle with the idea of a partially returned in the form of separate stages of a launch vehicle in order to reduce the cost of space launches. At the same time, of course, even he cannot return the entire rocket anyway.
Elon Musk's business project is associated with the mass launch of small satellites into low orbits, and since the project promises to be very massive both due to the number of satellites and the fact that they will quickly fall into the atmosphere from low orbits in a year or two, and the satellite constellation will have to be regularly renewed. That is, technically, Elon Musk's project is a mass launch of inexpensive and fairly small satellites, and the payback is due to cheaper launches with the help of a partial return and the subsequent use of launch vehicle stages.
And then the unexpected happened: journalists from the American edition of Military Watch Magazine looked at the Army-2022 forum and found that these “crazy Russians” had found a much simpler, high-tech, and most importantly, cheaper and more economical solution to the same problem that Elon Musk, let's call a spade a spade, was just going to pour money on the principle of "there is power - no mind is needed."
At the Army-2022 forum, the Americans discovered that Russia had once again upgraded the MiG-31K fighter. Here is what they write about this car, we quote verbatim:
“The MiG-31 is the heaviest class of tactical combat aircraft in the world, and its long range, high payload, unrivaled speed and altitude have long made it the ideal launch platform for both satellites and anti-satellite weapons.”
Rocket Gibraltar 1988 Movie
Check out this preview. When present meets the past, and the future.
So now you think I have Gomer Pyle running in a loop inside my head or something?
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‘Fraid Not.
That whole Conspiracy Theorist thing?
Yeah, it’s more like a Coming Attractions kind of thing ya know?
There were literally people trying to warn us about these Mrna Vaccines and the intention to use them for population reduction clear back in the 1990’s bub.
Thirty years ago.
Just because the government and some private companies have unlimited budgets to spend on just about any diabolical idea they can come up with doesn’t mean that those diabolical plans don’t get leaked to someone.
And eventually to someone else who knows who else to tell so that it gets out.
These so called Conspiracy Theories are more than usually well grounded in Truths That Weren’t Supposed To Be Leaked plus research, educated guesses and evidence.
Sure there are plenty of Whack Jobs out there with their Tinfoil Hats screwed on a little too tight,
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But you have to be WILLFULLY IGNORANT these days to dismiss some things you hear out of hand without doing at least a little checking.
Personally, I figure you have to have an above average level of intelligence and a great deal of patience just to be able to weed through all the BULLSHIT the damn Media and the Government puke out every damn day anyway, might as well open your mind a little and , at least briefly, entertain that because you know the Bullshit is being peddled at maximum velocity on purpose, that it might be because they don’t want you to even think about looking into WHAT THEY AREN’T talking about.
They work very hard at keeping everyone’s attention diverted, that is the Media’s entire purpose now.
I would much rather be challenged to find the things they don’t want talked about and hang out with people of like mind.
The alternative IS NOT AN OPTION for me.
China pumps another billion dollars into Australian iron ore
China’s biggest state-owned steelmaker will invest more than a billion dollars in a new Australian iron ore mine in the “spirit of sincere cooperation” in a sign that diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra are not a complete barrier to commerce.
Baowu’s decision to invest in Rio Tinto’s $US2 billion ($2.96 billion) Western Range iron ore mine comes barely two weeks after the steel giant backed Chris Ellison’s plan to build a new iron ore province in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia...
I notice that Australia media has recently changed tone against China. Australia government also begin to approve mining investment from china
China’s life expectancy is now higher than that of the US
The US’s life expectancy continued its decline from 2020 to 2021, dropping sharply to 76.1 years.
With the latest decline, US life expectancy is now at its lowest since 1996, according to new data (pdf) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics. It also means that the gap in longevity at birth between people in the US and China has now widened to a full year.
What is the best screenwriting tip ever among wannabe screenwriters?
Great question. This is one Quentin Tarantino often talks about. While he focuses on genre movies, this tip works in drama as well. The tip: don’t have the characters constantly talking about “the plot”. It becomes too much “hitting it on the nose”. Let the circumstances develop where the main characters speak more naturally or at least seem to.
If you watch the second scene of “Pulp Fiction” where the two hit men, Vincent and Jules, played by John Travolta and Samuel Jackson are bantering, they never talk about what they’re about do to. They discuss the names of McDonald’s hamburgers sold in Paris. Which completely makes sense. By not having the characters talk about their hits. When they engage in the hit, we realize they’ve been doing this a long time.
People who are engaged in the same kind of business for a long time don’t necessarily talk constantly about it. What’s the point? They’ve done it before. And by keeping the dialogue away from the “plot” it makes it seem more realistic.
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Is the War in Ukraine Part of a U.S. Strategy to Weaken Germany? RAND Says, “YES”!
War is a guilty, vicarious pleasure as long as you are not hunkered in a basement or trench praying that an artillery shell does not score a direct hit on your position. Rumbling tanks, screeching rockets and missiles and troops firing automatic weapons are the stuff that Hollywood trots out to entertain the masses that tune in to watch a war flick or, even better, live feeds from the front lines courtesy of intrepid reporters.
But the real damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is economic and will determine the outcome of this war. It is not only wreaking havoc in Ukraine, it is causing real damage around the world. Some believe that the United States and NATO are using Ukraine as a lever to weaken Russia and get rid of Putin. Putin’s crime? He refused to be the prison bitch of the west. But there is a RAND report from January 2022 that suggests something darker, even diabolical. More about that later. (NOTE–This may not be a genuine RAND report. Take it with a grain of salt. Regardless of its veracity, the sanctions on Russian are having a devastating effect on the German economy.)
The economic sanctions were designed to hurt all Russians–not just Putin and his key leaders. You remember the heady days early in the war when Russian assets outside of Russia were being seized, Russian oligarchs, including those who opposed Putin, had their property confiscated, and artists and athletes were treated like lepers with active Ebola. The west effectively declared a non-shooting war on Russia and sat back waiting for the Russian economy to collapse.
But that backfired and did so in a big, unexpected way. Rather than fold like a cheap tent in a hurricane, the Russian economy continued to chug along with minimal inflation because the smart guys and gals in Washington, London and Berlin failed to do their homework. They did not realize that Russia’s position as a major exporter of oil, gas, fertilizer and other critical metals and rare earth minerals insulated Russia from the pain the west wanted so desperately to inflict. And Russia pivoted to forging stronger ties with China, whose economy was in trouble, and accelerated the development of an alternative international reserve currency that would enable Russia to trade with other nations outside the NATO club.
Now the chickens are coming home to roost and it is bad news, not for Russia, but for Europe. Maybe you missed these recent reports:
The energy in crisis in Germany is turning into a manufacturing crisis, with an executive at the ArcelorMittal steel company saying that the German wing of the company can no longer compete due to soaring energy coasts.“Production in Germany is currently no longer competitive,” said Reiner Blaschek, the CEO of ArcelorMittal Germany, which recently shut down two plants in the country. He is calling for quick political intervention, saying, “We need competitive energy prices for industry.”Gas and electricity prices, which have soared in recent months due to sanctions and Russia’s decision to cut gas flows, have left many industrial companies with input costs too high to remain profitable, and many economic experts are forecasting further pain for Germany’s core industrial sector, which would have knock-on effects for the rest of the German economy.
From HERE
Did you catch that? ArcelorMittal already has closed two plants in Germany. That means unemployed, skilled workers. And that unemployment reverberates to other parts of the German economy. Those workers no longer have extra cash to spend in restaurants and bars. They don’t have the dough to buy new homes or remodel their kitchens or bathrooms. All of this a result of “soaring energy prices” that is a direct consequence of idiotic green policies and German hostility towards Russia manifested via sanctions. The surge in the price of gas and oil is not going to abate in the near term and Russia has tightened the screws on Europe by cutting off the gas supply from Nordstream.
Sweden, who recently joined NATO, is getting an economic punch in the nose as well:
Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB announced a cost reduction program after reporting a plunge in demand for its home appliances across Europe and the US. The world’s second-largest home appliances manufacturer after Whirlpool said, “market demand for core appliances in Europe and the US so far in the third quarter is estimated to have decreased at a significantly accelerated pace compared with the second quarter, driven by the impact of high inflation on consumer durables purchases and low consumer confidence.”
The European Union also is struggling to deal with strong economic headwinds unleashed by the sanctions on Russia:
Friday’s meeting in Brussels capped a frenzied week of government activity across the 27-nation bloc in which it became clear just how complex it is to forge a common response to the energy crisis given the breadth of challenges. . . .Russia upped the ante just over a week ago, when Gazprom PJSC cut off gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline indefinitely.That sparked another round of budget-straining measures as governments announced additional aid to help people pay their bills. They were also forced to deal with a new financial threat from the crisis. As soaring energy prices leave some businesses struggling to find enough cash to meet margin calls, countries announced billions of euros in liquidity funding.
Lurking behind the economic chaos in Europe is the unfolding economic disaster in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s economy is not producing enough cash flow to sustain its military effort.
It is now totally dependent on the largess of the United States and Europe.
So here is the critical question–how long will the governments of Europe, facing growing domestic unrest, continue to write blank checks to Volodomyr Zelensky and deplete their own military stockpiles?
One more trip back to World War II. The Soviet Union suffered catastrophic losses during the first year of the war with Germany. As the Nazi armies flooded east, the Soviets hurriedly packed up factories and manufacturing plants and shipped them to the east of the Ural mountains. Do you think the United States, if it had been invaded, could disassemble their automobile and aircraft factories in Illinois and ship those plants to Alaska, reassemble them and have them back on line producing within a year? Because that is what the Soviets did. While they suffered unimaginable losses in men on the frontlines and had villages and cities razed to the ground, the Soviet Union continued to operate a manufacturing capability and rebuilt their armies with new recruits.
Ukraine is not doing any of that. Ukraine cannot safely bring recruits to camps in western Ukraine for basic training without risk of being hit my Russian precision missiles. A large portion of Ukraine’s manufacturing centers are now in the hands of Russia. Remember Mariupol? Without secure military training centers and active factories, Ukraine cannot pull off the economic miracle that the Soviets did in World War II.
As long as Russia’s economy remains intact and it can sell its essential products to other countries not on board with backing Ukraine, Russia will prevail. Let me conclude by giving analysts at Rand some kudos. Rand issued a prescient report in January that provides some alarming insight into a nefarious motive that explains why Washington is goading Berlin into backing Ukraine and cutting ties to Russia:
The present state of the U.S. economy does not suggest that it can function without the financial and material support from external sources.
The quantitive easing policy, which the Fed has resorted to regularly in recent years, as well as the uncontrolled issue of cash during the 2020 and 2021 Covid lockdowns, have led to a sharp increase in the external debt and an increase in the dollar supply.The continuing deterioration of the economic situation is highly likely to lead to a loss in the position of the Democratic Party in Congress and the Senate in the forthcoming elections to be held in November 2022.
The impeachment of the President cannot be ruled out under these circumstances, which must be avoided at all costs. . . .The current German economic model is based on two pillars.
These are unlimited access to cheap Russian energy resources and to cheap French electric power, thanks to the operation of nuclear plants.
The importance of the first factor is considerably higher.
Halting Russian supplies can well create a systemic crisis that would be devastating for the German economy and, indirectly, for the entire European Union.
APOCALYPSE NOW Clip – Ride of the Valkyries (1979) Francis Ford Coppola
Is the Australian Outback really that desolate?
G’day,
Yes, it is. I once drove from Coober Pedy to Laverton (828 miles) on the Anne Beadell ‘highway’ (Google it)
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on my way to the Western Australian coast. It took me 8 days. I didn’t see another vehicle, a person, or a building until the afternoon of the 8th day when a Range Rover passed going the other way. I averaged only 100 miles per day partly because I was there to enjoy the trip and partly because the ‘highway’ doesn’t support going very fast. And, as you will see from the map, this is a journey over less than half the width of Australia.
You may consider stocking up at the goodwill and St Vinnies now.
Cotton prices are going to the moon because global crop failures and fertilizer shortage.
Which explains the high scrap PET soda bottle prices I am seeing over here on the tropical island. It is now 67 cents USD per kilo at the processors north of Manila.
This is because PET soda bottles are ground up, washed, and then the flake is fed into extrusion machines with a spinner that makes fiber. You ever seen a cotton candy machine? Well that is exactly how it works except the machine is upside down so the fiber falls out of the machine continously, not gathered with a stick like at the carnival. Temps are higher with plastic than sugar but not a lot.
Ht Michael Yon, with the info that allowed me to put the two seemingly unrelated things together.
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How China Has Added to Its Influence Over the iPhone
Apple is taking small steps toward India. But the production of its latest phone, introduced on Wednesday, shows how difficult it will be to make big changes.
This fall, Apple will make some of its flagship iPhones outside China for the first time, a small but significant change for a company that has built one of the most sophisticated supply chains in the world with the help of the Chinese authorities. But the development of the iPhone 14, which was unveiled on Wednesday, shows how complicated it will be for Apple to truly untangle itself from China.
More than ever, Apple’s Chinese employees and suppliers contributed complex work and sophisticated components for the 15th year of its marquee device, including aspects of manufacturing design, speakers and batteries, according to four people familiar with the new operations and analysts. As a result, the iPhone has gone from being a product that is designed in California and made in China to one that is a creation of both countries.
The critical work provided by China reflects the country’s advancements over the past decade and a new level of involvement for Chinese engineers in the development of iPhones. After the country lured companies to its factories with legions of low-priced workers and unrivaled production capacity, its engineers and suppliers have moved up the supply chain to claim a bigger slice of the money that U.S. companies spend to create high-tech gadgets.
The increased responsibilities that China has assumed for the iPhone could challenge Apple’s efforts to decrease its dependency on the country, a goal that has taken on increased urgency amid rising geopolitical tensions over Taiwan and simmering concerns in Washington about China’s ascent as a technology competitor.
Chinese companies with operations in India will still play a key role in Apple’s plan to make some iPhones in the country. In Chennai, India, the Taiwanese supplier Foxconn, which already manufactures iPhones in factories throughout China, will lead Indian workers’ assembly of the device with support from nearby Chinese suppliers including Lingyi iTech, which has subsidiaries to supply chargers and other components for iPhones, according to two people familiar with the plans. China’s BYD is setting operations to cut glass for displays, as well, these people said...
Why did Domino’s Pizza not break through in Italy while other chains such as KFC or McDonald’s did?
Originally Answered: Why did Domino’s Pizza not break through in Italy while other chains such as KFC or McDonald’s did? What are the main reasons?
Domino’s trouble started when they tried to sell pizza to Italians.
Food is serious business in Italy. Meals are taken differently there than in America, foods are typically lighter, served in smaller portions and their preparations follow old traditions. Pizza is no exception.
This is an example of Margherita pizza in Italy:
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What you’re looking at is a thin crust pizza, baked in a super heated wood fired oven and topped with pureed tomato, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. It’s simple, delicious and relies on high quality ingredients and technique for its wonderful flavor and texture.
This is the Margherita pizza Domino’s was peddling in Italy:
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That’s an American style cheese pizza, baked in a conveyor belt oven, and insultingly topped with a single basil leaf. On a Friday night, in America, that’s a fun dinner for the kids, but that’s not what pizza is about in Italy. Domino’s was peddling the wrong product in the wrong market and they failed. I read they were hoping to attract tourists, but I think they had to be hoping for more. You have to sell a lot of pizza to make money and if you aren’t getting local business, you aren’t get regular business, in any town.
The problem here is obvious to me. KFC and McDonald’s went to Italy and offered a foreign product, meaning they had little local competition and few had preconceived notions about how that product should look or taste. Domino’s had the opposite experience. They went to Italy, tried to sell an Americanized version of a local specialty, and hoped that people with strong preconceived notions about that product would accept it. Not surprisingly, Italy laughed at Domino’s, so they packed it up and they left.
A kitten story
I used to have a kitten. At the time I had a flatmate. One day, I had taken out some chicken to defrost for dinner, but when I went to check, it was gone. I asked my mate, and she said she hadn’t seen it, and perhaps I hadn’t taken it out. A few days later, same thing. Again, mate said I must not have taken anything out. But by now i was missing all the chicken I had bought. We ordered in that night, and the next day my leftover food was gone (don’t worry, I’m coming to the kitten). Flatmate was as perplexed as I was. While we were sitting at the table discussing it, my kitten saunters into the kitchen and jumps onto the counter (where she is not allowed). She then hops up to the top of the fridge, PUSHES OPEN THE FREEZER DOOR, and before it shuts, lands firmly on the floor with a bag of chicken that I had just bought. The bag is bigger than she is, but with insouciance and determination she drags the bag out of the kitchen. Dumbstruck, flatmate and I follow her to the couch, where she disappears. We pull out the couch and find two take away containers, piles of chicken bones (and the plastic bag they were in), a half loaf of mouldy bread and a chewed into, empty crisps bag. Flatmate had two cats as well, so we think they were all back there having secret midnight raids, with my kitten as the mastermind. We never found anything back there again after that.
Is there any reason why a variety of egg preparations, e.g., fried, scrambled, poached, did not emerge in Asian cooking as in the West? Are fried and scrambled eggs common in Asia?
I find a lot of food-related questions – and answers – on Quora to be very Euro-centric. For me, the premise of this question – that a variety of egg preparations (fried, scrambled, poached) did not emerge in “Asian” cooking, as opposed to in “the West” – borders on the ridiculous.
The level of silliness found in this premise reminds me of an answer I read last year, where a European woman on here (I’ve since forgotten where specifically in Europe) wrote a well-written answer about how octopus is consumed in her country but then marred her answer by stating, in an almost boastful way, that only the people from her country, and a few others in Europe, enjoy eating octopus. Which I found amusing seeing as how octopus is a common street-food back in my hometown of HK.
Then there was the chap who wrote that all chefs – at least those that are worth their salt – learn French cooking techniques because these techniques are the foundation for all cooking.
Ai yai yai!
”Are fried and scrambled egg common in Asia?”
Ai yai yai!
Just so I can have a bit of fun, I’m going to restrict myself and cite examples from only ONE region of Asia, specifically East Asia.
Asia is a huge place, and if one region of this huge place already makes use of all those “egg preparation” techniques listed in the question – and more – what more the whole of Asia?
And all the examples are just the ones off the top of my head.
If I actually had more time on my hands, I could probably list more.
But it’s my bedtime soon and I’m knackered, so off the top of my head it will be.
I’m pretty sure I’ll miss some obvious ones, but I’m sure some helpful soul will chime in with those that I’ve missed.
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Panzerlied – [Battle of the Bulge 1965 Ver.] Thai Subtitle
In honor of the Ukraine offensive against Russia. The Nazi’s seemingly set the Russians on the run.
What was worth a lot in the 50s and almost nothing now?
Oh, so sad. So many things.
China/Crystal/Silver. Apparently, at some point in time, and for some segment of the population, there were frequent sit-down dinners with full court press where children learned how to eat, how to pass, how to serve. We never had them, but we did have an occasional holiday meal with the china, silver, and crystal. You had to have a big, imposing hutch in which to store and display it all. I was so happy to have my first home and throw parties with china, but I haven’t had one of those in decades. China can’t go in the microwave due to the gold/silver and they can’t go in the dishwasher, nor can crystal or silver. My first home had no dishwasher, so that was okay, but I’m not handwashing ten sets of anything anymore.
Antique linens! My grandmothers had wonderful, thick, sumptuous linens and matching napkins. They got stained and frayed and now remain out of sight, provoking happy memories for me when I see them but useless and will no doubt be thrown away when I am gone. I have new, no-iron tablecloths in multiple colors that I use. I am going to have some of the napkins made into angel Christmas ornaments.
Heavy furniture. It’s so sad, my grandparents were so proud to pass on their things to my parents to save them money. My parents still have the wonderful antique furniture, but I and my brother (and nieces and nephews and children) have our/their own furniture and we will have to discard those pieces when they are gone. In these days of Ikea and other planned-obsolescence furniture, people like to update furniture like curtains.
Same with the piano! My grandmother told me she would play the piano and the children would march around the house. Holidays and weekends were spent around the piano. Many a difficult day ended with the piano. There are many players in our family, and one cousin in particular would announce at seemingly every get-together that she would get the piano when Grandma passed because she deserved it the most: she played the best, she loved Grandma more than anyone. But when Grandma died, it cost more to move it than it was worth. No church or music school wanted it. We tried to sell it to no avail, then listed it for free. Finally, we had to pay to have it disposed. She would have cried to see it.
Books. My parents purchased a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica for us. I loved them. I loved reading about anything I wanted to. We had a dictionary that was eight inches thick. Decades later, I donated them to a homeless shelter. I bought a Grolier’s Encyclopedia on CD for the cost of a single book. Now, the Internet and Kindle have changed everything. When I downsized recently to move, I packed up masses of old books to donate to the library sale. Cookbooks, old mysteries I’ll never re-read, craft books filled with things I’ll never make, home-repair books that are obsolete. Many I just recycled.
Remember those old commercials where you could buy sets of books by various authors bound in leather, one book at a time? Yeah, I have a set of those classics collecting dust in a bookcase.
Commemorative plates. Enough said.
Crocheted anything. My Nana (great-grandma) crocheted giant bedspreads, doilies, and matching bureau scarves out of cotton thread. They are gorgeous. I marvel at the tiny stitches. No one wants them. No one puts bureau scarves or doilies on furniture anymore. I display the bedspreads on a rack with one of her handmade quilts. I know they’ll wind up in a thrift shop when I go. I only have one memory of my Nana, and only my father remembers her anymore. I wish I had a daughter to pass them on to, but even if I did, who knows if she would like them or want them?
China gave tens of billions in secretive ‘emergency loans’ to vulnerable nations, emerging as world’s major creditor and IMF competitor
In recent years, China has shelled out tens of billions in opaque “emergency loans” for at-risk nations, indicating a shift to providing short-term emergency lending rather than longer-term infrastructure loans.
Since 2017, Beijing has given a collective $32.8 billion in emergency loans to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Argentina, according to AidData, a research lab at William & Mary University that focuses on China’s global financing activities.
China has also offered emergency loans to Eastern European nations Ukraine and Belarus; South American countries Venezuela and Ecuador; African nations Kenya and Angola; alongside Laos, Egypt, and Mongolia. Chinese overseas lending and credit relationships remain “exceptionally opaque,” according to World Bank researchers. “Chinese lenders require strict confidentiality from their debtors and do not release a granular breakdown of their lending,” they wrote.
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
I owned a home that had a pretty little meadow (about 1–1/2 acres). The front portion was planted in native grasses that grew to about 1 ft tall. Then there was a bigger section of native wild flowers. Then there was our garden (surrounded by a deer fence). The upper portion of the meadow was lined with poplar trees.
One night one of our local yahoo teenagers decided it would be fun to do donuts in our meadow.
The next day I dropped a poplar tree (about 10 inch diameter) across the upper part of the meadow and carefully limbed it. I hid it in the grass as well as I could. We worked our tails off to recover as much of the garden as we could.
Sure enough a couple of weeks later, they were back. Except their pickup hit an unexpected obstacle that ruined the front end and it got stuck when it bounced over the tree trunk. When I woke up and saw what I had caught, I got a logging chain and padlocks and locked my “catch” to the tree trunk. Soon there were irate teenager that wanted their pickup back. My shotgun, German Shepherd and I disagreed with that idea. An irate father showed up and demanded I release my catch. I will be glad to release it when the upper and middle parts of the meadow are restored and I am compensated for all the vegetables that were ruined. That didn’t seem fair to him, so he left and came back with a sheriff’s deputy. The deputy listened to both sides of the story, told dad and son that what I wanted sounded reasonable. He then proceeded to inform me (in front of them) the process for claiming my catch and obtaining a clear title. He also told me what the impound fee was at the local impound lot, reminding me that the fee should be declared as income on my taxes. I was warned that if I dropped another tree across the truck, I was responsible for cleaning up any soil contamination. If that was what I chose to do, I should properly drain all the fluids from my “yard art.”
The kids started work the next day. When everything was repaired and they agreed to pay $200 per month until the next planting season, I released my catch.
Apple uses more suppliers from China than Taiwan for first time, data shows
The tech giant has become more, not less, dependent on the US’s superpower rival in recent years, according to analysis.
My cat (Junior) cried and cried at the window, He wanted to go outside so much I finally said, “You are not a prisoner here.” So I let him go outside. I whistled when I put food in his dish and he learned that the whistle meant, “Hey, there’s food here.” He didn’t always show up right away, but he always came back eventually.
A couple of weeks after I started letting him go outside, I heard him yowling from the living room. When I got there, he had both front paws wrapped around the doorknob. He knew that going out had something to do with that knob, he just couldn’t figure out how to work it.
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Junior Cat/. (There’s nothing wrong with his ears, he’s a Scottish Fold born to a Fold farm cat I got from an acquaintance outside of town.)
What was the most satisfying conversation you had with someone who tried to intimidate you?
I was involved in a road rage incident many years ago. An impatient driver had been aggressively overtaking people prior to getting to me and as he got to me the two lanes ended, merging into one.
This also coincided with a school zone and a significant reduction in the speed limit. He sat right on my tail, flashing his lights at me, trying to get me to go faster. This was distracting me and so I brake checked him.
That worked and got him off my tail, however at the next set of lights he got out of his car, came over to my car and punched me.
I reported this to the police as did the driver behind him and eventually we both ended up in court to testify against him.
On the courthouse steps, prior to going inside, his $1000 per day barrister came over to me and said, “I think you would be well advised to change your story and drop this whole thing. You do realise that you have broken the law by trying to cause an accident when you brake checked my client. I will make sure you are charged for that offence if you continue.”
I am not one to have a good come back straight away, normally I am brilliant half an hour later with what I wish I’d said. Today was different though and I replied, “Mate. You may have a more expensive suit than me but you don’t intimidate me. I’m sticking with what I did and why I did it.”
Sure enough this barrister managed to turn the tables and before it went in to court the prosecutor interviewed the witness and me. The interview was not going well for me until I said this, “I am driving through the school zone, doing the speed limit when a young child suddenly runs out in front of my car. I stop in time, however the guy behind me is driving so close that he can’t stop in time and he runs into the back of me pushing me into the young child. Who are you going to come look at first and how am I going to feel about having hit a child with my car? I did what I did for safety reasons and I would do it again.”
With that his whole demeanour changed and the tables turned back on to the guy who punched me. He lost big time. Huge fine and loss of licence.
I found out later the reason why he hired an expensive barrister. Actually his father paid for the barrister. He already had priors for assault, the worst being him throwing someone out of a hotel, through a window! I was lucky in comparison.
The other thing that I was told helped me that day was my good driving record.
Blind Melon – No Rain
What is the coolest line a pilot has said to the passengers?
I was on a crowded flight to Texas. A woman boarded with a very upset 3 year old who was crying and carrying on. You could tell she was already at her wits end. A flight attendant walked over and asked the baby’s name, which turned out to be Elias. A few moments later, a voice came out from the cockpit on the PA system.
“Elias? This is Santa.”
The little boy sat up, focused on the disembodied voice.
“Elias, I want you to be a good boy so I can bring you something really good at Christmas, so no crying or fussing, ok?”
The little boy was wide-eyed as he nodded. He was quiet the whole flight.
What message does China send to the world by having an Uyghur in the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
Message
Dear Sleepy Joe:
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Can genius be created?
Once upon a time, I was mattress shopping with my roommate, Erin (yes there were two of us).
While we were walking around the very empty store, we were greeted by this guy:
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This is Jason. He was the salesman.
We talked about mattresses, and engaged in small talk for a bit. He was incredibly kind and sooo easy to talk to.
At one point, he says, “hey, can I show you guys something?”
Realizing we’re completely alone in a huge store with this guy, I turned to Erin, who was already sauntering gleefully two steps behind him.
I love her, but if a bar had 1,000 awesome people in it and one serial killer, he’d be the one she’d be attracted to.
I followed her so she didn’t end up in some remote fortress behind his house in the middle of nowhere (or whatever serial killers are doing these days).
He went behind his sales counter and pulled out… a portfolio.
This was his first picture:
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He said it was a visual representation of a mathematical equation, drawn with a ruler and a pencil.
This was the next picture:
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And this was the third:
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There were several more, but I’ll continue with the story.
So, for the next hour, Jason talks about physics. He says everything he sees is a mathematical equation and every mathematical equation has a visual form, which I didn’t know. This man was absolutely fascinating (and luckily not a serial killer).
This guy could get anyone excited about physics. His passion was electric. He also said his dream was to teach Physics. I sincerely hope he got there.
I assumed he was highly educated and had just been brilliant his whole life, like people tend to be.
“Not at all. I was a C student in high school, kind of a slacker. Never been to college.”
How the hell…
Turns out, Jason was born completely normal. Average.
When he was in his early 20s, he was in a bar fight that left him with a brain injury.
This brain injury turned Jason into a savant.
So, while most geniuses are born, Jason was absolutely made.
I saw him on the news a year later and learned he was corresponding with MIT about some theory he came up with. He was also due to give a conference in Norway. It seemed his dreams were coming true, and I was really happy to see that.
India stays out of USA’s ‘trade pillar’ at Indo-Pacific meet
India withdraw from the me-only US led trade talk.
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One should also note that, if we follow the Chinese news, we should notice news of new completed infrastructure here and there all across China. As well as elsewhere along the belts and roads. This is on a virtually daily basis with footage and photos..
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However, in the crusader controlled countries, we notice a lot of negative talk against others, and anti-” this country” and “that country” with bills passing in Congress yet nothing is ever achieved.
India stayed out of the joint declaration on the trade pillar of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ministerial meet in Los Angeles, with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal citing concerns over possible discrimination against developing economies
What was the most unusual ending that a criminal took?
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He became a pair of men’s shoes.
So this story would really be worth a western movie.
The train robber Big Nose George Parrott is the only man in American history who was turned into a fancy pair of shoes made of human skin after his death.
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The details were discovered when the outlaw’s remains were dug up in a barrel by construction workers on May 11, 1950.
Big Nose George was an outlaw and member of a gang of thieves who robbed train cars and stole horses in Wyoming.
On August 16, 1878, the gang planned to rob a Union Pacific train by derailing it beforehand.
However, as seven members of the gang hid in the bushes waiting for the train to arrive, a section crew passed by, discovered the tampered rails, and called the police.
The gang was soon tracked down by two law enforcement officers.
The gang shot and dismembered them.
As a result, the Union Pacific Railroad redoubled its efforts to track down the killers, and county authorities offered a $10,000 reward for their capture.
Several members of the gang were caught and sentenced to death. Dutch Charlie was the first to be apprehended, in 1879. On the way to his trial, however, he was dragged off the train by an angry mob in Carbon and hanged from a telegraph pole.
Big Nose George was arrested in Miles City, Montana, in July 1880.
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He had foolishly bragged about the attempted train robbery while drunk.
He was found guilty and sentenced to hang at Rawlins, Wyoming, on April 2, 1881. An escape attempt on March 22, however, hastened the whole thing.
A mob of over two hundred angry townspeople hanged George Parrott. They succeeded only after two futile attempts.
Several hours passed before the mortician cut George down and placed him in a pine box and nailed him shut.
Since there was no family to claim the body, it was taken possession of by doctors Thomas Maghee and John Osborn to examine his brain.
Osborn’s wife was mentally ill.
He hoped to find a cure for his wife by examining the brain of a criminal.
With their fifteen-year-old assistant, Lillian Heath, at their side, the doctors cut open George’s head. After roughly removing the top of the skull, they examined the brain and found no significant differences between George’s brain and a “normal” brain. At that moment, things took a bizarre turn.
Osborn began making a death mask of George’s face out of plaster. The mask has no ears because George’s ears had been lost when they struggled with the rope on him.
Osborn then removed the skin from George’s chest and thighs, including his nipples.
He sent those to a tannery to be made into a medicine bag and a pair of shoes. Although disappointed that George’s nipples had not been used, Osborn still wore his new shoes with pride.
The doctor continued his experiments and dissections for a year, keeping George in a whiskey barrel with a salt solution. When he was finished, Parrot’s remains were buried in the yard behind the practice.
The skullcap was given to Miss Heath, who later became the first woman doctor in the state of Wyoming.
Over the years, she used it as an ashtray and doorstop in her office.
This piece was used to identify the remains in 1950, followed by DNA testing.
Although she was over 80 years old, Lillian Heath was still alive and still in possession of George’s skullcap .
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Osborn became the first Democratic governor of Wyoming. He is said to have worn his special shoes at his inaugural ball in 1893.
He later became deputy secretary of state under President Wilson.
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Osborn
Big Nose George’s death mask, skull, and shoes made from his skin, along with the shoes he wore when he was “executed,” are now the main attraction at the Carbon County Museum in Rawlins, Wyoming.
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The skullcap is in the Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The rest of Parrott’s remains were secretly buried in an unknown location.
The medicine bag was never found.
This is a story as wild, wilder than the wildest West.
Weird Science (1985) – Making a Girl with a Computer?
What about the man who turned his car into a motorbike?
It has always been said that necessity is the mother of inventions.
In 1993, Emile Leray was on a journey , enjoying his cruise across the Moroccan desert when he crashed his car in the middle of the desert.
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He was stranded and had to save himself or he would die in the desert. This was when his intelligence came to rescue him.
Emile Leray, a 43-year-old former electrician, had to rebuild his car, a Citroen 2CV into a motorbike using no special tools.
He built his motor bike in ten days using materials from his crashed car. He had no drills, no power tools or welding equipment, he screwed all the parts together.
He converted this:
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Into ;
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Using very basic tools.
He escaped the desert on his motor bike. When he was pushed to the wall, his creativity came to rescue him.
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US Lawmakers Concerned About Apple’s Decision to Use YMTC’s 3D NAND
Adding another 3D NAND maker to its supply chain is certainly something that is good for Apple, but U.S. legislators are not particularly happy that one of the world's largest consumer electronics companies will use memory from YMTC and thereby essentially help China's semiconductor industry to develop. Apple argues that it plans to use chips from Yangtze Memory only for iPhones to be sold in China.
A clip from the Roseland New York live DVD. One of the finest moment from the show, heartbreaking.
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Viking Funeral from movie ( excerpt) Rocket Gibraltar
A little known movie, but it is wonderful. This is the ending.
Andrei at the Saker suggests…
…The first phase was almost over in a few weeks, but then NATO began to print billions of dollars to inject into the war (reminder: the US alone is spending 228 million dollars PER DAY on the Ukrainians!). Hence the “resurrecting” aircraft (rotary and fixed wing), artillery batteries, air defense systems, supplies, etc.
In terms of manpower, the Nazis can count on almost limitless “meat” to throw at the Russians, and they have successfully kept at least some well trained forces. The most dangerous development, however, is that it appears that NATO countries have run out of properly trained “Ukrainians” (many of them are not), and that they have now decided to operate a lot NATO hardware by sending PCMs (not really new) and even NATO forces disguised as PMCs and “advisors”!
Oh I can hear the choice of sweet voices singing to me “but Kiev threw all they had at these suicidal counter-attacks, the entire NATO military (because that is what this is now) will crumble in days or weeks!!!“. Hey, I SURE hope so. But can we or, for that matter, the RGS “to bet the farm” on that?
I don’t think so.
Not only that, be all the evidence shows that the US and NATO are, indeed, “betting the farm” right now, and God only knows what these shaitans (literally) are capable of next!
There is no limit to their hate. And they know they are betting the farm.
Now is the time to be more cautious than ever and not make rosy assumptions.
The following is the 29th part from a series of articles describing the adventure that a follower who goes by the handle "daegonmagus" has experienced since reading MM. They are very interesting and fascinating. I hope that you all learn from his journey and maybe learn a thing or two as he relates his unique experiences to the readership here.
Lately he has been conducting lucid dreaming (LD) to map out the subconscious / non-physical realms that surround us. His writings are very interesting, but describe things way beyond my understanding. Never the less, many MM readers find great value in his experiences, and writings, and one can easily see benefit in reading his writings.
I hope that you enjoy this article.
-MM
Who are the Unseen 5?
It should be noted they are an entirely separate organisation to the Elder Guardians. Whereas the EG first contacted me in 2012, my experience with the Unseen 5 happened on the same night I met the all being/ god (supreme consciousness that connects all others in existence, in which the soul amnesia was discussed) in November 2016. To clear up some confusion, the Unseen 5 are not stationed in the same soul/ consciousness origin point as the EG; they remain inside of the traps in the astral/etheric planes in the orbital pathways of the {astral} earth, approximately half way between the earth and the moon, if it could be equated in astral terms (my interpretation), but have technology that keeps them completely concealed from any and all things traversing those planes
(this was directly told to me).
Whereas the EG are a bunch of old wisened sages that are charged with the up keep of the soul origin point, the Unseen 5 is a military-like intelligence gathering organisation, first and foremost. Their original purpose was to gain information on the non physical entities that have invaded the regions surrounding earth (both physically and non physically) and to act as a protectorate for the earth environment to stop further damage resulting from this invasion (again, directly told to me). They can be considered as the SAS or “special forces” equivalent of the astral plane, as they operate as a small cluster behind enemy lines for recon purposes, and are, as was specifically mentioned to me by their leader, directly responsible for preventing total and complete take over of earth and its surrounding space from this non physical invasion force, several times over. They exist above and separate to any military/ intelligence organisations currently deployed on earth.
Entry (into this inner office) is specifically only for elite lucid dreamers that have mastered control of the dream state, and have, through their own determinations reached a similar understanding of this non physical invasion and how it is being carried out – the idea that our consciousness’s have been dumbed down and placed in bodies with specifically engineered in restrictions, is a big part of such understanding. Astral projectors alone – as far as I am aware – are not approached for initiation, as the test for entry takes place within the dream state; they only present themselves to those who pass such a test.
This does not mean astral projectors are not valued, just that I do not think they will be granted entry into the actual operation “war room” on their astral projection abilities alone; my understanding is that that astral projectors are utilised more as the foot soldier “grunts” of the astral planes, whereas lucid dreamers are reserved for more specialised espionage like roles and tasks that involve “consciousness hacking” (it must be understood that consciousness is the predominant technology that all U5 operations revolve around – LDers are prime candidates to use this technology because the navigational skills required to properly LD directly translate over into the control interfaces of this consciousness technology. Consciousness is still greatly insulated from accessing this technology during a standard AP).
It is important to address the elephant in the room here, that the U5 are interested only in obtaining information objectively and respect that some of us have belief systems that directly contradict their collected intelligence and goals; they simply have no intention of imposing themselves on others and changing their beliefs, but it should be understood that this presents a level of discrimination in exactly who it is they vet for potential recruitment, similar to how the SAS and other special forces organisations only have a very specific criteria for the people they bring into their regiments. This may seem unfair, but we must realise our thoughts on the matter are insignificant, as the role the U5 plays, far transcends our concepts of fairness and any belief systems we may attach our attention to. My advice is a commitment to rigorous self psychological analysis into one’s own thought constructs and why they have taken up such belief systems, and analysis into whether this was something they truly believed in, or if it was something imposed on them by someone else.
Any and all entities that travel in the non physical planes are monitored and scrutinised at a level far, far above the capabilities of physical earth bound intelligence agencies by the U5. This is a fact, as it was, again, directly told to me and I was shown the actual process of how this monitoring is carried out. This scrutinisation includes a complete tracing of all non physical traffic’s points of origin before coming into the non physical planes, and to where it goes after leaving them. A dossier is then compiled on each piece of traffic’s entire (past and future) history which is taken directly from the “akashic records”, or, to be more specific, directly from the energy signature of the consciousness under question – hence the need for LDers to be able to merge their consciousness with and properly navigate into this akashic template.
If you have ever consciously APed/ LDed, or projected consciousness into the astral planes such as is done via remote viewing, you can safely bet your bottom dollar you are known to the U5 and that they have a dossier on your entire life at their fingertips which includes a holographic film reel of your entire time in the astral planes and all activities you were engaged in; seeing the way this archive is accessed and managed, I gotta tell you, is damned impressive. As you can imagine, this is a monumental and seemingly impossible logistical workload for 5 members to carry out, hence the ability to tap into and access higher order information via the higher self is crucial to becoming an operational member within their ranks, again something LDers will have more experience being able to do than typical astral projectors.
Of the 5 members the (non human non physical) leader remains stationed permanently in this orbital office. The remaining four (current incarnates at the time of my initiation) members are appointed a single task each which they are expected to focus on during their time spent within the organisation during their LDs. Together, these tasks comprise a larger operational parameter which directly relates to the waging of inter-dimensional (non physical ) warfare and coordination of “special assets” through unified assault and recon teams into non physical infrastructure that has been identified by the U5 as “high value” targets. While the U5 are not interested in “waking people” up like the EG, their overall goal of stopping the cogs of the reincarnation regime aligns. They are more concerned with unifying and training assets that are already awake to a much higher degree than normal and only bother with LDers who have shown a strong commitment to this end through their own initiative.
It is for this reason both organisations provide each other with valuable information. My task, as it was relayed to me by the U5 leader, involved the recruitment of other potential lucid dreaming candidates / astral projectors, as well as non physical (discarnate) consciousnesses located in different planes, and making the organisation known to the physical (and non physical) earth community, hence my Ordo Occultum Astrum (Order of the Hidden star) is to act as the physical division of this non physical based organisation. Recruitment into this physical division is now open to those with these particular skillsets, and other parties interested din putting a stop to these malicious systems in place within the non physical planes.
As a result of my tasks and responsibilities put to me by their leader, I am the only one currently incarnated on earth that is authorised to mention who they are specifically, what they are capable of, and provide an explanatory overview of their capabilities and the technologies they disclosed to me – this is my area of focus. I appreciate this sounds narcissistic, but it is what it is; to put it simply, I earned my position within their ranks through my own understanding of the advanced capabilities of consciousness during the LD state, picked up over years of pushing and proving myself, and they figured I was the best candidate to translate it into a language that is usable for other LD assets. They asked me to do this, and I obliged, as I understood the extreme importance of it.
Please understand that my curriculum of using LD to establish contact with such non physical intelligences is approved by the U5, the EG and the All Being respectfully, and is something I am extremely honoured to be able to provide. It is to act a handbook or guide to help other LD assets achieve their maximum potential, and all information pertaining to it is to be made available for free, of which this Ordo Occultum Astrum is to act as the only official channel of which to distribute such information. Again I am asking for a great deal of trust from other LD assets that the information I am providing on Lucid Dreaming is legitimate. I am hoping by spending countless hours writing about this so it can be presented to you all for free is a worthy enough feat for that trust.
It is also worth mentioning that until my initiation, the other 4 members were the only other 4 people incarnated on earth (current at 2012) that knew about this organisation- again, this was directly mentioned to me by the leader.
Member numbers were apparently higher in centuries past than they are now, due to some (unknown by me) event that dwindled them down to 5; it seems that the leader wishes to rebuild these numbers in order to ease the logistical workload for each of its members, though this is to come second to building an inter-dimensional strike force.
Quite frankly, he demonstrated to me his disappointment that not enough Lucid Dreamers/ Astral Projectors take their skills seriously, and use them as a means to go on “astral holidays” rather than put them to meaningful use.
If you are in my order, it is because I have identified certain traits and skills within you that I think would provide initiation potential if honed.
However, all initiations remain at the ultimate authority and discretion of the U5 leader – at the end of the day I am just the messenger and have no control over whether or not you will get in.
These are the prequisites for entry into the Unseen 5:
An understanding that dreams can be hijacked and manipulated by third parties external to the consciousness having the dream, and supplanted with holographic scenarios of the third party’s choosing that can take the form of normal or extremely vivid dreams.
The area of effect is the void space (which I have written about elsewhere, including in my auto biography), where thought imagery directly manifests as the dream environment.
This same void space acts as a hub for the routing of all psychic information through a network that connects all other consciousnesses in existence in a hive mind like arrangement.
The holographic imagery employed by the U5 and other non physical factions is injected as a false thought directly onto this communication line, with the intention of creating a “controlled dream”, while the consciousness remains in a docile and unconscious state.
This must be understood as fact and not just a theory. This technology is used to control people through “divine inspiration.” Thus, unless information has come from a direct connection to the akashic template, it is to remain suspect and seen as potentially compromised.
An understanding that all consciousnesses have access to very specific parts of the greater (physical and non physical) universe. These areas are those that each consciousness was supposed to govern at the expectation of source upon their creation.
Therefore, each consciousness acts like a key to a very specific location that cannot be accessed without the authorising energy signature embedded into the governing consciousness. Again, fact, not theory. Certain access points have been breached by unauthorised entities through the manipulation of astral bodies/ energetic bodies.
An understanding consciousness is at a severely reduced and handicapped state when in the body, and that the body is a mechanism engineered specifically to provide this handicap.
The life objective of the candidate must be to unlock this handicap and reach a higher state of awareness, ie the acquisition of all soul memory, aka connection with higher self (hermetic teachings are a wealth of information for this). The ability to see from a third person, objective perspective and view one’s current incarnation as “insignificant” when compared with their soul’s complete history, which spans many of such incarnations, is required, as it defines one of the core values of the Unseen 5.
Therefore emphasis must be placed on what one’s soul achieves through the accumulation of incarnations, and not just materialistically in a single one of them.
Think of it like a computer game; you may think that one cycle is important as you are engaging in it, but after you die, respawn, lose all your accumulations and then progress past where you were up to, that last cycle you played becomes furthest from your mind and seemingly “unimportant”.
A fearless attitude towards projecting into dangerous and unsettling territory during an OBE, with the expectation of torture/ consciousness doping/ consciousness imprisonment and other harsh repercussions if caught. This does not exclude the potentiality of complete disconnection of consciousness from the physical body (ie death) due to it being kept for too long in one of these consciousness prisons.
I am not going to lie, there is some incredibly dangerous shit out there you will be expected to navigate through, though I would suggest the U5 would not approach you if you weren’t ready to face it.
A strong understanding of your worth, and an unfaltering insistence on understanding absolute authority remains with you and you alone, and that such authority is determined by the energetic component that gives animation to your physical and energetic bodies (soul).
This commitment to the self as master authority of your operations will see you disregard any other such false authority that would impose itself upon you and try and claim it out ranks you.
All apparent guides you MUST remain suspect of and only follow their advice if you are 100% sure it aligns with your operations and values, and have an energetic (soul time memory) understanding of.
Nothing is permitted to claim authority over you and your soul’s evolutionary progress – this is not how source operates. Anything having you signing or giving away your authority during an OBE must be immediately refused. This will comprise the main aspect of the holographic dream scenario the U5 will test you with if they have been considering you for potential candidacy.
A high level of service to others sentience, and the commitment to helping others. This is not negotiable; anyone who would try to enter the organisation for their own materialistic gain will be vehemently denied access, as service to others sentience (like the Domain) is part of the core values of the U5.
All service to self entities will simply be ignored for candidacy, but will be scrutinised by the U5 at an even higher level thereafter. Recommended demonstration is sponsorship of another person that needs it for a period of at least 5 years.
This sponsorship will be to the point that you are “on call” to them and ready to drop everything you are doing at a moment’s notice to help them with their predicament.
This doesn’t necessarily mean just giving them money, but actual emotional and psychological support they need. This is based on my own personal values and commitment to SD (mentioned in my autobio) – if it worked for me, then it should work for others.
Just remember, the U5 will know if you fake your sincerity to this. This falls back on the idea holographic technology is used along with other manipulation tactics to trick certain consciousnesses into giving away consent.
I don’t want to know about it if you make it in. You’ll be made aware of your area of focus by the U5 leader. This will likely involve expected secrecy of that position. I am just here to make you aware of them, and that the fact they are very, very real. The exception to this will be if your tasks involve telling me about it or if my legitimacy is ever called into question, in which I am hoping you’ll come to my aid. If your tasks involve remaining quiet about it in such a scenario, well then shit happens, forme I guess.
There will be no need for the physical division, this Ordo Occultum Astrum (Order of the Hidden Star), to receive updates on U5 operations. This is not how they work.
Humans are not on a need to know basis, as much as they might crave the attention of being told how things are progressing. It is like a war general telling a baby about his plans to drop bombs on another country; humans are seen as spiritually infant by the U5’s standards so don’t expect updates like with the supposed Ashtar Command/ Arcturian Council.
Anyone suggesting such updates is to be treated with a high amount of suspicion.
They will only make their operations known to individual members if it is a requirement of their tasks. The only reason you know about them is because it was a requirement of my own.
It would be extremely unwise to try and fuck with the U5.
This is not the FBI and neither is it the CIA. These are the real bogeymen of the astral world in control of technologies that would make those organisations weak at the knees and piss themselves with envy.
Doing so would have dire consequences for your consciousness that is just not conceivable from your current limited state of awareness: remember, you are operating from the perspective of trying to gain something for a single physical existence – the U5 are operating from a much higher perspective that supersedes what you consider as being “important” and the bullshit justifications you would give yourself to feel better about such indiscretions – like, say, petty squabbles between nations. This cannot be overstated. Any moles that might have ideas of playing the typical spy and sabotage shit will eventually regret it.
My (physical) division of this organisation, is not to remain secret. All information relating to its operations is to be made available to anyone who is interested in it.
Members are encouraged to share it with whoever they feel appropriate, though discussions are to be kept strictly within the official channels and not deviate out of them.
All lucid dreamers, astral projectors and remote viewers who have had direct experience with the subjects contained in this article during their own OBEs are welcome.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
We seem to be at a cusp. Big changes are in the works.
USA declares war on China via the new Taiwan act of 2022
USA engages Russian military directly ; Americans fighting Russians! War!
Russia saying that nuclear war is “on the table”.
Putin and Xi Peng meeting today.
Listen to what Ozzy has to say…
Ozzy Osbourne Is Sick Of America!
A fine surprise.
Soft power
China has effective means of exercising soft power such as:
helping countries in the Global South, as well as in Europe, build their infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
helping countries in the Global South vaccinate their population as the rich Western nations abandoned them through vaccine hoarding
pursuing diplomacy throughout the Middle East rather than bombing the shit out of the region
negotiating with the Taliban instead of invading and occupying Afghanistan for 20 years
helping to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, countries with whom China has excellent relations
forging positive economic and security alliances such as BRICS, RCEP, and SCO
inviting all nations to participate in her space station program
All of the above are making China many, many friends around the globe. This is soft power done right!
The Cult – She Sells Sanctuary
Why haven’t Europeans fully embraced the concept of freedom like Americans have?
I am a Finn living in the US.
First time in my life I don’t feel free. There are ton of things I could do back home, but I cannot do here.
I recently switched my work. I want to keep a few months’ vacation in between jobs but I could not because our health insurance would stop. This would be no problem in Europe because your health insurance is not bound to your work.
I cannot walk everywhere in the forest. It is basically allowed only in the national forest or similar. Not on a private property. In the Nordic countries no problem. You can roam everywhere except other people’s yard.
If I were out of the job, it would be extremely hard for my kids to have higher education. In Europe you don’t need money to enter a university. In the Nordic countries, they even pay you when you enter.
My youngest son was born here, and he need US passport to leave the country. It takes 3 months to get a US passport. Hey, the country that has Google and Microsoft does not use IT when applying passport. In Finland, you get a passport in less than a week. You can even get that in a few hours at Helsinki airport.
Every time I return here, I need to wait an hour in the custom line even I use the same line as Americans. In Finland, the line takes about 15 seconds. In EU, everybody can use the automated custom lines. In the US, only those that have cleared the Global Entry and spent lots of time and money to get it. And even still it takes much longer that the European automated lines.
Recently my wife broke her ankle. Went to ER. They said that she needs an operation and send home! We need to call various orthopedist. Once we visited one, the doctor ordered MRI. My wife had to wait about 5 days that the insurance company would allow the MRI. Then another few days to get a green light for the operation. Totally she had to wait two weeks in pain lying flat in a bed waiting for the operation. In Europe, she would have got the MRI in a day and the operation right after that. In Europe. the doctor decides what is required, not the insurance company.
My kids cannot walk safely hardly nowhere because there are no safe pedestrian and bicycle paths. In Finland, most kids move by walking or by bicycle. Most of the time they do not have to cross the road because there are lots of safe under passages. In the US kids are prisoners at home unless Mom or Dad takes them with a car.
The fact is that people in the US are not even closely as free as in Europe. In the Freedom in the World index, USA is at the 61st position. 7 out of top 10 are from Europe. Top 3: Finland, Norway and Sweden. They all got maximum points (100).
You could say this is not scary, but dangerous. However, in my opinion this tree is the most scary and dangerous tree!
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Not scary, right?
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Said to be dangerous, not scary. Okay, but let me tell you how scary this tree is.
You eat the fruit, you die.
You stand near him, you will inhale the white sap, you die.
You touch the white sap with your skin, goodbye to your beautiful beautiful skin.
You touch the white sap with your eyes, you must be a fool, but you will be blind forever.
You stand under a tree in the rain, your skin will scream.
You hate this tree, you die.
This is a Manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) known as manzanilla de la muerte, “the little apple of death”. If you thought this tree was native to Australia, I thought so the first time I heard about this tree. In fact, it is native to the Caribbean.
The fruit is the most poisonous part of this tree. Its main killer is its milky white sap. Also, I get serious when I type “You hate this tree, you die”. If you burn this tree, the smoke can cause several injuries. We can’t hate this tree. It hates us more.
The tree contains 12-deoxy-5-hydroxyphorbol-6-gamma-7-alpha-oxide, hippomanins, mancinellin, and sapogenins, phloracetophenone-2,4-dimethylether is present in the leaves, while the fruits have physostigmine.
What do fast food employees think of customers who come in frequently, say, multiple times a week or even daily?
Thank you, whomsoever asked this beautiful question.
Working as a delivery rider for a popular pizza restaurant it was fascinating how the regular customers seemed to be at polar extremes. There was hardly a middle ground. The regulars were either exceedingly pleasant i.e. the ever smiling, courteous customer who knew you by name, empathized with you, were patient and just radiated warmth and kindness. I would refer to them as the sweethearts.
Or there were the ones who saw fast food personnel as a cheap means to vent their personal frustrations, felt entitled (because they believed the company would not survive without them), always tried to ‘beat the system,’ always cheap, petty and discourteous and always naturally doing something aggravating to everyone around them e.g. taking up two parking spaces, refusing to sit and wait for the order (standing impatiently by the cashier with folded arms and sullen face) and giving details as to all the operational flaws they’ve witnessed with the restaurant whilst preaching how they would fix these flaws if they owned the restaurant. I would refer to these as the soul-eaters.
Unfortunately I can only distinctly remember the experiences with soul-eaters. Here are three fascinating accounts.
The Coffee Boys.
Every Saturday night a group of preppy young men, all between the ages of 18 — 20 would come to the restaurant. There were usually five of them and they would occupy an entire table. They would sit at this table for more than an hour regardless if they had long finished their meal, denying that space for other diners. What was the meal they each ordered that merited leasing the table for such an extended period of time: One cup of coffee.
That didn’t bother any of us. It’s not our restaurant, the company has no policy against such an obvious loss-incurring action and we were trained that the customer is always right. What made them unlikable was how they went about ordering their single cup of coffee.
The ringleader, the most preppy of them all, would do the ordering. Despite being just some 18yo kid just off of cricket practice, he would speak to you as though he’s the son of the owner of the restaurant.
‘Things are pretty slow for the hour huh…..Susan?’
‘Patrice…… Are those cookies fresh or are they from the morning batch?’
‘Looks like you need a new shirt huh…… Phillip?’
He would always call out your name from your name tag, not as a show of courtesy, but in an authoritative almost passive-aggressive manner.
After a minute or two of his condescending conversation, he would request 5 coffees with cream, literally the cheapest item on the menu. The cashier would pour them out in cups, neatly cover them with lids and place them on a tray. The words ‘thank you’ or even subtle gesture of appreciation would never emanate from him as he would eye the cups, lift a cup to his face, remove a lid, sniff at coffee and take a sip in a manner as though he is the ultimate connoisseur of generic fast food coffee.
‘Ummm. Maria?’ he would say to the cashier after taking his sip. The cashier would nod and come to him. He would then continue, ‘Something is up with this coffee…I think you need to check your coffee machine.’
Then a hullabaloo would ensue with different members of staff tasting the coffee, not finding anything wrong. The manager would come out and taste the coffee and find no fault with it. However coffee-boy is not satisfied until he sees the coffee machine opened up to reveal that there is indeed sufficient powdered coffee and creamer in the machine. The five original cups of coffee are discarded and the cashier has to keep adjusting the machine and pouring out coffee, giving coffee-boy a sample to taste until he finds it is just right. Five fresh cups of coffee are then poured and he goes to his gang to occupy the table for over an hour after having caused over $50 worth of wasted coffee and cups.
The Church Group.
Once a month, on a Sunday night a large group of people who just finished worshiping at a nearby church would come into the restaurant. Their orders would be large, usually ranging between 4 — 6 family sized pizzas.
They were courteous, patient and would attempt to be friendly. However they never failed to infuriate us all whenever they came. Firstly they would always come just a few minutes before closing time to place a big order. Though they could’ve easily called pick up an hour in advance, they preferred to come when we’ve already washed up the dishes and mopped the floor, anxiously waiting the closing time.
‘I’m sorry but we’ve closed off dining for the night as we are about to close. You could only have the order as a take-away.’ the cashier would tell them.
‘Oh well,’ the pastor of the group would say, ‘Well then we’ll have to forget about the order.’
He’s saying this but he knows that we cannot refuse a large order no matter how near it is to closing time. He knew that if the head office got wind of our branch refusing a $500+ order, we would be reprimanded. He knows all this but he is pretending to show humility for his church congregation.
The cashier would acquiesce and remind the pastor that in ten minutes time we would be closing. The pastor would smile and assure the cashier that they wouldn’t be long. Staff would have to reheat the ovens, gather all the dough and ingredients that were neatly packed away in the chillers and grudgingly prepare these pizzas, knowing fully well that the order would be finished beyond our closing hour, after which we would have to wait for the church group to finish their meal.
The restaurant would close at 10 pm on a Sunday. The church group would get their meal at around that time. Even though we’ve already tucked away the chairs and neatly aligned the tables for the next day, the church group would drag about a couple tables and join them together. Anything that is request-able you bet your bottom the group would request it; more napkins, more cups with ice, more condiments, turn off the air condition please, OK its too warm now, can you turn it back on, mini boxes to carry home leftovers, plastic bags, can this pizza be warmed over? etc, etc.
While they are eating, the pastor, though he knows that he promised he will not stay long is encouraging members of the group to share tame, inoffensive church-based jokes and stories.
All of us would and listen as Mrs. Nora recounted the time when she sent her grandson to get Communion bread but he didn’t remind her that he wasn’t a confirmed Catholic yet; how she gave him a good licking that evening when they returned home. The pastor howled with laughter.
We would then interrupt their laughter to explain to them that we were ready to lock the building. The pastor would act surprised and apologize for losing track of time. We would wait another 10 minutes as they scrambled to distribute leftovers and gather their belongings. They wouldn’t even bother to help tidy back the area because they are now suddenly concerned about overstaying their time. They all apologized and thanked us for being so patient with them. We would then have to clean up all their spills, stains, used napkins, cups, pizza boxes and trays, re-wipe the tables, re-mop the floor and reposition the tables and chairs.
We would lock the restaurant and when we exited the building the church group would be outside hanging about near their vehicles, continuing their conversation. Most of us didn’t have vehicles and would struggle that late hour to get a taxi as the streets would be near-deserted.
None of the church group members would even consider offering us a ride as they left the restaurant in their cars.
The Pool Guy.
Lastly, there was a guy who would come in every day after work to place the same order of a mini pizza with chicken. I can’t remember his name but he would always mention to whomsoever was cashing that he was ‘building his pool.’ That pool must’ve been deeper than the Atlantic Ocean because for years he would always mention that pool that he was building.
I can say without the slightest doubt that pool-guy was an asshole. I’m not even going to try to be subtle about it. He was a certified piece of s**t. Of all the scummiest people I’ve met on this Earth, he ranks in the top 5.
Pool guy was a short hairy guy in his mid to late 30’s with a head full of graying hair. He always had a disheveled, resentful look as though he just woke up from a sleepless night with a terrible hangover. He was always making threats, harassing or trying to intimidate the mostly female workers to get some sort of preferential treatment i.e. being served before everyone else, getting more toppings on his pizza etc. Such tactics were common on an everyday basis but what set pool guy apart was that he naturally wanted to piss you off and provoke you to the limits of what is legally allowed.
Pool guy definitely had some personal problems in his life and saw the restaurant as a means to vent his anger and frustration. Pool guy seemed as though he couldn’t overcome certain obstacles/people in his life so instead he would channel this anger into abusing a bunch of hapless, minimum wage earning women in a fast food restaurant. His tactic was that he would enter the restaurant and with no common courtesy he would gruffly order his mini pizza with chicken. He would remind the cashier at what time he placed his order and would subtly threaten that waiting makes him angry and we really don’t want to see him when he’s angry.
He would then stand with arms folded, hearing distance away from the cashier, refusing to take his seat until he got his order. Most of us knew that he didn’t really care about the order. He got his thrill in harassing and psychologically abusing the more timid female staff at the front counter.
‘Go check on my order,’ he would demand every couple of minutes, ‘I’m waiting too long.’ Nothing thrilled him more than when his order took longer than the standard 15 minutes. Now he had an excuse to abuse.
‘Where is my order?’ he would shout. If no one answered him he would use this as an excuse to become vile. ‘ Like there’s only stupid, slow and uneducated people working in here?’
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‘If I was your ‘child-father’ (baby-daddy) you would’ve moved faster.’
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‘You could be a disappointment to your family but don’t disappoint me here today.’
The most pathetic thing about pool guy was that he would never dare behave like that in the presence of other customers. He would step away when a queue of customers were around and when they dispersed, like a rat coming out of his hole he would return to provoke and insult.
There was never a single moment where he displayed a likable side to him. When he was in a good mood, he wouldn’t threaten and abuse but he would instead rant about his achievements in life. He claimed that he owned a fleet of trucks and his family were of great wealth and status that they practically owned the entire North coast of Trinidad. He would talk about how he traded in his cars every five years, that he spent over 5 million on his house in the past three years and how he was thinking of widening the pool that he had under construction and choosing a different set of tiles than what he originally intended
I never met another delivery rider who didn’t feel like punching pool guy’s face in after being forced to listen to one of these boastful and selfish conversations.
Funny enough, we got word that his niece was to be employed at the restaurant. The day she arrived at the restaurant pool guy mysteriously stopped coming. His niece explained to us that he was the most detested member of the family. He did not own a fleet of trucks but rather worked loading goods on and off a truck for a major cosmetics retailer. Also, he lived, not in a $5 million dollar+ house but in a tiny annex at his parents’ house which was next to her parents. By no means did the family own any property at the North coast let alone the entire North Coast.
We asked if he had a pool and to our surprise she said yes, his family did indeed have a pool.
However it was nothing like he described. It looked more like this:
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Roasted Tomato and Herbed Cheese Galette
This versatile, fresh and flavorful recipe can do it all: serve as a tasty main dish or get wows when you’re hosting a brunch! This galette, which is just another name for a simple, free-form pie, is also as pretty to look at as it is easy to make. The secret to this recipe is roasting the tomatoes, which enhances their sweetness, and helps even less-than-perfectly-ripe veggies taste delicious. Roasting is quick and easy, requiring minimal chopping. Just don’t skip the draining step, as that’s the key to avoiding a soggy crust. We bet that once you try this combination of buttery crust, herby cheese and sweet tomatoes, you’ll agree that this recipe is a keeper!
Roasted Tomato and Herbed Cheese Galette
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 crust from 1 box (14.1 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Pie Crusts (2 Count), softened as directed on box
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
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“Prelude to WW3, nuclear weapons will be used.” Medvedev calls West’s security guarantees to Ukrain
New Zealand is dropping mask and vaccine mandates in sweeping COVID changes.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has declared it “time to safely turn the page” on New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions, scrapping all but a handful of remaining rules.
New Zealand, which once eliminated the virus through the toughest pandemic rules in the world, has made relaxations similar to Australian or European conditions.
Mask-wearing will no longer be mandatory in public places, and the last vaccine mandates will be ditched in two weeks under sweeping changes announced by the prime minister on Monday.“
For far too many people, this is too little, too late. For them, the damage is already done; either from losing jobs due to Vax Mandates, or from getting sick (or dying) from the experimental vaccines themselves.
What are the steps taken by China to reduce poverty?
想致富，先修路 or, if you want to get rich, build roads first.
This was a popular slogan that was introduced in the early 1980s. Almost every Chinese has internalized this as a key national strategy towards prosperity and a better life.
China has held firm to the belief that if you connect people, wealth will naturally flow downstream and create virtuous cycles of opportunity. In engineering parlance, we call such a system positive feedback.
China connected in stages, starting from the coast. As she grew richer, she took on ever more ambitious projects in the challenging interior, from cutting through mountains, to spanning deep valleys, to bridging huge rivers. China already occupy many of the world’s top 10 records for the highest/longest bridge/tunnel/rail etc.
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Once the connections arrive, modernization begins in the various cities, towns and villages served by the transport system.
All this can only happen with tandem growth in the electricity grid.
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China from space, 1993
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China from space, 2010
Villagers are given land and modern houses built as like-for-like replacements. Life is so good in some rural areas residents are reluctant to change their hukou for the city.
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This is what has happened over and over again throughout China in the past 4 decades. The development was necessarily staged, because of the continental size and the abject low base she started from.
How did China eradicate so much poverty? She made money and spent it on the poor in a clever and efficient manner.
In other words, she pumped trillions to fill the gaping hole caused by poverty, and there is a ways to go before the poorest inland provinces reach parity with the coast.
I applaud the Chinese for their insistence on a Chinese interpretation of human rights focused on maximum community benefit.
Note: I had a friend ask if the Chinese are being extravagant building all these beautiful bridges and tunnels in challenging topography. The answer is no. The Chinese are trying to connect as many people as possible by equalizing geographical disadvantage.
What is wrong with relationships in today’s society?
One of my very dear friends has a lovely daughter. Ronnie is beautiful, talented, and a very successful 40-year-old woman.
Eight years ago when she was 32 she met a great guy at work who was a year older than her, but had a great position within the company.
Falling In Love, Moving In Together, And A Marriage Proposal
Since they were both single, they started hanging out, eventually fell in love, and moved in together.
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Everything was going great until they had been together two years and he surprised her by proposing to her on her 34th birthday.
She turned him down.
Even though they had discussed they were moving towards marriage, she decided when he proposed that she wasn’t finished shopping.
Shopping?
The Grass Just Has To Be Greener
Yes, for a much better partner option.
She decided maybe she could find a different guy who was more successful, made more money, was more exciting, fun, and perfect in every way.
Ronnie wanted everything and more in marriage and decided there just had to be someone much much better out there for her to find in the future.
When she turned her guy down he was shocked and heartbroken. He immediately moved out and stopped having any contact with her.
It was awkward at work so Ronnie left the company and got a new job elsewhere.
Guy #2
A year later she met another guy and they started spending time together. Guy #2 wasn’t nearly as great a catch as her ex-boyfriend.
She eventually dumped Guy #2 because she was disappointed in him. Ronnie didn’t believe he was worth her time or patience to cultivate a relationship.
Ronnie moved on quickly thinking she could definitely do better in love.
She wanted instant gratification. Her perfect guy was out there and she would find him without wasting all her time on someone unacceptable.
Searching For The Elusive Green Grass
From Guy #2 she quickly made her way through Guy #3, #4, and #5.
Each guy was much worse than the proceeding guy. All of them fell very far short of her very first ex-boyfriend who had proposed.
At least that is what she thought because she didn’t give any of the guys a real chance. If they didn’t seem like an easy relationship, she was out in an instant.
Although it had been a few years since she turned down his marriage proposal, she got up the nerve and contacted her ex-boyfriend.
To her shock, he had met someone else, gotten married and they were expecting their first child.
Ronnie was devastated.
Not only had she lost out on a great guy, but she also hasn’t found one even close. Now that she’s 40 the pickings are getting very thin.
She hasn’t been involved with another guy for a while and recently told me she has given up.
Then she said “I should have accepted that marriage proposal. I was an idiot.”
Ronnie didn’t let love grow into that perfect relationship she fantasized about.
When it was too late, she realized she had quit and walked away from the guy who really was the best one for her.
You know what they say, you snooze, you lose.
Not An Isolated Case
Sadly, Ronnie is not an isolated case.
I personally know at least 10 other women in the same exact or similar situation.
All of these women, all in their mid to late 30s, have had very good relationships with men and women.
They all walked away thinking they could do so much better.
They couldn’t and they didn’t.
Many People Don’t Have The Time To Commit To Love
Why? I don’t think any of them really understand what love is all about.
They don’t want to make some of the sacrifices love and commitment required.
It’s not all fun and games, excitement, thrills, and chills.
Love takes time.
It means investing in another person and sticking with them through the good times as well as the bad. It also means learning to love someone unconditionally.
Life isn’t always fun and games. Commitment can be very hard work. But it’s worth it in the long run.
Not everyone will agree, but I personally believe this is one of the biggest things wrong with relationships in today’s society.
Tucker Carlson: This is what the collapse of civilization looks like
Denver Begins Distribution of “Bug-Out Bags” for Emergencies
Denver, Colorado Emergency Management held a distribution of “Bug-Out Bags” to citizens on Saturday, from 10:00AM-2:00PM. They will do another one on . . . September 24.
Denver is one of the safest cities in America when considering natural disasters. They don’t get earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornados, floods, not even wildfires. So why is Denver Emergency Management doing this?
These distribution events fall under the DenverREADY: Preparedness Program which is part of the National Preparedness Month movement, the theme of which is: Protecting your Legacy: The Life you’ve Built is Worth Protecting.
The brief video below provides details and critique – because what’s in this bag . . . won’t help you much at all. False sense of security.
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The Harry Potter Feud with my mom.
We were visiting my hated aunt and uncle the summer I was sixteen or so. I couldn’t relate to the cousins my age, so I got delegated the task of entertaining the under-tens. We played with stuffed animals and barbies for a bit, and once they got bored and wandered off, I poked through the books. There it was, an innocent little paperback titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I’d barely heard of it and I thought, Heck, I’ve got a few hours to kill. If it’s boring I’ll forget about it.
So I started reading.
Now, I will say that a couple chapters in I was marginally sure my mom wouldn’t want me reading it if she knew what it was about. I’d long since learned never to ask her questions about fantasy books, and to lie when she asked me about them, because invariably she’d tell me I wasn’t allowed to read them. So I was prepared to lie about the content.
The story was interesting. Not what I’d call compelling, but I was at the end of my teenage years and it was about an eleven year old. I continued reading after dinner. After lights out I removed myself to the hopefully abandoned living room to finish it up. Mom was there, but ignored me when she saw a book in my hand. I was two chapters from finished when she asked the dreaded question: “What are you reading?”
Well, surely the title wouldn’t hurt. I wasn’t all that invested, so I looked at the cover and said, “Something called Harry Potter.” She couldn’t possibly object, knowing nothing of it.
I was wrong.
Mom immediately flipped out, stating it was evil and sinful and I wasn’t to read it. I was sick and tired of this shit. I said, “Too late! Two chapters left. Just let me finish the ending or it will keep me up all night wondering.”
She had to relent. We weren’t in her house and obviously her sister let her kids read it. It was a losing battle all around. However, within me a spark of defiance had been born. Mom didn’t like it? Alright, I was going to look for the second book.
And thus… book two, and then book three, borrowed from my neighbor and read at her house. Book four, purchased the day it came out by my sci-fi-reading dad and sneakily given to me when I came home. The fourth was what cemented my obsession. I started reading fanfic, and if you know anything about the Harry Potter fandom, the fic is prevalent.
I was there for the midnight release of the fifth book, in costume. I made my own wand out of antique spoon handles and epoxy. I dared to keep the books at the house, hidden. I went to the sixth book’s midnight release in costume with friends I’d made via the fandom and college (I was living at home through college).
Then, the disaster. Mom found the books. She lectured and yelled, and guilted me with religion until she had me crying and throwing the books out myself. I’m still heartbroken about that. Those weren’t just books. They were connections and memories to events, friends, and my dad/co-conspirator.
My dad was going through a hard time. He was finally sober, but had back pain gained on the job and they forced him to retire a year early and then decided to stiff him his benefits. Marijuana helped with the pain, so he was frequently stoned. He and I got along really well in that time, and one day I confessed about the books getting thrown out. He’d provided the money for half of them, and he was pissed.
“That bitch!” They were only together still for the sake of my younger brother. “C’mon. Get your shoes. We’re going to the used bookstore.”
About $70 later I had all six that were out, in hardcover, and my dad smoked weed in the car. I confessed I was Bisexual (this has changed a lot since then) and he said “Cool” and then helped me find guys and gals walking by that were hot.
I’ve been to every midnight movie showing in costume. Dad drove me to the final book release. I was moved out by then, but he wanted to take me. I’ve built so many memories and made wonderful friends because of the fandom. I write my own fanfiction and YA stories now. I have my own little Harry Potter shrine pride of place in my room.
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But in the end it isn’t just for my prime fandom. It’s for my late dad, and its thumbing my nose at my mom. It’s my declaration that I grew up and learned to make and do for myself. And guess what, mom? It never turned me to practicing witchcraft. However the attitude I received about this and many other things made me stop being a Christian.
How would you describe what it feels like to have your heart broken?
A Chinese boy wanted to meet his girlfriend who was 2500 km away. He decided to meet her un-announced. He thought she would be surprised and would be happy seeing him.
He traveled 2500 km all excited to meet her. When he reached her college, a classmate of the girl said she had gone to the nearby mall for shopping. So, he dresses himself like a teddy bear and goes to the nearby mall.
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There what he found!!…..”his girlfriend was in the arms of another boy
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The man put on the bear’s head again to hide his tears. The girlfriend then chased after the man as he walked away from the two without saying a word.
He didn’t stop.. he wept and kept going!
I know what she said; "It's not what you think". -MM
The Kremlin has called out Germany for abandoning its historic neutrality regarding shipping weapons to foreign conflicts, with Russia’s ambassador to Berlin stressing the German government has “crossed a red line.”
“The very fact that the Ukrainian regime is being supplied with German-made lethal weapons, which are used not only against Russian military service members, but also the civilian population of Donbass, crosses the red line,” Ambassador Sergey Nechaev told Izvestia newspaper in a fresh interview, subsequently republished in English in state sources.
He stressed Berlin has now crossed a point of no return: “They have crossed the Rubicon,” Nechaev stated, referencing the some $2 billion in defense aid Berlin has pledged thus far.
Invoking Moscow’s previously stated objective to “de-nazify” Ukraine, the ambassador said that Germany should know better than to cross Russia’s red lines, “considering the moral and historic responsibility that Germany has before our people for the Nazi crimes.”
Nechaev continued by saying Germany “has unilaterally acted to destroy bilateral relations [with Russia] that were unique in scale and depth and had been built over decades,” and that, “In essence, the post-war reconciliation of our nations and peoples is being eroded.”
Zoe
This is Zoe a few weeks after I got her. She was about six months old.
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It took me five years to be able to adopt another cat after I lost her predecessor. She’s a good girl.
She spent her first two or so months on the street and while her foster is a nice lady she didn’t do much in the way of socializing her. Her kitty instincts are a little awkward. her idea of hunting is just waving her paw in the air in the direction of a toy.
She is horrifically and deservedly over spoiled.
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But when you wake up to stuff like this its easy to understand.
UPDATED 10:15 PM EDT — Russia Launches MASSIVE Missile Barrage – Hitting POWER PLANTS for first time
2:04 PM EDT Sunday, September 11, 2022 — Within the past three hours, Russia has launched (and continues to launch) a massive barrage of cruise missiles against Ukraine. For the first time, they are hitting Electric Generating Stations. Blackouts are now reported in many areas of Ukraine.
Sources inside the war zone caught video of Russian naval vessels, surface and submarine, launching “Kalibr” cruise missiles in almost every direction!
UPDATE 2:27 PM EDT —
Power stations hit, multiple western Ukrainian cities lost power.
Poltava, Sumy, Kremenchug and Kharkov lost power as well
UPDATE 2:29 PM EDT —
Reports coming from Ukrainian sources that, IN ADDITION TO THE CITIES LISTED ABOVE, Dnepropetrovsk, AND THE ENTIRE OBLAST OF ZAPOROZHYE have also been hit with total electrical blackouts.
This targeting of electric generating plants is a major change from how Russia has conducted itself for the prior 6+ months.
(HT REMARK: This . . . this right here . . . is going to turn the Ukrainian people against the Kiev regime. I suspect it will do so, fast.)
UPDATE 2:33 PM EDT —
Images are beginning to come in showing burning power plants.
MORE:
Kharkiv Combined Heat-and-Power Plant (CHPP) No. 5 (Kharkiv CHPP-5), one of the most powerful CHP-plants in Ukraine— located near the village of Podvirky; was also hit .
MORE:
Dergachev city administration reports missile attacks on critical infrastructure.
Heating and power out
UPDATE 2:38 PM EDT —
The high voltage transmission lines have been knocked down in the Sumy region – the head of the OVA Dmytro Zhyvitsky has announced. He says “Russia’s Navy is obliterating Ukrainian infrastructure.”
(HT REMARK: For 6 months critical infrastructure was not obliterated, broadcasting systems were not shut down. Even major transportation hubs were not destroyed. It looks like the gloves came off…)
BULLETIN
2:45 PM EDT —
Public water supplies in Kharkov and in Dnepropetrovsk are now OFFLINE. No running water.
UPDATE 3:00 PM EDT —
Ukrainian residents ordered to disconnect devices from the ELECTRICAL GRID as power equalization efforts begins amid Ukraine’s struggle with remaining reserves.
UPDATE 3:07 PM EDT —
Electric trains stop across ALL Ukraine as power goes out amid hits on critical infrastructure.
Ukraine’s air raid alarm map warning system . . HAS STOPPED WORKING
MAP OF DESTROYED POWER PLANTS
Ones marked in color RED
I have received an **initial** report saying the power plants showing in RED below are either offline or destroyed:
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UPDATE 6:01 PM EDT —
In addition to Multiple major power outages there are major water stoppages being reported, by Ukraine, In Kharkov, Kyiv, Kremenchug, Pavlograd, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk & Sumy regions
POWER PLANT FIRE UPDATE – 6:05 PM EDT
In the UPDATE 2:33 PM shown above, we reported that Combined Heat and Power plant (CHPP) Number 5 in Kharkiv had been hit by a cruise missile and was on fire.
UPDATE 10:15 PM EDT —
Power outages have now spread to the neighboring countries of Moldova at the southwest of Ukraine and to . . . Poland at the northwest of Ukraine. Border crossing areas at the Poland Border appear to have no electricity.
In addition, INTERNET CONNECTIVITY has plummeted throughout Ukraine as shown on the chart below:
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What is the scariest thing ever discovered by archaeologists?
The meat pits of ancient Rome
For centuries, tens of thousands of Romans who could not afford a wake were thrown into open pits near Porta Esquilina.
Some of these pits known as carnaria (“flesh pit”) or puticuli (“places of decay”) were discovered in the late 19th century by archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani. His story is worth quoting:
“The Esquiline cemetery was divided into two parts: One for those who could afford to be buried separately… and one for the slaves, beggars, prisoners, among others, who were thrown into the loathsome mass of the mass graves.
This last part of the cemetery had about three hundred meters; There were found a few thousand puticuli about four meters square and nine meters deep, of which I found and examined something like seventy-five. In many cases the contents of these pits were reduced to a uniform mass. , dark, slimy, pestilent, greasy;in some situations the bones stood out and could be identified. The reader will hardly believe it when I say that men and beasts, bodies and carcasses and all manner of refuse from the city ended up in these dens.” ( Ancient Rome in the light of recent discoveries (Boston, 1898), 64–5)
Next, Lanciani reports, an apartment building collapsed into a mass grave:
“During the foundation of a house, on the corner of Via Carlo-Alberto and Via Mazzini, the builder began to fill the ten-foot-deep trenches below street level. Suddenly the southern part of the ground gave way, and half of the area was swallowed by a ditch 9 meters deep. After examining the circumstances of the catastrophe, it was concluded that the southern portion [of the building] was built in the area of a cesspool, with thousands of corpses, which when in contact with the air after twenty centuries, they were reduced to dust or nothingness, leaving the moat open.
According to measurements taken at the time, this mass of human remains was at least fifty meters long, thirty meters wide and nine meters deep . Given each body half a cubic meter of space which is more than enough, there were no less than twenty four thousand bodies in that relatively small space.
The tens of thousands of corpses thrown into the pits outside the Esquiline gate were mixed with the excrement and all the waste generated by about a million inhabitants of Rome. Even after two millennia the smell of this mixture was overpowering.
Kiki
When I was 16 or so, I came home from school and made some soup on the stove in a big pot. I sliced carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, and various herbs. First I let them caramelize: then I deglazed it with some wine followed by a lot of hot water. Excited about my work I turn down the heat so I could let it sit for a while.
Anyway, I went to my room ready to play some games on my pc. Stoned and easily distracted as I was, I forgot about my delicious soup. So, when I was watching a movie, my cat started meowing at me, however, more intensely than usual. The meowing was a very high pitched more aggressive tone.
At first I thought she was hungry, so I said: “Kiwi, come on, you just had some food 3 hours ago.” Then it hit me. When I opened the door to my room, I was standing in front of a black cloud that filled my entire apartment.
First thing I did was open my window and lock my cat in my room, then I went to the bathroom next to my room and made myself a mask from a wet towel. Afterwards I ran to the kitchen, took the red glowing and smoking pot off of the stove, opened the balcony door, turned off the heat, breathed some fresh air, and ran to the living room. There I opened the remaining windows to create air flow. Luckily no one called the firefighters.
So this is Kiwi; she is 20 years old now.
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Nauru!
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What is so strange about this island, you ask? Y’all better buckle up for this one…
Nauru, the third smallest State in the world, is literally a giant pile of sh¡t. No, no, let me explain…
You see, Nauru is an island largely made of phosphate rock. What is phosphate rock? Phosphates are a key ingredient in agriculture and are mined extensively around the world. One of the ways phosphates are made is through the excrement of birds and bats.
And oh boy, Nauru was just littered with phosphates!
You see, Nauru was sitting on top of a pile of excrement gold and everyone knew it. So, in 1968, when Nauru gained independence from Australia, A LOT of mining began. So much so that Nauru was briefly one of the richest countries in the world during the 70’s and 80’s.
Big deal. So what? Well, this is Nauru from far away.
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Looks nice? Let’s take a closer look…
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No, that isn’t some dystopian hellscape…
That’s what left of the island’s interior because Nauru got a little mining crazy…
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However, after years of very intensive mining, there is almost no phosphate left on the island.
But at least Nauru used the money to invest in its people and left them with a high standard of living, right? Think again.
Nauru made a series of terrible investments and its elites squandered billions on vanity projects. Within 40 years, Nauru went from being extremely rich to quite poor. But at least the locals have some beautiful industrial art to look at..
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These structures were used to transport phosphate into ships for export.
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Sadly they are now useless rusting hulks.
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Oh, but that is not the end of the story!
Nauru is famous in other ways. For instance, Nauru’s approximately 10,000 people are among the most obese in the world with over 70% of adults considered obese. And the island became (in)famous for having one of the most prevalent rates of adult diabetes in the world. This is because Nauru must import cheap, nutrient poor, food since the island’s land is unable to grow much of anything.
But the weird doesn’t stop there, my friends…
Nauru is now an importer of refugees.
Nauru is so poor it had to make a deal with Australia.. in return for debt relief and cash payments Nauru now hosts the infamous Australian migrant detention camps. So when refugees from South East Asia flee to Australia and are caught they are promptly shipped out to Nauru.
As you can see, these migrants are quite content with their new home.
And that’s all folks.
The Stage Is Being Set For A Massive Global Rice Shortage
This wasn’t supposed to happen. For months, I have been writing article after article about the rapidly growing global food crisis, but even though drought is devastating so many other crops all over the planet I thought that there would be plenty of rice in 2023. Unfortunately, I was wrong. As you will see below, some of the biggest rice producers in the entire world are being hit really hard, and rice production is going to be way below expectations this year. Of course rice is one of the primary staples that poor nations depend upon, and so this is a really big deal. If there is a serious shortage of rice in 2023, that is going to have enormous implications for all of us.
An announcement that India just made should be front page news all over the globe right now.
India usually accounts for over 40 percent of all worldwide rice shipments, but now they have placed severe restrictions on all future exports this year…
India banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various grades of rice on Thursday as the world’s biggest exporter of the grain tries to augment supplies and calm local prices after below-average monsoon rainfall curtailed planting.India exports rice to more than 150 countries, and any reduction in its shipments would increase upward pressure on food prices, which are already rising because of drought, heat-waves and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Did you catch that last sentence?
150 different nations depend on rice from India.
So where are they going to get their rice?
Normally, India exports more rice than the next four largest exporters combined…
India’s rice exports touched a record 21.5 million tons in 2021, more than the combined shipments of the world’s next four biggest exporters of the grain: Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States.
Europe certainly isn’t going to make up the difference.
Italy is the biggest rice producer in the European Union, and it is being projected that rice production in that nation will be down about 30 percent this year due to the endless drought that Europe is currently experiencing…
The unfavorable weather has already taken a serious toll on the rice industry. Estimates say farmers are expecting to lose around 30 percent of their yields this year, and the industry has already hemorrhaged around $3 billion as a result of the drought. Many of the most stricken fields are in the regions of Lombardy and Piedmont, which together produce around 90 percent of Italy’s rice.
Rice production is going to be way down in the United States as well.
California usually produces about 20 percent of all U.S. rice, but this year a severe lack of water for agricultural purposes is making things exceedingly difficult for rice growers in the state…
Rice farmers in Colusa County, 60 miles north of Sacramento, received 18% of the federal water shipments to which they are entitled, far less than normal and too little for many to grow the crop at all.“Even in a drought, rice farmers have been able to get a fairly high percentage of the water they had rights to,” said Tim Johnson, chief executive of the California Rice Commission. “Now they are experiencing drought at a level they’ve never seen before.”
What we are witnessing is truly unprecedented.
I know that this may be hard to believe, but it is being reported that “about 300,000 out of the 550,000 acres committed to rice growing in California will go without harvest” in 2022. The following comes from Zero Hedge…
New satellite imagery shows a large swath of California’s rice fields has been left barren without harvest as fears of a ‘mini dust bowl’ emerge due to diminishing water supplies.Kurt Richter, a third-generation rice farmer in Colusa, the rice capital of California, told San Francisco Chronicle that fields upon fields of the grain have already transformed into a “wasteland.”A report via the US Department of Agriculture shows about 300,000 out of the 550,000 acres committed to rice growing in California will go without harvest. This could potentially drive up sushi prices nationwide because most of the rice produced in the state is for just that.
Of course many other crops are being hit extremely hard as well.
California normally produces approximately a third of our vegetables and about two-thirds of our fruits and nuts, and the lack of production this year is already starting to show up on our store shelves…
High temperatures in the Western U.S. are hitting the produce industry, damaging crops, shrinking shipments, and leaving fewer leafy greens and fruits on supermarket shelves.A California grower said some of his lettuce leaves are turning brown and melting in the fields because of crop diseases intensified by the high temperatures. In Pennsylvania, a retailer said its stores went a week without having strawberries to sell. A New York distributor has substituted honeydew melons for watermelons, which have become scarce.Supermarkets say they are giving less shelf space to products with weather-induced discolorations, bruises or burns. Stores are cutting prices on poor-quality items to avoid getting stuck with them, and increasingly receiving products from Canada, Florida, New Jersey and Ohio instead of California, long the go-to source for U.S. grocers.
This crisis is only going to get worse in the months ahead.
I have been encouraging my readers to get prepared for a very long time, and I hope that you have taken that advice.
All over the planet, agricultural production is going to be way below original projections this year. For example, just check out what is happening to olive oil production in Spain…
In July, temperatures broke records to top 40 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. By early August, sweltering heat and a lack of rainfall had pushed almost two-thirds of land in the European Union into drought conditions, according to the European Drought Observatory.Olive oil producers have been hit hard. Kyle Holland, a pricing analyst for oilseeds and grains at Mintec, a commodities data company, expects a “dramatic reduction” of between 33% and 38% in Spain’s olive oil harvest that begins in October.Spain is the world’s biggest producer of olive oil, accounting for more than two-fifths of global supply last year, according to the International Olive Council. Greece, Italy and Portugal are also major producers.
The food that will not be harvested in the months ahead will not be on our store shelves in 2023.
Food prices are going to rise to absolutely ridiculous levels, and the head of the UN is already warning of “multiple famines” next year.
This is not a drill. Food shortages really are coming, and our world will be changing in wild and unpredictable ways.
A purrrrfect cat
When my sister was 17 she was hit while out running and left in the street.
Nearly 2 years later she had miraculously recovered and one day we went to the local Humane Society.
She decided that she wanted a cat of her own, but after playing with all the cats and kittens, none felt right. On the way out we caught a glimpse of the back room where there were a few kittens in cages. We asked why they were segregated and the volunteer said the tiny grey kitten had been found near his mom’s body, hit by a car and left on the side of the road.
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I never saw my sister pull out money so fast.
But there was another problem. He had a severe eye infection. At best they hoped he would be able to see shadows to navigate. I am legally blind, with an eye condition that gets worse as I age.
Well fuck, now I’m taking out money too.
Long story short, not too long after the adoption my sister abruptly decided to move away for school, and couldn’t take the kitten with her. Plus he had been bonding with my cat.
He is now 7 years old. I think he can see more than shadows but I do need to thoroughly clean his eyes every day. We trip over one another a lot. He is a fat lazy spoiled indoor housecat.
He was destined to be here. Among his people
**EDIT** to add a few more photos. Including his dapper oil painting🤣
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It’s in the cards
When I was 19 – 20 I dated somebody who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
I was madly in love with this woman—she made me happy, but I was quite controlling, and lacked trust in her. In retrospect, this lack of trust stemmed from the fact that she kissed another guy (at a bar) while she was dating somebody else in her previous relationship. I’m not justifying my behaviour; it was cruel, selfish, and toxic.
In my mind, a huge step in self-improvement is being honest with your short-comings in the past; recognizing where you fell short, and actively identifying that behaviour as negative behaviour is a HUGE step. I was controlling. I was possessive. I was toxic. But we were toxic for each other.
Anyway, continuing with the story.
At one point during our relationship I became somewhat fascinated by Tarot cards. Now, I don’t really believe in divination, but this experience… freaked me out. A lot. I am a man of science, reason, rationality… the thought of these cards actually doing anything made me laugh, but what happened really freaked me out.
One day I asked the cards “Give me one card to describe my girlfriend.”
The Devil card showed up.
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“Huh,” I thought to myself, looking from the card, to her. “Weird. Let’s try this again. Give me one card to represent my girlfriend.”
Again… The Devil card came up.
I was shocked. Once could have been a fluke, twice… yeah, probably also a fluke.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Weird,” I repeated. I looked at her, and her eyes were as big as saucers. “I don’t know why this card keeps coming up.”
Then the card showed up again. And again. And again. No matter how many fucking times I shuffled, no matter HOW MANY WAYS I SHUFFLED, that same card came up. I even spread them all out on the floor, messed them up with my eyes closed, etc. My heart felt like it sunk into the pit of my stomach.
I didn’t really pay much attention to it afterwards. I just concluded that it was, logically, my subconscious mind paying attention to that card, because her lies and deception is what I feared most.
The strange thing was, though, is that for the entire month that I was interested in tarot cards, she had been talking to her ex on a daily basis. I found that out after she cheated on me.
That will stick with me for the rest of my life. The card really did represent her—at least, her at the time. It was almost as if it were a warning from the universe. Almost.
The scientific and rational part of me is also saying that it was merely blind chance; just a sheer, high improbability. The chance of me getting the devil card five times in a row is (1/78)^5, so about 0.0000000346%! I have higher chances of winning the lottery.
The non-scientific, non-rational part of me asks…
Was it?
Princess Xixi
My Princess Xixi here does not bother much about food.
Xixi
When I feed her she quite often does not even touch it until later, by next mealtime the bowl will be empty, but it is not the first thing on her mind, She would quite often just smell the food and come straight back onto my lap.
I had to go into hospital for 4 days, and she hardly ate anything, just walikng around the house and crying, she looked everywhere, did not even sleep much. Kept my wife awake as she has a very loud voice when required.
When I came home she was in raptures, never left my side for days thinking I would disappear again.
Sounds somehow remotely like nail polish remover or bad breath.
But it is a horror substance that could well be used as a chemical weapon.
The people of Freiburg in Germany could certainly tell you something about it, although the last time Freiburg came into contact with it was 150 years ago.
Thioacetone does not explode and is not toxic.
But it is the smelliest substance in the world.
And Freiburg tried to manufacture it in 1889.
The manufacturing process is not simple. The compound (CH3)2CS remains liquid only when the temperature is below -20 degrees Celsius.
When it warms up, it clumps together to form a solid – trithioacetone – which also smells awfully.
The stench could be perceived even half a kilometer away from the factory. And it spread throughout the city. Siue had to be evacuated.
People vomited and fainted from it.
Quote from Wikipedia:
[...] our attempts in this direction failed, however, due to the fact that this substance has a terrible odor, which spreads in an astonishingly short time and contaminates whole parts of the city.[...] The intensity of the odor of this substance exceeds, according to our perceptions, everything that has become known in this respect from strong-smelling substances."
– Baumann, E. & Fromm, E., p. 2593
To illustrate the intensity of the odor, the authors describe an attempt to produce thioacetone from 100 grams of acetone. The experiment took place in Freiburg, Germany. In doing so:"[...] the odor spread in a short time to distances of 3/4 kilometer to far-flung parts of the city. Inhabitants of the streets adjacent to the laboratory complained that the smelling substance had caused fainting fits, nausea and vomiting in some persons.[...] Extremely small quantities of the sulfurous body are thus sufficient to pollute millions of cubic meters of air."
– Baumann, E. & Fromm, E., p. 2594
That should have been enough experience.
But in 1967, chemists at an Esso station near Oxford decided to try again.
A bottle of the substance was not well capped, and the entire lab now had itself “an odor problem beyond our worst expectations.”
The chemists replaced the cap, , but this “led to an immediate complaint of nausea and sickness from colleagues working in a building two hundred meters away.”
In addition, thioacetone produces the kind of odor that sticks.
Two chemists who had made tiny amounts of the thioacetone could no longer go into restaurants because they smelled so bad that waitresses sprayed the air around them with scented spray.
The Esso people abandoned the project for obvious reasons.
But before they did, they had to realize how bad thioacetone stinks.
They were the ones who found out that the smell of thioacetone had a range of half a kilometer.
But also that even one drop of a solvent with thioacetone in it, dripped onto a glass plate in a closed work area with its own exhaust air, could immediately still be smelled several hundred meters away.
The odor also could not be rinsed off or diluted. Clothing that has come into contact with this high-performance stink can therefore be disposed of, since the fibers can never be completely freed of it.
However, if the skin is also affected, it can take months for the odor to recede completely. Fortunately, the chemoreceptors in one’s own nose get used to these odors relatively quickly, so at least one will be happy with it alone.
And the person who is in a room with this drop can kiss any social contact goodbye for the next few weeks.
Is it a coincidence that people react to such thio compounds in even the smallest amounts with such terrible disgust?
No.
Because evolution has taught us to immediately move away from inedible substances.
These thiols are also formed in the process of decomposition, when the amino acid cysteine is broken down into thiols.
And what is a truly unbelievably disgusting smell to us?
Decomposing meat.
And in thioacetone, this effect is taken to the extreme.
I could now write about what bad people might do who get their hands on the stuff.
But I’d rather not.
Over The Past Week We Have Gotten Several Steps Closer To A Nuclear War With Russia
I am so horrified by what is going on in Ukraine right now. The world desperately needs peace in Ukraine, but instead both sides are going for the throat. The Russians and the western powers are both absolutely determined to win in Ukraine, and so now we are witnessing a very dangerous game of “chicken” that could ultimately lead to nuclear conflict. Western leaders seem quite sure that the Russians are bluffing and that there is no possibility that they would actually use nukes if backed into a corner. Meanwhile, Russian leaders seem to believe that there is a limit as to how far NATO powers will go to support Ukraine. But what if both sides are wrong?
A series of miscalculations led up to this war, and another miscalculation scuttled a peace agreement that the Russians were ready to agree to back in April…
Most Americans are unaware how close Russia and Ukraine came to ending the current war in April.Last March 27, Ukraine president Zelensky told his people “Our goal is obvious – peace and the restoration of normal life in our native state as soon as possible.”He was hinting at what went unsaid: Ukraine and Russia, brokered by NATO member Turkey, reached a tentative fifteen-point peace plan to end the month old war.Key points were Russia withdraw from all Ukraine except for breakaway Donbas and Crimea. Ukraine would pass on future NATO membership, pledging neutrality between Russia and NATO. Donbas and Crimea would undergo political transition based on self-determination to be recognized by both combatants. Ukraine security would be guaranteed by neighboring countries but no foreign troops would enter Ukraine.
The Biden administration and the other western powers convinced Ukraine to reject the agreement.
They wanted this war and they thought that they could win it.
For months things looked quite grim. The Russians were steadily taking territory and the number of Ukrainian dead bodies just kept piling up.
But now the Ukrainians have suddenly found a huge source of new manpower, and they have launched a stunning counter-offensive that has successfully taken a tremendous amount of territory that the Russians had previously captured…
The Ukraine military’s stunning offensive gained momentum Monday, reclaiming several more northeastern villages and forcing the retreat of overwhelmed Russian troops from the region.A Russian-installed official in the Kharkiv region said Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian troops by 8-to-1 and had broken through to the Russian border. Vitaly Ganchev told the state-owned Rossiya-24 television channel on Monday “the situation is becoming more difficult by the hour.”
After suffering such staggering losses over the course of the war, how could the Ukrainians suddenly find enough bodies to outnumber the Russians by 8 to 1 in that area of the front?
Some Russian pundits are claiming that this new counter-offensive is being led by “Western mercenaries”…
The Rossiya-24 news channel on Monday interviewed Vitaly Ganchev, a Russian-appointed official in the Kharkiv region, who said that Russian troops in the province had been outnumbered “eight times over.” He also said, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian forces had been bolstered by “Western mercenaries”.
And right now social media is filled with videos of fighters that are involved in the counter-offensive that appear to have very strong American accents…
From the very beginning of the war, there have always been some western fighters in Ukraine.
But now there seems to be tens of thousands of them.
Certain Russian sources have been alleging that special operations units from the U.S., the UK and other NATO powers are at the tip of the spear of this new counter-offensive.
Of course western leaders would completely deny this.
So the truth is that we don’t really know what is going on.
But what we do know is that Ukraine suddenly has large numbers of highly trained and highly competent soldiers that are giving the Russians all they can handle.
If military units from western powers have been secretly deployed in Ukraine, that would represent a massive escalation.
In response to the counter-offensive, the Russians have hit power plants all over Ukraine with cruise missiles…
A shocking new video is believed to show a massive explosion at a Ukrainian power plant after a Russian missile strike which plunged the region into darkness.The video shows the blast at Kharkiv’s CHPP-5 power plant, which is followed by a devastating shockwave that ripples out in all directions, rattling the house the person filming is standing in.Other videos show strikes on several power stations, which collectively shut off power to almost one third of Ukraine.
Up to this point in the war, the Russians had avoided going after critical civilian infrastructure such as power plants.
These strikes also represent a massive escalation.
Following the attacks on Ukrainian power plants, all of a sudden Azerbaijan started shelling Armenia…
Large clashes broke out between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces along the border between the two countries on Monday night, according to Azerbaijani and Armenian Defense Ministries.Azerbaijani artillery and UAVs reportedly targeted sites in Vardenis, Goris, Sotk and Jermuk in eastern Armenia.
I am convinced that Azerbaijan was encouraged by the Biden administration to do this.
Russia is committed to protecting Armenia, and if this conflict were to flare up it would force the Russians to divert resources from Ukraine.
Both sides just keep escalating matters, thinking that the other side will eventually be forced to back down.
But what if that never happens?
Numerous top U.S. politicians have publicly stated that the only acceptable end to the war is the full liberation of Ukraine.
A former president and prime minister of Russia on Monday dismissed reports of Ukrainian gains and warned the Kremlin might ultimately demand “total surrender” of the Kyiv regime. Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of his nation’s Security Council, alluded to Zelenskyy’s refusal to conduct a dialogue “with those who put forward ultimatums.”
“The current ‘ultimatums’ are a warm-up for kids, a preview of demands to be made in the future,” Medvedev said. “He (Zelenskyy) knows them: the total surrender of the Kyiv regime on Russia’s terms.”
American satellites are being destroyed in orbit. Russia?
-MM
The American “Galaxy 11” communications satellite has partially collapsed/broken-up while in orbit. Fragments from the satellite pose a danger to other, existing satellites.
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Information about this satellite:
Satellite Name: Galaxy 11 (G-11)
Status: active
Position: 93° W (93.1° W)
NORAD: 26038
Cospar number: 1999-071A
Operator: Intelsat
Launch date: 21-Jan-1999
Launch site: Guiana Space Center
Launch vehicle: Ariane 44L
Launch mass (kg): 4488
Dry mass (kg): 2775
Manufacturer: Boeing (Hughes)
Model (bus): BSS-702
Orbit: Inclined
Expected lifetime: 14 yrs.
Call sign: S2253
Beacon(s): 11701V, 11702V, 11701LHCP, 11702LHCP
Details:
24 C-band, 40 Ku-band transponders
No word yet as to why the satellite is breaking apart, or whether its orbit is deteriorating. If so, there is also no word about where, or when, it might come back to earth.
Other countries with satellites are very perturbed by this because they say that pieces from the U.S. satellite now pose a collision danger with THEIR satellites.
Do you remember the panic that swept through Wall Street in September 2008? Well, a lot of people believe that it is starting to happen again. And once selling starts to spiral out of control, it is going to be incredibly difficult to stop. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,276 points. That was the seventh biggest single day decline in history, and on a point basis it was actually larger than anything that we witnessed back in 2008. Investors were bitterly disappointed by the monthly inflation report, because it showed that everything that the Fed has done so far has not worked. It appears to be inevitable that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates in a desperate attempt to get inflation under control, and that has put Wall Street in a very sour mood.
The widespread selling that we saw on Tuesday was more than just a little bit frightening. The Dow just kept plunging throughout the day, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq actually performed even worse than the Dow did…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1,276.37 points, or 3.94%, to close at 31,104.97. The S&P 500 dropped 4.32% to 3,932.69, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 5.16% to end the day at 11,633.57.Just five stocks in the S&P 500 finished in positive territory. Tech stocks were hit particularly hard, with Facebook-parent Meta skidding 9.4% and chip giant Nvidia shedding 9.5%.
This was the worst day for stocks since the early days of the pandemic.
But one bad day does not make a crisis.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
But when you compare the current behavior of the stock market to how it behaved just prior to the crash of 2008, the similarities are astounding.
It certainly isn’t going to take much to spark a massive rush for the exits. If a bad inflation number can cause the sort of stampede that we witnessed on Tuesday, what would happen if we received some really bad news?
Not that I am downplaying the severity of the inflation report. Consumer prices have now been going up for 27 months in a row, and what is happening to food is especially alarming…
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that prices on all items in the United States increased by 8.3 percent from August of 2021 to August of 2022, with the price of gasoline rising 25.6 percent, the price of electricity rising 15.8 percent and the price of food rising 11.4 percent.The report indicated that the 11.4 percent year-to-year increase in the price of food was the highest in 43 years.
If you have been to the supermarket lately, you already know that food prices have risen to very painful levels.
And some of our most important staples such as milk, flour and eggs are leading the way…
Americans browsing the supermarket aisle will notice most food items are far more expensive than they were a year ago. Egg prices soared 39.8%, while flour got 23.3% more expensive. Milk rose 17% and the price of bread jumped 16.2%.Meat and poultry also grew costlier. Chicken prices jumped 16.6%, while meats rose 6.7% and pork increased 6.8%. Fruits and vegetables together are up 9.4%.
The “experts” at the Fed don’t seem to understand that hiking interest rates won’t fix this.
We are in the early stages of a historic global food crisis that is going to be with us for a long time to come. The biggest reason why food prices are increasing so aggressively is because there simply isn’t enough supply.
So the Fed can try to hammer demand as much as it wants, but people are still going to have to buy food and hiking interest rates is not going to help us produce any additional food.
If anything, higher rates may put a damper on food production.
This is a totally different environment from the early 1980s, and those that believe that higher rates will tame inflation like they did back then are just being delusional.
But just like we saw back in 2008, higher rates will crush the U.S. housing market and the economy as a whole.
During a recent interview, billionaire John Catsimatidis asked the Federal Reserve to stop raising rates because if we stay on the path that we are on it will “destroy the rest of the country”…
So I call upon the Federal Reserve…If we keep raising interest rates, we’re going to destroy the rest of the country.Somebody has to stand up and say it doesn’t have to happen. And they’re going to destroy the rest of the country. And there is a recession, it could turn into a depression.
Are you willing to go through an economic depression just to get the inflation rate back down to acceptable levels?
If not, that is too bad, because the Federal Reserve is not accountable to you.
And we are already starting to see signs that higher rates are having a really negative impact on hiring plans…
Based on the latest data from U.S. small businesses (SMBs), the demand for labor has declined again, with nearly two out of every three (63%) putting their hiring on hold because they can’t afford to add staff, and 10% of that group is laying off workers.This decline is quite significant, as it’s 18% higher than it was in July (at just 45%). Beyond that, the percentage reducing their staff jumped 6% to 10% this month from just 4% in July.
Just like in 2008, vast numbers of Americans will lose their jobs in the months ahead.
Are you sure that your job is secure?
Economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating all around us, and our short-term problems could get a whole lot worse if 100,000 railroad workers decide to initiate a work stoppage on Friday…
President Biden and senior administration officials are working with others in the transportation industry, including truckers, shippers, and air freight, for “contingency plans” if a rail shutdown materializes at the end of the week, a White House official told Bloomberg.The administration is trying to understand what supply chains could be disrupted the most — and how to utilize other forms of transportation to ensure commodities and consumer goods continue to flow across the country.More than 100,000 railroad workers could walk off the job on Friday if freight-rail companies and unions don’t reach labor agreements.
Let us hope that such a work stoppage can be avoided.
But even if it can, there is no short-term hope on the horizon.
Our current crop of leaders is the worst in all of U.S. history, and they have us on a path that leads to national economic suicide.
So many of us have been pleading with Fed officials to stop raising rates, because higher rates will absolutely cripple our economy.
Unfortunately, they don’t really care what any of us think, and they have made it quite clear that more extremely foolish rate hikes are dead ahead.
I would encourage you to brace yourself for a full-blown national economic meltdown, because that is precisely where the Fed’s policies will take us.
Yesterday, as reported by the Hal Turner Radio Show via global shortwave, the country of Azerbaijan commenced military attacks against its neighbor, Armenia. Heavy Artillery, Mortar, and Rocket fire came from Azerbaijan into Armenia.
As seen on the map above, the red dots indicate the areas attacked; all of which are inside Armenia proper and **not** in any disputed land area. This is a deliberate attack on Armenia by the Azerbaijani military. Nothing to do with a “border clash.”
This new clash comes just shy of two months after a historic deal between Europe and Azerbaijan for natural gas supplies.
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Azerbaijan To Ramp Up Gas Exports To Europe By 30%
On July 18, it was announced “Azerbaijan will increase natural gas exports to Europe this year by 30 percent as the EU seeks to lessen its dependence on Russian energy amid the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said that over the eight months of this year, Baku “supplied to Europe 7.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas.”
“The overall volume of (gas) supplies to Europe in 2022 will amount to 12 billion cubic meters” — a 31 percent increase compared to 2021, he said.”
So here it is, just two months or so later, Azerbaijan is now flush with cash, and starting new military hostilities with its neighbor.
It is no small aside that both Armenia and Azerbailjan are on Russia’s southern border. In fact, this morning, Armenia publicly announced it will seek Russian military help under the CTSO Treaty, to deal with Azerbaijan’s latest military attacks.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia. The CSTO consists of select post-Soviet states. The treaty had its origins in the Soviet Armed Forces, which was replaced by the United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and then by the successor armed forces of the respective independent states.
Similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty (CST) establishes that an aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all. The CSTO charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances.
This outbreak of hostilities seems like a NATO tactic. It __could__ serve to force Russia into a second military front, the first being its ongoing Special Military Operation in Ukraine.
And since Europe is now desperate for Azerbailjan natural gas, one can expect Europe to turn a blind eye to Azaerbaijan’s militarism, because Europe needs natural gas.
What makes this new outbreak of hostilities very worrisome is how easily it could mushroom into NATO v. CTSO.
A world war . . . starting in . . . Armenia and Azerbaijan? On its face, in normal times, such a thought would be ridiculous. Today, it is quite possible.
And so it goes . . .
The Church – Under The Milky Way
Brazil bans sales of iPhones without USB power adapters
Unethical to sales I complete products , as most old and news customers customers world have expect a charger to be included in the box. The looting civilisation is simply too creative in the method of looting.
Brazil bans sales of iPhones without USB power adapters - BBC News
Brazil says it is banning the sale of iPhones which do not include a power adapter.
In a statement on Tuesday, Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security said it has fined Apple 12.275 million reais (£2.04m).
Brazilian consumer agency Senacon said Apple’s decision not to include power adapters with new iPhones discriminates against consumers by selling an “incomplete product”.
Apple will appeal against the ban.
The company told Reuters in a statement it would work with Brazilian authorities to "resolve their concerns," but added it has previously won several court rulings in Brazil on the issue.
Ukraine’s sponsors have been given TWO tough ultimatums; One from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the other from Russian Council Member Dmitry Medvedev . . .
"The one-time success at the front [Last week] is only beautifully shown in the press. The death toll along the entire line of clashes has exceeded ten thousand {Ukrainians], the wounded fill all hospitals, there is a shortage of ambulances. The [Russian] Allied forces put the Nazis in one fight by the hundreds. And then the political situation deteriorated. There were rumors in Ukraine that it was Russia who "retreated" to make a camouflage maneuver before something grandiose.While the "patriots" were waiting for a respite, Russia hit the power facilities. Earlier, Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny reported to Zelensky about the formation of a large naval group of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, including amphibious assault ships.The West fears that the failure of the grain scam is to blame. First, Putin pointed out at the WEF that Russia and poor countries were deceived in the grain deal. Then Erdogan admitted it. The UN Secretary General also had to admit this, although an attempt was made to wriggle out. In the USA, they said that everything was fine, but soon their experts still recognized the lack of proper effect from the increase in grain on the market.Ukraine and more of its sponsors, apparently, have been given a tough ultimatum: either grain goes to Africa, and Russia opens an international food market, or the Russian Navy again blocks Ukrainian ports, but this time with the landing of [Russian] troops with the destruction of the entire port infrastructure. In parallel, the entire Ukrainian infrastructure will "lie down". How this will approximately happen has already been shown. It could be said that it was a hint about the consequences if Russia's interests were ignored." -- Sergey Lavrov
While Foreign Minister Lavrov focused on the Grain Scam, where out of 87 Cargo vessels filled with Ukrainian grain, only TWO vessels went to “needy” countries — the rest went to Europe – below is a much more blunt warning from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
As you will read, Medvedev is openly warning NATO that if they continue pouring weapons into Ukraine to kill Russians, then the borders of NATO countries will “disappear” and the Russian Army will commence operations!
Here is Medvedev’s statement:
The Kiev camarilla gave birth to the project of "security guarantees", which in fact are a prologue to the Third World War. Of course, no one will give any "guarantees" to the Ukrainian Nazis. After all, this is almost the same as applying Article 5 of the North Atlantic Pact (Washington Treaty) to Ukraine. For NATO, it's the same, only side view. That's why it's scary.Our sworn friends – Western bosses of various calibres, to whom this hysterical appeal is addressed – must finally understand one simple thing. It directly concerns the hybrid war between NATO and Russia. If these idiots continue the unrestrained pumping of the Kiev regime with the most dangerous types of weapons, then sooner or later the military campaign will move to another level. Visible borders and potential predictability of the actions of the parties to the conflict will disappear from it. It will follow its own military scenario, involving new participants in it. It has always been so. (Emphasis added by HTRS) And then Western countries will not be able to sit in their clean houses and apartments, laughing at how they are carefully weakening Russia with someone else's hands. Everything will catch fire around them. Their people will grab grief in full. They will literally have the earth burning and concrete melting. We'll get a lot of it, too. It will be very, very bad for everyone. After all, it is said: "From these three plagues, from fire, smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths, a third part of the people died" (Rev 9:18).But while the narrow-minded politicians and their dim-witted think tanks, thoughtfully twirling a glass of wine in their hands, talk about how they can deal with us without entering into a direct war. Dull idiots with a classical education. -- Dmitry Medvedev
HAL TURNER ANALYSIS AND EDITORIAL OPINION
Medvedev makes no secret of his NUCLEAR threat. When he wrote “Everything will catch fire around them” and “They will literally have the earth burning and concrete melting.” he is clearly and unambiguously referring to exactly what takes place upon a NUCLEAR explosion.
We in the West are being warned, yet again, that the actions WE are undertaking, will result in US getting hit by Russian nuclear weapons!
How much more forthright can the Russians be?
They are telling us what will happen. They have warned us over, and over, and over again, since their Special Military Operations began in February, yet our Public Servants in government seem to laugh it all off as some sort of “posturing.”
In my assessment, it is not posturing – at all.
It seems to me the public servants of government here in the USA and over in Europe aren’t going to believe they are causing us all the possibility of nuclear annihilation, until an actual nuclear bomb flies through their window and blows their asses to Kingdom Come!
By continuing to supply ever more lethal weaponry to Ukraine, the public servants in government both here in the USA and over in Europe are going to get a lot of uskilled.
They should stop what they’re doing and let Ukraine fall.
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
It went like this:
I went through a series of horrendous events prior – general stress, a family murder, a relationship breakup where I basically became homeless in doing so and then my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. This was all in a 7 month period. Through it all, I went to work.
i finally got some money together and asked for 3 months off to go to the country my mom lived in as it was on the other side of the world.
3 months might sound like a lot but it was a company who regularly allowed up to 12 months off for a career break. i went in to see the boss.
“we can’t give you 3 months off, best we can do is 3 weeks”.
“it’s not enough, I need a proper break. I’ve been through a lot, I’ve not taken a break, I want to go spend time with my mom”
”we can’t give you the three months”
”I’ve worked here for 5 years, which is about 4 years longer than most stay here”
”we can give you 3 weeks”
”okay. I quit”
”you can’t do that, you need to wirk out your notice period”
”too bad, see you”
I walked out. Two days later I get a call asking me to reconsider.
i said no.
they asked me to go in and clean out my desk. i said no.
I went to see my mom, spent a few months with her and I don’t regret it, not even for a second.
Sade – Is It A Crime (Live Video from San Diego)
The Red Boat
A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red❤️, as the owner had asked him.
x
While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.
When he finished painting, he received his money and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.
The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”
“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”
“Ah! But it was such a small service… certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”
“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:
When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.
When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.
They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.
When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.
Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.
Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!
You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.”
So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when that care and kindness may return to you in surprising ways.
Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realising how many lives you’ve saved. ❤️
I hope that you are all having a nice late Summer. Enjoy some fine food, watch a good movie or two and spend some time with friends and family. Here’s today’s installment.
Are the large Muslim nations protesting against China’s treatment of the Uyghurs? If so, how?
Good Grief! Why are you citing sources like BBC and Uyghur Human Rights Project??? They’re both well-known China haters. You can’t believe anything they publish.
There is no major Muslim country that opposes China’s treatment of the Uyghurs. None. Nada. Zilch.
In fact, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of 57 member states and representing 1.8 billion people, have praised China’s actions in Xinjiang. You can’t get better endorsement than that!
Day in the Life of a Kitchen, A (ca. 1960s)
Oh my! So dated. It’s so strange…
Are Asians Smart?
I can only speak for myself, but honestly, I don’t think I’m very smart.
I mean, if I were really smart, I guess I’d be working at NASA or some such agency by now. Or cracking codes … for fun, ala Russell Crowe’s John Nash in A Beautiful Mind or Benedict Cumberbatch’s Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.
And there are always a bazillion non-Asians out there who will constantly harp on how Asians are only good at taking exams in school and that Asian people are not creative at all and have very low critical thinking skills. They simply LOVE to pull that one out whenever someone even dares to mention that Asians are smart. The number of people who believe those canards are legion.
In my experience, both in real life and in Quora, Asians aren’t the ones who go around sharing their individual IQ scores with all and sundry like hormonal teenage boys showing off their genital measurements in the locker room.
I think most Asians put more focus on having a strong work ethic and a vast reservoir of grit and patience rather than on flaunting their intelligence/IQ score.
But those are just my observations.
After all, the meme below didn’t just spring out of nowhere.
x
What Americans Think
x
x
Denis Rader was a serial killer
Denis Rader
But he lived a very normal life on the outside. He had a family, who he spent quality time with.
Secretly, he had all the makings of a killer, with one of the hallmark early signs: torturing animals as a kid.
His first murders happened in 1974, when he strangled an entire family of 4, one by one. He then took souvenires with him on the way out, which would be the signatures of his killing.
Over the coming years, he went on to murder 6 more people, most of whom were women, some elderly, strangling all of them.
Against the backdrop of this, he was a boy scout troop leader and living his normal life with his family, being an attentive husband, mowing his lawn.
And yet, continued leaving hints about his murders, and taunting police who couldn’t find him. But eventually, of course, they did catch him. (One of his letters eventually was traced to his address, his arrogance getting the best of him).
Without getting too graphic, but worth noting—at the crime scenes—homicide investigators sometimes found semen samples. All of his murders had been driven by a sexual fantasy to “bind, torture, kill”, which he acted on.
But strangely, they never found that the bodies of the women had been violated. The sex act had taken part separately.
Why?
Because Denis Rader said, he didn’t want to ”Cheat on his wife.”
Which is a strange purity test to give yourself while basking in such an inferno of morality.
Regardless of that, his wife and him are now divorced.
The judge even waived the usual 60-day waiting period. I guess he understood the wife’s sense of urgency.
Rader is now serving 10 consecutive life sentences. Though he probably deserves worse.
How To Make Fish in Parchment By Rachael
I love this “paper fish” in China. The spices just saturate the fish.
Tears for Fears – Shout (Live at Roskilde Festival 2019)
Blunt Warnings from Russia Foreign Minister and Federation Council: Nuclear War Coming
Ukraine’s sponsors have been given TWO tough ultimatums; One from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the other from Russian Council Member Dmitry Medvedev . . .
"The one-time success at the front [Last week] is only beautifully shown in the press. The death toll along the entire line of clashes has exceeded ten thousand {Ukrainians], the wounded fill all hospitals, there is a shortage of ambulances. The [Russian] Allied forces put the Nazis in one fight by the hundreds. And then the political situation deteriorated. There were rumors in Ukraine that it was Russia who "retreated" to make a camouflage maneuver before something grandiose.While the "patriots" were waiting for a respite, Russia hit the power facilities. Earlier, Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny reported to Zelensky about the formation of a large naval group of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, including amphibious assault ships.The West fears that the failure of the grain scam is to blame. First, Putin pointed out at the WEF that Russia and poor countries were deceived in the grain deal. Then Erdogan admitted it. The UN Secretary General also had to admit this, although an attempt was made to wriggle out. In the USA, they said that everything was fine, but soon their experts still recognized the lack of proper effect from the increase in grain on the market.Ukraine and more of its sponsors, apparently, have been given a tough ultimatum: either grain goes to Africa, and Russia opens an international food market, or the Russian Navy again blocks Ukrainian ports, but this time with the landing of [Russian] troops with the destruction of the entire port infrastructure. In parallel, the entire Ukrainian infrastructure will "lie down". How this will approximately happen has already been shown. It could be said that it was a hint about the consequences if Russia's interests were ignored." -- Sergey Lavrov
While Foreign Minister Lavrov focused on the Grain Scam, where out of 87 Cargo vessels filled with Ukrainian grain, only TWO vessels went to “needy” countries — the rest went to Europe – below is a much more blunt warning from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
As you will read, Medvedev is openly warning NATO that if they continue pouring weapons into Ukraine to kill Russians, then the borders of NATO countries will “disappear” and the Russian Army will commence operations!
Here is Medvedev’s statement:
The Kiev camarilla gave birth to the project of "security guarantees", which in fact are a prologue to the Third World War. Of course, no one will give any "guarantees" to the Ukrainian Nazis. After all, this is almost the same as applying Article 5 of the North Atlantic Pact (Washington Treaty) to Ukraine. For NATO, it's the same, only side view. That's why it's scary.Our sworn friends – Western bosses of various calibres, to whom this hysterical appeal is addressed – must finally understand one simple thing. It directly concerns the hybrid war between NATO and Russia. If these idiots continue the unrestrained pumping of the Kiev regime with the most dangerous types of weapons, then sooner or later the military campaign will move to another level. Visible borders and potential predictability of the actions of the parties to the conflict will disappear from it. It will follow its own military scenario, involving new participants in it. It has always been so. (Emphasis added by HTRS) And then Western countries will not be able to sit in their clean houses and apartments, laughing at how they are carefully weakening Russia with someone else's hands. Everything will catch fire around them. Their people will grab grief in full. They will literally have the earth burning and concrete melting. We'll get a lot of it, too. It will be very, very bad for everyone. After all, it is said: "From these three plagues, from fire, smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths, a third part of the people died" (Rev 9:18).But while the narrow-minded politicians and their dim-witted think tanks, thoughtfully twirling a glass of wine in their hands, talk about how they can deal with us without entering into a direct war. Dull idiots with a classical education. -- Dmitry Medvedev
HAL TURNER ANALYSIS AND EDITORIAL OPINION
Medvedev makes no secret of his NUCLEAR threat.
When he wrote “Everything will catch fire around them” and “They will literally have the earth burning and concrete melting.” he is clearly and unambiguously referring to exactly what takes place upon a NUCLEAR explosion.
We in the West are being warned, yet again, that the actions WE are undertaking, will result in US getting hit by Russian nuclear weapons!
How much more forthright can the Russians be?
They are telling us what will happen. They have warned us over, and over, and over again, since their Special Military Operations began in February, yet our Public Servants in government seem to laugh it all off as some sort of “posturing.”
In my assessment, it is not posturing – at all.
It seems to me the public servants of government here in the USA and over in Europe aren’t going to believe they are causing us all the possibility of nuclear annihilation, until an actual nuclear bomb flies through their window and blows their asses to Kingdom Come!
By continuing to supply ever more lethal weaponry to Ukraine, the public servants in government both here in the USA and over in Europe are going to get a lot of us killed. They should stop what they’re doing and let Ukraine fall.
Have you ever been approached by an undercover cop? Why?
Yeah, and I came this close — > < — to getting busted.
I was working graveyard at a convenience store. It wasn’t the shittiest job I’ve worked at, but it wasn’t far from the shittiest either.
In California, liquor sales stop at 2 am. There aren’t many customers after that so the graveyard guy had to stock the cold cases and sweep and mop the store.
I had just finished mopping, around 5 am, when a car pulled up in front of the store and two old guys climbed out.
They were both dressed like they were going fishing. One of them went to the cold case with pre-made sandwiches, the other walked to the other side of the store and grabbed a case of Olympia Beer. They brought their selections to the register.
When I saw the case of beer I said, “Come on now guys, it’s 5 am, I can’t sell you that beer.”
The taller of the two played dumb and asked, “Why the hell not?”
I explained that it was against state law.
The tall guy’s buddy said, “Oh come on, man. Who is going to know? We’re going fishing up in the Delta. There’s not going to be anywhere to buy beer where we’re going.”
“Yeah,” the tall one continued, “can’t you just help us out here?”
These guys reminded me of my dad. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of fishing trips with my dad. Those fishing trips always started at 5 am. And my dad always brought plenty of beer for him and his buddies.
I was just about to say OK and sell them the beer when the short guy again asked, “Who is going to know? Who even cares?”
“The ABC cares,” I replied, referring to the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control.
“Who the hell are the ABC?” he shot back.
“They’re a bunch of assholes that have nothing better to do than bust people for selling alcohol after hours,” I answered without hesitation.
Both guys erupted in howls of laughter. I was bewildered.
Finally, the tall one reached in his back pocket and pulled out his badge.
They were an undercover team from the ABC.
I was a little embarassed I had just called them assholes to their faces. But all I could think about was how incredibly close I was to selling them the beer.
We talked for a while. They congratulated me on being a good employee and following the law.
They had no idea how close they were to an arrest.
But I knew.
This — > < — close!
SIMPLE STEPS HOW TO COOK BRAZILIAN RIBEYE STEAK
Military expert: “Under Balakleya we missed a blow, but we need to get up, dust ourselves off and move on”
Military expert: “Under Balakleya we missed a blow, but we need to get up, dust ourselves off and move on”
Can the breakthrough of Ukrainian troops in the Izyum direction be called a failure? Where are these hyped regional volunteer battalions and how do they show themselves? And will the Russian economy cope with industry?
Valentin ALFIMOV
We talked about this on Radio KP with an expert of the Center for Military-Political Journalism, the author of the Telegram channel Colonelcassad Boris Rozhin.
Kyiv WILL PUSH FOR ANOTHER COUPLE OF MONTHS
- Boris Alexandrovich, Ukrainian breakthrough in the Kharkiv region. Why did Ukraine suddenly go on the offensive so brazenly? Have you sharply accumulated strength or have nothing to lose and are running out of time?
- Preparations for this counter-offensive have been going on for quite a long time. Soldiers were trained by NATO countries, parts were re-equipped by NATO countries. It was generally developed and supervised at all stages by NATO countries. By the way, you are talking in vain only about the Kharkiv region.
- Wasn't the offensive near Kherson a diversionary maneuver?
- No, it's not a distraction attack. The enemy had a specific goal - to break through our defense line and reach the Dnieper. Only the attack on Kherson did not work out for them. They choked on blood, suffered very heavy losses. Even according to American underestimated data, the loss ratio was one to five in our favor. They also tried in Kharkov, but it didn't work there either. But under Balakleya it turned out. They broke through the front and brought in the accumulated reserves. And that is why ours had to regroup. Withdraw troops to the line of the Oskol River and now deal with the stabilization of the front.
Was this attack expected?
- To some extent. The West urged Ukraine on to do something. They need visible results from their deliveries, military aid, training. They got it and now they will try to continue further.
- How long will it last?
- The next couple of months - for sure.
- Why customize? To be in time before winter?
Europe is in a hurry because winter is coming. They want some kind of results. The Biden administration is in a hurry because there will be midterm elections in November, and local forecasts say they could lose control of Congress. Therefore, they urgently need some military-political successes. Therefore, Zelensky, regardless of any losses, costs, will try to drive forward.
We talked with the expert of the Center for Military-Political Journalism, the author of the Telegram channel Colonelcassad Boris Rozhin
FOREIGNERS MAKE THE WEATHER
- Ukrainians trained a whole corps over the summer - according to various figures, from 20 to 40 thousand people. Part was prepared in Poland, part in Germany. Did they go on the attack?
- There were brigades well known from Donbass - 92nd, 93rd, 25th. Naturally, they were replenished, including trained people, foreign mercenaries, and a reserve. But it is impossible to say that new brigades suddenly appeared from somewhere, which had never been there.
- That is, these 40,000 NATO-trained soldiers will appear somewhere else?
- In Ukraine, on the one hand, they are gaining a lot of cannon fodder for mobilization, on the other hand, they are trying to train some and make those units that can be used for offensive operation.
- The role of mercenaries is high or they do not make the weather?
- Definitely high. Against the backdrop of some kind of territorial defense, mercenaries can strengthen some areas. In addition to the fact that these are just soldiers with weapons, there are also specialists - drone operators, snipers, specialists in electronic warfare, cyber warfare. They can seriously strengthen in one direction or another. We saw this on the Balakleysko-Izyum sector of the front as well. It is important to understand that in addition to ordinary mercenaries, there are also active officers of various NATO countries who mimic mercenaries. This applies to the British SAS, Polish special forces, special forces from the Baltics.
THIS IS NOT A FAILURE
- Can the breakthrough of the Ukrainians to Balakleya and our subsequent regrouping with the withdrawal of troops be called a failure?
- The idea of the enemy was to go to Oskol with a swift blow from different sides and surround our entire Izyum grouping. Under these conditions, the command acted in the only possible and correct way - it began to pull troops from the Izyum ledge and withdraw them. Yes, with losses, but the main group was able to retreat. The main idea of the enemy, which was precisely in the environment, they could not realize.
- So this can be called a failure?
- This is something in the spirit of how it was in Syria - the loss of Palmyra. First we took it, then the militants recaptured it, then we took it again. In Syria, we also not only walked from victory to victory. This must be taken stoically, like a man. Yes, we missed a beat, got up, dusted ourselves off, moved on.
- And why did it happen? We don't have enough people, we don't have enough weapons?
We have a lot of weapons. Even the enemy talks about it all the time. From the people's point of view... Obviously, if you are fighting in the volunteer army mode, and the enemy is conducting a total mobilization, it is clear that he has superiority. And this makes it difficult to achieve the goals of the special operation. Therefore, there are constant discussions in society - “Is it necessary to carry out mobilization?”. At least limited, partial. To saturate the front with people.
VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MOBILIZATION
- The Kremlin said that there was no talk of mobilization. But the State Duma was proposed to allow fathers with many children to sign up for the mobilization reserve. Is this the start of a mobilization?
- Not necessary. Various measures are constantly taken. Here are at least the same BARS (special army reserve battalions - ed.), which are recruited in the regions. This is like a measure, like a replacement for mobilization.
- Where are they? Are they already involved? Did they show themselves?
- The same Krasny Lyman held one of these BARS, and the men showed themselves perfectly. When the enemy thought to take Liman with a swoop, they stood there and held their sector. This suggests that with proper equipment, with solid leadership, they can very well become (and have already become, I think) a good addition to regular troops. There are also detachments of volunteers who train on the territory of the Chechen Republic - in the same Gudermes, in a training camp. Volunteers arrive, they are equipped there, they conduct classes, and then they are sent to the special operation zone.
- It is clear that volunteers will not achieve the same pace as during mobilization.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Let's talk about the future? What to expect in the near future?
- The enemy, after success near Izyum and Balakleya, will try to force our army out of the eastern part of Kupyansk, will try to break through to the north of Kupyansk and will try to push in the direction of Krasny Liman, Svyatogorsk. Some attacks are possible on the Nikolaev, Zaporozhye or Donetsk directions. That is, they will try to make another breakthrough with operational goals. The task of our command is to identify this attempt and stop it in a timely manner. And as the front stabilizes, it is necessary to carry out work to replenish units, increase the size of the existing grouping.
- And our command will reveal this "one more attempt"?
- Yes, the enemy does not hide the desire to attack. So it is a very responsible task and intelligence. On the other side, they are also on the alert - constant misinformation, spreading rumors: "We will advance there, no, right there." I think we understand this.
- Will ours go on the attack? People don't understand why everything stopped.
- What is the official goal of the second stage of the special operation? Liberation of the territories of the DPR. The offensive is going on in the area of Soledar and Artemovsk. Now there will be fighting for Zaitsevo, in the industrial zone of Artemovsk, street fighting continues in Soledar. Gradually and slowly there is progress, and quickly they do not promise anything.
WE ARE NOT FIGHTING WITH NATSIKS
- The authorities of Zaporozhye are sounding the alarm - Ukraine is gathering a very large group under their belly. Do they still have enough strength?
- They pulled a lot to the Balakleya region. Now they can hastily transfer part of the forces along internal routes for reinforcement either to the Zaporozhye or Donetsk direction. Such a train of thought is quite conceivable.
- The head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Danilov, said that they will not calm down until Russia exists in its current form. Is it about the very “decolonization” that the West dreams of?
- This is the usual barking of puppets. It is important to understand that the people who unleashed the war in Ukraine have not changed their goals since the time of Obama. Their task is to eliminate Russia as a subject of international politics. In fact, back in 2014, we were equated with ISIS and the Ebola virus. And our enemies, of course, are not these Nazis who played in the cargo cult of the Third Reich, but those who sponsor them. They stood in Syria behind the backs of ISIS and Al-Qaeda, here - behind the backs of the Ukrainian Nazis.
"CALIBROV" ENOUGH
Will our economy survive? Is there a margin of safety?
- In the West, there was clearly a hope that it would collapse in February-March due to serious sanctions, people would take to the streets, this would lead to a military-political collapse in the spring. But we see now that the problem of the Central Bank now is not a dollar for two hundred, but how to raise the dollar at least to seventy, because they went too far with stabilization. Economically, yes, the country is doing quite well. It is clear that there will be a decline this year, and there will be next, but not so big. If we have relied on a long confrontation, naturally, the tasks, in addition to actions at the front, are to play our economic cards. And at the moment they are played quite successfully, in my opinion.
- Will the industry cope? "Caliber" riveted?
- We were told that the "Caliber" will end in March, but, as we know, they still fly successfully today. It is clear that everything is not so simple
- it takes time to collect them, stocks are spent. But the pace at defense plants has increased, they work in three shifts. There may be interruptions with imported components. But for most issues, these issues are solvable. Yes, there may be plugs where we screwed up our production. Now we have to deal with the creation of enterprises from scratch. But we can do nothing.
DON'T WAIT FOR CHINESE AT THE FRONT
- And our partners can help us with something? Belarusians, CSTO, China.
- Certain help is being provided. It's just that it is not advertised in order to avoid additional economic consequences. It is important to understand that they all consider their own economic interests. Much remains behind the scenes.
- Is it some kind of technical assistance, intelligence or something else?
- Technical assistance, assistance in some issues that are important for the actions of the Russian Federation. For example, Belarus does not hide the fact that it provided great assistance in the logistics or treatment of our military on its territory.
- Can we see some Chinese division "Kun Lun" near Kharkov?
- I do not think that the Chinese will directly participate in the special operation. They have their own war on the nose, they are preparing for other things.
What did your parents say to you as a kid that still affects you today?
My mom had me at 13 because she was raped by her dad and she lived in an area where abortion was greatly discouraged. Lived with her grandma and my grandma. She tried her best to raise me but she was just too young to do anything significant.
I remember with great remorse that she always worked 2 jobs to try and support me.
My mom was a saint, she treated me like the most precious thing of her life. I was very good academically compared to my peers , though I didn’t realize how much it made my mom happy that time. This was during my high school. I wanted to make my momma happy that’s all I cared for that time. She used to watch me study late nights till 2 in the morning though I had school on 9 am.
She told me “ Promise me that you will stay strong. You wake up every morning to fight the demons that left you so tired the night before, and that my love, is bravery “
Though I didn’t understand what was her thoughts that time, I told her not to worry about anything and go to sleep.
She was never abusive or strict towards me, she would often spoil me rotten, she loved me a lot and I loved her. My grandma died when I was pretty young and eventually we were on our own and it put a lot of stress on my mom. She was depressed and tired. Nothing had gone right in her life. She had no education or pension. She wasn’t able to find husband because her situation was really undesirable and she worked 6 days a week and just didn’t have time or energy to socialize. She didn’t have any friends and I was all she ever had but she never took it out on me.
Always she would find a way to make me happy. I remember one Christmas in particular she bought me a laptop and to do that she had to work overtime and skip meals half time. She was dangerously skinny that time.
After I graduated college and moved out, She killed herself. She said in her suicide note that she loved me more than anything and she would miss me but now I was a man of my own life
Tears rolled down my face. I was devastated.
She couldn’t live anymore. She didn’t have a reason to live anymore because she hated her life but she loved me.
Rest in peace, mom.
Every 3rd soldier in the Kharkiv offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a citizen of a NATO country
The offensive operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (and NATO) in the Kharkiv region was planned by the US military command. About 200 units of heavy military equipment and up to 9,000 soldiers were involved in last week’s offensive.
Reportedly, forensic examination of the dead bodies from the Offensive reveal that one in three soldiers operating under the Ukrainian chevron was a citizen of a NATO member state.
These forces were 4-5 times superior to the units of the DPR, LPR and Russia that were defending their positions in the region.
The main goal of the Ukrainian offensive was a flank attack, encirclement and subsequent destruction of the Russian grouping in the area of Balakleya, Kupyansk and Izyum.
The Russian command predicted the offensive of large forces of Ukraine and NATO in this direction. It was aware that it would be extremely difficult to contain Ukraine’s offensive with the forces that Russia had there. It was also virtually impossible to move sufficient reinforcements in time without weakening other areas on other front lines. Having assessed the risks, the Russian military decided to leave the weakly fortified positions and withdraw troops to new lines and straighten the lines of communication.
Before the start of the Ukrainian offensive, civilians were evacuated from the threatened settlements, who agreed to move to the territory of the Russian Federation.
From September 6 to September 11, Russian units retreated in an organized manner under the cover of specially organized units. Using mobile defense tactics, the Russian military destroyed the plan of Kyiv and NATO to encircle the Russian group.
At the same time, obvious mistakes were made by the Russian military. The area in front of the forward positions was not mined. Units on the front lines de facto comprised no more than 30 percent of the enumerated military personnel. The soldiers were not properly provided with anti-tank weapons. There were also front-line reconnaissance failures. As a result, the artillery cover of the withdrawal was ineffective in the first days of the Ukrainian offensive.
Russian troops were withdrawn to new positions along the eastern bank of the Oskol River with minimal losses. Meanwhile, both sides confirm that Ukrainian and NATO units have suffered significant losses in manpower.
It is expected that, within days, the official assessment of the Russian Ministry of Defense will be publicly acknowledged that the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has definitively escalated into a state of war between Russia and NATO, with unpredictable results for all parties to the conflict.
This assessment is important because the Ukrainian/NATO side is the first, so far at an unofficial level, to engage in NATO’s direct war against Russia, while Russia continues to operate with the term “special military operation”, continuing to use limited forces and means.
Given the new reality that this is, in fact, an actual war between NATO and Russia, military analysts in the Russian Army have suggested it will be expedient to limit and complicate the provision and supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the utmost. They have told their Russian bosses that all routes for the supply of weapons and material and technical means, bridges, railways and highways, places of concentration of troops and military equipment must be destroyed.
Key to the Russian military analysis is the assessment that the railway network of Ukraine must be completely de-electrified without the possibility of restoration.
It is widely understood within the Russian Ministry of Defense that no more offensive attempt by NATO forces should come as an unpleasant surprise to the Russian army. COVER INTEL reports that Mobile reserves of both ground forces and artillery, as well as aviation, must be created by Russia to instantly respond to emerging threats.
COVERT INTEL also reveals that the number of Russian troops should become consistent with the new threats that have emerged.
Steely Dan – Do it again (with lyrics) Restored video
Memory lane time.
Have people ever tampered with a meal and then served it to a rude customer?
When I was a teenager I waited tables at a pizza restaurant. One day, my sister came in with her friends. Her goal was clearly just to pick on me, knowing that I would have to serve her as the waitress.
My sister and I had never really gotten along. We were always fighting about one thing or another. Plus, it was a very small town and she was only one year older than me, so we had had to deal with each other all the time.
So, she came into the restaurant one slow afternoon with her group of friends and they all proceed to make my afternoon miserable. They kept insisting on changing tables. They kept insisting that I re-wipe down their table and then complain that it was now wet and that they needed to change tables again. They all wanted new silverware. They wanted extra silverware.
They wanted more paper place mats to color (we had the place mats with activities on the back for children). They wanted more crayons. They wanted un-used crayons. They wanted pens.
They all wanted drinks in child-sized sippy cups (which had unlimited refills) and then they all wanted re-fills every 2 minutes, because they were teenagers and could finish the cups in one gulp. They all wanted extra lids, which they played with and chewed on. They all wanted extra straws, which they then flicked at me.
Every time I turned my back, they flicked wadded up napkins or straw wrappers at me. They would try to sneak up behind me and untie my apron and laugh. They would purposely try to trip me while I was carrying their food or drinks.
My manager was beyond annoyed, and tried to talk to them about their behavior, but my sister kept insisting that the service was terrible and they wanted to complain about their waitress. My manager told me she would have given the table to a different waitress (she knew it was my sister), but I was the only one, since we were always so slow in the afternoons.
Finally they finished their food and I offered to box up the last slice of pizza remaining. I took the pan with the single slice, took it back to the kitchen and took an enormous bite out of it, before I boxed it up.
Before they finally left, my sister realized what I had done and went to complain to my manager. My sister took the box to my manager, Leslie, and I was sure I was going to get in trouble. However, Leslie looked at the the slice and immediately said “I’m sorry, I don’t see any bite mark.” My sister pointed to the huge chunk missing from the slice. “No, I’m sorry,” said Leslie, “I don’t see anything. Are you sure it was bitten, I simply can’t see anything there.”
My sister spent the next five minutes yelling at my manager and trying to get her to see the patently obvious bite in the slice of pizza before finally giving up and storming out. I never did get into trouble for it, not from my manager, nor from my parents, who my sister also complained to. They all seemed to think that she had gotten what she deserved.
Scientists claim Covid virus contains tiny chunk of DNA that ‘matches sequence patented by Moderna THREE YEARS before pandemic began’
Genetic match discovered in Covid’s unique furin cleavage site on spike protein
Matched genetic sequence patented by Moderna for cancer research purposes
Researchers say one in 3trillion chance Covid developed the code naturally
Critics of the study are sceptical of its author’s conclusions, suggesting that the sequence match is not as rare as has been claimed
Fresh suspicion that Covid may have been tinkered with in a lab emerged today after scientists found genetic material owned by Moderna in the virus’s spike protein.
They identified a tiny snippet of code that is identical to part of a gene patented by the vaccine maker three years before the pandemic.
It was discovered in SARS-CoV-2’s unique furin cleavage site, the part that makes it so good at infecting people and separates it from other coronaviruses.
The structure has been one of the focal points of debate about the virus’s origin, with some scientists claiming it could not have been acquired naturally.
The international team of researchers suggest the virus may have mutated to have a furin cleavage site during experiments on human cells in a lab.
They claim there is a one-in-three-trillion chance Moderna’s sequence randomly appeared through natural evolution.
.
In the latest study, published in Frontiers in Virology, researchers compared Covid’s makeup to millions of sequenced proteins on an online database.
The virus is made up of 30,000 letters of genetic code that carry the information it needs to spread, known as nucleotides.
It is the only coronavirus of its type to carry 12 unique letters that allow its spike protein to be activated by a common enzyme called furin, allowing it to spread between human cells with ease.
Analysis of the original Covid genome found the virus shares a sequence of 19 specific letters with a genetic section owned by Moderna, which has a total of 3,300 nucleotides.
Why hasn’t there been more news reported about the human rights violations by China against the Uyghurs? Are there no actual videos and films verifying the abuses?
There are no Uyghur human rights violations. This is a fabrication of Western governments and Western mainstream media.
The question you should be asking is why Western governments and Western media are lying about China.
The fact is Western governments are afraid of losing their global hegemony to China’s rise. So they must do everything they can to “contain” China, including smearing China’s reputation and turning world opinion against China.
There is not a single shred of credible evidence to support the accusation of Uyghur human rights violations. There is, however, a great deal of fabricated evidence. The West are very, very good at propaganda.
Guns N’ Roses – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Live At Wembley Stadium 1992) – HD Remastered
ARMENIA INVOKES ARTICLE 4 (COLLECTIVE SELF DEFENSE) OF CTSO TREATY – THE WORLD NOW HAS SECOND WAR FRONT
Wednesday morning, the country of Armenia invoked Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSO) which calls for all member countries to come to the military defense of Armenia as neighboring Azerbaijan commences military attacks against Armenia. The world now has a SECOND war front, after the ongoing Ukraine front.
If one of the Member States suffers aggression (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty), it will be considered by the Member States as aggression (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty) against all the Member States of this Treaty. Article 4 of the CTSO is akin to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.
In case of aggression commission (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty) to any of the Member States, all the other Member States at request of this Member State shall immediately provide the latter with the necessary help, including military, as well as provide support by the means at their disposal in accordance with the right to collective defense pursuant to article 51 of the UN Charter.
The Member States shall immediately inform the United Nations Security Council on the measures taken on the basis of this article. When implementing these measures, the Member States shall adhere to the relevant provisions of the UN Charter.
(the article is as amended by the Protocol on amendments to the Collective Security Treaty of May 15, 1992, signed on December 10, 2010)
Azerbaijan commenced artillery shelling and mortar fire into Armenia about 48 hours ago. Several hundred Armenian troops and Border Security force are already dead.
Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan stated the Armenian side has 105 killed in action with hundred more injured including civilians.
GEORGIA REFERENDUM ON WAR WITH RUSSIA!
Adding to the troubles, the country of Georgia is holding an actual public referendum on whether or not Georgia should re-open its war with Russia!
The leadership of Georgia can organize a nationwide referendum and ask the question: do the Georgians want a war with Russia.
Giorgi Kobakhidze, chairman of the party, made such a statement at a briefing in the office of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
“Let the people say whether they want to open a second front in Georgia against Russia,” Mr. Kobakhidze emphasized.
He promised that the authorities “will act as the people say.”
(HT NOTE: At the time they spoke about this, the situation in Armenia did not yet exist, so Georgia was speaking as if THEIR country would become a “second” front. Now, with the situation in Armenia, if the people of Georgia vote to open a new war with Russia, that will be a THIRD war front!)
The politician expressed hope that the Georgian people “will bring clarity, whether he agrees with the statements of Ukrainian politicians about the need to involve Georgia in the war or with the position of the authorities of his country.”
This is how Irakli Kobakhidze responded to the statement of Fyodor Venislavsky, representative of the President of Ukraine in the Parliament, who advised Georgia “to take concrete steps to liberate Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
Earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, as well as advisers to the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak and Oleksiy Arestovich, publicly addressed Tbilisi with similar advice.
“They all directly said that the opening of the second front in Georgia is highly desirable,” the head of the Georgian Dream recalled at the same briefing.
Hal Turner Analysis and Editorial Opinion
All of this is the underhanded work of the collective West: in particular, the European Union and the United States/NATO. Turkey backs Azerbaijan. So does Israel. Turkey is a NATO member. Israel being a welfare client of the United States, has to do what the US tells it or they lose their $3 Billion+ a year in free U.S. money and their little country, that can’t even sustain itself, fails. So The trouble with Azerbaijan and Armenia is a direct result of Turkey and Israel doing what NATO and the USA instruct them to do.
Through Turkey and Israel, Azerbaijan got told to re-commence war attacks against Armenia BECAUSE Russia backs Armenia. The US and EU __want__ to bog Russia down in multiple wars. As such, what is now taking place is all deliberate. It is all the deliberate exacerbation of old grievances, into war.
Step by step, the US and EU are deliberately inciting, fomenting, and facilitating what will very soon become World War 3.
I have a suggestion: Maybe some of the people who are doing these things, should become victims of their own war? They know who they are . . . and so do we. Maybe it could be like Seth Rich; they become a mugging victim that no one investigates?
Gavin Orlowski of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was crossing a bridge with his mother, Erin Brown, when he heard her gasp in horror. Someone in a van ahead of them had just tossed a gray tiger cat out the window. Before they could identify the van, it took off and disappeared into traffic.
x
As Gavin jumped out of the car, the terrified cat began to scamper around between other cars. By the time Gavin managed to divert traffic, the cat was hanging off the overpass. He was able to grab him and get him back into the car before he was hit.
x
The frightened cat was so traumatized that he huddled in Gavin’s coat, refusing to leave his side. His claws had been torn off and he had hurt his back in the fall from the van. Gavin and his mother decided to take him to Blue Pearl Animal Hospital.
x
A friend on Facebook offered to cover the vet bill. Fortunately, the cat was otherwise unhurt and in good health. He quickly recovered.
5-min Quick & Easy Stir Fry Shrimp w/ Ginger & Spring Onion 速炒姜葱虾 Chinese Stir Fry Prawn Recipe
Most of Asia is On the Side of China and Not the U.S. in Growing Conflict
After the megaphones of the West have already called for all-out economic war against Russia, the battle cry against China is now being heard, regardless of the consequences for the “common people.” The reaction of the Asian countries, however, is likely to disappoint the vociferous, self-righteous screaming sharks.
Draft would provide the island with $4.5 billion in security assistance
A Chinese mainland spokeswoman on Wednesday strongly opposed a possible Taiwan-related bill by the United States that aims to bolster the island’s “defense “capabilities against the mainland, saying that any attempt of “6 independence” will never succeed.
The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is set to review a draft of the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 on Wednesday, which was described by its sponsors as “the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward Taiwan “since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
The bipartisan bill sponsored by US senators Bob Menendez and Lindsey Graham would provide Taiwan with about $4.5 billion in security assistance over the next four years and recognize the island as a “major non-NATO ally”.
The legislation would also allow Taiwan to rename its office in the US from the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office” to the “Taiwan Representative Office”.
Zhu Fenglian, the spokeswoman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference in Beijing that the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair, which brooks no outside interference.
The drafting of the Taiwan-related bill by the US lawmakersseriously violates [1] basic norms governing international relations, [2] the one-China principle and [3] the three China-US joint communiques, she said. “We firmly oppose it.”
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan have used every means to persuade some US senators to draft the bill for its attempt of realizing “Taiwan independence”, which will never succeed, she said.
Chiu Yi, a Taiwan-based cross-Straits expert, said in a post on his Facebook page, that once passed, the US would openly destroy its one-China policy, and relations between the US and Taiwan would be made official.
If that happened, the mainland would not sit idle and let the US manipulate “one China, one Taiwan” to undermine the status quo across the Taiwan Straits, he wrote.
Separately, Zhu denounced Chiu Tai-san, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, who claimed last week that the island doesn’t accept any arrangement to resolve the Taiwan question and urged easing the current situation in the Straits.
The remarks came after the People’s Liberation Army conducted military drills around Taiwan in response to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier in August, despite strong opposition from the mainland.
Zhu said Chiu made the remarks to hide the fact that it was the DPP administration who relied on the US to seek “independence” that caused tensions across the Straits.
Only by returning to the common political foundation of the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle can cross-Straits relations improve, and can peace and stability across the Straits be effectively guaranteed, she said.
No matter how the cross-Straits situation changes, the consensus that marked its 30th anniversary this year remains the anchor for cross-Straits relations.
I highlighted the key points.
[1] This document violates all three Chinese RED LINES.[2] It destroys the USA adherence to the One-China policy.[3] China will not sit by idle and do nothing.
-MM
The Russian army launched a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. There were two attacks, the local administration did not announce in which parts of the city the defeats took place.
Military observers tweeted that Tu-95MS strategic (and nuclear) bombers attacked dams and reservoirs in Ukraine with Kh-101 missiles, which have a range of 5,500 km and carry 500 kg of explosive warheads. The deputy head of the presidential administration in Kyiv, Kiril Tymoshenko, announced that a total of 8 rockets were fired at Kryvyi Rih.
Some missiles hit below the waterline of the dam across the Ingulets river. The impact severely damaged the dam and the water level in the Ingulets river is now surging – severely as seen in the video below:
Electricity and fresh water is now cut-off in Kryvyi Rih.
This is now the second large demonstration of what Russia is capable of doing to Ukrainian infrastructure; the first being missile strikes against electrical stations a few days ago.
Unlike the electric grid, which was re-routed, there’s no way to make a quick fix to this dam.
Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over (Glastonbury 2022)
Al-Omar Oil Field in Syria Just Blown Up; U.S. Theft of Oil from there, halted
The Oil field at Al-Omar Syria has been blown up and is presently on fire.
This is one of the oil fields from which the United States has been stealing Syrian oil.
It is not yet clear what caused the series of explosions, but initial AND UNVERIFIED reports say it was Russian Air Force missiles.
Both Syria and Russia have repeatedly warned the US they are not authorized to be inside Syria and should leave. In addition, both Syria and Russia have told the US, Israel, and Turkey, the theft of Syrian oil must halt.
The US, Israel, and Turkey have ignored those warnings.
Now, the oil field from which they have been stealing, is blown up.
Violence In California Reaches “Epidemic” Levels As Our Society Rapidly Deteriorates All Around Us
I can’t understand why anyone would still want to live in California. Yes, there are lots of high paying jobs and the weather is very nice, but crime is completely and utterly out of control. As you will see below, a new report that has just been issued is warning that violence in the state has now reached “epidemic” levels. The police are doing what they can to try to contain the violence, but at this point they are vastly outnumbered by the predators. Sadly, this is the end result of literally decades of cultural rot, and what is happening in California is going to happen to the rest of the nation if we do not take urgent action to turn things around.
Originally, I was going to write about something else today. Tens of thousands of rail and port workers are threatening to go on strike, and this could definitely cause some substantial economic disruptions…
America is bracing for chaos as tens of thousands of railway, port, and hospital workers look set to strike over the winter – plunging the country into further disruption.As many as 60,000 railway workers, 15,000 nurses, and 22,000 West Coast port workers are plotting mass walkouts as they seek better working conditions.Several US freight railroads said they were preparing for widespread strike and service interruptions Friday, a deadline set by two holdout labor groups in protracted talks with railroad carriers about better benefits.
But even though these strikes could cause severe short-term problems, they will eventually be resolved.
So in the greater scheme of things, they really aren’t a major concern.
On the other hand, our cultural decay is a massive ongoing crisis that isn’t going to go away.
As I mentioned earlier, a brand new report that was just released is warning that violence in the state of California has risen to “epidemic” levels…
The Golden State is losing its luster. A troubling new report labels physical and sexual violence in pandemic-era California a statewide “epidemic.” To put it simply, violence is on an alarming rise.According to the new annual report from the California Study on Violence Experiences across the Lifespan (CalVEX), violence statistics have seen a significant increase since COVID-19 emerged. The report, conducted by scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, reports more than one in six Californians (18%) experienced either physical or sexual violence in just the past year.
If you live in one of the biggest cities in California, this isn’t news to you.
Once upon a time, the state was a place of great beauty and great tranquility, but now it has been transformed into a crime-infested hellhole.
I was particularly alarmed by the numbers on sexual violence in this new report…
While more than 1.5 million adults in California admit to committing acts of sexual violence in the past year, men were more than two times as likely as women to report that they perpetrated sexual violence and intimate partner violence.Women also showed greater mental health impacts and life disruptions due to violent experiences, with 82 percent of women reporting anxiety or depression as a result of physically aggressive, coercive or forced sexual behavior.
Of course much of this violence is being fueled by illegal mind-altering drugs.
Some of these drugs are so immensely powerful that they literally put people into catatonic states for an extended period of time…
I will never understand why people would willingly do that to themselves.
Today, we are facing the biggest drug crisis that we have ever seen in American history, and addicts will often do whatever it takes to get another fix.
Sadly, this is one of the factors that is contributing to skyrocketing rates of shoplifting all over the nation…
We are all painfully aware of the huge rise in shoplifting and even violent robberies of stores. We watch the videos of thugs brazenly raiding stores, and read about the organized crime rings that have sprung up to profit from the trend. Shoplifting has become a big, if criminal business. Chances are that if you use eBay to purchase a wide range of products at reduced prices you have unwittingly purchased stolen goods. No good way for eBay to stop the practice.
One homeless man that originally came from Alabama recently admitted that he regularly shoplifts in order to fund his heroin use…
There have been homeless addicts in the streets of San Francisco for years, but now we have reached a point where they are seemingly everywhere.
I saw complete hopelessness in the eyes of haunted souls dragging themselves down the street looking for their next fix.I saw men and women of all ages hunched over on the sidewalks with open wounds all over their bodies.I saw the filthy tent cities stinking with human excrement and strewn with needles and pipes.I saw children staring in horror at people dying right in front of them.
At one time, such activity was limited to the bad portions of the city.
But now addicts that have been drugged out of their minds are pulling down their pants and crapping in the streets right in front of some of the most expensive real estate in San Francisco.
This has made the wealthy people really angry, and Mayor Breed says that she is finally going to “get serious” about this crisis.
Of course “getting serious” doesn’t mean arresting a bunch of people and throwing them into prison.
That just wouldn’t be very “progressive”.
Instead, authorities in San Francisco are getting ready to launch a “soft-touch” program that will seek to “interrupt” drug trafficking…
City supervisors released a resolution for a vague ‘soft-touch’ initiative called ‘San Francisco Recovers.’And here’s the catch, and it’s a doozy: the plan is being touted as, ‘a way that nobody’s going to jail but we’re doing an effective job of interrupting the drug market and drug scenes.’Is this a sick joke?
Yes, it certainly sounds like a sick joke to me.
Good luck with all that.
If major cities such as San Francisco actually want to have a chance of turning things around, they need to send the police out to round up all the drug dealers.
Unfortunately, police forces in many of our biggest cities are rapidly getting smaller.
In fact, a whopping 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022 alone…
The liberal city of Seattle is losing police officers amid a major spike in crime, 770 KTTH reported.“We’re screwed,” former King County Sheriff John Urqhart said, according to 770 KTTH.In total, 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022, including six that left in August, 770 KTTH reported, citing a police source. Since the city council voted to defund the police department in 2020, nearly 500 police officers have left the force.
I wouldn’t want to be a police officer in a major west coast city at this point either.
They are underpaid, the politicians treat them with tremendous disdain, and they are often hindered by absolutely ridiculous regulations which keep them from doing their jobs effectively.
We like to think that we are so “advanced”, but the truth is that if you compare video footage from major cities on the west coast from decades ago to video footage from today there is absolutely no comparison.
Our society is melting down right in front of our eyes, and if we stay on the path that we are currently on there is no future for our country.
But the politicians insist that people like me have it all wrong.
They continue to tell us that things are better than ever and that a glorious future for our nation is dead ahead.
You can believe that if you want, but the truth of what is really happening to our society is on display for the whole world to see.
America is dying, and we are quickly running out of time to turn things around.
Angel
Angel is a Bengali cat who travels around the world with her family. Due to the fact that two animals died during a flight – one because of the cold and the other because his cage was hit by other luggage – Angel has started a campaign for all animals to travel in the cabin.
The slogan is: “we are not luggage, we are living beings”.
Due to her large number of followers, this 15-pound cat hopes to make a change. For now, a good way to help her is to spread her campaign and her slogan …WE ARE NOT LUGGAGE, WE ARE LIVING BEINGS!
Food yes. China, certainly. This time; cats, maybe not so much. But the death of the United States? Ah. The stench is everywhere.
Oh, yes. And DETROIT style pizza. Yum!
What features do you miss from older homes that are not included in newer homes?
I have lived in a number of older homes over the decades. There are so many features that used to be common, that I miss. Both in the Northern and Southern US.
Pocket Doors. These were popular at one point and they were super useful. They were doors that would slide into the wall and disappear. They have sort of made a comeback, but they aren’t as common as they once were and they are so nice. No hinges/door clearance to worry about. Easy enough to be left cracked without fear of slamming shut in a breeze.
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Louvered windows and doors. In the south, on older homes, these are common. Not so much in other areas or some modern construction. These allow you to have open windows and yet if it rains, makes it less likely that the rain will come in if you forget to close them before a rain shower/storm. Plus, on doors, if you have pets, it helps keep the pet from busting out the screen and escaping, and reduces the need for a screen/storm door.
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Cast iron hot water radiators. These were always amazeballs. You could adjust the heat per room, you could put a bowl of water on them to humidify a room, you could put your winter gear by them to warm before going out in the cold/dry out after being outside, use as a towel warmer in the bathroom. If you got/had the cap for them you could also use them to keep your coffee/tea warm by setting the cup on top.
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When they worked, they worked really well. The problem is that the water in the radiators was never filtered, and the heat caused a buildup of sludge inside the pipes. This, in turn, resulted in all sorts of problems.
Today, you can use automotive radiator fluid to prevent that build up. And the heat distribution would be much improved. -MM
Clawfoot/deep bathtubs. I love a good bubble bath, or a long hot soak after a physically active day. Modern bathtubs are kind of a joke, I have to choose which body part gets to be submerged, since modern ones are too shallow and short to actually soak in. The old-fashioned claw foots would allow you to actually soak, and you could soak sore legs and back at the same time, if you were under 6 ft tall you could also stretch out a bit.
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The 1960s - 1970s "modern" tubs are designed for appearance. And not for use. No wonder that everyone started to shower back then.
Now the McMansion's are equipped with whirlpools and spa's that never get used. -MM
Direct to the outdoors kitchen exhaust fan. I loved one place I lived that had this over the stove. These bad boys sent cooking fumes, smoke, heat, directly outside. No filters to change, no fancy gadgets with it etc. Just turn on and bye-bye odors, heat, smoke, etc. Those modern hood exhaust fans are like the wimpy, half-assed distant cousin to these.
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Actually, the current exhaust fans are under-powered if they lead to a duct. And if you use a duct, you MUST make it short and as straight as possible. I once lived in a house where the building contractor just had the duct ending inside a dry wall with no venting to the outside at all. -MM
The first home computers were REALLY basic.
My first computer was a Tandy TRS-80 Model 1, bought in 1978.
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Please admire the sophisticated cardboard box monitor stand and the huge cassette data storage archive. The calculator was needed because the computer was rubbish at actually calculating things. And hey – I still have that mug 43 years later. The little orange box to the left of the cassette deck was an audio splitter so the deck’s output went to the computer and to headphones. This will be explained shortly in a dramatic twist related to data storage. Oooh. You’re so excited now.
It had 4K RAM. Yes, 4,096 bytes, not megabytes. Which helps explain why programmers used 2-digit years dates and led to the Millennium Bug of 2000. Wasting 2 bytes of RAM to add “19” to a year was an extravagant waste of precious memory. I wrote myself a text editor (in Z80 machine code), but it consumed about a half of my RAM, so my text documents could only be REALLY small.
The screen display was 25 x 80 characters. All UPPERCASE (because having lowercase was another extravagant luxury). And it was monochrome, naturally.
Hard disk drive? ROFL. Easier to buy a unicorn. Floppy disk drive? I would’ve had to sell a house to buy a FDD back then. We had cassettes to store our data and programs on. Like real men. If you wanted to store more than one file on a cassette, you had to fast-forward and listen for where one hiss ended and the next began. All cassettes were adorned with hand-written sticky labels listing the tape-counter values of each of the programs stored on the tape.
The operating system was in ROM and could never be updated. And the OS was Microsoft BASIC.
It goes without saying that it didn’t do multitasking. It was barely able to singletask.
It didn’t have a fancy battery-backed real-time clock. Every time it was turned on, I had to enter the date and time manually. So, nearly every document had the same 1 January date (because I couldn’t be bothered setting the clock every day).
Commercial programs were as rare as hen’s teeth, and of course there was no internet. If you wanted a program, you wrote it yourself (and couldn’t share it, even if you could find another citizen in your state who had any computer at all).
Those were the days.
Yvonne Elliman – If I Can’t Have You
Time machine…
How can China build infrastructure so quickly? How come it’s so fast compared to Canada or the USA?
There are three basic reasons:
China’s government is laser-focussed on infrastructure development; it’s a top priority. For the Canadian and US governments, it’s not.
China’s government, by virtue of its authority, can clear away all hurdles that get in the way of infrastructure construction. The Canadian and US governments cannot.
The Chinese companies that do the infrastructure construction have innovated the engineering necessary to get the job done efficiently. They’ve had many decades of experience.
These are all in addition to the fact that the Chinese are highly disciplined, hardworking, and intelligent. It’s a cultural thing.
Europe’s ‘patronising’ efforts to counter Russia and China in Africa falling flat
Western nations may have come up with various initiatives to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence in Africa, but African leaders have been “disappointed” by the way they go about it.
Europe’s ‘patronising’ efforts to counter Russia and China in Africa falling flat
EU leaders’ ‘lack of effort’ at winning over their African counterparts have left a ‘bitter taste’, according to Senegal’s President Macky Sall
Europe has pledged hundreds of billions of dollars under the Global Gateway Initiative, designed to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Monday, 12 September 2022, 12:00:PM Western nations may have come up with various initiatives to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence in Africa, but African leaders have been “disappointed” by the way they go about it.
This was evident at the African Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam last week when European leaders failed to turn up for a meeting to fundraise for Africa’s climate adaptation projects.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the only European leader to attend in person, said: “I would have loved to have more of my European colleagues here.”Six African heads of state were present, including the current African Union chairman and Senegal’s President Macky Sall, as well as leaders from Ghana, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.
Sall said: “I cannot help but note, with some bitterness, the absence of leaders from the industrial world. I think if we made the effort to leave Africa to come to Rotterdam, it would be easier for the Europeans and others to be here.
“This leaves a bad taste in our mouths. I am a bit disappointed, to be honest.”
In another incident, at the EU-Africa Summit in Brussels in February, around 40 African leaders were invited by the European Union, but at one point only the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo was reportedly present from the other side.
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“It was a very bad form on the part of the Europeans. They could have coordinated to have substantive representation throughout the event,” W. Gyude Moore, a former minister of public works in Liberia, said. “Could you imagine where Africans hosted 40 European leaders at an event in Accra and then left them in the room with the president of Ghana?”During that event, the EU announced that it would mobilise a financing package worth around US$150 billion for projects on the continent. The amount is half of what the bloc has allocated for the Global Gateway Initiative, which is touted as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
As part of the EU-Africa Summit, some deals were signed in Senegal, but progress has been overshadowed by the events in Ukraine and Covid-19. “There is a long history of unfulfilled commitments, so this might just be par for the course,” Moore said.Observers say the EU is nervous about the fact that it is losing influence in Africa with the growing presence of China, Russia, Türkiye and other global players. But the EU is internally divided and not able to live up to its ambitions to become a stronger global player, according to Geert Laporte, the director of European Think Tanks Group.
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Laporte said the new “scramble for Africa” among global players was already going on. “With the war in Ukraine, interests in Africa have grown and the Africans have skilfully managed not to take positions so as to avoid becoming again drawn into a new cold war,” Laporte said.He said several African leaders and their populations had lost trust in Europe with “Europe patronising, overpromising and underdelivering”.
“To turn the tide, the EU is copying China and other global players with big funding promises (Global Gateway) mainly in visible infrastructure type of initiatives. But with the war at home it is not obvious that the EU will be able to keep its promises,” Laporte noted.The continent has recently witnessed a procession of high-profile visitors from France, the United States and Russia, but observers said America and Europe were known to make promises that they did not deliver.Adams Bodomo, a professor of African studies at the University of Vienna, said, “the US and EU have never hidden the fact that they want to counter China”.
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Each of their master plans about Africa was always constructed as an alternative to the belt and road, Bodomo argued, but the EU and EU were more talk than action. “China plans and builds but the US plans and bombs,” he added.Bodomo said Russia’s inroads into Africa were designed to show that it was a viable alternative to Western powers in Africa, and to leverage its good relations with the continent with an eye on votes at the United Nations.
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In August, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Africa, Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister for international relations and cooperation, said it was “patronising” for some European countries to force countries to condemn Russia.
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“And one thing I definitely dislike is being told ‘either you choose this or else’. When a minister speaks to me like that … I definitely will not be bullied in that way, nor would I expect any other African country worth its salt to agree to be treated [that way],” Pandor said.South Africa is among dozens of African countries that abstained from voting on the UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a group of African leaders in a virtual event that “China is making steady progress in implementing all the pledges it made in Dakar [at the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation last year], despite various difficulties and disturbances”.He said over US$3 billion had been delivered out of the US$10 billion of credit facilities pledged to African financial institutions, and nearly US$2.5 billion of loans were channelled to Africa’s priority programmes. More than US$2 billion of the US$10 billion of trade finance had been allocated, Wang said.
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France, which has in the past contributed thousands of troops to bring stability to fragile West African nations, is now being challenged by Russia. France’s last troops left Mali in August, ending a nine-year anti-terror operation after Bamako accused it of supporting terrorist groups. And they are being replaced by Russian mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner mercenary group.Moore said “the growth of both Chinese and Russian influence in Africa has heightened the pace at which their rivals and adversaries have visited the continent”.
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Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at London-based think tank Chatham House, said 25 per cent of the United Nations General Assembly was African – “the numbers game matters for many – increasingly in a world of multipolarity and increasing geopolitics”.Vines said the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened a week after the EU-Africa summit and EU attention was focused elsewhere, but added: “Increased EU funding through the Gateway Europe initiative is still planned.”
For Russia and China, “the simply large number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa makes it a less expensive place to ‘buy’ votes in international organisations”, according to Douglas Yates, a political scientist specialising in African politics at the American Graduate School in Paris.“Not only are these countries interested in the ideological struggles of international votes and sanctions and the like, but they make excellent grounds for espionage – because African countries often have information, and they are quite porous,” he said.
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Keeping the peace
Quan is spot on on this: "there is not a single example of the warmongers having being stopped by reasonable petitions for peace in the history of humanity."
Mao famously put it:
以退让求和 则和平亡
以斗争求和 则和平存
Meaning:
Using Compromising to pleased for peace, peace will die
Using all means and method to fight for peace, peace become possible.
In Today China, under Xi, the experience dealing with the crusaders is:
能战方能止战
敢战方能言和
meaning：
Only one with the capability to fight a war could stop a war
Only one dare to fight a war can talk peace.
The barbarian warmongering crusader civilisation will only end a war when they suffered ongoing defeat. Eg Vietnam war, Korean war, Afghanistan etc. The barbarian dare not touch the Russian after WW2 due to Russia Readiness to use nuclear weapons.
Another Chinese leaders frequently used terms " 弱国无外交＂(weak nations have no diplomacy)
So, the foundation for peace facing a barbarian civilisation is to armed one self to the tooth and ready to fight a war if they dare to fire the first shot.
I am fearful of Christianity because there is always a tendency of a religious crusader leader happy to see the end of the world to achieve the socalled eternal life when Jesus's return to earth.
The west lack great thinkers, peace philosophers, and teachers like confucius, Sunzi, laozi, mengzi, shunzi, mozi，etc, who not only are great thinkers but great teacher themselves.
So, till this day, the crusader DNA nations still believe that looting and bullying the weaker nations is their nature right.
Putin the Great is right with his strategy to destroy the crusader economy using energy price between friendly and unfriendly countries to keep the peace.
Cheers
Chua
How do Italians eat so much olive oil?
This big boy on the photo below is estimated to have between 3000 to 4000 years of age, we call him “S’Ozzastru” in our Sardinian language, The wild Olive Tree! You can find similar plants all over the Mediterranean: Italy, Greece, Spain, Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey and so on.
They’ve been living here before us, this is their home and we are just their guests.
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Many many centuries ago, Mother Nature decided to bless my people in the Mediterranean Basin with a majestic plant. An incredible tree, that not only can withstand the impressive amounts of sun and drought of our climate, not only is able to live for thousands of years, but it can also give us arguably one of the best oils on the planet: the extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil is a gift from nature, not by chance its color resembles gold. It was cheap to make, it provided lot of good calories, it’s super healthy and it tastes like nothing else. It goes well with almost any kind of ingredient from the Mediterranean, so well that we built our own cuisines around it.
Italian cuisine without olive oil wouldn’t be italian cuisine.
Was there some kind of agreement between the US and Japan during the Tokyo trial? Why are almost no members of Japanese Unit 731 ever punished for their crimes?
The answer is yes. During the Tokyo trials of 1946-1948, a number of Japanese war criminals who committed “heinous crimes” escaped punishment because of an agreement between the United States and Japan. Under the condition of exempting the members of Unit 731 from their wartime responsibilities, the United States obtained data on Unit 731’s experiments on human beings, bacteria, germ warfare and poison gas, so that a number of Japanese germ war criminals escaped from the Tokyo trial.
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Shiro Ishii, a Japanese war criminal, is shown to be the initiator of germ warfare and the real devil of germ warfare in all kinds of evidence. Born in a military family, he was admitted to the Kyoto Imperial University Medical Science Department in 1916. After graduating from the university, he entered the army and began to engage in bacterial research and development. Ishii Shiro in the 731 troops the world’s largest bacteria factory wantonly live experiments, crazy use of bacterial weapons to attack the Chinese people, rank promotion to the Japanese lieutenant general.
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However, this is one of the most criminal war criminals, but was absent from the The trial of Harbarovsk. The trial of Harbarovsk was not only deliberately ignored by the mainstream western media at that time, but is still little known today, becoming a blank memory for generations who grew up after the Second World War. The reason for this, of course, is America. According to the Geneva Agreement of 1925, which prohibits the use of poison gas and bacteriological weapons, bacteriological weapons against humanity and humanity are prohibited from being used in war. Yet the United States has prioritized the development of bacteriological and chemical weapons, which is strange.
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As early as around the end of World War II, the Nanjing District Procuratorate of China had already submitted to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East the incriminating evidence of some Japanese troops’ bacterial and living experiments. The Soviet government also investigated and collected evidence on Japan’s germ warfare crimes, and then submitted all the evidence materials obtained. It even sent two Japanese prisoners of war who personally participated in the germ warfare experiments to testify at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, with the intention of prosecuting Japan’s germ warfare crimes. But after brutal American intervention, the results were not satisfactory.
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At that time, the Soviet Union and the Chinese government strongly demanded that Shiro Ishii be investigated as a Class A war criminal for the research and development of bacterial weapons, which was rejected and opposed by the United States. The U.S. believes that the germ warfare data of Unit 731 is far more important to the national security of the United States than the use of it to prosecute Ishii and others for war crimes. As a result, Ishii Shiro and others not only escaped punishment, but also became a biological weapons adviser to the U.S. military’s Fort Detrick biological base. After the World War II, Shiro Ishii worked for his “new masters” — bacteriological weapons used on the Korean battlefield.
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According to Chinese experts on Unit 731, from September 1945, when Sanders. a bacteriological warfare expert at Fort Patrick investigated Japanese bacteriological warfare, until the end of the Tokyo trial in November 1948, a secret deal was reached between the US and Japan: under the condition that the members of Unit 731 would be exempted from war responsibilities, the U.S. obtained data on the unit’s experiments on human subjects, bacteria, germ warfare, and poison gas and used them to conduct biological weapons research.
The Japanese Army 731 unit criminal evidence museum research team on the United States newly declassified on the Japanese biological warfare archives after sorting out that Fort Derick base after the war can develop rapidly, and now become the United States military P4 biological laboratory, and Ishii Shiro and 731 unit can not escape the involvement.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin publicly criticized the deal between the US Fort Detrick base and Japanese Army Unit 731. Wang Wenbin said that after the end of World War II, the United States sent bacteriological warfare experts from Fort Detrick Base to Japan in a few years to learn about Japanese bacteriological warfare from key members of Unit 731, including Shiro Ishii, the head of Unit 731. The U.S. paid 250,000 yen for the germ warfare data of Unit 731. The United States hid Ishii Shiro and Unit 731’s heinous crimes from the world.
Alexander Fedorov, deputy chairman of the Russian Federal Reconnaissance Committee, also revealed in his speech that 4,000 Japanese biological and biological war criminals who committed heinous crimes against the people of many countries during World War II escaped their responsibility because they were sheltered by the United States.
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In today’s world, right-wing forces in the Japanese political circle have been on the rise, denying the evil deeds of germ warfare and the bloody history of Japanese militarism and aggression. Some politicians have made outrageous remarks. But history is not a little girl to be dressed up by others. History should not be distorted or erased.
In short, the crimes of those who escaped the Tokyo trials will never be erased.
Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground LIVE
Since the portion sizes of meals are so small in Asian countries, do they eat more often?
I’m Asian but was born in the US. My wife and I recently visited the Philipines (wife is half Irish half Filipino). I remember going out for lunch with a group of people and they all ordered a burger… just a burger. No fries, no extra nuggets, no nothing. And no, no one ate again until dinner. Just a burger and a drink, and the burgers looked like this.
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I was like “WTF is this? A kid’s meal?” Where’s the rest of my food?
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Now that! That is a man’s meal!
But then it suddenly occured to me..
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Where are all the obese people?! Why is everyone normal sized?
And suddenly I realized…
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Asian portions aren’t “small”. Asian portions are “normal”.
Poor/lower class people, when was the moment you realised you weren’t as affluent as others?
For me, I learned how poor I was in second grade. We were learning about emergencies and electric fires and what to do in those situations.
Seemingly innocent enough right?
Our teacher had asked a benign question to the class relating to the number of smoke detectors each of us had in our homes. One by one she went around the room and each student in my class answered the question aloud. Some students had one due to small houses, others two and few lucky and obviously more affluent students had three or more in their homes.
When my turn came around, I eagerly answered that we had none, not a single smoke alarm in our home. My teacher, concerned and equally perplexed, inquired what we would do in the event of an electrical fire.
Triumphantly, I replied it was of no concern as we did not have any electricity in our home.
Silence. Deafening silence. It’s one of those silences that one experiences in a dream when everyone suddenly realizes you’re naked in a public place. That feeling.
Anyway, she stared at me in a cross between concern and bewilderment.
Immediately I was in the hallway with her and she was inquiring as to how long it had been since our electricity had been shut off.
I told her we’d never had electricity.
She asked if we had our water service.
I said yes, we haul the water from a well every morning before I come to school.
She stared at me in utter disbelief.
Next thing I know we are in the principal’s office and my principal, who was a very large man resembling Mr. Clean in a suit, was explaining to her that my family has no modern conveniences and we live completely off the grid.
Now things became interesting.
We return to class and everyone starts asking how we watch tv.
We don’t.
How do we do laundry?
Laundromat once a week.
How do we keep the milk cold?
We don’t, we drink it as we soon as we are done milking the cow for breakfast. Why would we keep it cold?
How do we stay warm?
We use the stove in the living room filled with the wood we chop.
How do we play video games?
I’ve never seen one before.
And like a light bulb, I realized I was the only person in my class who lived like this.
Suddenly everything clicked for me. All my toys were made by my mom.
All my clothes were the same and never from a store.
I went home after school and worked in our garden.
I went home that day and asked my mom why we did not have the things other kids had.
She laid it out for me.
Her and my Dad were in debt.
They couldn’t afford to have the water lines installed and the electricity ran to our trailer.
The trailer we lived in was the best we could afford.
My dad and my mom were living like this with my brother and I because my dad happened to own the land and didn’t want to sell. It was all they had.
They were homesteading it.
We lived like this because we had no choice.
After that day, I realized I was poor. And that feeling has been with me every day of my life ever since.
I used to go to the bathroom in a fence row because we had no toilet. I got worms because of this as I’d frequently walk barefoot through feces.
We shared bath water as a family and we bathed in a horse trough in our kitchen.
I was seven years old. I had no friends in school and was always treated like I didn’t matter.
And I didn’t.
The poor kid in your class that everyone shunned, that is me.
An innocent question about smoke alarms led to one of the great realizations of my childhood.
I should’ve known sooner how different we lived but I didn’t.
It took this event for it to sink in and I’ve never forgotten it.
Is it true that there is corruption in every country?
This is an MM answer. -MM
It’s difficult to be the optimist. I would say; yes. It is true. Sadly. So sadly.
But you know there are DIFFERENT kinds of corruption.
Let’s start at the United States. Corruption was made legal. So the most corrupt rise to power, and those that are not, fall to the bottom of society. America is a land with a million tiny, tiny hands in your wallet. Everything comes with a price. It’s no wonder that many Americans need to work multiple jobs just to “make ends meet”.
Want to fish? pay for a license.
Want to drink water? Buy it.
Want to drive on a road? Buy insurance, have a license, yearly inspections, tolls, etc.
Corruption has been institutionalized.
Now let’s go to the other end of the spectrum.
Let’s look at Zambia. Corruption is personal.
Need police help? Buying the officer a cup of tea helps.
Want to pick up a package at the post office? Well, perhaps missing a few items won’t be so bad.
Corruption is widespread but on a personal and individual level.
There is one, and only one nation on this entire planet that is trying to do something about this threat of corruption. That is China.
China has created the “corruption police”. They are designed wholly to arrest, punish and prevent all sorts of corruption. And their punishments are graduated. Meaning, the higher up you are, and the bigger your crime is, the more seriously you are punished.
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Consider the factory boss that faked baby formula test data. Do you know what happened to him? Oh yeah. He was killed.
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Consider the CCP party member who molested a young 14 year old girl at a public restaurant. What happened to him? Oh, yeah. Killed.
But he went through three years of hard labor and organ harvesting first. You know, he had to “pay the price”.
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What about women? Do they get a special pass? Nope. China is an equal-opportunity punisher. China doesn’t care about your past; your reasons, or your justifications. If you break a law, you are PUNISHED.
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What about the guys that swindled millions of dollars, and then fled the country? Yup, they are tracked down, caught, tried and killed.
China does not play.
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Were these events reported in the corrupt West?
No.
Why not?
It is crucially important that NO ONE gets the idea that national leadership must be policed and punished in a substantive manner. As it stands the wealthy (in most countries) live above the law.
Now, you might love China, and hate that I bring up these stories. Or, you might hate China, and refuse to believe that it would do such things as police it’s leadership.
But it is true.
I personally believe that if we, as a human species, are to move forward and grow, we must find ways to stop the endemic corruption that plagues all nations, and most especially “democracies”. We must think “out of the box” and implement solutions, instead of allowing the mighty corrupt to live and thrive.
We must take action. We must be proactive, and recognize that good people; kind and just people need to be protected from the evil that rise to power.
What are your thoughts on the Xinjiang Police Files? Is it true or false?
One thing that strikes my mind was that these pictures were uploaded to the website by the local government. Judging from the police’s old-fashioned uniforms and their helmets, there’s no doubt that those photos were taken at least ten years ago. And with the watermarks, I can say they were not “leaked” by the government officials. Instead, such pictures can be seen on a lot of government websites, they were actually published by the government.
And if you can read Chinese, you’re going to find that those pictures were taken in prisons, not in so-called camps.
More importantly, just looking around all those photos, I find that most of them were for a drill against prison break. That’s why you would see a lot of armed police in a prison, holding their rifles as a pose.
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Taking this photo as an example, tell me what information can be achieved through it? Actually nothing…. It’s just a drill. But piling up those photos, a sense of fear can be made.
Actually, it’s obvious that in a real camp, police do not use rifles, sticks are a much better tool to repress the prisoners.
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Looking at another one, those four white characters on the wall“新疆监管”. You can translate it by yourself. It means Xinjiang Supervision if you make a plain translation. But the word supervision doesn’t reflect the actual meaning of the Chinese characters, you know the difference happening in translation sometimes. A more accurate translation is Xinjiang Prison. And the prisoner’s suit is a yellow one, which is the standard prisoner suit in all over China. This is completely not in so-called camp, it is just a prison.
I don’t know what these photos are to demonstrate since they can be found on government websites. Chinese can read the slogans and names in those pictures and can quickly come to realize they’re just for anti-prisonbreak drills.
But what about foreigners who cannot read Chinese? What impressions would these photos leave on them? Fear can be made deliberately.
I can’t imagine………
From an experienced fashion photographer working 14 years in this industry, I’m going to show you the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.
I’ll start with the photos of the fashion model “Imma”. She is the Asian model under the pink wig in the middle.
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Imma is one of the most photogenic Asian models exploiting social media. She has 76K followers on Instagram, just months after she started modeling.
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No matter what kind of lighting or camera, Imma manages to take flawless photos with ease. (Even in a selfie)
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Imma taking selfie with her friend:
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But why are these standard photos so amazing?…
…
….
…..
…..
Because …
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Imma not real.
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Imma was computer generated.
Imma was created with 3D modeling programs.
belongs to a handful of the new trends of “Virtual Influencers” that take social networks by storm. It was created by the company CG Modeling Cafe, based in Tokyo, and recently graced the cover of CGWorld magazine
.
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We cannot believe everything we see on the internet. This is somewhat awkward.
Technology here in the United States is advancing very fast, automation and artificial intelligence are taking over everything.
It’s happening so unobtrusively that people still don’t react. In this case that I just talked about, this will possibly affect the modeling industry.
On Instagram and other social media, women and men are subconsciously comparing themselves to these perfect Instagram fashion models that don’t exist. That is worrisome.
What’s the point of China’s BRI investments if its unlikely they will see good returns from low-income developing countries?
Let’s have a story:
Samantha Tan, 23 year old Asian woman, professional racer.
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As anyone would have guessed, she wasn’t born a racer. She was born a little girl in an immigrant family whose parents barely struggled to get by, as with most immigrant families.
Her current car: BMW M4 GT4
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But guess her first car?
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Every little girl has a dream (or many dreams). But just because Samantha has the potential to be a professional racer (now we know) doesn’t mean she can. Her first car is her parents’ first investment in her. Her sponsors (BMW being one of them) take her to the professional level.
Without all these, Samantha Tan would just be another random person struggling to get through life like the rest of everyone else. The legacy of Samantha Tan the racer will never happen.
China started this Belt and Road Initiative as a way to make money, plain and simple. China isn’t out there to do charity. China cannot afford to do charity at this scale.
But like with every businessman ever existed, China thinks: we need to invest in others, we need to help others help us succeed. China is big, the world is bigger.
It is no different than BMW investing millions in this unknown Chinese Canadian girl. They see the potentials, they invest. They know it’s not a guarantee, but Samantha is good enough for their investment.
China doesn’t throw money out randomly. Every country, every person, they evaluate. Also, China is not the country, but the multitude of privately owned corporations. Every investment China put down is good enough for China, balancing risks and potential for return.
So is this all about China?
No. Samantha wins, too. China’s partners win, too. Everyone wins, if the investment pans out. Nothing is easy. Everything is blood and sweat.
Just like Samantha getting an opportunity to be what she wants to be, China’s partners get opportunities to have a future. Many countries have so much potentials, but without investors, they are doomed to stay poor, with their dreams remaining dreams.
China is giving them a chance to help China and help themselves succeed. It’s the only way to get out of poverty. It’s very tough and risky, but it seems only China gave them a chance, whereas the West didn’t.
Number 1 foundation for success: infrastructure.
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Because you can’t do shit with these muddy dirt roads.
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Or no road at all.
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Breaking Bad – Mike At The DEA
When will someone say a meaningful no to mainland China’s attack on Hong Kong citizens’ rights?
Well, first of all, Hong Kong is part of China, so China is free to govern HK any way it likes. It’s none of our fucking business.
If we don’t like how China governs itself, we are free to decouple from China. Stop trading with China. Stop exporting to China. Stop importing from China. Stop doing business in and with China.
If our economy suffers as a result, so what? At least we can comfort ourselves with our arrogance and self-righteousness. Never mind that we are fucking hypocrites (we also violate human rights in our own countries).
Second, our perception of human rights violations in China, including HK, reflects our value system. Who says our value system should apply to China? Who says our value system is so good and ideal that we must impose it on the rest of the world? Who the fuck are we?
Again, arrogance and self-righteousness.
Third, Chinese society values safety and stability above all else. Yes, this is China’s value system; it differs from ours.
What Beijing does protects Hong Kong from violent thuggery (instigated by foreign state actors). What Beijing does stabilizes Hong Kong society. For this, the majority of Hong Kong people support Beijing’s actions, regardless of what Western media may tell you.
So let’s leave China alone. Let’s leave Hong Kong alone. The Chinese didn’t ask for our help. The Chinese don’t need our help.
We should stay the fuck out of their business.
What’s something from the 1940s that needs to make a comeback in the 2020s?
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This one’s easy. Durable appliances! Housewares that last! This is my kitchen. When I got this vintage-1935 home two years ago, all my “old stuff” was pretty ratty and needed replacing. What astounded me is that so many appliances and so many housewares were simply better-made back then. I would up stocking the place with them.
That’s a 1939 General Electric refrigerator. I bought it for $350 on FB marketplace. Plugged right in. Works fine.
That’s a 1948 Coolerator range. It had been in continuous use in a Seattle apartment building since new. Paid $200. Works fine.
So let me ask you a question. When have you heard of a modern refrigerator lasting more than 10 years?
These older appliances really do seem to have been manufactured to a higher standard than the typical product of today. I have a kitchenful of small appliances that attest to the fact, from a 1939 Sunbeam T-9 toaster to a 1951 Waring blender. Behind the stove you might note the 1975 5-quart Kitchen Aid mixer, the 1957 Kenmore Slow Cooker crockpot and the ‘30’s vintage Sunkist commercial orange juice squeezer.
It all works. This is not “cheap stuff.”
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Hamilton Beach Model 30.
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I love my fans. I couldn’t do it without them. (1949 Westinghouse models)
Of course my vacuum cleaner is a Kirby. All-new for 1948!
Now take a look at this Revere Ware set.
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This is the “good Revere Ware,” the stuff made before 1968. Up to that point, Revere Ware made the greatest of all pots and pans. A thick, heavy bottom layer of copper transmitted heat evenly, and overcame the inherent disadvantage of stainless steel alone. It came on the market just before the war, and sales took off postwar. These were the pots and pans to have. And I’ll tell ya, they work just fine today.
Teflon came along in the early ’60s and turned the market upside down. Revere Ware is still made today, as a budget product, but its legendary even-heating qualities are no more. In 1968, the corporation decided to cheapen the product with a thinner copper layer that is useful only for decoration. Lucky for us today, the trademark changed that year, and if the heavier weight of the older pots isn’t a giveaway, the “double circle” on the bottom of the pot will confirm it.
This is something I have noticed in a wide variety of housewares. Pyrex really isn’t Pyrex anymore. A little over 20 years ago, its maker went to a cheaper sort of glass that shatters when hot. What’s the point? Corningware really isn’t Corningware, either.
That Kitchen Aid mixer in the first shot is from 1975. It is mechanically identical to mixers made by the Hobart Co. since 1937. The controls were upgraded in ‘75, hence I looked for later vintage. Alas, the brand was sold in ‘88. Kitchen Aid mixers still look the same, but the innards now use plastic gearing. They never used to fail, now they do.
Yet there are some products from this era that are still being made to the same or better standard than back in the day. I just want to point out that it really is possible. Here’s one I’ll bet you wouldn’t think of.
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This is the Rubbermaid Small Dish Drainer, manufactured continuously since 1951. The Rubbermaid Large Dish Drainer also is manufactured to the original 1951 design.
And this common houseware of the period is actually manufactured better than the original.
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This is Fiestaware, made by the Homer Laughlin Co. of West Virginia since 1934. Discontinued in 1972, it was brought back in 1986 using modern glazes and production processes, and remains in production today. No worries about lead glazes in modern Fiestaware, and Homer Laughlin’s vitrification process makes the line much more durable.
So why don’t we make appliances and housewares like this anymore?
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Well, let’s go back to that fridge. It’s no power hog — the refrigerators of the ’30s and ’40s were designed for economy. The General Electric model got top ratings for power usage in 1939 from Consumer Reports. This one actually is a little more efficient than the modern French-door, ice-dispenser, freezer-on-the-bottom model it replaced. It’s the power-hungry defroster models of the ’50s and ’60s that give old fridges a bad rap. Today’s consumers might be thrown a bit by the fact you have to defrost every few months, or that the freezer is big enough for a few ice-cube trays, nothing more. But it does everything we expect a refrigerator to do, and does it pretty darn well, considering that it is 83 years old.
Ah, but consider the price. In 1939, this model had a list price of $139.95. In today’s money, that’s $2,983.
There aren’t many of us who pay $3,000 for a refrigerator these days. We’re buying cheaply made products from overseas that can be made and sold for considerably less. The materials aren’t as durable. We expect them to break. We’ve grown accustomed to it.
In the forties, people didn’t expect things to break. You could get things repaired. But boy, did it cost. There’s good and bad in the cheap, less-durable products we buy today. They just don’t last the way they once did. But they’re so much cheaper, we really don’t have to care.
Breaking bad Tuco
Have foreigners changed the way they think about China after visiting?
I studied in Foshan, Guangdong province for a bit less than a year. Naturally, as a Hijabi-wearing Malay who was still studying Mandarin, I was absolutely nerve-wracked about what exactly I was about to get myself into. Cantonese is also the daily spoken language in Foshan so I was bit concerned about a possible language gap.
We never talked much about Chinese politics or history when I was first studying Chinese. So naturally, all I knew about China is from what my family told me and from what I’d heard on the news. Which as you can presume, was often quite negative.
When I first arrived in China, the man (Mr.Hui) who came to pick me up had a long beard and a taqiyah (The Muslim skullcap that some men wear). My immediate reaction was “I did not see that coming” XD. Surprise, there are Muslims & religious people in China
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My second big surprise was finding plenty of halal restaurants and food stands. I found more there than I’ve found in some areas of Europe. I had been frequently told that it would be very difficult for me to be there as a Muslim, which kept getting disproved on a daily basis
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The police in China, which are often shown in the West as these terrifying guys who will take you down if you’re a foreigner, were very helpful. I was completely lost at many points and they were very friendly and helped redirect me. At one point, I couldn’t get my sim to work and the officer personally walked me to a nearby cellular store. I felt very safe during my stay in China, far more then I do now in London.
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A lot of my stereotypes & negative views about China were broken in less than a month of me staying there. I’m highly considering living there after I finish my studies.
Sade – Cherish the Day
If Chinese communism is so good and beneficial, why does the government find it necessary to manipulate and restrict free speech and media?
Every nation on earth manipulates the media, and every nation on earth restricts free speech when necessary. No exception.
You don’t think America manipulates the media? You don’t think America restricts free speech? Don’t be so fucking naive.
America has recently been censoring journalists for telling the truth about Russia and Ukraine. America has been using the media to spread propaganda since, well, forever.
Your question exposes your colossal ignorance and naivete.
The Boy
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There was this boy in my class at school in 7th grade. He was short for his age. He kept to himself and never really mixed with anyone. He always ate his lunch alone on a bench seat which was on the edge of the playground just staring into space. It was like he was in his own little world and nothing mattered to him. I never saw him smile in all the time i knew him.
He would get called all kinds of names that really hurt him deep down. But he never retaliated or showed how much it hurt him, which seemed to infuriate his tormentors.
They were relentless. Mean. One day he stepped in front of a car outside of school and stopped in the middle of the road as if waiting for it to hit him. The driver screeched to a halt only inches away from his body. He was frozen and only moved when the driver asked if he was OK. He hung his head and walked away slowly.
Nobody chose him for team sports during PE and when he was the last one left everyone called him a loser and laughed at him. He hung his head and went to the far corner of the gym and sat down hiding his face in his hands.
They tormented him in the change rooms and started calling him a ‘homo, faggot and perv’. It wasn’t long before it had got around the whole school that this boy was a ‘homo’ and so everyone started calling him those terrible names.
He had fruit thrown at him from behind so that he never knew who it was. It hit him in the back of his head knocking him down to the ground. With tears in his eyes he tried to stand up but they came at him again and knocked his books out of his hands making him go down again. People laughed at him. He got up, grabbed his books, and ran outside and kept running till he couldn’t run any longer. He ended up walking for 10 miles just following a road not knowing were he was going. But he didn’t care if he died that day.
Still he didn’t retaliate. Or tell anyone. Or complain. The next week he wasn’t at school. Someone started a rumor that he committed suicide. Everyone laughed. Nobody called to see if he was all right. Nobody missed him. Nobody cared.
What they didn’t know was that his stepdad had hurt him so badly and that he was in hospital for three days. Too sick to attend school. He never told anyone about what happened when he returned to school. When everyone saw that he was still alive, they were disappointed. And told him to go kill himself. “Do it properly this time”.
He was still not well from what his stepfather did to him. When they pushed him into the lockers at school or tried to jam his head in the door, he let out a yelp. But the pain was not from what they did to him.
One day after PE he was acting very strange. He stood facing everyone with his head hanging low. As if his whole world was about to come crashing down. He was trembling. There was an unusual silence in the room that scared him. It was then that everyone saw his body. Covered in black and blue welts across his back, legs and arms. He had tears falling from his eyes and was clearly ashamed of his body.
The shower stung like a 1000 bees.
They didn’t touch his clothes or call him names or hit him; this time they left him alone.
That boy is me.
I never told anybody what had happened to me. I knew that if I snitched on my stepdad it would be 100 times worse. I was 12 and as far as I knew, nobody would help me even if I asked. I was too afraid of what he would do to me. I woke up every day hoping things would change. I didn’t hold grudges and never have. It helped me get through some depressing periods while i was at school.
I just wanted a normal life and to be happy.
I can’t say that I have found that dream and I probably never will. But at least I am in no danger now and I deal with the consequences of my childhood as it surfaces and as an adult I can put it in its proper place.
How can I lose weight if I really love food?
That depends.
First things first, YES, you can lose weight and still love food.
Boy, do I love food.
A few years ago, I had let things go to the point where I was pushing 235lbs, and my doctor had a fairly stern talk with me as he put me on blood pressure medication. Me being me, I made the decision to cut my weight down to the weight I felt best at, 195, and set about reading about how to do it the right way.
I chose a course, I followed that course, and hit my goal of 40lbs lost in 68 days.
In the simplest terms, losing weight is about getting your body to burn some of itself off, primarily fat stores, in order to produce the amount of energy the body needs to live and do all the things it needs to do.
So to lose weight, you have to:
Reduce the amount of fuel you take in below the amount of fuel your body needs for your standard activity level
Increase your activity level so that your body needs more fuel than you normally consume
Change the fuel you intake so that there is so little “Quick energy” fuel available that your body is forced to burn fat for energy.
NOTE: Yes, this is an extremely oversimplified statement of why removing sugar and starch from your diet results in weight loss, but I’m not going for peer-reviewed science here.
The most healthy way to lose weight is to combine 1 and 2. You reduce your fuel intake while you increase your activity level so that your body now has less fuel than it is used to burning, and is using more energy than it normally does, and therefore needs more fuel.
The body primarily burns 3 things for fuel: Sugar, Starch, and Fat. (Again, I’m going to keep this simple.) Those three things are listed in the order of how fast they “Burn” or how quickly they are converted from fuel to energy. They are also listed in order, therefore of how quickly the body burns them.
Fat is the outlier. If the body has enough sugar and starch to burn, the fat stays where it is. If the body takes in more sugar or starch than it needs to produce the energy it needs for the day, it (In essence) turns that extra fuel into fat as a way to have reserves in case a time comes when no food is available, it will have something to burn for energy. The body has NO idea how much fat it’s a good idea to store, so if you keep taking in more fuel than you need to maintain your activity level, the body is going to keep adding more reserves, and yes, that means your ass is going to keep getting bigger.
What I’ve just described is your metabolism. Your metabolic rate is another factor here. Not everyone burns calories at the same rate. So when looking at the best way to lose weight, it’s important to pay attention to your metabolism as well, because if you go off the deep end and drop your fuel intake too much, your body will react by going into starvation mode and slowing your metabolism down. This is why people who crash diet rebound so quickly when they start eating again. It’s why crash dieting is a bad idea.
When looking at points 1 and 3 on the earlier list, when you’re looking at reducing fuel, you’re normally looking at reducing calories. When you’re looking at removing “Quick Energy” fuel you’re looking at cutting carbs. I’m focusing on cutting calories here.
When looking to lose weight by cutting calories, a general rule of thumb is to intake at least 500 fewer calories than the body needs to maintain your current weight. That in and of itself SHOULD result in an average of about 1 LB a week of weight loss. An average woman needs about 2,000 calories a day, so she should be cut to 1500, and an average man needs about 2,600 a day, so he should be cutting to 2,100. Note, this changes with how much you weigh, how old you are, your height, and your activity level. There is a good calculator on how much you personally really need here:
How Many Calories Should You Eat per Day to Lose Weight?
Here’s a simple but accurate calorie calculator that shows exactly how many calories you should eat to lose or maintain weight.
Cutting even more calories will result in faster weight loss, but you need to be careful not to go below the minimum needed to maintain your metabolism so that when you’ve reached your goal and return to a normal diet, you don’t rebound right back to where you were.
So Getting back to the question at hand, How can you do this if you REALLY love food. The answer is:
Look at the kind of food you love and choose more of the things that have lower calories, lower sugar, lower fat, higher protein, and higher fiber. Watching sodium while you do that is a VERY good idea, as cutting your sodium intake will help you with water weight and improve your heart health.
Look at the foods that don’t really fall into the “Low bad, High Good” categories above that you really don’t want to give up, and look for ways to budget limited amounts of those foods into your diet while keeping below your caloric budget.
Drink lots of water, and eat more things that fill you up, but have very low calories, like green leafy things (CAREFUL OF THE SALAD DRESSING!) and other green vegetables, use those to fill yourself up so that you can be satisfied with smaller portions of things you still need to get enough protein, but that have higher calorie counts, like lean meats.
CATALOG. There are some very good apps that will help you catalog your food intake and keep track of your calorie budget along with the recommended daily intake or limit of nutritional things like Protein, Sugar, Carbs, Sugar, Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Vitamins & Minerals, Fiber, etc. The one I use is called “My Fitness Pal.”
I like it because it can interface with other fitness apps that count what you’re burning, and give your Net caloric intake (Consumption/burn) and it also has a bar code scanner, so you can just scan the barcode of whatever you take out of the fridge or freezer and tell it how many servings you’re having, and it drops the entire nutritional value into your catalog for the day.
It also has a HUGE database of stored foods that don’t normally have barcodes like fruits and vegetables, and even Menu items from popular restaurants, common recipes, that sort of thing, so it makes it really easy to say “Lunch – Small Turkey Sandwich from Jersey Mike’s on white with Mayo and Cheese, and it drops all the nutritional information in there, then gives you a bit of hell for all the cholesterol and Sodium in that one meal. — The main thing is to catalog. What happens when you start cataloging EVERYTHING you’re intaking is that you really start to see the impact snacking has on your diet, and it helps you to cut back on the snacking, or at least start to make some different decisions….a handful of almonds or some cucumber slices instead of those potato chips makes a HUGE difference.
What you’ll find when you do it this way is that you can still have many of the foods you like, you’ll just be doing a better job with portion control and a better job choosing what to eat between meals.
Burning Calories is a HUGE deal. The most effective way to lose weight is to intake enough calories to maintain your metabolic rate and burn more than you took in. Not easy. You don’t ACTUALLY have to. But if you are burning more with increased activity than you are taking in, you are GOING to lose weight.
Now someone who doesn’t exercise isn’t SUDDENLY going to be able to do that. You need to work up to the point where you have the physical capability to engage in that level of activity. This starts with walking, and light exercise, which you need to increase at a rate THAT IS NOT COMFORTABLE. You have to push at least a little.
Start with 2 walks a day, EVERY DAY. You can’t skip. If allow yourself an excuse to skip one day, you are GOING to allow yourself the excuse the next, and the Following. If you need a rest day, at a minimum, look for a low-impact “recovery” style exercise to follow along with on YouTube, with stretching or Yoga. The key is to do SOMETHING every day when it’s exercise time, it has to become a habit.
The best tip I ever heard on adding exercise to your day is that you can’t add something to your daily habits without removing something habitual. So think of something you do every day that isn’t really doing you any good, and remove it.
When I made the decision to cut my weight, I used to start my day every morning watching Sports Center for at least half an hour. I replaced that with exercise time. I used to eat my dinner in front of the TV and would continue watching long after I finished. I changed to eating dinner in my kitchen and going for what eventually became a daily 3-mile walk after dinner before turning on the TV.
The exercise varied. I started with a walk and a workout played on my ChromeCast from a good platform, at the time I liked Daily Burn, because it had a really good entry-level program with a number of half-hour videos that were somewhat difficult for me when I was starting out but manageable, and worked me up to where I was able to progress to higher and higher levels in the program until I was able to keep up with the trainers in the highest level programs.
I have since switched to Beachbody because I like the variety better. But if you can’t afford that, there are plenty of programs you can follow on YouTube, just find some lower impact ones to start out with.
I mixed those programs with half-hour workouts on the Elliptical machine in my Apartment Complex’s fitness room, then eventually got back to where I could manage a 3-mile run, and began to rotate between a bodyweight workout, an elliptical machine workout, and a run.
By the time I was getting to the highest level workouts in Daily Burn, I switched to just those every even day, a 3 mile run every odd, and the half-hour on the elliptical every day after work, before dinner, after which I still took the 3-mile walk. By that time, I was regularly consuming negative net calories, despite making sure I was taking in enough calories every day to maintain a healthy metabolism, enough protein, enough vitamins and minerals, enough fiber, but cutting Sugar, Fat, and Sodium as much as possible.
I wanted my morning coffee with real cream in it. So I budgeted that in. I wanted to use butter on some things, I don’t like margarine, so I budgeted that in. I budgeted in a bowl of ice cream after dinner most days.
But I followed all the advice I just gave. I still loved food. I found, through the process that my love of food extends to enjoying finding the best way to eat healthily. I enjoyed the HECK out of finding new ways to cook lean meats, and to build meals around larger servings of vegetables and smaller servings of meats and starches.
And I learned that you really can lose weight and still love food.
What are the estimated GDP revisions for China, the United States, and other countries?
This is an MM answer on Quora. -MM
GDP is a worthless measure. It does not reflect anything other than the VOLUME of the PAPER used as currency. The more money that is printed, the higher the inflation and the higher the GDP.
Seems strange huh? Well, of course, it wasn’t intended to be a measure of paper, but that is what it has become. The GDP, as a measure, was initially based upon the value of existing national assets, as well as the production of new assets. This consists of the utility in resources; oil, minerals and manufactured products. But President Nixon ended that in the United States.
It was this exact mix that contributed to the enormous growth of the United States GDP. But when those industries imploded, the GDP was left being a function of FIRE related assets. Instead of a balanced mix of FIRE and STEM. Without hard resources (oil, minerals, produced manufactured products) the GDP ends up representing the paper currency that is used in service industries (primarily).
Thus, it’s not an accurate comparative measure of the strength of a nation.
Sure, you can measure the value of the stock market with it. You can say that an lawyer is rich, or an accountant can claim a “book value” on a property or a car. But being rich “on paper” differs from being actually wealthy. And that is the disconnect with American-led GDP measurement.
Consider the roaring, wonderful, stock market in the United States. According to the GDP, times are BOOMING throughout the USA. But since less than 1% of Americans own stock, it is not reflective of the American society as a whole. Just it’s richest 1%.
So what is a better measure of society as a whole?
PPP is a great comparative measure. It measures how well a band of average people live. Its a reflection of ownership, renting, and the primary costs of goods and services. It tosses away the notions that a person is wealthy owning a wheelbarrow of paper currency. Instead it replaces that notion with the idea that buying one hamburger with a solid copper coin is more valuable that a wheelbarrow of paper that no one wants.
What does this tell you?
Highest GDP – The United States
Well, by numbers alone, the United States has a wonderful GDP the highest in history. You can thus believe that the United States must be a wonderful and great place. And thus those that collect the resources of this currency are doing very, very well.
Wallstreet
Bankers
Lawyers
Government officials
As these are the “industries” and employment segments that accumulate the currencies; the “paper currencies” that the GDP is based upon.
However, the 99% of the population that do not represent these “industries” and these investment avenues are not contributing or profiting from the great GDP.
Highest PPP -China
This measurement is based on how well the “middle segment” of society lives. If you want to compare what being middle class is like in China to any other nation, you would use the PPP measurement. And the results are crystal clear. The higher the PPP, the better, and more successful the lifestyle is for the middle class.
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So…
If you want to measure how successful the wealthy are doing in a nation; the oligarchy and the rulers, you use GDP.
And if you want to measure how “Joe and Suzy Average” is doing in a given nation, you use PPP.
‘Don’t lecture us!’ East Timor president defends China, offshore gas drilling
By Matthew Knott
September 7, 2022 — 5.57pm
East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta has defended China’s role as a growing strategic and economic power in the Asia-Pacific, arguing it has “hardly ever” invaded other countries and was unlikely to do so in the future.
In a forthright appearance at the National Press Club, Ramos-Horta also said he would not be lectured by western environmentalists opposed to the development of a giant gas field in the waters off East Timor.
He added Australia could not credibly tell other countries to shun Chinese investment given it leased the Port of Darwin to the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group in 2015.
Ramos-Horta was speaking after the Australian and East Timorese governments signed a new defence agreement making it easier to conduct joint military exercises and allowing greater co-operation on humanitarian assistance missions.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the agreement represented a “significant step forward in our partnership” and a “new chapter in Australia’s close relationship with Timor-Leste”.
Ramos-Horta said China’s rise had been predicated on peace and stability and it would be against its interests to take aggressive military action – including by invading the autonomous territory of Taiwan.
“China has too many neighbours, too many choke points,” he said. “And to feed itself it depends on the stability in the seas, freedom of navigation. It depends on the stability in the world.”
He continued: “Would they want ever to undermine that? ... No, I do not think so.”
He said Chinese leader Xi Jinping would also have learnt from Russia’s poor military performance after invading Ukraine.
“I don’t think that China intends to invade anyone,” he said.
“And in fact, you know, in fairness to them, God, they hardly ever invaded anyone.”
However, Ramos-Horta made clear he does not intend to sign a security pact with China as Solomon Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare did earlier this year.
“Any leader that is serious about being a leader, you have to be sensitive to your neighbours,” Ramos-Horta said.
“Don’t bring in extraterritorial, regional interests, powers that might not be welcomed by our neighbours.”
Ramos-Horta’s main mission in Australia was to pressure the Albanese government to encourage Australian resources company Woodside to pipe gas from the Greater Sunrise field for processing in East Timor rather than the company’s preferred option of Darwin.
He said several other countries – such as Indonesia, South Korea or China – could partner with East Timor on the project if Woodside and the East Timorese government could not reach an agreement
“We’re not talking about maritime security. It’s just a pipeline!” he said. “And China will be just an investor. The port of Darwin [was rented for] 99 to 100 years to China, and no one lost sleep over it.”
He said the project could help unlock extraordinary economic opportunities for the developing nation. “You would see Timor-Leste like either another Dubai or another Singapore,” he said.
Asked about the environmental impact of the gas project, Ramos-Horta said if western countries are so concerned then they should provide East Timor with $100 billion to cover the cost of not pursuing the project.“Other than that, please don’t lecture me!” he said, adding “the Europeans, you were the ones who polluted the whole world with coal, with oil and everything that you can imagine”.
He said foreign investors should not be concerned about putting their money into East Timor.
“We are not Venezuela with nationalised companies and whatever,” he said. “And we are so inefficient that we probably wouldn’t know how to nationalise a company. So no need to fear.”
Why doesn’t the US wipe out China’s economy by simply moving all the factories from China to other poor countries?
Only an imbecile would ask such a question.
US factories in China represent a tiny percentage of international factories. The absence of US factories would have minimal impact on China’s economy.
US factories do not belong to the US government. They belong to private companies. The reason why these factories are in China is because these companies make much greater profits. The US government cannot force these companies to leave.
Republica – Ready to Go [1997]
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China 1500 Workers Built The Train Station In 9Hours，China’s Speed Shocked The World
Not only that, but it’s a high speed train that links the Chinese mainland with Taiwan.
Yes. Taiwan. You know, the “Island Fortress” that the United States plans to “suppress” China with.
In China, 1500 Workers Built The Train Station In 9 Hours — China’s Speed Shocked The World.
Are Chinese people really happy under their government?
I was born in the winter of 1991, in a small city called Weinan, Shaanxi Province. My father was a worker in a state-owned chemical plant and my mother was a primary school teacher.
The 1990s witnessed China’s market economic reform when many of the stated-owned enterprises were forced to close down because the reform marked an end of government funding. All of a sudden my father went unemployed, at the year I was born. And my mother’s salary contributed little to the household income. In other words, I was born in a family literally with nothing.
In order to feed the family, my father started as an apprentice in a small firm doing decoration business. After 3 years, he started his own business based on what he had learned as an apprentice.
Back then we were so poor that my parents were always reluctant to buy me any snacks or toys. For many years, we had to rent single-storey houses here and there which were always unhygienic. During winter we could even not afford the heating, my mother can still recall today that I was crying at nights as an infant because of cold. My mom once asked what was my dream when I was young, I said: ‘That we can have our own home.’
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(Despite the poor life we had, my parents still tried their best to give me a happy childhood, this photo was taken in 1997 in Shandong province when we had our first trip outside the hometown )
Then my father’s business started to thrive. In 2002 we finally purchased our first apartment, I still remember I was so excited that I didn’t sleep at all the night before moving in. This photo was taken when we moved in: we thanked the blessings of our ancestors – my grandfather passed away before I was born and we believed he had blessed us all along.
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Later on we started to have cars and more properties, from 2005 onwards my father transferred his business to installations of natural gas pipelines. In recent years my parents had been traveling around China. This photo was taken in 2013 during their trip to Fujian.
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In the old days, Chinese from Northern China got warm by burning coals, which was one of the major contributors of air pollution during winter, as you might have seen in some media coverage. Realizing this, the government initiated the project known as ‘coal to gas’ (煤改气) in every city in need of heating. My father’s firm was commissioned by the government to install the pipelines in major districts of our city before it was getting cold in 2014. Those days I saw my father led 4 teams involving 50 people to work on the project day and night. And they did finish the job before the deadline. One day my dad came back very happily and said ‘we’ve completed the pipelines so that people in our city won’t suffer from cold, I think I’ve done a good thing for the people!’.
From then on, the air quality in our city has greatly improved. This is the picture I took yesterday when I went for a walk. Have you ever seen such pictures on the biased western media? Probably not, because it isn’t eye-catching enough.
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10 years ago it was unimaginable for my family to afford me to study overseas, now I’ve finished my 4-year study in Australia.
10 years ago I had to take an 1.5-hour bus to Xi’an, the capital city of our province, to attend high school; nowadays young students spend 19 minutes to Xi’an by high speed trains.
10 years ago I thought the developed countries must be the paradises on earth, now I’ve returned to China to witness the great changes of my homeland, even though she is still imperfect.
So back to your question – are Chinese people really happy under their government? Well I’d say the Chinese have a fresh memory of what we’ve been through over the years, thus fully understand the importance of a competent government. Sure my family built our fortune by working hard, but we are unlikely to achieve this without a stable environment and the opportunities provided by the government. Most importantly, there are millions of Chinese, like my father who would rather solve problems practically than blindly adopting foreign models.
Veruca Salt – Seether (Glastonbury ’95)
Bourne Means Business
Hollywood. Being a spook is much more sedate.
What makes you lose belief that the US is the greatest country on Earth?
In American movies, Russians are portrayed as demons, Africans as corrupt, Mexicans as criminals, and only Americans are heroes who do righteous deeds; American politicians’ speeches are all looking for beautiful words to cheat votes and their people are constantly brainwashed in this way. So, when I claim that this is not the case, there will be much opposition. Following, I will list eight reasons why America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.
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First, Poverty and homelessness
According to World Population Review, over half a million people are experiencing homelessness in the United States. Among all those states, California currently has the highest homeless population, with about 151,278 homeless people. This is about one-fifth of the total homeless population in the United States. These individuals live in a temporary shelter or transitional housing or sleep in a place not meant for habitation. The top four causes of homelessness are lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, and low wages.
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Second, low wages.
As I mentioned above, one of the main reasons for the high homelessness rate is low wages. New research reveals that nearly a third of all workers in the US earn under $15 an hour. But women and people of color do much more than their fair share of low-wage jobs, and as wages lose value, it’s becoming a civil rights crisis in this country. One report from CNN states that the national median rent was $1,792 last month, up 17% from a year ago. With low wages and rising rents, people are in great pain.
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Third, debt crisis
80% of the people in the United States are living on debt, such as credit card loans, student loans, home loans, and so on. The consumption of the American people relies on the money they don’t have. This terrible disaster, in fact, is encouraged by the government because the U.S. government itself is a big debtor. On February 1, 2022, it surpassed $30 trillion for the first time. Such a huge debt problem will sooner or later detonate, with the strong dollar bound to be impacted.
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Fourth, no health insurance
The U.S. does not have a uniform health system and no universal healthcare coverage. Fifty million people, 16% of the U.S. population, lack insurance coverage. Medical expenditures such as pharmaceuticals and medical supplies have increasingly become unaffordable for marginalized communities. Therefore, paying medical bills and other medical costs have become high out-of-pocket expenses. Deprived communities continue to lack access to primary healthcare services and rely on emergency departments to treat chronic diseases and preventive care.
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Fifth, racialism
George Floyd’s dying under Derek Chauvin’s kneeled to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. People across the country continue to call for justice in the killings of Daunte Wright, Rayshard Brooks, and many others. On April 27, The Minnesota Department of Human Rights slammed the city of Minneapolis and its police department for what it described as a “pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.” The report found that MPD maintains an organizational culture where officers consistently use racist, misogynistic, and otherwise disrespectful language against suspects and community members, especially the black people.
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Sixth, gun violence
It was over 50 years ago when President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared that “firearms are a primary instrument of death in American crime”. At the time, about 90 million guns were circulating in the country. Today, there are many more guns and many more deaths. Firearms deaths have become even more of a fixture in American life, with the 1.5 million that took place between 1968 and 2017. In 2020 alone, more than 45,000 Americans died at the end of a barrel of a gun, a 43% increase from 2010. According to CDC, nearly 53 people are killed each day by a firearm in the US. Besides, the vast majority of murders, 79%, were carried out with guns.
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Seven, fake democracy
The United States was founded more than two hundred years ago. However, the two-party system it follows is fake democracy. Independent candidates who want to survive the cracks between the two parties are completely restricted. Many people with special political talent cannot stand out. In addition, the U.S. political system is completely controlled by the consortium and a few large political families. The so-called democracy is actually a false move.
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Eight, warmonger
Since the September 11 attacks, the US ‘war on terror’ has cost not only millions of lives and injuries. It forcibly displaced at least 37 million people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya, and Syria. Frankly, the US military has waged war continuously for almost two decades. In the recent Ukraine-Russia conflict, the U.S. is the one behind the scene. Behind the US’ hype about a potential war in Ukraine are its intentions of satisfying the voracious appetite of its military-industrial complex, which stands to gain the most from a potential war.
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If these reasons above still cannot change your mind, I’ll give you more: America has the most advanced medical system in the world, yet it failed in the battle against the covid, with the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the world; For a century, the United States has established many military bases around the world, amounting to neo-colonialism. 2021 Capitol attack on January 6 nearly exposed the dark side of its bi-partisanship and further tore the country apart. I also want to ask why does the government always take slow response to the major disasters caused by tornadoes, floods, and wildfires in various regions? And why did two or three days of bad weather bring Texas to a complete blackout and almost paralysis? America is now in a bubble, which is doomed to burst one day.
Finally, I want to end with lines from a TV series The Newsroom by the leading character, Mill McAvoy—“The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is a problem. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.”
Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (1966 Original)
Pure 1960s.
Why aren’t credit cards popular in China, the world’s second largest economy?
As Paul Denlinger pointed out, China has skipped the stage of credit card, today the Chinese use various mobile payments, such as Alipay and Wechat Pay.
Using mobile payments is not just beneficial for consumers, but also for sellers – basically everyone can get involved in this process, including street vendors who cannot afford POS machines, all they need to do is printing out their QR code. Cheap, easy and clean.
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That said, the conceptual application of credit card is still being used, but in a different form.
For example, Alipay records all my online transactions and evaluates my creditability which can be redeemed as credit lines.
What is the most food you’ve ever eaten in a meal?
When I was ten years old, I went on vacation with my grandparents. Now, a couple things you have to understand about my grandpa is that:
1. He was a trucker for 30 years
2. He grew up very poor.
Somehow, this manifested into him being all about gas station food and also insisting on eating every last bite of food he purchased for himself or anybody else. You waste nothing—ever.
Anyway.
We pull up to some random gas station in the middle of nowhere. I’m starving to death and see that on their menu they have BLTs, but not just any BLT, but THE MONSTER BLT. Being a stupid kid, I didn’t even read the description. I like bacon. So why not?
So I said, “Hey Gramps, will you buy me this BLT?”
In his rugged accent he says “I buy it, you eat it.”
I swear to God he sounds just like Clint Eastwood.
So I think well yeah I’m going to eat it. Why wouldn’t I eat it?
So a few minutes later, the gas station lady pushes something that looks like this across the counter toward me:
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My palms got sweaty. But I was up for the challenge. I actually believed my 60 lb. self could handle a sandwich of this magnitude.
About a quarter of the way into it, I was trying to think of ways to get rid of the thing. Maybe there was a dog somewhere? Maybe I could knock it in the floor. Surely my grandpa wouldn’t make me eat a BLT off a gas station floor…would he? Across the table from me, my grandpa sipped his coffee, eyeing my every movement. I had no choice but to eat on.
Finally, I swallowed the last morsel. And, to my amazement I didn’t barf.
I looked at my grandpa expecting some sort of congratulations.
He smirked and asked, “Got room for dessert?”
Today, my grandpa has Alzheimer’s, but this is one story he can recall on command.
You should listen to Denzel when he promises to screw you up
Detroit-Style Pan Pizza Recipe
Detroit-Style Pan Pizza
Using a high-hydration dough made with bread flour gives you pizza with a tender-yet-chewy, extra-crisp crust.
Spreading cheese all the way to the edges of the pizza pan lets it melt into the edges, forming a crisp, browned crust.
For the past year, I’ve been up to my neck in crispy cheese crusts. That’s not a bad place to be, mind you.
When did Detroit pizza become a thing? I mean, I know that rectangular pan pizzas have been served in the Motor City since at least 1946, when, according to Pure Michigan, bar owner Gus Guerra and his wife, Anna, decided to throw a batch of her mother’s Sicilian dough into a blue steel pan, originally used to carry auto parts, and bake it with cheese and sauce. The pizza emerged with a blackened, lacy, crispy cheese crust all the way around the edges, and a new pizza style was born. Buddy’s, the restaurant opened by the Guerras, has been serving it ever since.
But that’s not what I mean. When did it become a thing? Starting in early 2016 or so, everyone seemed to be talking about it or writing about it or opening up restaurants devoted to it. I first became aware of it back in 2008, when former Serious Eats editor and current bar pie specialist Adam Kuban included it in his exhaustive pizza style guide, but it wasn’t until the following year, during my annual Michigan hunting trip, that I tasted it for the first time, at a Buddy’s in Detroit.
What Is Detroit-Style Pizza?
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To be frank, I don’t know why it didn’t blow up earlier. The stuff is freaking delicious. Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up: The crust comes out crisp and golden on the bottom, with a lightly fried texture that it gets from sizzling in the rendered fat that drips down from the cheese. Next, we move on to the crumb, which is chewy, with a medium-fine bubble structure. Not so rustic as, say, a focaccia, but not quite as soft and fluffy as a New York–style Sicilian slice.
Above that is where things get a little topsy-turvy. Instead of using the “sauce, cheese, toppings” order of a typical pizza, Detroit pizzas are built in reverse. Creamy, tangy Brick cheese from Wisconsin is cubed and applied directly to the top of the dough, where it bakes up gooey, buttery, and thick in the middle, crispy and dark brown around the edges. On top of the cheese is a sweet, thick tomato sauce, seasoned with plenty of garlic and spices and often applied in heavy parallel bands. If you order the pizza with pepperoni (the most common topping), depending on where you are, you might find it cupped and crisp on top of the sauce, or, occasionally, buried underneath the cheese, where its flavor seeps in and penetrates every bite.* It’s crispy, fatty, cheesy, tangy, and glorious, especially those coveted corner pieces that give you that extra crunch.
*Should we call them “middlings” instead of “toppings” if they’re stuck in the middle?
This is not everyday pizza. It’s not every-week pizza. It might not even be every-month, if you want to live to a reasonable age. But damn, is it good pizza. So good that it’s worth a trip to Detroit just to taste it. So good that it’s worth devoting months of time, weeks of research, and dozens and dozens of experiments to developing a recipe to duplicate it at home. So that’s exactly what I did. Here’s what I found.
Finding the Perfect, Chewy Crust
I decided to start my testing by focusing on the crust. For these tests, I used low-moisture mozzarella and a jar of Rao’s for the sauce. Since I already have an easy recipe for foolproof pan pizza, I started there, figuring I could tweak it to make it work for a Detroit pie. That recipe uses a basic no-knead method: Flour and water are combined with yeast (1% of the flour by weight) and salt (2.5% of the flour by weight) and mixed together in a bowl, just until a shaggy dough forms. The bowl is then covered and set aside overnight. During that overnight rest, yeast multiplies and produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that slowly expand and rise, in effect kneading the dough for you. In the morning, you wind up with a stretchy, relaxed dough with plenty of gluten development.
A little too much gluten development, as it turned out.
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Good gluten development and a nicely relaxed, high-moisture dough lead to a very rustic hole structure, with a hearty chew and a mix of big, small, and medium-sized bubbles. It’s delicious, but Detroit pizza should be a little more uniform. Still, I liked the idea of a no-knead dough, so I tried it a few more times, using different ratios of flour to water. In baker-speak, this is known as “hydration level”: A “60% hydration dough” is a dough that uses 60 grams of water for every 100 grams of flour. My original pan pizza has a hydration level of about 70%. I tried going down as low as 60%, which made a dough that had a finer hole structure (good!) but also a denser, tougher texture (bad!).
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After a few more experiments (mostly around adding a fat to the dough, with the idea of making it a little more tender), I decided to throw in the towel on the no-knead method and switch to a more traditional kneading-based approach.**
** NB: No-knead is still a fantastic way to make pizza or bread if a rustic crumb is what you’re after!
In doing a bit more research, I found that Adam Kuban had gone down a similar path years ago while exploring hydration levels in Detroit-style dough. According to him, using all-purpose flour and a super-high hydration level of 75% is the key. I mixed up another batch, this time using my stand mixer to make the dough. I started by combining the ingredients and mixing them just until they started to come together, then let them rest for 10 minutes before continuing to knead.
This is a method called autolyse, during which an enzymatic breakdown of flour protein occurs,*** making it easier to subsequently form gluten. Think of it sort of like converting a Lego spaceship into a castle: It’s easiest if you break it down completely before starting to rebuild. Once the dough was kneaded, I let it rise for a couple hours at room temperature before turning it into a greased pan (more on that pan later). I let it rest once more to allow the gluten to relax, then stretched it out until it filled out the pan all the way to the edges, before topping and baking it in a hot oven.
*** Technically, an autolyse is made before salt is added, but I’ve never really found a big difference between adding the salt at the start and adding it at the end.
Adam is right that high hydration is a great way to go (though I ended up scaling my water back to around 73% instead of 75%), but I wasn’t fully convinced about the all-purpose flour. Because all-purpose flour is relatively low in protein, it produces a light, very tender crumb that doesn’t have quite the chew or pull I was looking for.
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Swapping out that all-purpose flour for bread flour (I used King Arthur bread flour) was the real key, producing a crumb structure that was relatively open and chewy, but still squarely on the Detroit pizza end of the scale as opposed to the focaccia end.
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In the past, I’ve written glowingly about doughs made in a food processor, and I’m happy to report that this dough also works fabulously well in a food processor. Just dump the ingredients in, set the machine running until a ball of dough forms (that usually takes about 15 seconds), then let that ball of dough ride around the blade for 30 seconds longer. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it develops an incredibly smooth, silky gluten structure. If you have a powerful food processor (our review of the best food processors is right here) and are making only a couple batches of dough, it’ll leave the stand mixer in the dust.
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For my testing, I ordered a ton of Brick cheese from Amazon. If you order in bulk, it’s relatively inexpensive, and worth it if authenticity is what you’re after. (Don’t worry; I also found some viable alternatives sold in supermarkets.) When I visited Dave Lichterman, the man behind Windy City Pie, in his Seattle kitchen a few months ago, he showed me how he makes his cheese crust. He starts by filling out a pan with dough, then lays overlapping slices of cheese (not grated cheese!) on top, letting each one ride off the edge of the pan to line the sides, where they crisp and bake into shape.
I tried that method with my Detroit-style pizza, but the problem was slicing the Brick cheese—it’s very soft, which makes slicing an almost impossible endeavor. Just for kicks, I tried using presliced supermarket cheeses of various flavors. None of them seemed to crisp up the way Dave’s does.
I wondered if the shape of the cheese wasn’t the only issue. Up until now, I’d been cooking my pizza in standard aluminum rimmed baking sheets. Maybe there is some truth to what people say about those special Detroit pans being the secret ingredient in Detroit pizza?
The classic Detroit pizza pan is a deep, 10- by 14-inch rectangle of metal with black surfaces (for better conduction) and sides that flare gently away from the bottom. While the original pans were made from blue steel, most modern pans are made from anodized aluminum and come with a nonstick coating. I tested a number of these pans and found that yes, the black surfaces really did make a difference in how well that cheese crisped.
The best one I tried was from LloydPans. They’ve been making these pans since the ’80s. This is a specialty item for sure, but once you try this recipe, I can guarantee that you’ll be using it with regularity. Still, if you don’t want a dedicated pizza pan, I found that you can get decent results from a pair of deep, well-seasoned or nonstick 8- by 8-inch cake pans.****
**** The crust doesn’t come out quite as nice when you use a pair of cake pans, but you do end up with more of it because of the two extra edges, so it’s a pretty fair trade.
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After stretching my dough, I added a layer of diced Brick cheese, which I made sure to spread all the way to the very edges of the pan. Buddy’s in Detroit claims that it uses a full pound of cheese for each pizza. I’ve seen some recipes that call for eight ounces or less. I ended up splitting the difference by adding 12 ounces of diced cheese. Don’t get me wrong: It’s still a ton***** of cheese, but not so much that eating it becomes painful.
***** Not literally a ton.
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Ya see how nice that cheese-and-pan combo works out? For the record, the cheese crust may look black, but I can assure you that it does not taste burnt or bitter. I can’t explain it. In the wise words of Oscar Gamble, they don’t think it be like it is, but it do.
Swapping out that Brick cheese for a different cheese turned out to be surprisingly difficult. Not only does Brick cheese have its own flavor, it’s also extremely high in fat, which is important. As that butterfat drips down into the pan, it fries directly into the crust. Many people note that Detroit pizza has a buttery flavor despite containing no butter at all; that flavor comes from the Brick cheese fat.
At Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, owner and pizza savant Tony Gemignani uses cheddar around the edges. The cheddar comes out reasonably lacy and crisp, but the flavor reminds me more of a crisp-edged grilled cheese. I tried sliced and cubed low-moisture mozzarella and young, soft Jacks. I even gave Havarti a go. In the end, the closest substitute I could find was a 50/50 mix of low-moisture mozzarella (which provides some of that clean, buttery dairy flavor) and Jack (which has plenty of fat and also tanginess).
Cheese and Pan Combinations
With the dough out of the way, I turned my attention to the cheese. Detroit pizza is unusual in two ways when it comes to cheese. The first is the use of Brick cheese, a high-fat aged cheese from Wisconsin with a uniquely tangy, salty, buttery flavor that’s hard to replace with alternatives. The second is the edges. If you’ve ever been to Pequod’s or Burt’s Place in Chicago, or, better yet, had a pizza from Windy City Pie in Seattle (incidentally, the best Chicago-style pan pizza I’ve ever had anywhere, including in Chicago), then you’re familiar with the concept of a crispy, blackened cheese crust—the shelf of crisp, lacy cheese that surrounds the edge of the pizza. This is where the real magic of Detroit-style pizza lies, and, as I found out, getting it is not exactly straightforward.
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Like tuning into a Bill Nye marathon when you’re in the mood for Mr. Wizard, it’s not quite the same, but it’ll leave you mostly satisfied.
Seasoning the Sauce
Compared to the struggles I went through to nail the crust and cheese, the sauce was a piece of cake. Unlike a typically sparse Neapolitan- or New York–style pizza sauce, Detroit-style pizza sauces are usually heavily seasoned with aromatics. To make mine, I started by sautéing fresh garlic, a little pinch of pepper flakes, and a good amount of dried oregano in extra-virgin olive oil before adding tomatoes. I generally recommend using whole peeled tomatoes that you crush yourself by hand, as whole peeled tomatoes exhibit more consistency than other types of processed tomatoes. But in this case, without a food mill, it’s hard to get the uniform crushed texture that you want in Detroit-style pizza sauce, so I opted for canned crushed tomatoes instead.****** So long as you use a good-quality brand, like Muir Glen, Bianco DiNapoli, or Cento D.O.P. San Marzanos, crushed will do just fine.
****** Little CA-living brag here: The very best sauce I made was from the San Marzanos I grew and canned myself last summer. Thpbhbpbhpbphpbtbh.
Some recipes call for canned pizza sauce or tomato paste. I find that both can dull flavor too much, so I prefer to simmer down my tomatoes until they’re nicely reduced and intensely flavored.
My sauce was tasty, but it was still missing something. I’m generally a “fresh garlic all the way” type of guy, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that granulated garlic powder might be that missing element. Turns out I was right.
Adding a small dash of granulated garlic and granulated onion, along with a bit of sugar, was the key. Now, I know from experience how uncomfortable people can get about sugar in their tomato sauce, so I’ll tell you right now: I don’t care. If putting sugar in tomato sauce offends you, by all means, keep it sugar-free. I promise I won’t stop you. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here, eating my delicious pizza, and no, you can’t have any.
There’s a school of thought that suggests waiting to add sauce to a Detroit pizza until after it comes out of the oven. That’s not a bad way to do it, but I prefer the cosmic oneness that the pizza achieves when the cheese and sauce are cooked together.
Toppings and Baking
The only thing left to address is how to add toppings and bake this thing. You can feel free to use whatever toppings you personally like, but to my mind, pepperoni is the only real choice here.
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I mentioned before that some restaurants like to place the pepperoni under the cheese, while others place it on top. I really do like the way the flavor gets integrated into the dough when you place the pepperoni underneath, but giving up those crisp, charred edges from pepperoni cooked on top of the pie physically pains me, so I thought: Por que no los dos?
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Laying pepperoni out under and over the pie gives you the best of both worlds. Incidentally, make sure to use a high-quality natural-casing pepperoni, like Vermont Smoke & Cure, or even Boar’s Head (the stick version, not the presliced!). That’s how you guarantee that your pepperoni will cup up into those crispy little grease chalices that Adam Kuban is so fond of.*******
The only thing left to test was baking, and, unfortunately, here’s where things get a wee bit hairy. The problem is that ovens are not very accurate, or even uniform. Most ovens tend to heat more from the bottom than from the top, but some are the opposite. Some ovens maintain a steady temperature, while others fluctuate wildly up and down.
I have a few pieces of advice here. First, set the oven as hot as it will get. In a home oven, that’s 500 to 550°F (260 to 290°C). At those temperatures, you get good browning and crisping of the crust before the dough has a chance to dry out too much. But even then, you might find that the top of your pizza ends up cooking before the bottom does. If you know that your oven doesn’t heat much from the bottom, or if you make the recipe and find the base is not quite as crisp as you like, you have a couple options.
First is to place the pan on top of a preheated Baking Steel, which will help pump heat into the base of the pizza, where it’s needed most. Your second option is to place the pizza directly on the floor of a preheated oven, which will also give it a nice, quick energy boost.
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n a hot oven, the pizza cooks in about 12 to 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the cheese around the edges is sizzling and black and the top is very lightly browned.
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Once it comes out of the oven, use a thin metal spatula to carefully prise the edges away from the pan, giving the whole thing a few shakes until it seems to move around freely.
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From there, transfer the pizza to a cutting board, and do your best not to immediately plant your face in it. That’s rude. And also liable to give you severe burns on your eyeballs. That’s something nobody likes.
You know what’s something that everybody likes? Delicious pizza. Like the one you’re going to make this week.
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I mean, just look at that crumb. Oh, oh! And let me show you the best part:
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Now that? That’s the stuff that dreams are made of. Welcome to Detroit, my friends.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
300gbread flour (10.5 ounces; about 2 generous cups)
5ginstant yeast (0.15 ounce; about 1 teaspoon), such as SAF Instant Yeast
9gsalt (0.3 ounce; about 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
220gwater (7.75 ounces; about 1 cup minus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
For the Sauce:
2tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
3medium clovesgarlic, minced
2teaspoons (about 5g) dried oregano
Dashred pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce; 800g) can high-quality crushed tomatoes
1teaspoon (about 6g) granulated garlic powder
1teaspoon (about 6g) granulated onion powder
1tablespoon (about 15g) sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
To Finish:
12ounces (340g) Brick cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (see notes)
12ounces (340g) high-quality natural-casing pepperoni, such as Boar’s Head or Vermont Smoke & Cure, cut into 1/8-inch slices (optional)
Directions
To Make the Dough in a Stand Mixer: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Stir to combine, then add water. Mix on low speed until dough comes together into a rough ball, then shut off mixer and let rest for 10 minutes. Continue mixing at medium-low speed until dough forms a smooth, silky ball, about 10 minutes longer. (It should stick to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads rather than riding around the edges.) Remove dough hook, form dough into a tight ball, set in the bottom of the mixer bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
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To Make the Dough in a Food Processor: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add water, then turn on processor and process until dough forms a ball that rides around the bowl of the processor, about 30 seconds. Continue processing for 30 seconds longer. Transfer dough to a bowl, form a tight ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
To Make the Dough by Hand: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then add water and stir with a wooden spoon until a rough ball of dough has formed. Set aside for 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto a countertop and knead until a smooth, silky ball has formed, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl, form a tight ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Pour a couple tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a Detroit-style anodized aluminum pan or two 8- by 8-inch cake pans. (Split dough in half if using cake pans.) Transfer dough to pan(s) and turn to coat in oil. Press down on dough and spread it toward the edges. You won’t be able to get it all the way to the edges; this is okay. Spread it as much as you can without tearing, then cover tightly in plastic and set aside for 30 minutes to allow dough to relax. Return to dough and stretch it out again. It should be able to reach the edges this time. If not, let it rest a little more and try again. To get the dough to stay in the corners, stretch it up beyond the corners so that it pulls back into place. Once dough is stretched, cover again and set aside while you make the sauce.
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For the Sauce: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 550°F (290°C), or as close to it as your oven gets. Heat 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
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To Form the Pizza: Press down on dough with your fingertips to remove any large air bubbles. Lay half of pepperoni (if using) evenly over face of dough. Top with cheese, spreading it evenly all the way to the very edges of the pan, then add remaining pepperoni. Spoon sauce over surface in 3 even rows. (You will need only about half the sauce—save the rest for another pizza.)
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Transfer to oven and bake until edges are black and bubbly and exposed cheese on top is starting to lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a trivet or folded kitchen towel on countertop.
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Run a thin metal spatula all the way around the edges of the pan to loosen the pizza. Carefully lift it out and slide it onto a cutting board. Cut pizza and serve.
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Special Equipment
Stand mixer or food processor (optional), Detroit-style 10- by 14-inch anodized aluminum pan (see note)
Notes
Brick cheese is a high-fat aged cheese from Wisconsin. It has a buttery flavor and browns very well, giving Detroit pizza its distinct flavor. You can order it online from Amazon. If it’s unavailable, you can use a combination of Jack or young cheddar and low-moisture mozzarella.
For best results, use a Detroit-style anodized aluminum pan. If you can’t get your hands on that kind of pan, you can split the recipe into two square 8- by 8-inch cake pans.
Obama said “the planet can’t sustain 1.4 billion Chinese having the same living standard as Americans”, do most Americans agree with him?
The Americans are among the most wasteful people on the planet. So, yes, if 1.4 billion Chinese were as wasteful as the Americans, then our world would be fucked.
The Americans need to be a lot less wasteful.
Obama would’ve been right about the 1.3 billion Indians, too. And the collective population of around 1.3 billion in Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, and Mexico. Are you suggesting that all of these nations mustn’t develop because they would drain our planet’s resources?
ALL nations have the right to develop. ALL nations must cooperate to develop as efficiently as possible for the benefit of all.
Do you consider the Japanese cuisine the most refined cuisine in Asia? If not, why?
I’ve worked in two high-end Chinese restaurants, both serving authentic Cantonese cuisine and more than eight different smaller authentic Chinese dim sum restaurants. (so authentic that our wait-staff were often described as curt and brusque).
I’ve also worked in two Korean restaurants, one a warm, cosy, family-style affair that specialized in samgyeopsal, and one a smaller affair inside a food court that served the usual varieties of bibimbap and guksu dishes.
Also, I’ve worked in one Japanese izakaya establishment specializing in more eclectic stuff – think uni omelette and motsunabe, two dishes Western folks might not find at their local sushi bar. And for one week, I had a wonderful opportunity to work with some very fine folks at a ryokan in the onsen town Yamashiro, in Ishikawa, preparing kaiseki-ryori. Well, they prepared it, I mostly listened, attempted, documented and wrote about it 🙂
Here’s a tofu dish I prepared that I (somehow) managed not to bungle:
(I actually do own this picture 🙂 )
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“Do you consider the Japanese cuisine the most refined cuisine in Asia? If not, why?”
From my living and moving from country to country, I’ve come to the conclusion that many Westerners (and by that I mean white folks from Australia, the UK, Ireland, the States, Canada, and Western Europe) consider Japanese cuisine the most refined of all Asian cuisines.
After all, in terms of aesthetics and plating, it mirrors the precision and beauty of French haute cuisine. That is the type of food that wins Michelin stars and haughty food critics rave about. It’s definitely no surprise to me that Japan is the Asian country that has the most Michelin 3-star restaurants (the second is Hong Kong by the way…) Forget Asian country – Japan is THE country with the most Michelin 3-star restaurants, in the world.
To people who salivate at eating at such restaurants, refinement means 3-stars. And Japanese cuisine ranks very high on that list, perhaps at their personal top spot.
To such people, “Refinement” in cuisine is equated to Michelin stars, aesthetics, and clean flavors.
Such people often consider all other Asian cuisine unrefined.
As an Asian, I’ve heard the below reasoning too many times:
“ Asian cuisines (non-Japanese) use spices to cover up the inferior quality of their ingredients. You would only use spice if you had inferior quality ingredients.”
Look no further than to one of the answers here, written by one Angel Lopez.
I have found this reasoning to be popular in white-dominant countries.
You can see it on Quora as well. I’ve lost count of the number of people here who think European cooking is superior to Asian cooking because – get this – Asian cuisines uses “spices” to “cover up” “inferior/bad quality ingredients”.
I’ve heard it all:
Chinese cuisine is too sweet, too greasy.
Korean cuisine is too spicy.
Thai cuisine is too spicy.
Indian cuisine is too spicy.
Filipino cuisine is too messy and simple.
Singaporean / Malaysian / Indonesian cuisine is too spicy
Asian cuisine doesn’t have fresh foods! (this is the most bizarre one yet)
I think Vietnamese cuisine may be the only Asian cuisine I’m familiar with that tends to escape such criticism.
And Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by French cuisine…. so…. well….
Many of the people who come up with the above criticisms (not all, but I would posit many) have never even been to the above mentioned countries and base their opinions on the localized versions of the cuisines they get in their own country.
For example, saying “Chinese cuisine is terrible” based on their experience eating at Panda Express or a Chinese restaurant in the middle of nowhere that serves Teriyaki chicken opposite Beef and Broccoli.
“Yes, Dante, but do YOU consider the Japanese cuisine the most refined cuisine in Asia? “
If by “refinement”, you’re talking about cuisine that can win Michelin stars, that focus on visual aesthetics in plating and in presentation, that focus on clean tastes – then yes, I would say that Japanese cuisine could be considered the most refined cuisine in Asia.
But, unlike those who find the spices found in Asian cuisines off-putting and base that opinion on the very erroneous presumption that people only use spices when the ingredients are inferior or bad, I find great joy in eating Asian cuisines of all kind.
I’ve never considered non-Japanese Asian cuisine to be, in any way, shape, or form inferior to European cuisines.
The food in Asia is super fresh – sometimes, the chicken/fish etc has just been slaughtered minutes prior to your meal – and tasty to boot.
Why settle on one Asian cuisine when you can have more than handful of ‘em?
Why settle for one flavor palette when you can have an explosion of different flavors and textures?
My Delores
A woman writes about her cat. -MM
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I had spent over an hour looking at all the kitties at the shelter. I finally picked one out, and the lady was getting the paper work. While she was gone, the cat out of nowhere hissed & struck out at me.
I took it as a sign.
I didn’t want to start off that way.
There were lots of kitties. I sat there talking with the shelter lady, and one kitty I hadn’t noticed came over and gently crawled up into my lap.
She was so sweet. She’d probably been hiding a bit, watching me. The ladies there loved her.
Her name was Delores. A beautiful Calico/ tortie looking kitty. And she had claimed me.
She started purring away.
I put her aside and she came right back. It was destiny.
She came home with me.
She followed me everywhere.
We were best friends.
They told me at the shelter she was about 5, but later the vet said she was probably twice that.
I had her less than a year.
She died suddenly of kidney failure and I literally cried for three years. I loved her so much.
I can’t think about her at all without crying, even as I write this. There was just something very special about my Delores.
A bunch of idiotic questions on Quora, and an equally large bunch of idiotic answers. Mostly Americans reinforcing ignorance with ignorance. It’s actually profoundly disturbing.
Anyways, in this article I am taking some of the better answers from the more thoughtful answers, (mostly Chinese) and placing them under the inept and amazingly moronic questions flooding my feed.
Have a good laugh and a fine stroll.
Let’s begin with this amazingly stupid question…
Is China the next United States ?
No. The United States is the World Police turning into a Bouncer for Hire. China’s aspiration is to be the Cook.
The United States was catapulted into Superpower during WWII, where its entire industrial base was turned into arms manufacturing. It could have disarmed after WWII, but one thing led to another, that was never done, and so here we are, with Mr. Trump selling protection and blackmailing other countries for protection money.
China is concerned about getting enough to “eat”, and she has figured out that the cook never starves, no matter who else might be starving. So she’s been going around cooking up iPhones, trains, pots and pans, and bridges for other people, and, well, making a tidy sum out of it, and feeding her own family with cents on the dollar (‘cause she makes the stuff herself, so no restaurant mark-up).
So what happened next, was that Mr. Obama calling China “a free rider for thirty years”, because she doesn’t do anything for “global security”.
But I think Mr. Obama failed to appreciate the fact that a cook can not look like a bouncer and going around cracking other people’s heads – who in the world will order dinner from a cook that looks like a bouncer?
Basically if you want to be the cook for the world, you have to be (or at least appear to be) AMIABLE to everybody!
China is friendly with both the US and Russia, both Iran and Saudi, both Israel and Palestine, all four different governments in Yemen, etc.
But if you are a bouncer, well, you’ve got to take sides (“Good vs. Evil”), show your muscle, and beat up somebody occasionally. And you need enemies, otherwise, how do you get customers coming to you looking for protection? Right? But if you are going to fight for the Saudis, the Iranians are probably not going to be buying iPhones and automobiles from you. C’est la vie.
So no, China is not the next United States, because a Cook doesn’t need any Enemies, only customers.
The Notorious B.I.G. – Mo Money Mo Problems (Official Music Video) [4K]
“This is what my babysitter used for a teething toy for me.”
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As a bartender, who was that one customer you will never forget?
This one still gives me nightmares.
When I was in college, I worked for the catering department as a bartender. So I would be there for everything from the college president’s dinners (where I was the only person who could mix the head of the board of trustees a proper martini) to debauched student parties.
I figured I was pretty good. I could handle anything, or so I thought.
One day the head of catering called me and asked if I could do a mid-afternoon shift. The college was hosting a local lawn bowling club. This would be a bunch of old folks who were having a drinks in the university club room after a round on the bowling field. It would just be me—no bar back—-because, well, old people. How much could a bunch of grannies and grandpas drink at 4 PM in the afternoon?
Turns out, quite a sh$t load.
So there I was on the day behind a big table with a demure white table cloth on it at 4 PM, with a bunch of beers and a few bottles of scotch, vodka and gin in the ice next to me. I had some limes and some lemons, soft drinks, a few mixers. I’m thinking this will be the biggest blow-off job of my life. I’ll mix a few G&Ts, chat with the old folks, snag a few tips, fill some water glasses, and be out of there by 6 PM.
I mean, these people were literally from the local rest home.
Things went wrong right away. First of all, they all ignored the food and the tables and came up to the bar. This was around a hundred old people. The usual requests started pouring in, but I was a little taken aback that they ALL wanted to drink, and they immediately started bitching to each other about the fact that “The damn college only put one kid at the bar? Where are the rest of them?”
They wanted things like shaken martinis…with olives or lemon zests. They wanted A LOT of Old Fashioneds. Do you know what an Old Fashioned is? You probably don’t because they drank them back in the days of Bing Crosby. Here is the recipe:
You need to muddle the damn cherry (mush it up over a strainer). And I had to make DOZENS of these, using RYE whisky. You’ve probably never had Rye , either. I had to run back to the supply store to find a case of the stuff. It’s basically Canadian whisky. Yeah. Canadian. Americans started drinking lots of it during the prohibition in the USA and I guess they never stopped.
I mean, I had to find SUGAR CUBES and melt them.
And so I’m shaking martinis, I’m muddling the cherries, I’m melting the sugar cubes, and I’m also pouring G&Ts and Scotch and Sodas and I think I made a few Tom Collinses and some Cape Codders and a few screwdrivers. These are mostly drinks your grandparents drank because I was serving A BUNCH OF GRANDPARENTS. I’m popping beers and I’m pouring wine and wine spritzers and CHAMPAGNE SPRITZERS and the whole time they are bitching that the service is too slow.
And then I did the heinous math.
If you take a hundred people under the age of 40 and get them playing croquet or lawn bowling or whatever from 2–4 in the afternoon, and bring them to a bar at 4 PM, you might get HALF of them actually drinking alcohol, and a QUARTER of them actually into the hard liquor. Hell, I like to drink but I rarely have an actual neat scotch before six. THESE PEOPLE WERE HEADING OFF TO BED AROUND THEN…4 PM WAS THEIR HAPPY HOUR.
AND ALL OF THESE OLD PEOPLE WERE DRINKING. There was no “designated drivers” because they had come in a bus and nobody was trying to be good for the boss or trying to lose weight or being PC or just drinking coffee or having an issue with substance abuse or whatever. That World War Two generation might have been the Greatest Generation but my god they were also the Drunkest Generation. These were all slamming them back and then GETTING BACK IN THE LINE FOR ANOTHER ROUND. Finally I was yelling at them, “Listen, you get one drink apiece, not two at a time. That means you, sir.” Or “No, I am NOT making you people a pitcher of martinis!” or “Give me back that bottle of gin, ma’am, I’m not allowed to let you bring it to the table” and then “Give it back and don’t pretend you can’t hear me, lady!”
The more fucked up they got, the more they complained and demanded more booze. Plus, they were lighting up cigarettes in the no smoking building. It was literally getting out of hand. After the first hour my boss appeared and it was basically a drunken riot. The lawn bowlers felt they had a right to an all-you-can-drink bar and the college was ripping them off by only putting me on duty, I was shouting at them to get in line and stop acting like jerks and to bloody grow up and the place was a mess of glasses because there was no way I could bus glasses as well. The place reeked of smoke. He had to clap his hands for attention and they basically all told him to go to hell, they wanted more booze, and this pretty tough guy wound up serving these people next to me for the next hour. We totally ran out of all the hard booze and there was much unhappiness about this from the lawn bowlers, who swore they would never use our facility again.
Thank God.
After they left the two of us cleaned up in total silence. It was like a shared trauma. He paid me double in cash because I didn’t get one tip and then we went back to the store room and each smoked a cigarette (I don’t smoke).
He gave me a case of beer and told me never to tell anyone about this. I think he was kind of crying.
EDIT- WOW. Over 100,000 page views and over 10,000 upvotes in just a few days? THANKS!
Also, Canada is awesome. I edited the piece to make sure people understand that Canadian whisky is great, we just didn’t have lots of it in our college kitchen in 1989 and when I was 19 I didn’t know much about it. Didn’t mean to say anything mean about Canadian whisky! Go Canada!
Also, thanks for all the education about Old Fashioneds but I’m still too triggered to drink them!
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Is China safe for Americans?
It’s laughable you even have to ask. I’ve been to China five times and it’s 100 times safer than the US. The cops often don’t even carry guns. You can walk around any city at 3am with your wallet glued to your forehead and nothing would happen to you. There really aren’t even that many scams for tourists compared to other countries, especially outside Beijing and Shanghai.
But this is why Americans are viewed as so insular and ignorant. Why did you even ask this? You just assume that China is some big bad evil communist country like the American media and society has brainwashed you into thinking?
True story: first time I went to China in 2010 I was literally blown away at how developed and advanced it is. It’s literally 30 years ahead of the US at least in terms of its infrastructure such as airports, bullet trains, subways, sidewalks, roads, etc. But my brainwashed mind had believed the American spin about China that it was some evil shithole. Oh and I also never found it was some police state. I could buy a beer at a store and drink it on the street and that was no problem, try that in America.
So anyway, if you have to ask if it’s safe to visit it probably means you should not even bother going because the real issue is your internalized American fear of the unknown.
Does China have iPhones?
Another — excuse me for the adjective I’m going to use — dumb question about China.
Why do people think that Chinese live in a tavern or something?
The Chinese are the people behind WeChat, one of the best applications in the world, and I’m not even exaggerating. It’s a combination of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and MORE into one app.
“Oh, so they just copy the applications that are actually banned in China”.
I also forgot to mention that you can buy almost anything through WeChat.
“Oh yeah, just like ApplePay?”
Yeah, except that when people got introduced with ApplePay, Chinese were enjoying that technology for YEARS already.
An absurd amount of things are done through phones in China, and they sure as hell don’t use Nokia to do so.
Oh and by the way, iPhone are produced in China 🙂
This post was Made in China.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
The best meals are the ones that take little effort while still earning that homemade label, and this Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect example. This easy-prep chicken tortilla soup recipe simmers for hours while you prep it in just 15 minutes. Come home to amazing flavors like green chiles, diced tomatoes, cumin, cilantro and tasty tortilla chips. Check out our step-by-step directions for how to make this tortilla soup in a slow cooker, and sit down to something delicious.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
1 carton (32 oz) Progresso™ chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn, red and green peppers, drained
1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso™ red enchilada sauce
1 cup chopped onions
1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 cups tortilla chips, coarsely crushed
1/2 cup sour cream
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Why did Samsung shift its display unit from China to India?
Samsung once had a big domestic market share in China
Now its been wiped out by Chinese players who are developing products which are comparable, even superior in quality.
As Chinas market has grown, Samsung is forced to move to the only other market where it can hope to establish a nexus – India
More and More Companies will try to move here because they have NO CHOICE.
Chinese Products are taking over the Largest Market on Earth – China.
Even Tesla and Volvo will be wiped out by Cheaper yet Similar Quality Chinese Brands and will be forced to come to India
It wont help us in the long run because we dont have the market for so many products or the economy.
Yet our Media write of this as a Major Victory .
A recent UN report states that China may have committed human rights violations in Xinjiang. As a Chinese, or a person of Chinese diaspora or descent, what are your thoughts on this?
"A recent UN report states that China may have committed human rights violations in Xinjiang."
China may have?
Look, f*ckwad**, either China did, or did not. The word “may” does not constitute anything factual.
Did China commit human rights violations? Yes or no.
If yes, then show us the f*cking evidence. Hard evidence, not bullshit evidence.
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What does ‘asset rich but cash poor’ mean?
It’s weird and it sucks. Take a look at this deli…
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When my dad moved to the US 30+ years ago he opened up a convenience store in a rough neighborhood in NYC just like this one, in a building just like this one. But instead of renting the commercial space he took out a loan and bought the entire property which had a few apartments on the floor above.
Long story short, the neighborhood where he bought this building slowly became gentrified, and the value of the property skyrocketed. My dad spent about $200k on the property which is was recently valued at over $2.5 million. The same thing happened with our family home as well, my dad bought a nice New England style colonial like the one pictured below for $300k in the early 90’s. Last year a real estate agent told us if we sold it we could get $2 million…
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What’s weird about the situation is that while on paper my folks are rich, and wealthier today than they have been at any point in their lives, they certainly doesn’t feel like they are. Although the prices of our properties have changed, our the properties themselves have not. The convenience store and the building is still as run down as it ever was, and our house hasn’t gotten any bigger either. Yet, each year the money gets tighter as the value goes up, so to do our property taxes, insurance, living expenses, and other bills. The reality we now face is that even though we’re ‘richer than ever,’ we’ll eventually be unable to live the way we’ve always been living.
Magnetic reversals
In Ngawha, on the North Island of New Zealand, an ancient tree has been discovered that contains a record of a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field. The tree – an Agathis australis, also known as the Maori name kauri – was found during excavation work for the expansion of a geothermal power plant.
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The tree was buried 9 meters deep and measures 2.4m in diameter and 30m in length. Carbon dating indicated that she lived for 1,500 years, between 41,000 and 42,500 years ago.
“There is none of this anywhere in the world. This Ngāwhā kauri is unique.”
The lifespan of the kauri tree covers a point in Earth’s history when the magnetic field nearly reversed. Magnetic north and south have shifted positions, but a complete reversal has not taken place. It was almost a reversal.
The Earth’s magnetic field is believed to be generated by the iron in the planet’s core. It produces electrical currents that extend into space as they move. The magnetic field is really like a barrier that protects the planet from the solar wind, which is a stream of particles from the Sun that could remove the Earth’s atmosphere, as happened on Mars. With the magnetic field, they are attracted to the poles.
When the magnetic field reverses, it weakens and the planet suffers more from the effect of the Sun’s radiation. Scientists have already linked extinction events to reversals of magnetic fields.
The rings of this kauri tree have a complete record of this near reversal, and this is the first time a tree that lived through the entire event has been found.
Scientists are now analyzing samples from the tree and are led by Chris Turney of the University of New South Wales, an expert in paleoclimatology and climate change for the past 40,000 years. The research is being funded by the Research Council of Australia.
Turney explained:
“The precious thing is that this huge lone tree grew for about 1700 years in a remarkable period in our planet’s history, when Earth’s magnetic field reversed 42,000 years ago, a period known as the Laschamp Excursion. We’re doing a detailed analysis of carbon-14 in the various rings of this tree.
In the last 83 million years, there have been 183 magnetic pole reversals.
This process takes about 7,000 years to complete. Monika Korte, scientific director of the Niemegk Geomagnetic Observatory at GFZ Potsdam, Germany, says:
“It is not a sudden movement, but a slow process, during which the strength of the field becomes weak, most likely the field becomes more complex and may show more than two poles for a while, and then it strengthens and aligns itself in the same direction. opposite direction.”
According to NASA, magnetic field reversals occur at random intervals, although over the last 20 million years it appears to have settled into a pattern, occurring once every 200,000 to 300,000 years.
The last total reversal took place about 780,000 years ago.
Recently, scientists announced that the magnetic north pole had moved unexpectedly.
Instead of constantly tracking from the Canadian Arctic towards Siberia, it sped up so much that researchers had to update the World Magnetic Model (WMM), which is a representation of Earth’s magnetic field. It is used extensively in navigation by the US Department of Defense, the UK Ministry of Defense, and many civilian systems – so knowing exactly where the north and south magnetic poles are is of utmost importance.
Cook butter and sugar over low heat until it bubbles; cool. Add eggs, 1 at a time; beat thoroughly after each egg is added. Add flavorings, then flour, salt, and soda, which have been added together, and coconut. Mix thoroughly. Bake in shallow greased 9×13 inch pan at 350 degrees F about 25 minutes. (This is heavy dough and should be spread evenly in pan.)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from can of chipotle chiles)
1 can (15 oz) Progresso™ black beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Serve-With, if desired
Hot cooked rice
Fresh cilantro leaves
Finely chopped radishes
Lime wedges
x
Are you thirsty?
Are you thirsty?
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Is the Chinese government evil?
There are two ways to answer this question.
From a Western perspective, the answer is yes. The Chinese government imposes a society of mass surveillance on its population by forcing it to carry out a vacuum well framed in the rules enacted by the Chinese Communist Party.
For Westerners, this is something terrifying and inconceivable.
From the Chinese point of view, this closed system is perceived as a necessary evil. It is something that provides the stability necessary for China’s long-term economic development.
Over the past 40 years, the Chinese system has lifted 850 million Chinese out of poverty. This is unique in the history of mankind.
For all Chinese, the government is considered to be extremely successful. The majority of Chinese people love Xi Jinping. They accept the rules of the game, because China’s economic success reflects positively on their lives afterwards.
Besides, seeing China becoming the world’s leading power in the future brings them great pride.
. This is hard for Westerners to accept, but the Chinese do not want the democracy we love so much.
We must open our eyes and accept it.
What makes the Chinese government a bad government?
They won’t bow down to the West, never again after having suffered a century of humiliation in the hands of the imperialist West and Japan.
They solve problems pragmatically, not ideologically, and they do it swiftly sans the politics.
They prioritize collective welfare over individual liberties. This is where the Westerners fail to understand China because they’re individualists, not collectivists.
They view human rights as a utilitarian and not a deontological concept. This is in line with the previous number.
They further undermine the waning influence of the West in global affairs.
They threaten America’s economic dominance.
The Beijing Consensus provides a better alternative to the deeply flawed free-market model of the Washington Consensus.
The Third World (Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and some parts of Asia) would rather work with China now than with the West.
They won’t allow the SJW agenda to poison the minds of the Chinese people and make them purple-haired, easily-offended, man-hating bigots.
Because the Western media tell you they are bad without giving you a fair and objective analysis of why China is China. Case in point: NYT.
I know for a fact that China isn’t perfect and I do find myself disagreeing with their policies from time to time. But in many cases, she’s indeed doing better than the West.
3 My Little Pony Moments | Robot Chicken | Adult Swim
“We had a family photo of all the cousins (minus 2 who weren’t born yet) taken for my grandparents wedding anniversary.”
Lordy!
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The Three Stooges – Dizzy Detectives – 1943
In the day…
Does China secretly want to invade and conquer the US?
I think my first thought reading this question is: Just how paranoid are you to think China secretly want to invade and conquer US? But sarcasm aside, I guess it is a reasonable question, so I’ll give a reasonable answer:
No, China don’t secretly want to invade and conquer US. Not even the most enthusiastic nationalists and militarists are seriously thinking about that. What are we going to do with a piece of land thousands of miles away from us (even the land is as fertile as North America, full of natural resources)? There’s no reason to go to war with the US and China won’t benefit from it even if we win. In a scenario of open war with US, especially when both countries have nuclear weapons, the result is always really bad for everyone.
So what does China secretly want with US?
1, US, could you please… I mean… please just leave us alone? Really? I think China would be happy if US won’t come and yell at us about our human rights issue and demand Tibet independence.
2, US, if we ever take back Taiwan, please don’t get pissed with us. China and US are so connected economically we really don’t want any problems. Just keep buying our shoes and appliances.
3, US, could you loosen up your immigration policy against China? People can’t even get a travel visa without jumping through 10 thousands loops and hoops. We really want to just visit New York and clear out your high end stores (like we did in Paris). And good Chinese students really want to go study in US. And I really want to have my friends visit me from time to time.
The Sexbomb Affair (Man From U.N.C.L.E.)
A sexbomb.
Is China afraid of the United States?
“A dictatorship that can kill 100,000 Americans but feel nothing happens will never care about the lives of the people of the two countries. The low human rights advantage of the United States makes us tremble. The corruption and madness of the US military let us know that we are facing an irrational opponent. The risk of war far exceeds the fool’s imagination.”
Very, very scared.
Especially seeing the combat capabilities of the US military on the Iraqi battlefield.
We have been silently preparing for this for 30 years. We know that one day you will stare at us.
For this we are prepared to use the world as a battlefield.
China is the largest trading country in most countries in the world. But we still think that we can only rely on ourselves at the critical moment.
China is the world’s largest industrial manufacturing country. But we still think that the military industry may suffer a huge blow in the crazy first round of attacks from the United States. For this, we have established a large number of spare factories in the mountainous areas.
We clearly understand that the sudden outbreak of modern warfare does not have enough time for us to mobilize for war. For this we prepare our own underground Great Wall and all-weather combat readiness system.
We know that our navy is so fragile, so we are actively developing land-based anti-ship missiles in order to block your entry in the Western Pacific.
We firmly believe that we will no longer be as lucky as the Korean War, and the Soviet Union has disappeared. You will definitely use tactical nuclear weapons to destroy the PLA without hesitation. So we have prepared nuclear weapons that are also miniaturized.
We firmly believe that no war is not terrifying, and all foreigners may be agents. Similarly, all Asian Americans may be terrorists with nuclear bombs. As the weaker side in the brutal war, we rely on 1.4 billion people for war, people’s war!
We firmly believe that you will use full-scale nuclear warfare as an option. Similarly, we must ensure Dongfeng 41 missiles can break through your local anti-missile system and strike all your cities with more than 100,000 people.
We are still developing submarine-launched ballistic missiles. JL-2 cannot hit the United States from the South China Sea. We need JL-3. H-6 performance is insufficient, we need H-20. We are still living under your shadow.
In the Second World War, the Chinese persevered under the Japanese invasion for 14 years, and finally won the victory. We sacrificed 11.4 million soldiers. 24 million civilians were killed.
In high-intensity modern wars, we believe that full-scale wars will continue for at least one year, with casualties likely to reach 500 million people within a year.
Therefore, we must establish a corps structure that can fight independently, and all combat units are their own commanders.
The form of war is rapidly changing, economic warfare, psychological warfare, and cyber warfare. We are still the weak side, and we have enough reasons to fear. This fear dominates us all the time.
A dictatorship that can kill 100,000 Americans but feel nothing happens will never care about the lives of the people of the two countries. The low human rights advantage of the United States makes us tremble. The corruption and madness of the US military let us know that we are facing an irrational opponent. The risk of war far exceeds the fool’s imagination.
I can’t help but ask:
When that day really comes, are we ready?
………………………………………………………………
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This is the reason for fear, and American people can’t tell right from wrong.
Democracy is not about letting people die in pursuit of profit. The understanding of democracy by Westerners has already been distorted. I don’t know when the concept of democracy became the private property of Westerners.
“Most American people when they travel abroad seem to make no attempt to get to know the locals, instead they travel in their own isolated groups. Is this an indication of the American preference for isolation from the rest of the world? Being scared of the China makes no sense to me, but indicates paranoia due to a lack of consciousness of how the world and democracy works.”
This gave rise to another kind of thinking. All the accusations were not because we did something wrong, but because of deep hatred towards us. The Chinese should work hard as your slaves, not travel and shop around the world. Even if the accusations of democracy are stopped, there will be accusations of human rights. You just need a reason to point your fingers.
……………………………………………………………….
x
As you can see, it is human rights accusation. It may be late, but it will never be absent.
Believing in fake news or pretending to believe is your right, but I really believe that white immigrants in the United States carried out a genocide plan against Indians.
In the name of equality for all, trade in slaves.
In the name of anti-terrorism, bomb Afghan weddings.
In the name of democracy and freedom, seize the wealth of Iraqis.
In the name of the free market, let children die from hunger.
America has only one name in God’s eyes: Judas.
……………………………………………………
What scares us most is that you actually want to hate us in the name of democracy and human rights.
If we fail, their rule will be even more brutal.
The definition of democracy and human rights will be further narrowed. Just as the Soviet Union failed, the Western system became the only meaning of democracy. The United States became the liberator of Auschwitz. The world’s largest racist country has become a model of human rights.
Are we qualified to be treated as normal and equal human beings, not as demons?
We can’t breathe.
x
Like many people, I once thought it was a misunderstanding. It’s time to abandon the fantasy. In fact, there is more hatred than misunderstanding.
Do so many economic and trade links deepen misunderstandings? Why do the western world misunderstand us more and more?
Conflicts of interest and racial superiority cannot be resolved by peaceful protests.
Abandon fantasy and prepare for struggle.
………………………………………………………………………….
x
I think before blaming China you should shoot the intelligence officials who let China steal classified information again and again. Lest they treason again. If the FBI and the CIA are all shot to death, someone will be innocent, but if only half of them are shot, there must be an omission.
Remember, before credibly accusing China, please kill an intelligence officer first.
If we fail, the story you tell will become history.
Let me tell you something you don’t know.
In October 1931, US President Hoover gave a public speech in support of Japan’s invasion of the three northeastern provinces of China.
In 1936, the Japanese Army proposed a hugely costly “six-year combat preparation plan” (1937-1942) to deal with future wars against the Soviet Union and China. The United States believed that the plan was aimed at the Soviet Union, so it used various methods such as granting Japanese loans, exporting technology, and supplying strategic materials to provide support for the Japanese Army’s expansion and preparation for war. Among them, the American Ford Company provides Japan’s modern metallurgical technology, the Rockefeller Consortium helps Japan establish a new electrical industry, and the Mellon Consortium helps Japan’s aircraft manufacturing industry to further modernize. In fact, because the large-scale Soviet-Japanese war imagined by the Americans did not break out, the material and financial assistance provided by the United States to Japan eventually turned into guns and ammunition that killed Chinese soldiers and civilians.
According to US government statistics, 54.4% of the strategic materials imported by Japan in 1937 came from the US. 92.9% of copper, 91.2% of automobiles and 60.5% of oil, 59.7% of scrap steel, 48.5% of various machinery and engines, and 41.6% of cast iron are imported from the United States.
The famous writer and educator Tao Xingzhi delivered a speech when he was leaving the United States: “I will return to China to participate in the war of resistance. If one day I was killed by a Japanese bomb, please don’t forget that 54.4% of my body was bombed by your Americans!”
x
Stimson, who has stepped down as the US Secretary of State, wrote in the “New York Times” that the US government only needs to prohibit the United States from supplying materials to Japan, and the Chinese can easily defeat Japanese aggression. 31 U.S. congressmen jointly pointed out: “We say that Japan has two allies, Germany and Italy. In fact, we are Japan’s best allies. Anyone will undoubtedly believe that we are actively participating in Japan’s war in China. “On May 4, 1938, at a rally of five thousand people in Los Angeles, US Congressman Scott said: “Please note that when Japan is currently killing 1 million people in China, 544,000 was killed by American capital, as an accomplice.”
Facing the pressure of public opinion, the US government had to make some official articles. On July 1, 1938, when China was about to enter the second year of the full-scale war of resistance, the US State Department notified the American Aircraft Corporation that the US government did not agree to sell aircraft and aircraft parts to countries that were carrying out indiscriminate bombing. This is the famous “moral embargo”.
What is surprising is that in 1938, when the “moral embargo” was implemented, the aircraft sold by the United States to Japan was worth 17.454 million U.S. dollars, which was 702.7% of the 1937 figure. The strangeness is self-evident. After collecting U.S. official data, U.S. economist Hu Dunyuan found that Japan’s acquisition of various strategic materials from the U.S. accounted for the proportion of its total imports from 54.4% in 1937 to 56% in 1938. This is the true attitude of the US government towards China’s war of resistance.
x
Chinese will never forget your friendship between The Americans and the Japanese. As you said, we give you the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Let us forget the lies about friendship. Let us remember the truth of history.
The war entered into 1938. The huge consumption on the Chinese battlefield forced Japan to implement the “first munitions mobilization in the China Incident,” but the production and supplies of munitions still could not meet the needs of the Sino-Japanese war.
The satisfaction rate of weapons is 70%, ammunition 60%, aircraft 66%, tanks 27%, light armored vehicles 43%, gas masks 97%, sanitary equipment 90%, veterinary equipment 87%, and marine equipment 80%. From April 1, 1938 to March 31, 1939, Japan was forced to implement the second military mobilization plan, which comprehensively reduced the supply of materials for all industries unrelated to military supplies, and required the citizens to implement “conservation, rationing, recycling” war.
Ten major measures such as a simple life, stipulate that 32 kinds of materials such as steel, milled iron, gold, silver, copper, lead, etc., shall be subject to strengthened use restrictions. Even the coach rifles used in Japanese middle schools were taken back and used by the Japanese army. Under such circumstances, if the United States cuts off the supply of strategic materials to Japan, by the end of 1938, the full-scale war of aggression against China launched by Japan will not be able to continue due to exhaustion of resources.
Japan suffered a huge defeat on the Chinese battlefield. Forcing Japan to turn to resource-rich Southeast Asia to support its material needs. Let me be straight, the US-Japan “alliance” relationship has been challenged. But the United States chose to earn the last coin.
x
According to statistics, in 1939, military supplies exported from the United States to Japan amounted to US$186.9 million, accounting for approximately 86% of the total US exports to Japan that year. Among them, the U.S. exports of scrap iron and steel to Japan that year were 9 times more than in 1938. In 1940, US military supplies exported to Japan amounted to 190 million U.S. dollars, accounting for approximately 84% of all US exports to Japan. From 1937 to 1940, the total value of materials exported from the United States to Japan was US$986.7 million, of which military materials accounted for US$703.9 million.
What irony, as potential allies, China and the United States import and export commodities mainly for civilian use. As potential hostile countries, the imports and exports of the United States and Japan are mainly military materials.
On September 23, 1940, the Japanese troops stationed in northern French Indochina, their strategic intention to abandon the northward attack on the Soviet Union and turn to resource-rich Southeast Asia was already very obvious. When its own interests were seriously threatened, President Roosevelt ordered on September 26 that year to control the delivery of scrap steel to Japan, but did not mention the issue of oil supply. At this time, the United States still had the illusion that Japan changed its course and went north to attack the Soviet Union. Therefore, it has always “opened the net” on the oil issue that is vital to Japan.
x
Japanese aircraft rely heavily on petroleum products supplied by the United States.
In order to conceal the fact of supplying oil to Japan from the public so that the U.S. government is less criticized by public opinion, the U.S. Department of Commerce, in accordance with the requirements of the State Department, replaced “aircraft fuel” with the term “high-quality fuel for engines” in trade documents. In the first quarter of 1941, the US aviation gasoline sold to Japan was 131% higher than in the same period in 1940.
Until July 22, 1941, when Japanese troops began to occupy the southern part of French Indochina, the United States announced on July 25 that it would freeze all Japanese assets in the United States and imposed a comprehensive embargo on oil and scrap steel. But it was too late. Because in the first seven months of 1941, the pig iron, steel plate, and scrap metal exports from the United States to Japan increased by more than three times in currency terms compared to 1940.
Therefore, when the Japanese combined fleet attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, most of the aviation fuel that supported Japanese aircraft flying over Pearl Harbor was provided by the United States. Most of the materials needed to build airplanes and bombs also come from the United States. The United States called this day “the darkest day”, and President Roosevelt called it “National Humiliation Day.” But looking at what the United States has done since 1931, it can be said that this is the disgrace of the American policy of appeasement and the result of the greedy American capitalism. Blame it on its own, not worthy of sympathy.
x
China bankrupted the Japan-U.S. strategic alliance through persistent resistance, making the United States compelled to join the anti-Japanese militarism camp in order to defend its strategic interests.
The Second World War is not a funny story about American heroes saving the world. You didn’t have this ability in the past. By now, you have lost even the ability to solve your own domestic problems.
Of course, the United States will never lack super-powered office officials who claim to be able to sink the Chinese fleet in a short time, trade officials who promote the US’s quick victory theory, and a president who cannot fulfill his campaign promises.
By the way, the great achievements of the U.S. military. Never in human history has an army achieved so many achievements:
Harassing pedestrians in South Korea.
Caused a major accident in Italy.
Gang rape of women in Japan.
Bombing children in Iraq.
Burning grain fields in Syria.
Agent Orange is used in Vietnam.
Contest to kill civilians in Afghanistan.
Armed police shot civilians wantonly in America.
…
Be proud.
When the U.S. military is constrained by China, guess who is their next target for robbery?
But I think it is you Americans who are most likely to be robbed by the higher US military expenditures.
Wish you guys good luck.
A Taste Of Honey live – Boogie Oogie Oogie [HQ Audio]
Enjoy!!
”]
The Rat Patrol S2 – E16
Why is China taking over South China Sea?
Just a small point. They’re not.
You can see from the map that Vietnam has by far the most islands in the disputed area, some not even that close to Vietnam. Philippines has the next most, followed by Malaysia with China coming a distant last.
The narrative put forward by the US is that China is taking over SCS. Vietnam is about the only country in the area backing this fake news up, but their island claims are in a different league so we can assume they’re only doing it out of hate of China.
x
China is claiming some islands to make a forward defensive post. They still remember the naval invasions, opium, century of humiliation etc and want to protect that border.
Waldo’s Last Stand (1940) OUR GANG
Enjoy.
Are you hungry?
Hungry?
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The Doobie Brothers – It Keeps You Runnin’ (1977)
Memories…
Pictures of things that you all might remember…
Matchbox racing.
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Gumby
I Spy
The Wild, Wild West s02e09
Have fun.
Can China invade the US?
When was the last time China took over or invaded another country.
Now ask yourself the same question, but insert USA instead of China!
Nazi propaganda 101, accuse others of that which you are guilty!
The USA is currently a country at war with itself.
No one wants to get involved, because the only consistent export out of the USA is hypocrisy, the latest being a new set of tarrifs on countries not doing enough against global warming, lol the hypocrisy is appalling, it literally describes the USA, the world capital of climate deniers.
I swear that the USA believes that the rest of the world are stupid, it’s actually delusional in a national scale!
Mental illness and conspiracies are the USA’s enemy, not China.
Fleetwood Mac – The Chain (Official Music Video)
Enjoy this trip though the dusty past…
Is the Chinese government a good government?
Yes
This is a fact that the West is unwilling to accept, simply because China’s system is different from the West. include:
1.Big government
CCP has 90 million people, plus 200 million people in its family. This means that every Chinese person has a close relationship with the government. Attempting to separate the Chinese government from the Chinese people is a very naive idea.
2. have power
The Chinese government controls all areas of China’s economy, education, military and justice. Banking, transportation, energy, heavy industry and other important industries are state-owned enterprises. There is little resistance from the government, but this does not mean that the Chinese government is dictatorship. They are true political groups, and the US government is a tool for capitalists without any independence.
3. People’s support
Chinese satisfaction with the government is much higher than in other countries. Every year, one million people take government exams to get jobs. Every year, 100 million people travel abroad and eventually return to China. Trying to prove that the Chinese are not free is just the job of Western media.
4. peace
Everyone who advocates the Chinese threat theory forgets that China’s last war was 40 years ago. China has the most peaceful government among the major countries.
5. Results
For political purposes, Chinese opponents will make the Chinese government notorious. But none of this can stop China’s progress. The Chinese government has made greater progress with these allegations.
Why did China’s zero-covid policy ‘fails miserably’ in curbing infection?
Where the fuck are you getting this nonsense from???
China’s policy has not failed, far from it. It has worked spectacularly…
Total Cases
x
Total Deaths
x
Just yesterday, USA had 50,486 new infections, Japan had 134,743 new infections, Germany had 35,995 new infections, Taiwan had 35,064 new infections, France had 19,866 new infections.
China? 280.
Just yesterday, USA had 313 new deaths, Japan had 265 new deaths, Germany had 119 new deaths, Brazil had 99 new deaths, Italy had 89 new deaths.
China? A Big Fat Zero.
(Data from Worldometer at the time of writing.)
China vastly outperformed all major economies.
I had a job interview and the hiring manager had me waiting for 1 hour without acknowledging me.
I went to the receptionist and declined the job. The boss called me and was angry for leaving. I told him that my time is just as valuable. Was I wrong?
My dad was a farmer all of his life. One day, when he was about 50, he had a dental appointment. He came home, showered, and drove about 15 miles into town. He then entered the office and signed in. He was kept waiting for over an hour.
He didn’t say much when he was finally taken in, but he did write a letter to the dentist. In it he explained the importance of keeping to a schedule where farmers are concerned, since watering equipment needed to be moved and turned on at specific times throughout the day.
He also enclosed an explanation of what his time was worth. What REALLY caught their attention was a bill for the time he had been kept waiting!
What I found interesting was that the letter had been saved all those years and placed in his chart. Oh! The fee was credited to his account … and he was never kept waiting again!
The office manager was most impressed. She commented that sometimes people needed to be reminded that they are not the only ones whose time is valuable.
Which single dish can tell you whether a chef at a particular restaurant is talented?
When it comes to cooking, the most simple test is usually the best one. When I was taking culinary classes, our final exam was to cook 2 things:
Perfectly poached egg
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Soft-boiled egg
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We had to do it without a timer on hand. It was all done through intuition. It may seem so simple but trust me, it’s not. It took me two tries to get the perfect soft-boiled egg (first one I took out too late). The egg continues to cook even after you’ve taken it out of the pot. We weren’t given a bowl of ice water.
We were only given 3 eggs each so thankfully, my poached egg came out nicely.
It was simple, cheap and tests the chef’s skill under pressure.
Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live) 2022
Let’s end this post on a great note. This is from this year.
Oh yes it is. Much of the changes are due to innovation (China), and strong people standing up to the bullies of the West (such as Russia, Africa, and of course China). Much is not being reported in the Western “news”. It’s stealthy, don’t you know.
Instead we hear about how the West is “crushing Russia”, and how the evil Republican MAGA folk are a danger to “our democracy”. And of course, the evils of the vile Chinese. Blah. Blah. Blah.
Huawei New cellphone
Wow! Huawei’s latest cellphone no longer needs cellphone towers to operate. It runs as a “Satphone”. Meaning that it can place calls anywhere in the world without using cell-towers.
This WILL NOT go over well in the United States, as the American government and “law enforcement” relies on cellphones to track people, what they are doing and who they are talking with. Especially what they say. There’s an entire branch of government devoted to this effort.
It’s called the NSA.
The new phone runs on the UNHACKABLE Harmony OS system. Making this phone pretty much impossible to eavesdrop on.
Check out this short clip.
You might think that the United States government would then disband the NSA as it is now rendered superannuated.
But I don’t think that is what will happen.
Knowing what I know of this cluster-fuck of moronic ignoramuses, they will double down in spades.
They will probably suppress all Chinese technology, and fully ban Huawei phones. Probably accompanied with a propaganda campaign blaming China for eavesdropping on American privacy, etc etc.
Perhaps even work with an American company (such as the iPhone) for a super-dooper secure private phone. Promoted as the “safest phone, and most private phone ever”. Maybe even offering a reward or prize if someone can hack into it.
With a NSA “backdoor” of course. LOL
Banned Google on ShaoMi phones
It has been widely reported that Xiaomi device owners in China are blocked from installing Google Mobile Services (GMS), the core infrastructure for Google’s services and proprietary apps. However, only two months ago, Xiaomi refuted these reports, calling it a rumor.
Xiaomi refutes rumor it no longer supports Google Mobile Services (GMS)
Xiaomi. Photo: VCG Chinese leading smartphone maker Xiaomi refutes rumors that it no longer supports Google Mobile Services (GMS) on its smartphones on Thursday.
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The company said it will no longer allow users to install the GMS by themselves but will provide more models with pre-installed GMS systems, according to a statement issued by the company on its official Weibo account on Thursday.
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The statement comes after some users who have purchased Xiaomi phones without pre-installed GMS started, reporting that they weren’t able to download GMS after recent updates. The company confirmed that it won’t affect certain domestic models with pre-installed GMS and international models which are all installed with GMS. Whether the phone is installed with GMS will not affect using non-Google platforms, said Xiaomi’s Director of the Smartphone Software Department, Zhang Guoquan, on Sina Weibo. “To pre-install GMS it needs to occupy 700M storage space and 200M of memory.
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If the GMS communication is abnormal, it may cause excess heating and power consumption. That why some domestic versions don’t come with preinstalled GMS,” Zhang explained. “With the performance of processors, memory, storage space and batteries of new products continue to improve, we will definitely make the most beneficial choice for users under the premise of ensuring the using experience,” he added.
The fact is, all Google Mobile Services are banned in China. This has been repeatedly confirmed by Google, LLC. All smartphone manufacturers in China launch their mobile devices without GMS due to the indiscriminate ban.
It should be emphasized, however, that smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices can function completely normal without any of Google’s services or proprietary apps (YouTube, Gmail, Play Store, etc.). No matter what the “news” might lead to to believe otherwise.
For instance, Xiaomi has its own Android-based mobile operating system called MIUI, which receives consistent updates.
It is a common misconception that Google owns the Android OS. In reality, the Android OS is a fully open source mobile operating system platform maintained by the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Any manufacturer or developer in the world is free to use the Android source code to build their own Android-based OS. Google owns the brand name Android™, as well as the official Android™ logo.
In order for manufacturers to have their devices certified by Google and branded as Android ™ — and thus have Google’s services and proprietary apps preinstalled — these mobile devices must meet certain compatibility and specification criteria set forth by Google. Mobile devices with the Android™ branding are considered Google Certified (AKA “Play Protect Certified”).
So to fully answer your question, the answer is yes — Xiaomi (as well as other Chinese OEMs) is affected by the ban on Google Mobile Services (GMS), insofar as their inability to receive device certification by Google and thus preinstall GMS.
Xiaomi device owners in the US often install GMS and Google’s proprietary apps by way of sideloading APKs downloaded from third-party app repos and websites, such as The Open GApps Project
. Xiaomi device owners also flash their devices with a custom Android-based OS, such as LineageOS, followed by a pre-built Google services and apps installation package. As far as Xiaomi’s Android-based OS, MIUI, the manufacturer is in no way adversely affected by the China-wide ban on Google Mobile Services (GMS). Again, MIUI is regularly developed, maintained and updated by Xiaomi.
Bilateral trade as opposed to International trade
Currently, the RMB is only used for bilateral trades. And there are lots of examples of that.
China’s entire trade strategy is built on using a series of bilateral trades, which is quite different from the US strategy of using a multilateral organization.
Take a look at the above image of trade blocs worldwide. Notice something unique about China? 🙂
You see, in a multilateral organization, such as a trade bloc, there are many nations, usually each with their own rules, including currency. Everybody wants to use their own currency, and nobody wants to use anybody else’s currency. Thus, the US Dollar is used as a compromise – it is nobody’s currency, so nobody gains an advantage over the other.
(Obviously the exception is the USMCTA, formerly known as NAFTA. The US is able to demand Canada and Mexico use US dollars because, well, the US is that much stronger)
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By contrast, this is China’s grand strategy – the Belt and Road Initiative. It is clearly not a trade bloc. All trade is done bilaterally. China and Kenya have an agreement. China and Djibouti have an agreement. But Kenya and Djibouti do not have an agreement.
When China and Kenya do business, they can exchange using RMB and Kenyan shillings. When China and Djibouti do business, they can exchange using RMB and Djiboutian francs. Or at least that’s the goal. If a country doesn’t want to do this, China and the bilateral partner will simply use the US dollar – at least for a time.
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Thus, while the RMB is indeed part of the IMF reserve currency basket, and most major economies do hold a certain amount of RMB in their central banks to help facilitate trade with PRChina, those nations do not actually use the RMB for international trade.
What will happen if more countries use RMB instead of USD on International Trade?
What can the US do about it?
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Nothing there is absolutely nothing they can do… I mean there are 14 countries who want to completely decouple from China, they don’t say it outright, but their actions certainly confirm it.
The USA and those 14 countries hate the country of China, the CCP as the leadership, and by extension the Chinese people, because they are the party, the history, the ancestors to, the art and culture of China.
181 countries throughout the world are working with China on some of their largest infrastructural projects as well as shared technological projects, certainly the new Thorium Molten Salt Nuclear Power generation is going to be out there.
China is asking for those re-payments to be made in Digital RMB.
SWIFT and the USD as the international trading dollar is going down, whether you want to believe it… it is going to happen.
BTW, McKinsey & Co were just quoted on Bloomberg that China has officially passed the US as the richest country in the world.
SL-1
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Ever heard of SL-1?
According to a report by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, there were 60 criticality accidents
between 1945 and 1999. All told, these incidents claimed a total of 21 lives. Seven of these fatalities took place in the United States, and three of them occurred almost simultaneously on the night of January 3, 1961, at the site of SL-1.
Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One—“SL-1” for short—was a small experimental nuclear reactor built by the US Army. It was located at the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS), a remote facility 40 miles west of the town of Idaho Falls, Idaho. The reactor was undergoing tests to see if it could provide suitable amounts of heat and electrical power to remote army bases north of the Arctic Circle and in the DEW Line.
On the night of January 3, three technicians were getting ready to fire up SL-1 after it had been shut down for the holidays. Army Specialist Richard Leroy McKinley (27), a trainee, was observing the routine maintenance procedure, standing off to the side; Army Specialist John A. Byrnes (22) was the one actually performing the operation (standing on top of the reactor); and Navy Seabee Construction Electrician First Class Richard C. Legg (26) was supervising, likewise standing atop the reactor.
Something, however, went wrong. Badly wrong.
At 9:01 PM, an alarm went off at the NRTS security station. A heat sensor in the reactor room had detected an unusual spike in temperature. Six firemen immediately suited up to respond, though they probably weren’t expecting much: two false alarms had occurred earlier that day. As they approached the reactor site, the firemen noticed that steam was rising from the Support Facilities Building (where the reactor was housed), but that wasn’t unusual for a cold January night in Idaho.
The firefighters attempted to hail the technicians known to be working inside the Support Facilities Building, but received no answer. A security guard opened the gate for them. The firemen donned their Scott Air-Paks and went inside to investigate.
At first, nothing appeared out of the ordinary—except for the fact that McKinley, Byrnes, and Legg were nowhere to be found. Three still-warm mugs of coffee were sitting in the break room. Three winter coats still hung from their pegs. Puzzled, the firefighters moved on to the reactor control room.
That’s when they saw the radiation warning light glowing angrily on the control panel. That was the first sign of trouble.
As the firemen climbed the stairs towards SL-1’s reactor room, their handheld radiation detector suddenly roared to life. The indicator jumped beyond its maximum range—200 röntgens per hour (R/hr). Thinking (or perhaps hoping) that the device was malfunctioning, the firefighters returned downstairs and retrieved a second detector. The readings on this new machine also maxed out as they climbed the stairs. The firemen retreated once again.
At 9:17, a US Army health physicist arrived. He and the assistant chief firefighter, with oxygen tanks and masks, started for the stairs to the reactor room. Their radiation detectors jumped to 25 R/hr, and they briefly withdrew. Armed with a higher-range ion chamber detector, the two men attacked the staircase again. The detector registered 500 R/hr as they climbed.
When they reached the top of the staircase and peered into the reactor chamber, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The room was dim, and filled with steam. The floor was strewn with gravel, rocks, twisted metal, and other debris. There even appeared to be pieces of the reactor embedded in the ceiling. The two men saw nobody, either living or dead. Stunned, they went back downstairs to await the arrival of SL-1’s lead health physicist, Ed Vallario, and Operations Supervisor Paul Duckworth.
When Vallario and Duckworth arrived, they suited up, climbed the stairs to the reactor floor, and entered the reactor chamber proper. Poking through the wreckage, Vallario heard someone moaning in pain. He found McKinley, unconscious and in shock, his battered body all but buried under debris. Vallario and Duckworth located Byrnes soon thereafter, dead, his body likewise battered and bloody. Legg was nowhere to be found. Vallario and Duckworth decided to head back outside and get help for the wounded McKinley.
McKinley’s rescue took two hours, and several members of the rescue team were forced to strip off their masks and breathe contaminated air in order to save him. He was eventually retrieved from the reactor room and loaded into an ambulance, but before the vehicle could reach nearby Highway 20, McKinley breathed his last. He was pronounced dead at 11:14 PM.
As McKinley was borne away, four more men entered the reactor room to search for Legg, the third SL-1 technician. Eventually, they located him…above their heads. What rescuers had initially thought was debris embedded in the reactor chamber ceiling was actually the body of Legg, pinned to the ceiling. He had been impaled by one of the reactor’s shield plugs. He, like Byrnes, had been killed instantly.
It quickly became apparent that a horrific accident had killed McKinley, Byrnes, and Legg. SL-1, for reasons unknown, had apparently ruptured with enough force to spray radioactive steam and debris all over the reactor chamber and kill all three of its operators—pinning one of them to the ceiling like some sort of grotesque holiday decoration.
The investigation of the accident’s cause had to wait until the bodies of Byrnes and Legg could be retrieved. A team of men recovered Byrnes’s corpse, coated with blood and steel pellets, the following night. Legg’s body proved problematic, for obvious reasons. Not only was it difficult to reach, but it was by far the most contaminated by radioactivity. It took four days to plan the operation. First, a welder, working from a lead-shielded box attached to a crane, cut open the reactor chamber ceiling. On January 9, a ten-man team, working in relays of two (each relay only being allowed 65 seconds in the reactor room apiece), used long poles with sharp hooks at the ends to snag Legg’s mangled corpse, free it from the shield plug, and drop it onto an enormous stretcher suspended from a crane outside the building.
With the retrieval operation complete, investigators set themselves the task of determining what had caused the accident that had claimed the lives of three young men in so gruesome a fashion.
They initially doubted that this was a criticality accident. SL-1 and reactors like it were believed to be completely safe, and incapable of going critical in such a drastic fashion. But forensic evidence proved otherwise. Neutron-activated materials in the deceased men’s effects—copper-64 in McKinley’s cigarette lighter and the band of Byrnes’s wristwatch, and gold-198 in Legg’s wedding ring—conclusively proved that the reactor had gone prompt critical.
This, in turn, indicated that the reactor had undergone a power excursion. Investigators were later able to determine that SL-1, designed to operate at three megawatts, had jumped to a staggering 20 gigawatts in the span of four milliseconds. This power excursion—6,000 times what the reactor was rated for—had caused the event which subsequently killed the reactor’s three operators.
But what had caused the excursion?
A vital clue lay in the procedure which Legg, Byrnes, and McKinley had been performing the night of January 3, and the design of SL-1. The reactor was designed to have a large central control rod which was capable of greatly accelerating the nuclear reaction in SL-1’s core if it was removed too far. Part of SL-1’s pre-startup checklist required the technicians to pull this rod up four inches in order to connect it to its drive mechanism. Post-accident analysis, including examination of scratches found on the rod, revealed that the rod, instead of being withdrawn four inches from the reactor assembly, had been withdrawn twenty inches.
The results were catastrophic. With the rod withdrawn so far, nothing could stop the nuclear fission reaction going on inside the reactor from racing out of control. A 20-gigawatt power excursion ensued, sealing the three technicians’ doom.
From Wikipedia:
In four milliseconds, the heat generated by the resulting enormous power excursion
caused fuel inside the core to melt and to explosively vaporize. The expanding fuel produced an extreme pressure wave that blasted water upward, striking the top of the reactor vessel with a peak pressure of 10,000 pounds per square inch (69,000 kPa). The slug of water was propelled at about 159 feet per second (48 m/s) with average pressure of around 500 pounds per square inch (3,400 kPa). This extreme form of water hammer
propelled the entire reactor vessel upward at about 27 feet per second (8.2 m/s), while the shield plugs were ejected at about 85 feet per second (26 m/s). With six holes on the top of the reactor vessel, high pressure water and steam sprayed the entire room with radioactive debris from the damaged core. A later investigation concluded that the 26,000-pound (12,000 kg, or thirteen short tons) vessel had jumped 9 feet 1 inch (2.77 m), parts of it striking the ceiling of the reactor building before settling back into its original location, and depositing insulation and gravel on the operating floor. If not for the vessel’s #5 seal housing hitting the overhead crane, the pressure vessel had enough upward momentum to rise about 10 feet (3.0 m). The excursion, steam explosion, and vessel movement took two to four seconds.The spray of water and steam knocked two operators onto the floor, killing one and severely injuring another. The No. 7 shield plug from the top of the reactor vessel impaled the third man through his groin and exited his shoulder, pinning him to the ceiling.
(Did you see the part about the shield plugs being ejected at 85 feet per second? Jesus Christ. Poor Legg.)
Having established that Byrnes had withdrawn the control rod too far and caused the disastrous power excursion that killed him and two other men, investigators were left with only one question.
Why?
Why had Byrnes, a trained technician, made such an egregious breach of protocol and committed such a foolhardy and dangerous act?
Theories ranged from the mundane to the outlandish: suicide, murder-suicide, an attempt to smooth the rod’s transition in and out of the reactor, or simple clumsiness. The best theory investigators were able to come up with (based on post-accident experimentation) was that the control rod had become stuck as Byrnes withdrew it, and in his attempts to jar it loose, Byrnes accidentally withdrew it too far, causing the power excursion and the resulting movement of the reactor vessel.
But the truth is…we’ll never know.
The only three witnesses to the event—Byrnes, McKinley, and Legg—were either killed outright or died shortly afterward, denying us their testimony. There were no CCTV cameras which captured the event. We’ll never know exactly why Rod No. 9 was withdrawn twenty inches instead of the regulation four. The mystery of the SL-1 incident will never be solved.
Chili Chicken Soup with Cilantro Dumplings
Honorable Mention Bisquick® Recipe Contest 2010! Try a new take on delicious dumplings with chiles, cumin and cilantro to create an extra yummy soup.
Do the Chinese hate Americans collectively or are they pretty apathetic towards them?
As an American who has lived in China and wastes way too much time watching Douyin, I think I am qualified to answer this question.
Average people in China still idolize America and Americans quite a lot, and in my honest opinion, wayyyyy more than we actually deserve.
The average Chinese citizen is patriotic because their education does a decent job at conveying to them the legitimacy of their current government and the historical conditions that brought it to power.
At the same time, however, the opinions of the Chinese people have been colored, not by politics, but by the heavy contrast in the US cities they’ve seen in Hollywood movies versus the cities around them growing up.
The simple fact is, the US is a more developed nation, and for a developing nation like China, this is something to aspire to.
The average Chinese person does not have a highly politically-charged perspective of all things, and so they take it at face value — regardless of the amount of exploitation that might have taken place in order to get it to this point, the Chinese people still see the US’s development as a good thing.
Of course, Chinese cities are more developed now, so this sentiment will probably change pretty soon:
Even the better historically-informed of the Chinese population will indeed have a handful of reasons to like and respect the US: some of those being, the US assistance in the war against Japanese aggression, as well as a touching example of heroism in the form of Minnie Vautrin , a teacher in Nanjing who sheltered and saved thousands of Chinese women and children during the rape and massacre on the city by the Japanese in 1937.
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I’ve never had a negative reaction from a Chinese person on account of my nationality. To the contrary, I’ve been nothing but welcomed, invited to homecooked dinners, and treated with all the warmth and respect in the world. Now there are a handful of young people these days in China who have a much deeper grasp of geopolitics, and so they might take a more anti-US position. But these people are few and far between and even the most nationalistic among them would not try to pick a fight with you on the street or anything. They’d likely just be a bit more dismissive than everyone else.
All in all, Chinese people know their history and have confidence in their country — they have no reason to demonize others. Their primary goals are to see their own country and people thrive.
Why is woke culture so unpopular in France 🇫🇷? France has rejected the introduction of neutral gender in the French language.
Because one day, a non-binary person unintentionally sabotaged the cause to a wreck.
This person is Arnaud Gauthier-Fawas, who appeared in the emission Arrêts sur images with four LGBT guests, presented by Daniel Schneidermann. A short video of the exchanges between the two persons became viral.
Arnaud looks like this :
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So, we have a person with squared jaws, a lumberjack beard, a man first name, first sign of calvitium and dressed as a man. When AGF was presented as an administrateur (masculine word in French), he agreed.
Then, Schneidermann talked about the fact that the four LGBT people that were invited were all men and why no woman would come.
Then suddenly, AGF disagreed to the notion that there was four men invited. He said :
“I don’t know why you say that, but I am not a man sir.”
Schneidermann was surprised.
“Your appearance.”
“You shouldn’t confuse gender identity and gender expression.”
“How do you define yourself?”
AGF replied that he defined himself as non-binary. We could see the LGBT guy on his left slightly refraining from laughter. Then he went into a passive-aggressive mode, complained about gender stereotypes and that Schneidermann mistook him for a man without asking him his gender first (but AGF himself called Schneidermann “Sir” without asking).
Afterwards, it was pointed out that everyone on screen was white.
Then suddenly, AGF disagreed to the notion that everyone was white :
“I’m not white, I’m half-Lebanese !”
This video would have been a sketch in the 90s. AGF became a meme, the video was parodied countless times. Even some non-binary persons would describe AGF’s behaviour as crazy.
It was clearly a case of narcissism. We could see psychological manipulation at play, with double-standards (“I am not a man sir.”), incoherency, passive aggressive behaviour, victimisation and borderline racism (“Lebanese” isn’t a skin colour) from a regular guy who wanted to feel special.
It’s not so much the non-binary cause that is the issue, but the way non-binary persons behave.
You can’t change society just like that because you say so. You can’t impose your own standards to everyone with manipulation like a spoiled brat. You can’t dictate your views on such a nebulous concept as gender without even any scientific credential.
You have to ask, you have to convince. That is how true progressivism works, and it’s never that easy.
Bending the knee to any whim because it makes you feel like a good person isn’t progressivism, it’s decadence.
Even the better historically-informed of the Chinese population will indeed have a handful of reasons to like and respect the US: some of those being, the US assistance in the war against Japanese aggression, as well as a touching example of heroism in the form of Minnie Vautrin, a teacher in Nanjing who sheltered and saved thousands of Chinese women and children during the rape and massacre on the city by the Japanese in 1937.
I’ve never had a negative reaction from a Chinese person on account of my nationality. To the contrary, I’ve been nothing but welcomed, invited to homecooked dinners, and treated with all the warmth and respect in the world. Now there are a handful of young people these days in China who have a much deeper grasp of geopolitics, and so they might take a more anti-US position. But these people are few and far between and even the most nationalistic among them would not try to pick a fight with you on the street or anything. They’d likely just be a bit more dismissive than everyone else. All in all, Chinese people know their history and have confidence in their country — they have no reason to demonize others. Their primary goals are to see their own country and people thrive.
Pentagon caught using UFO’s and Space Force in stunning military move | Redacted with Clayton Morris
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Check out this video.
Can modern Chinese people read and understand ancient Chinese texts?
On August 15, 2017, the archaeological team of Genghis Khan University in Mongolia found a large number of carved characters on a cliff of khangai mountains Mountain in present-day Mongolia.
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These Ancient script confused the Mongolians at that time; they could not understand the meaning of these ancient characters. But some knowledgeable professors think they are Chinese http://characters.So they invited a Chinese archaeological team to study on the scene, and the Chinese soon discovered that the characters were in Chinese, and In AD 89, people of the Han Dynasty wrote about this trip during the northern expedition to the Xiongnu.they could easily read them, thus deciphering the meaning of the inscription.
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They checked the ancient books of the Han Dynasty and found that it was “封燕然山铭” written by Ban Gu （班固）of the Han Dynasty in China more than two thousand years ago, because the text on the stone was exactly the same as the original text of “封燕然山铭” in the history of the Han Dynasty in China. 封燕然山铭 means the inscriptions carved at the Higher of Yanran mountain.
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Yanran mountain （燕然山）refers to khangai mountains mountain in Mongolia.
Because the position of this inscription is relatively high, it is right in the middle of the cliff, so herdsmen who pass by are generally inaccessible. And, this place is relatively remote, stone mining merchants will not come, so it is very lucky to survive.
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In 89 AD, after Dou Xian led the army to defeat the Xiongnu, he inscribed his achievements in defeating the Xiongnu on the cliff at the southern foot of Yanran Mountain (Hangai Mountain in present-day Mongolia). It publicizes the achievements of the last war between the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Northern Xiongnu and the strength of the Han Dynasty. Later, “勒石燕然Establish meritorious service in Yanran mountain” is used as an allusion to establish or achieve meritorious deeds.
In the first year of Yongyuan in the Han Dynasty (AD 89), autumn, July; the prince’s maternal uncle-wuyang marquis 武阳侯-Dou Xian（窦宪）, the general of the chariot army. He respected the emperor and assisted the royal family; Participate in national government affairs; He is noble and outstanding. He has a sense of justice and integrity.
He joined Geng Bing, the captain of the capital guard, and sent troops to the north. The soldiers are as mighty as eagles; The soldiers are as brave as dragons and tigers; This is the powerful army of the Empire. Except for the Imperial Army; The king of the southern Xiongnu; The barbarian Wuhuan（乌桓） in the East and the barbarian Rong（戎） in the West; The kings of Diqiang,（氐羌） etc., all led the army to follow the northern expedition of the Han Empire. There are more than 30000 troops in the army.
The chariot runs fast and runs wildly on the grassland; The logistics are vast, with more than 13000 vehicles.The army was divided into eight regiments; The cold iron armor glowed in the sun. Among them, what you can see is not the sky, but countless red military flags.
The army passed through gaoque高阙 (annotate ：in the northwest of Hangjinhou杭锦后旗 County in Inner Mongolia today); Passing through Jilu鸡鹿要塞 Fortress (annotate：now Dengkou磴口 County in the west of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region); After passing through the wilderness and the desert, he beheaded the “King Wenyudi 温禺鞮王 ” of the northern Xiongnu and smeared his blood on the drum to worship the heaven;Wash the swords with the blood of the “sigudu尸逐骨都 Marquis” of the Xiongnu.
After the rest of the army, they walked through the grassland like lightning and meteors; Where the Han army passed, there was a dead silence; A living Hun can’t see it.
After this land was completely conquered by the Empire, they consulted the map and walked through A large number of mountains and rivers; Cross zhuoye涿邪山 mountain, Cross the anhou安侯 River and climb the Yanran mountain冒顿. They destroyed the tribe of king maodun and burned laoshang老上 royal court. （annotate：Maodun here refers to the king of the Xiongnu (? – 174 BC), the first leader who made the Xiongnu strong, and a figure in the era just established in the Han Dynasty of China. Laoshang was also the emperor of the Xiongnu (? – 161 BC), and was the son of Maodun. After maodun death, Laoshang succeeded to the throne.The royal court site of the Xiongnu was found about 470 kilometers west of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia (erejit County, houhang’ai province)）
This can be regarded as helping Han Gao Emperor (annotate：the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty Liu Bang) and Han Wen Emperor (annotate：the second generation emperor of the Han Dynasty) to vent their anger; It can also be said to have won glory for the ancestors of the Great Han.
It can also be said that it provided a stable development environment for the descendants of the Central Plains and widened the territory of the Han Dynasty; Let the majesty of the Han Empire be publicized.This is a once and for all success; Although it was a little hard at this time, it could provide an environment for future generations to live and work in peace and contentment.Therefore, we climbed Yanran燕然 mountain and carved the great victory on it.
The end of the inscription is engraved with a summary sentence to the effect that:
The powerful, dignified and just imperial army fought everywhere. Exterminated all ferocious evils; They fought thousands of miles and reached the end of the earth. Seeing this sacred mountain, we decided to worship it. Build monuments, publicize the great deeds of the Empire, and give strong confidence to the people of all dynasties in the future.
the historical significance of the inscription is significant:
Qi mudaoerji, a professor at Inner Mongolia University, believes that in history, the Huns, Turks, Mongolians and other nomadic peoples in northern China stepped onto the historical stage one after another, but because their voices are not interlinked, they are also different in the inheritance of place names. This led to the incompatibility of many geographical terms in the ancient north with today’s information. This makes it very difficult to study and restore history.This archaeological discovery can fully confirm the location coordinates of Yanran mountain, and also confirm that Yanran mountain is a Xiongnu language.
This discovery also provided accurate geographical route information for the westward migration of the northern Xiongnu. In the year of Yongyuan yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 89), Dou Xian, a general of the Han Dynasty, attacked the Xiongnu in the north and fought all the way to Yanran mountain, winning a great victory and almost annihilating the main force of the northern Xiongnu. At that time, Ban Gu, who accompanied the army, wrote Yanran mountain inscription. This is clearly recorded in the Historical record book of later Han Dynasty · Dou Xianchuan.
However, in ancient times, there was no concept of longitude and latitude, and the original Yanran mountain was also a large mountain range. Therefore, no one has ever known the exact location of the stone carvings in the Yanran mountain inscription. The battle of Yanran mountain is very famous in history. After this battle, the northern Xiongnu left the Mobei plateau and fled to the west.it
can be said that it indirectly caused the destruction of Western Rome.
China’s BYD signs land deal to build first EV plant in Thailand
2 cartons (32 oz each) Progresso™ Chicken Broth Reduced Sodium
1 cup uncooked wild rice
1 bunch sliced green onions, whites and greens separated (1/2 cup whites, 1/2 cup greens)
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (16 oz)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
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What corruption have you experienced in your life?
Indian here.
Here is the face of corruption in India which most other Indians on Quora have been fortunate to have never witnessed.
Previous answers by Indians have said so much about various aspects of corruption in India. Surely, almost everything that could be said has already been said.
Unfortunately, I can only wish that were the case.
Other answers by Indians have something in common… they are mostly written by reasonably well to do people who can write in English quite well and are able to write an essay length answer on Quora. This gives us a hint about the Indian demographic answering this question. Simply because of better education and sense of their rights, this demographic is largely isolated from the type of corruption that afflicts the others.
I belong to this group now… but I was part of a very different one during my childhood – the lower / lower-middle economic class. The corruption faced by the these classes is quite different, as you will soon see. I will only talk about those (skipping the usual all pervasive corruption related with driving license, passport, traffic tickets, etc).
A little background to set the ground work…
I come from a relatively poor, densely populated place in New Delhi (near Ambedkar nagar), where I had an exciting childhood growing up with a large number of friends (~25). I spent all my childhood mostly playing cricket. As one might expect, education was not a high priority. Only 7 of these friends stayed in school beyond 10th grade and just 3 studied beyond 12th. Everyone else dropped out for one reason or another, and their parents really didn’t care about it all that much. I was the only one who went on to get a masters.
A couple of my friends are bus drivers/conductors in commuter buses (red/blue line buses in Delhi) and a few others work as office peons – basically the Rs 5k-8k ($100) monthly salary bracket. My parents had emigrated to New Delhi 10 years before I was born, in search of a better life. Hindi and English were not their best languages, but they got by.
Here we go…
1. “Do not go to the police, no matter what”.
My sister was told by my parents – “In case of any incident (molesting, purse snatching, etc), DO NOT go to a police station – especially never after dark and never alone. Catch an auto rickshaw and come home right away…”.
This might be surprising to some… but enough incidences of poor young women being molested inside the police stations were known that this was just common sense of the place. Also, this is mostly a poor neighborhood issue. Policemen know enough not to try such atrocities in the more affluent neighborhoods.
I can hardly imagine the plight of the women who have been victims of a crime, and who go to the police station to seek some recourse, where they have to face further humiliation / molestation / injustice. Definitely makes them forget about the original problem in a matter of seconds.
2. “Do not report burglaries” or “Do not let the police know your economic status”.
This is a funny one, especially since its coming from the relatively poor.
When our house was burgled and the thief fled with a VCR and stereo (probably the TV was too bulky to run with), we did not report the incident to the police. Since bribery is such an integral part of life there, you don’t want the authorities to know your actual financial state (no matter what it actually is). If they don’t know your economic state, you can always plead that its worse than what they think – which we always did. But if they come to know that you owned a vcr/stereo or they see a 25″ color TV in the home, you are going to pay through the nose for the rest of your days. Also, the thief is not going to get caught anyway, and even if he is caught, you won’t get the stuff back… so no point in calling the police. This is another “common sense” rule of poor localities. Do not report burglaries and don’t let them see your house on the inside.
Of course, now you might ask, what happens if we catch a burglar in action? It seems that we would have to call the police in order to arrest the thief. Well… this depends on people’s disposition at that moment. Usually, people prefer to deal their own brand of justice to the thief and park him in the nearby doctor’s clinic rather than troubling the police (who would probably have beaten him worse – unless he was able to bribe his way out).
3. “In the land of the poor, the police are the mafia”.
When I was about 15, we used to play cricket in a park, which had a small illegally erected shack on one corner selling tobacco products ( staying in place by paying bribes to the police ). The person running this shack was never happy to see us play there. To this day, I fail to understand the root cause of his resentment – maybe he was just an unhappy person tormented by the system. Every time a ball was hit in the vicinity of his shack, he would give us angry looks, and tell us to go and play somewhere else. If a ball happened to fall harmlessly into his shack, he would make a hue and cry about it, give us dire warnings and we would never see the ball again.
One day, our ball hit a plastic candy jar kept on the edge of his shop, which fell to the ground. The guy flew into a rage, grabbed one of our bats, broke the stumps and we all got into a big argument. He called the cops and reported that we had broken things in his shack and roughed him up.
The cops, who are ever watchful for such an opportunity, promptly arrested the 3 kids they could get their hands on, bundled us into the gypsy (typical police car model in India) and took us to the police station. We tried to protest, for which, we got slapped sharply and were told to be quiet unless we wanted more.
At the police station, we were asked for our names, addresses, phone numbers and parent’s occupations, which were duly noted down (not an official FIR (crime report book), but in generic visitor log book). Then we were taken to a room which already had 3 other poor wretched looking men in a rooster (murga) position (for those who don’t know this stance, its an utterly self-disrespecting pose where the person completely bends over at the waist while the butt is held high suitable for caning – it becomes physically uncomfortable and painful after a couple of minutes).
We too were then asked to assume a rooster position until the Inspector was ready to deal with us. I now understand that they needed all our info to know how best to make a profit from this situation. From the addresses and parent’s occupation, the inspector deduced that our parents are too illiterate/ignorant to protest.
The officer came to the room where we were struggling to maintain the rooster stance. He kicked my friend who was a bit unstable, made him get up and slapped him viciously across the face. He grabbed a large lock of my friend’s hair and swung him around the room, saying… “You guys want to grow up to become dons… is it? Beating up the shop keeper and destroying his shop. Next, you will be asking for hafta (weekly ransom extracted by mafia).”. “No sir. We didn’t do anything. We were just playing cricket…” Of course, he knew that already. Silly us. Also, the irony of the situation probably didn’t dawn on the inspector – that he was doing exactly what he was accusing us of – taking bribes from the shopkeeper to let him run his business.
Each of us was slapped around by the inspector, and physically abused in a general manner for the next few minutes. And to further humiliate us, he told us to slap each other… we were forced to do it. He slapped me hard because I didn’t slap my friend hard enough. And we resumed slapping each other, harder this time, tears streaming down our faces.
In the meanwhile, they had also called our parents and summoned them to the police station to deal with the “grave matter”. They did not call all the parents at the same time, lest the parents get together and start protesting. They called each parent after they were finished dealing with the previous one. (This is my assumption of their plan – I can’t be sure if the cops planned it this way, or it just so happened that all the parents happened to arrive at the police station at separate times. From my other experiences with the cops, I believe it was planned.)
Once each kid’s parents arrived, they were told that releasing the kids for any amount of money was out of the question; the police have received a complaint from the shop keeper and the only thing they could do – for an appropriate price – was to “not beat the kids” while they were in the police station. ( This technically makes sense because what we received earlier is not really a Delhi police beating… they were merely “scolding” us. A beating usually requires hospitalization and leaves a person bed ridden for days.) Parents were told that the kids will be taken to a magistrate in 2 days time and they should arrange for a lawyer.
Of course, all of this was bullshit but our parents were too stupid to know it. All the talk was just to scare the parents to pay whatever they could muster. Our parents had seen cases to go courts and people not being able to afford the lawyer fees or the police and court bribes. Our parents pleaded and groveled in front of the police officer to take more money and let the kids go. The matter was finally settled for around 2000 per kid, which was a nontrivial amount for our economic state at the time (early 1990s).
This is not just a solitary incidence – there are tens of other similar horrific incidences endured by people known to me personally. The police are on the prowl for any hint of an activity which they can benefit from. We had a nickname for policemen… “sabse bada gunda” – “the biggest mobster/villain”. If they can’t make money from a person because the person is too poor, they physically abuse them for their own entertainment. I am sure every New Delhi resident has seen a poor guy being mistreated by a policeman (being slapped/kicked/beaten in public view). It’s usually assumed that the poor guy has deserved it and no more thought is given to the matter. You can see how this system can lead to alternative systems of justice like the ones depicted in the movie Sarkar (~Indian remake of Godfather).
4. “You can get slapped by a policeman at any time and for no reason”. There are too many incidences of getting slapped or beaten by policemen in the normal course of a day to be narrated here in detail. I do remember 2 incidences clearly, which I will describe below…
4a. This happened when I was about 20. I and a friend were hanging around late at night (11 pm), catching up on each other’s latest activities as we had been out of touch for more than an year (I had started college and was staying in the hostel, and came back home once every 3 months to visit). We were sitting at our usual get together spot where we used to wait for players to gather before going for playing cricket.
As we were happily talking away, I noticed a couple of policemen walking towards us. A dread took its grip over my mind, heart and throat. The policeman asked… “Who are you and where do you live?”. I took an audible gulp down my throat and answered “Right there Sir.”, pointing towards my house. “Go home and talk all you want in your house. I don’t want to see anyone loitering around here” he ordered.
Fortunately and unfortunately, the college scientific education was having an effect on me, where I was taught to not accept things without question. However, I didn’t realize that those teachings don’t quite apply outside the classroom. I mumbled “But sir, what has happened to warrant this? We have always spent tim…” BAMM!!! and he slapped me right across the face. “What did I just tell you? Move, else you will receive more.”
Why did the policeman slap me now while we had enjoyed that precise spot for years? I understood this the next day.
A new computer training shop had opened doors near my house about 6 months ago, and the shop owners had trouble getting girls to sign up for the training lessons. Apparently, some girls had been teased by boys loitering around the shop and the owner had paid the policemen to keep the area clear of loitering boys at all times.
4b. It is assumed by default that if you are roaming in a better location than where you belong, you are there for no good reason, or probably to plan a robbery. Incidences like the following one were repeated many times between the age of 10 and 17.
I was walking home from school one late evening after spending time at a friend’s house. I unfortunately managed to walk into 2 policemen on the way, while I was still in the “better” locality (I liked to walk this way because the houses and the roads were so nice). I am usually on the lookout for policemen while walking around, but this time, they sprung up on me as I rounded a corner. The expression on my face and the fear in my body language immediately gave it away that I was an outsider in this area, feared the police and have been at the receiving end of their abuse on earlier occasions. “I was one of those who feared the police on sight for no fault of mine.” I could not even make a run for it, though I did think about it for a second.
The next scene played out in a manner similar to how it had already played out many times on earlier occasions… “What’s your name and where do you live?”. I was so stupid and scared that I never thought that I could lie to these guys and slip away. Naah… if they ever came to know I had lied, they would beat me to death and I would have deserved it. Now, I can get away with a few slaps and only getting my hair pulled mercilessly, and promise to never come to this place again. Now that I think of it… I should have kept my hair cut really short – maybe get my ears clipped as well (the cops loved pulling those too) – basically keep all body parts inside the body.
5. “Authorities take extra advantage of poor/ignorant people”.
An answer by another Indian for this question claimed that poor Indians face lesser corruption in India (as compared to more affluent ones)… I laughed a little on the outside and cried on the inside. Only if they knew.
We (family of 5) lived in a tiny house having only 1 room and a total area of 200 sqft. As we kids grew up, some of us had to sleep on the roof in order to not bump into each other during the night. When it rained, all of us had to fit into the 1 room. Good times – I loved it.
My father had saved some money over a period of 15 years to extend the house (add a bedroom / bathroom), but the building laws and provisions did not allow for any construction/extension at all (or that is what we were told by the authorities and we were too dumb to read and understand all the laws. The fact that my parents were not fluent in English and Hindi made matters worse. And how can the authorities lie about laws?). They said we needed to file for special permission from the building authority for the new construction. That the procedure will take about 6 months to complete as the signing authority is extremely busy with other cases…. of course, for X amount of money, it can be done in a few days. Everyone else we knew around us was also equally dumb and was being taken for a similar ride by the authorities (hence, at the time, we didn’t know for sure that we were being fooled – we really thought that they were doing us a favour (for a price)). The poor have to pay bribes even for legitimate constructions.
We had no option – my father had to pay the bribe. Or else, stay in the 1 room for… eternity?
As soon as construction began, the police could smell some money being spent and they wanted their share. My father believed that the authorities and police were colluding and that the police had been informed about the construction by the building authorities. They came to inspect the building activity and demanded to see all the paperwork – today I know that the police had no business conducting such ‘inspections’, but the poor can’t question the police. Also, there are always some papers which you won’t have. Or they will make up some bullshit paper that you needed, right out of thin air. And while they are conducting their ‘inspection’ and negotiating the ransom, the construction work is halted, preferably with the concrete in a half poured state. They are good at their stuff. And you can’t complain to anyone because you are not smart enough to know that you might be right and have all the required paperwork. You can’t really complain about the police to anyone… what if the police come to know about it? They have arrested and beaten people in lockups on no/fake charges many times before… what’s going to happen if they knew you complained against them?
And even if you decide to complain, who are you going to complain to… and why would they take your side in this argument? From a poor man’s perspective, all authority is allied with each other. Every time you have dealt with authority in the past, each and every one of them, without exception, has tried to make more money off you. Its much more easier to just pay these guys to go away. It doesn’t even help to ask around if you really have made a mistake, because no one around you is smart enough to know all these details… because, if they were smart, they won’t be living around you. Only the authorities know this stuff and they are not on your side. Anyway… we paid again.
And we were forced to pay money again and again and again… whenever we had to deal with the authorities, for each and every thing that we didn’t understand. Sometimes we did know everything, but then, they would construct fake and arbitrary hurdles for us to jump over (they can tell who’s stupid). Its paying for your lack of education in real and hard currency. I think that’s the reason why my parents made sure that the kids got well educated despite it costing more. We were the only kids in the neighborhood who went to English medium schools (for the foreign readers – English medium school = language of tutoring is English rather than Hindi for all non language subjects like math, science, history, etc).
Cop in training:
I remember another childhood experience (~12 years old) where a novice policeman was practicing his bullshitting skills. I was riding my bicycle on a main road when a cop stopped me and asked me for my bicycle license. I had no idea that I needed a license and immediately felt stupid and guilty at the same time. I timidly said that I did not have it, whereupon he scolded me “You should know that you need a bicycle license to ride on a main road. Do you have any idea how dangerous it can be?”. He asked me to get off the bicycle, confiscated it and told me that I will have to pay the fine of Rs 20. (In case any non-Indian is wondering, there is no such thing as a “bicycle license” in India).
I started crying and I told him that I was very sorry and that I didn’t have any money. He told me to go and get money from my parents and then he will release the bicycle. I didn’t want to go and tell my parents that I had got into trouble for which they needed to pay money – they had previously told me to keep off the main roads while riding my bicycle – now I had done 2 bad things – didn’t listen to them and got fined. I spent the next half an hour crying, pleading, groveling and appealing to his merciful side to kindly let me go. Finally, realizing that nothing is going to come out of this, he let me go, probably making a mental note of what to change in his strategy the next time around.
A slice of my father’s struggles…
My father has endured much more abuse from authority in his life, but I never discussed these at length with him. However, I did see him struggle with this menace for most of his life. Throughout his life, my father worked hard and saved money to realize his dream of a better life for himself and the family. Once the kids became independent, he bought a plot of land on the city’s outskirts (greater noida) to set up a workshop to sew readymade clothes. He was 70 years old at this time and traveling ~80 kms everyday to get all the necessary clearances/paperwork and spending his hard earned money on bribes.
He was doing these trips in a beaten up old car that he had brought so he could do this quickly (he didn’t have much time or energy). Even though he was resigned to paying bribes, they made him run from pillar to post, so they could demand even more money than he was offering them upfront. For a 70 year old man, he was tormented in an inhuman way by the officials, but he persevered. I have no doubt he would have been able to pull off this project of his.
Unfortunately, he was finally broken by an untoward incident. One fateful day, a riot broke out (probably against police brutality) in a couple of villages/towns in the Greater-Noida area, where my dad was passing through on his way to the authority’s office. The rioters blocked the road and stopped the car, broke the windows, pulled my father out of it and set the car afire right in front of his eyes. He is the most determined person that I know, but he could not recover from that. What the government officials could not achieve with years of abuse and torment, was achieved by the rioters. He could fight the system… but now the general people had attacked him… it rends my heart as I re-live all this. I had not cried in the last 15 years, but remembering and writing all this brings back terribly painful memories.
Often in the movies, I had come across the question “If you knew that this was the last day of your life, how would you spend it?”.
Until the age of 20, my “perfect last day” was to get a machine gun and go around killing each and every policeman and government official that I could lay my bullets on. I had dreamt / romanticized about this so often in my mind that things could have easily gone in that direction, had life continued to be the hell that it was.
I once explained to a higher economic class friend about some of the pain that we had to go through. I must not have explained it very well because they said…
“You are trying to do things which you are not capable or smart enough to handle properly. If you don’t handle it properly, nobody else can help you out and you are paying for it. Suck it up!!”
Harsh, but it clearly brought into sharp focus one of the facts that life had been trying to teach us since the very beginning.
“I am the only person who can help myself. No one else can or will help me. In fact, everyone else will try to take advantage of me at every possible opportunity. It is my responsibility to become smart enough to avoid corruption”.
When we were in trouble, we were often looking for someone to help us out or to sympathize with our problems… the system, the government, the neighbours, and friends to a certain extent. Unfortunately, we were surrounded by vultures on most sides. And friends can only do so much before you feel that you are being a burden to them. We took our time to realize that we are on our own and only we can help ourselves. There is not much point in complaining or being pitied.
My dad understood this, at least at some level, but never had time to explain this to me properly (or maybe I was not smart enough to understand it then). It had been slowly dawning on me and the process took a long time to completely mature and it all made sense then.
Yes, I am that stupid.
What is the most unreasonable demand a parent made of you after you became an adult?
In the very early 1980s, my husband got transferred to the Detroit, Michigan area for work. We purchased a small typical first home near Lake St. Clair with a nice sized back yard. Since the early 1980s was a very bad time and place for me to find a job, not to mention the Mayflower Moving Company managed to lose my entire wardrobe, plus the onset of my first winter in Michigan was just weeks away, I concentrated on fixing up the house and preparing a very large vegetable garden for planting in the spring.
That spring my father and step-mother called to announce they were coming to visit in a couple weeks and gave me a list of things I needed to have in the house, the correct type of orange juice and foods to have available, the temperature we needed to keep the thermostat up to, and other “requests” for their arrival to make my step mother comfortable during their stay.
Their stay at our house literally took over our house. The spare room was too small for both of them, so my father was kicked out to the living room where thank goodness I had thought to buy a hide-a-bed couch, their luggage was everywhere, and of course I had bought the wrong type of the right kind of orange juice. The house was too small and too cold, and my cooking well, no comment.
My husband was no help as he suddenly needed to work a lot of overtime and they were wearing me down. So when they announced that they were going up to to Canada for a week then coming back, we did not protest.
Fast forward two days where I spent the first day cleaning up after them and was happily working in the garden, covered with dirt and trying to make up for lost planting time entertaining them, when their car pulls into the driveway — yes, five days early.
“I thought you said you were going to be gone for a week.” “We changed our minds.” “Well, I’ve got a lot of work to finish out here so go on in and make yourselves at home. I’ll be at least a couple of hours.”
Not long after, my father came out to see me with what I thought was for a chat, and I was always happy to have time alone with him. Our conversation was pleasant enough until he blurted out, “Alison, you need to come inside and clean the bathroom.” “What? Dad! I just cleaned the bathroom yesterday after you left, not to mention the rest of the house.” “Well, Cora needs to use the bathroom but she won’t go in there, she says it’s dirty.” “Dad! It is not dirty, I just used it this morning. There may be a towel on the floor, maybe a wash cloth on the sink. She can pick them up and throw them in the hamper, I wasn’t expecting you back already. She can also use the half-bath, it’s clean and no one has used it since you left.” “So you won’t come in to clean the bathroom?” “No! As you can see, I am covered with dirt, I have work to finish, and I would have to track this dirt across the house I just cleaned to get to that bathroom.”
My father went back inside and I returned to my garden chores. Some time went by, but not a lot, until my father appeared again. “Alison, I’m begging you, please come in and clean the bathroom. Cora is having a real tantrum. She is in tears, she really needs to use that bathroom but will not until you clean it.” Me, “Maybe it’s time you considered a hotel.”
Dad looked so downcast, he had already had several heart attacks and I didn’t want this to cause another one. So beyond p*ssed, I kicked off my boots but still tramped mud and dirt though the house to get to that bathroom, picked up a towel, barely wiped the sink and shower tiles down with it, and put clean towels and wash clothes on the rack, the whole business taking under three minutes but leaving the better part of an hour of floor cleaning later.
“There, are you happy now?” I said to a crocodile-teary-eyed Cora. She managed to sh-muffle a yes but not a thank you. “Is there some reason you couldn’t have done this yourself?” “I didn’t come here to clean house, dear” she announced with a complete change of tone and her quick gotcha-again smile meant exclusivity for me.
This is a picture of dear step-mother and I that my dad probably took on the day they were leaving (my husband back on “overtime”); her with her “model” trophy-wife smile and me on the edge of tears with joy that they were finally leaving!
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I never ever even considered letting them stay at that house or any other house we lived in ever again. But the garden turned out great!
What has happened to the 1960s hippies, and where are they now?
My uncle was hippie in the 1960s, and continued that lifestyle throughout the 70s and 80s. He was particularly enthusiastic about the drugs and promiscuity. As he was born at the beginning of WWII, not the end, he slightly preceded the baby boom. After his first prison stint, he ended up living in San Francisco where he rode a Matchless chopper and fully imbibed the counter-cultural lifestyle. In many ways he wasn’t just a hippie, he was one of the original hippies.
My uncle was a particularly skilled guitarist and poet. He also had a powerful singing voice, and made numerous attempts to launch a music career. As he aged, he slipped in-and-out of heroine addiction, and consumed other drugs as well. His drug use destroyed most of his opportunities.
x
My father disappeared from the scene while my mom was pregnant. After my mom’s divorce from my step-father, I went to live with my grandparents on a small farm in Thermal CA. My uncle lived in the other house. There was a constant parade of counter-cultural relics passing through the ranch. As a kid I might be throwing a football with a Hare Krishna one day, and getting a boxing lesson from an outlaw biker the next. Once my uncle took me to a nearby farm where a bunch of his hippie friends lived. I was about 12 or 13 and was sent out to help pick tomatoes. Living on a farm I had done farm work before, but that day was special because I was picking tomatoes with topless hippie girls.
x
Kind of like this except fewer guys and the girls were topless.
He had been married several times, and spent 20 years with a woman he met in San Francisco in the early 70s. They had two kids together, but didn’t marry because that would have cost her AFDC benefits.
His drug use lead to drug trafficking and by the late 70s/early 80s my uncle had evolved into a full-on hippie-outlaw. He trafficked hard drugs and committed other crimes. The summer before my 9th grade I was working for him on dry-wall taping job. One of his biker buddies showed up 2 of the least attractive biker gals I’d ever seen. They were all bad skin and bad tattoos. “Today’s the day you lose your virginity,” he said pointing at a gal who looked like an inked up version of Calisto from X-Men comics.
x
This was not as appealing as the topless hippie chicks picking tomatoes.
He showed up at my mom’s apartment around 4AM the next morning. After partying the afternoon away with the gals I avoided losing my innocence to, he stole some type of commercial vehicle, which he sold down in Mexico.
In the 1980s, he was arrested for narcotics trafficking. The police raided the house and arrested his “ol’ lady” and a couple of his kids. He wasn’t there. The DA had a witness against him, but that witness “disappeared.” He would eventually plea to a lesser charge in exchange for charges being dropped against his “ol’ lady” and sons. He serve a short prison sentence at Soledad.
x
When he came out of prison in 1988, he was healthier than I’d ever seen him before. A couple years of structure, nutrition and daily workouts in the weight pile had done wonders for him. While in prison, he shared a cell with a minor music celebrity. This musician wanted to purchase some of my uncle’s songs. But those deals fell through.
By that time the family farm was a distant memory. My uncle was gifted a house from his father, all he needed to do was pay the monthly mortgage payments which were only a few hundred dollars a month. But as he fell back into drug addiction he lost the house his “ol’ lady” had kept afloat while he was in prison.
x
After losing the roof over their head, the “ol lady” who stood by him through prison stints and infidelity decided she had enough. She went to live with her mom and became a home-healthcare working. The state of California paid her to take care of her own mother.
The hotel he lived in was next to the rescue mission. He was living on disability.
x
He had tried drug rehab a couple times but always fell back into his old habits. His son was employed by CA as a home healthcare worker…taking care of his father. My cousin was basically paid to stay home smoking dope with my uncle and play video games.
He fell ill. My cousin told me that his “guts exploded.” and he died in his hotel room next to the rescue mission.
Mrs. Bellows’ Benefit Ball | I Dream Of Jeannie
Enjoy.
Solomon Islands rejects ‘inappropriate’ Australian election offer
Duh! Sure let the nation that has been dogging you and insulting you be in control of your elections! How stupid do you think the rest of the world is?
The Solomon Islands has rejected an offer by Australia to finance the country’s upcoming election, saying the timing of the public release of the overture was “inappropriate” and accused Canberra of meddling in domestic affairs.
The Pacific island’s government said in a statement on Tuesday that it appreciated the offer from Australia, which followed Solomon’s Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare statement that the Pacific island nation could not afford to fund the Pacific Games and an election in the same year.
This sir is Mr. Zhang Zhanping (张展平). He went to Zambia to start a honey business.
x
All other foreign investors before him took local honey as raw material, exported to Europe and earned huge profits, but gave local suppliers very low price.
On the contrary, Mr. Zhang established a local brand to promote the unique and excellent characteristics of local honey, enhanced the value of the product. The final result is, the income of not only his employees, but also the whole thousands of employees in the local honey industry has increased significantly.
His employees’ comments: “Even one day he leaves, his factory will be left, as well as technology, we can go on by ourselves……”
Recolonize? Reshape? Revolution? Revival?
Nothing but poor narratives.
Supplement:
Frankly, this question itself is obviously an example of propaganda, so I didn’t take it seriously.
But this answer has drawn quite a bit of attention, totally out of my expectation.
Quite a few people have pointed out that one single case can’t represent anything, of course I understand. All I did on this question was just to mock a common trick often used by the western propaganda machine.
Someone tells me this is named as marginal narratives. I’m glad some can see through this, so next time you watch or read some reports on CNN, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post……and so on, about China, or Iran, or Russia, or Cuba, or North Korea……I hope you still can stretch your adorable smart, and raise same doubt. If you truly can, all I did will be worthy.
Lucy
This is Lucy. I found her when walking my dogs when I lived in a very rural area in the countryside. She was only about 5 weeks old so how could you resist!! She is 5 years old now and is and always has been the sweetest and most affectionate cat I’ve ever had. She’s so mindful of her claws and never scratches. My other cat adopted her as her baby and tried to carry her around by her neck and licking her clean.
Lucy
Do Westerners who bash China for helping Africa (yes helping) know how actual Africans view them and their ‘helping’?
I am Tanzanian.
China is not helping Africa. China is trading with Africa, and sometimes investing in Africa.
“Helping” is what Westerners pretend to do. But we know what their game plan actually is. It’s far from helping.
Westerners donate inconsequential amounts to fund things like “democracy”, “human rights”, “women empowerment”, “education”, “health”, “wars” etc. Things which have little impact to development, and are not sustainable (ie they don’t make money) so they’ll help Westerners create the myth of perpetual Africa aid.
The real deal in terms of economic development is industrialization, and not human rights, democracy, women empowerment, etc. Little things like those take care of themselves once there’s industrialization and the money is flowing in.
Western aid is mainly two things:
(If given directly to govt) A bribe to buy influence and certain leeways in Western extraction of Africa wealth.
(If done by NGO’s and charities) just a way for Westerners to milk their fellows in the West to fund their lavish lifestyles.
The West is also very big on war mongering, assassination of African leaders (you are Belgian so you should know what you did to Patrice Lumumba), meddling in African politics, creating wars, etc. The West generally has ill-will toward Africa and thinks of Africa as colonial land to date.
China doesn’t do aid.
It does things like this Kilamba New Town in Luanda (pictured below) whereby a new housing development was built in exchange for oil. This is a much better deal that paying for oil with cash as the cash is often squandered and very little goes into building the country.
This is trade.
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Building lots and lots of roads, railways, and bridges. China often offers the best value for money in such grand public works meaning they do quality work at low cost.
Examples:
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This is trade.
Things like these are never associated with The West in Africa. They are associated with China. They help a lot in creating the good image of China in Africa.
And the kicker of it all, the govt of China doesn’t have a colonial mindset. It never tells African countries how to run our countries. They simply look for opportunities and trade.
Now don’t mistake this as “Africa depends on China”. No. We understand development is our own task. Understand this only in terms of geopolitics as each country in the world is involved in geopolitics.
Also many Westerners come off as extremely phony in how they talk about China relations with African countries, because they seems to be unaware on how their own countries are connected to China and how much trade they do with China.
It’s extremely phony that Westerners don’t see that. For instance USA seems not to notice they have more Chinese people in their country than all the Chinese people in all 54 African countries. They seem not to notice that they have Chinatowns and “eating Chinese” has become a TV trope in their TV shows.
It’s phoney that to the West “China in the West” is ok, but “China in Africa” is bad.
Rufus story
On my way home from a 12 hour day of cutting lawns, I seen this gentleman, I have no clue who he is to this day. But I said no way was I gonna let this guy tackle this on his own. So I turned around and went back and unloaded my mower and drove across the street and ask the gentleman if I could help.
x
His eyes lit up and I took that as a yes. I ran down, jumped on my mower and went to work. As I’m cutting the lawn I look over and see the gentleman hunched over his wife, resting his head on her shoulder.
So I get it knocked out in no time. I give them a thumbs up and proceeded to load my mower up. The wife makes her way over before I could leave. She was so thankful! Their riding mower broke down and her husband has been mowing their big lawn with a push mower. It only took 15 mins of my time. I changed their life, for a small moment.
I hope someone reads this and feels like doing something good for someone tomorrow. I’m grateful to be where I’m at and I’m thankful for the people that help me get here.
Is living in China a pleasure or a torment?
I lived in Shanghai for three years and worked at a university. I lived in an average apartment, in an average area of town, and took the metro to work.
I would say it was a pleasure.
Life in Shanghai is inspiring, friendly, and rewarding. I also regularly visited Beijing and Wuxi, which had a lot to offer, as well. What makes China a pleasure, in my opinion, is the following:
amazing food, and it is everywhere, and you will have the time to eat it;
the Chinese are great fun; energetic, witty, resourceful, and quick to share a laugh or a smile; I’ve had a blast with the people there! Even ended up taking one home with me, first to England, then on to Sweden.
interesting expats everywhere; you will meet much more interesting people in China than you could ever hope to meet at home; westerners who come to China are usually highly qualified people with unusual views, and it is great to hang out with them, and they will want to;
the cities are mindblowing; huge, glitzy, full of opportunity and strange things that will entertain you endlessly;
you can actually be someone in China; everything grows so fast, before you know it, you are the managing director of something, with your own team; China “made me,” I can say that for certain, because I was given opportunities there I never would have had at home.
I have lived in nine countries, and came to China from New Zealand. I had no expectations at the time, but was pleasantly surprised just the same.
Here some images from my very normal, Shanghai life that is quite attainable also by the Chinese, not just by westerners posted there on a contract (my apartment could have been rented by a normal, Chinese family, too).
My apartment:
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The entrance door to my apartment building:
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Where I worked:
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Traffic:
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A typical cafe:
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My favourite meal, Beijing duck, hot and sour soup, cauliflower and bacon:
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Yellow wine (a rice wine with about 12–18% alcohol), a pleasant drink I often enjoyed in the evening:
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Professor Greg Patton
Professor Greg Patton of the University of Southern California was removed from his post for the horrendous crime of teaching his students a simple Chinese word.
Professor Greg Patton
While teaching a communications lecture he spoke of how different cultures use different ‘fillers’ words. In English we use “um”, “uh”, “y’know” etc. He then mentioned that in China they commonly use “na-ge” which translates into “that”.
Predictably several of the students got themselves upset over this and decided the Chinese word “na ge” sounded too much like the dreaded “nigger”. They complained to the university. The university, of course, immediately capitulated and convinced Patton to step down.
The university then released this statement:
"It is simply unacceptable for the faculty to use words in class that can marginalize, hurt and harm the psychological safety of our students."
In the middle of a lecture on communication, a professor explained how the Chinese use a particular Chinese word that some students decided sounded like an English word they find offensive, and got the professor sacked.
Do you think the Chinese president, Mr. Xi, is a good leader?
Xi Jinping is worth more than the combined total of Trump, Trudeau, Bush, Mitt Romney, Doug Ford, Boris Johnson, Scott Morrison, Shinzo Abe, Rajiv Gandhi, Silvio Berlusconi, and every other lavishly rich democratic leader who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, never had to do a day’s work in his life, never had to prove his abilities as an ordinary citizen or prove his merits as a leader even minorly through objective, competitive metrics, and never had to rise up the ranks of a meritocracy.
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All these leaders had to do was sail through the “cursus honorum” prepared for them by their families, as though they were crown princes getting groomed for the throne.
Usually this involves effortless admission into a prestigious university that their fathers and grandfathers studied at and donate to, graduation with lacklustre marks, and automatic employment in one lucrative, high—profile PR—like job after another, tripping on millions of dollars as they walk and erecting their political brand along the way.
A Western politician who is only worth a few million dollars is a pauper among his peers.
Rajiv Gandhi repeatedly failed his courses at Cambridge where he was “studying” to become an engineer, and later admitted that the reason was that he simply did not care. He was never in the mood to “muck it up” for his exams, as he later admitted. From his teens onward, everyone pretty much begged him to enter politics, because of his surname. He entered politics at 36, running for a seat in parliament that had formerly been occupied by his brother; the seat passed from brother to brother like a feudal estate. Four years later Rajiv became Prime Minister.
What kind of leadership is this? Government by celebrities?
The path of almost every US Senator is very similar. Born into a rich and prominent family, easily admitted into an Ivy League, was a poor student but very social, went into law or business (often the family business), and ran for his first office by his 20s without a record of actually having accomplished anything as a human. And unless he set an old lady on fire or got exposed as a paedophile, his political ascendance was assured. It’s kind of like your next 10 million dollars being easier to make than your first; after your first big election win, the rest practically land in your lap. You’re a brand, famous for being famous.
The exception is a fellow like Modi or Bolsonaro — from a plebeian background, but similarly unaccomplished and unproven. Instead of riches, he is enabled by the gift of having a big mouth and understanding the masses and knowing how to manipulate them. He is a masterful charlatan, actor and illusionist. Trump was so unique because he had both advantages.
This isn’t government “of the people” or “by the people.” It’s plutocracy and oligarchy, except when interrupted by mobocracy.
And once you observe what section of society is most loyally served by these politicians — even the reason they wage war so often — you learn that it’s not really “for the people” either.
Abe Lincoln’s words are dead and ring hollow.
Yeah, the more I see Western—style democracy in action, the more I fail to see the consecrated “of the people,” “by the people” or “for the people” part.
Japan’s leading statesmen are the grandsons of its leading statesmen from World War II and even earlier — some since the Meiji Restoration. You understand this? The same families in power for almost two centuries. This is called democracy, but in practice it’s rule by a tiny class of hereditary nobles. The US is almost the same.
A right—thinking man ought to respond with contempt when another man who has never sweated from his brow or proven his abilities is given leadership over him. For some reason, this is not the reaction from most populations.
It would very much be the reaction in China. Xi Jinping is respected and entrusted with leadership not because of wealth, birthright, privilege, a big mouth or the ability to whip the masses into a frenzy, but because of his history.
His proven track record as a man and ordinary citizen, a labourer, a leader of villages and communities who rolled up his sleeves like any peasant, climbing slowly up the ranks according to austere party officials who judged his performance, not according to masses who fell in love with his illusion.
When you really think about it, it’s illogical not to have more respect for the manager of any McDonald’s who got to his position ten years after peeling potatoes and scrubbing toilets, than for the leaders of Western—democratic countries who just had to come out of the right vagina or learn how to speak the loudest BS.
Rufus Story
“Rural coffee county Alabama. This teenager was filling up his Mustang when the older gentleman pulled up with his can for the mower and was patiently waiting.
The teenager noticed, pulled the nozzle out and said “sir will you please let me see your can?” He filled it up as the older gentleman objected but settled in to a story. When the kid finished, he put the nozzle back into his car to finish filling up his own.
He refused to take money from the gentleman and wished him a wonderful day. They are all over this country and they come in many shapes and colors. Don’t denigrate his generation. Train them to be like this. I can assure you, he was raised to say sir and ma’am. As he pulled out onto the blacktop he lit the tires up on his red stallion, smiling the whole time….. and so was I.”
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The definitive end of the Unipolar Era, 1992-2022
The definitive end of the Unipolar Era (by stopping the expansion of Nato/KFC-AZAEL : Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment) & the start of International Relations entering a New Era and Global Sustainable Development.
This has been declared in Beijing on Feb 4, 2022 in unambiguouswords together and publicly by XJP & VVP.
The Feb 4, 2022 joint Sino-Russian declaration is also a written document.
The Chinese ruling class decided to wholly throw China’s geopolitical weight in Russia’s favor for the creation of a new World system.
And the rest is History in the making.
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Was the English comedian Benny Hill as creepy in real life as he was on his TV show?
Benny Hills , actual name was: Alfred Hawthorne Hill)
He sang “ The fastest milk man in the west!
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He ,made people laugh,he was extremely creative,and had so many characters in his act!
If anyone got anything negative to say about the guy,no one’s listing , brilliant man!
Rip Benny!!
Does China produce enough food to feed its populace or does it have to import food?
Also take note why the neocon effort to induce famine in 2017 - 2018 failed. -MM
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Seeing is believing. Open your Google Earth and have a look at what is really going on in China from above. Western media won’t normally tell you about this.
I will guide you through and point you where to look at.
Here are the coordinates:
Location 1: Ningde Bay, Fujian, China (26°43’02.8″N 119°57’45.2″E)
Our first destination is the coastal area in Fujian province.
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If we zoom in, we can find millions of floating houses and cages on the sea surface.
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If you look around the coastline from Zhejiang province to Guangdong province along the 1000 miles, you can see those floating cages are virtually “everywhere”.
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What are those? They are actually Chinese “seafood farms”.
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Instead of going out to the oceans and catching wild seafood, why not stay in the same place and raise your own seafood? And you can actually make more money with much less effort from raising fish, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, clams, etc.
It is not just sea or ocean waters that are being farmed, Chinese farmers find any possible open water such as reservoirs, rivers, lakes for farming their seafood/freshwater food.
Imagine each of the cages contains tens of fishes and crabs. That’s A LOT of FISH!
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So how much seafood does China consume?
It is estimated that the global demand for seafood consumption is 143.8 million tonnes per year and China alone has the largest seafood consumption (65 million tonnes, 45% of global consumption), followed by the European Union (13 million tonnes), Japan (7.4 million tonnes), the United States (7.1 million tonnes) and India (4.8 million tonnes). (Source: EU SCIENCE HUB)
As we know, both China and India have a similar population but China consumes 12 times more seafood than India, despite the fact that India is in a better geographical position surrounded by warmer oceans in a tropical fishing-rich region.
Among the 65 million tonnes of seafood consumed in China, only 15 million tonnes are caught from the wild, the rest of 50 million tonnes are all raised by aquaculture “farming”. In contrast, 90% of Japanese seafood consumption is from wild catch. Thanks to seafood farming, normal Chinese families can afford cheap seafood in their daily meal. This is a typical family get-together dinner settings: You can see lots of them are seafood!
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Location 2: Nanxun, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China (30°46’14.5″N 120°09’02.9″E)
Our next destination is the vast flood plain of between the Yangtze River, Taihu Lake, and Qiantang River. Thanks to the abundance of fresh water carrying nutrients from the river upstream, this area is so productive that it has raised over 100 million people here. And it is one of the most densely populated areas of China. This area is very similar to the flood plains in Bangladesh, West Bengal in India, Saigon in Vietnam etc.
What have the Chinese done differently compared to other densely populated flooded plains in India and Bangladesh?
Instead of growing rice, the Chinese have been growing a variety of “water food” that can sell at higher prices and makes them become richer than if they were growing rice. If you zoom in, you will find millions of fish ponds instead of rice fields. Besides the fish ponds, you might identify lots of green trees grown around them.
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These trees are mulberry trees used for silkworm farming. Over the past two thousand years, the Chinese have developed many sophisticated and sustainable agriculture ecosystems around these areas. One most famous eco-cycle is the fish-mulberry tree-silk cycle as shown in the following graph:
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Chinese farmers have been exploiting the ecosystem in fish, silk farming for thousands of years without knowing the concept of “sustainable development”. Nowadays, it is evolved into multiple cycles of “recycling” on the same land:
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However, in order to raise more fish in the ponds, you need an aerator that pumps air into the water, otherwise, the fishes would not have enough oxygen to breathe. In the following picture, the aerator is the white dot in the centre of each pond.
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Having an aerator requires every fish pond to be connected to electricity. How to generate electricity for the aerators? Yes, you are right: have solar panels.
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From Google Earth, you can see that solar panel fish ponds are already taking over some of the traditional mulberry fish ponds in China. Some of the areas in Huzhou area have already installed solar panels.
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Above picture: The left is the traditional mulberry fish ponds. The right is the latest solar power fish ponds.
Local fishermen and farmers are actually forced to learn the latest solar technology and sustainable techniques provided by professionals from the local Chinese government.
Why are the local Chinese governments so eager to promote high tech to the local farmers? In order for an official to gain promotion to the next rank, he or she has to demonstrate their “government performance”. Solar panel fish ponds is one of the best indicators for “promotion” as it fits well in the sustainable development initiative.
From this, you might understand why China has dominated the world’s silk production (84%), and freshwater fish production (66%) and solar energy generation (25.8%). In the Zhejiang, Jiangsu area, rural people eat fish almost every day. Some say that’s why people from these regions are more clever than other regions of China.
Eco-cycle option 2: lotus root – fish
In some fish ponds, you can also grow other kinds of vegetables while raising fish. One of the most widely grown vegetables is the lotus root. China lotus root production is 11 million tonnes which accounts for 90% of world production and 60% of the world export. Not only Chinese people like to eat them, but most of the lotus root production is exported to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
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Lotus roots are one of my favourite vegetables too, I hope China can promote this delicious root for the rest of the world to enjoy as well.
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Eco-cycle option 3: canola oil – bee- fish & crab
You can also grow rapeseed using the same principle. Instead of using fertilizers, at each winter, Chinese farmers dig the “nutrient mud” from the bottom of the water and stack on the bank. And then they grow different plants such as rapeseeds or taros on the mud. After thousands of years of continuous cultivation, the field has become something like this:
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Location: Duotian(垛田镇), Xinghua, Jiangsu, China 32°56’51.9″N 119°51’50.4″E
There are no roads. You can only navigate around using boats. Of course, that is why China is also the leading world producer of rapeseed oil (22% of global production).
Not to mention the massive beekeeping industry that thrived on the rape flowers in China, China takes over 30% of the global honey production.
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Actually, one-third of the honey consumed in the US are directly or indirectly from China. To avoid tariffs from the US, Chinese honey exporters would first export their honey to India, Philippines and Malaysia. Then they change labels and alter them to domestic production and sell them to the US. I’m sure this happens to other products too.
Besides honey, this area is also where the most famous Chinese mitten crabs are produced. They can sell at $60 per kilo, therefore only the middle-class Chinese can afford this.
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Location 3: Shouguang, Shandong, China (36°44’15.9″N 118°44’14.7″E)
Our third destination is the great plain area in Shandong province.
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If we zoom in, we can find millions of reflecting “shiny” houses on the plain area. Try looking around, it is “everywhere”.
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What are those? They are greenhouses designed to provide regulated and controlled conditions such as temperatures and humidity for vegetables and fruits to grow.
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In the greenhouse, you can grow all kinds of different vegetables and fruits several times per year regardless of the time of the year. That means you can get several times more vegetable and fruit yield compared to a normal field.
For example, you need at least 52 days to grow lettuce from seeds until you can harvest them in a greenhouse. That means you can grow 7 times each year. That is 7x efficiency.
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Therefore greenhouses can significantly improve agriculture output in a limited space, which sounds perfect to the Chinese. Eager for promotion, local Chinese government officials in Northern China have therefore forced their constituency —the local farmers to install greenhouses with loans from the “Chinese Rural Cooperative Bank”.
What’s worse, they also forced them to install IoT based surveillance system in their greenhouses. Farmers are forced to be taught in a “reeducation camp” to use their mobile phones to monitor the status in the greenhouse including CO2, light strength, soil temperature, etc.
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As a result, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, the vegetable and fruit production and consumption of China is around 700 million tonnes, which is 40% of the world consumption. Compared to India (180 million), China achieved 3.8x the amount of vegetable and fruit production, despite most of the population in India claim to be vegetarians, and despite the fact that the arable land in China is less than India. The secret key is the greenhouse.
Thanks to greenhouses, Chinese people can enjoy cheaper and a bigger variety of vegetables than any other country in the world all year round. You can check Wikipedia, basically, China tops the chart in almost every kind of non-tropical vegetable production, far outpacing second place. There are vegetables that are not ranked because they are only specific to East Asia, such as the “garlic chives” (韭菜).
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Similarly, for fruit production, China tops the global chart in almost every kind of non-tropical fruit production, far outpacing second place as well.
I was once pranked and called as “racist” when I invited a black friend over for a summer BBQ with lots of watermelons. I proved my innocence by showing him these statistics:
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In Japan, a watermelon typically costs 2000 yen ($18) and in China, you can afford a much larger watermelon just in 10RMB ($1.5). And watermelons in China are sweeter if they’re grown in Xinjiang. If you love watermelons or any other melons, come to China, especially Kumul in Xinjiang.
Location 4: Lhasa, Tibet, China (29°41’52.3″N 91°09’18.6″E)
Our fourth destination is also about greenhouses but in Tibet. Use your Google Earth and navigate to any town in Tibet. You will always find greenhouses.
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I mean, the Chinese government has also forced Tibetans to build a massive amount of greenhouses on the Tibetan plateau. Those Tibetans have no time to go to temples for worshipping any more, instead, they have to work in the greenhouses taking care of tomatoes. This is why Dalai Lama is not so happy to hear this.
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As a result, the average vegetable price in Tibet has reduced by 90% over the past decade and they don’t have to import vegetables from nearby provinces anymore. Most of the Tibetans can finally afford to eat watermelons. Who doesn’t like eating watermelons?
You know that most Tibetans historically only eat yak meat, milk, cheese, and bread? They couldn’t grow anything in such a harsh climate. Only monks could have the luxury to eat vegetables. Now it is the solid proof that the Chinese government didn’t just destroy temples in Tibetan culture but helped them eat vegetables and fruits.
Location 5: Kokdala, Ili, Xinjiang, China 43°43’51.2″N 80°35’21.5″E.
Kokdala is a city in northern Xinjiang, China, bordering Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region to the west. And here is the satellite image of the border between China and Kazakhstan.
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And you can clearly see there are more green farms on the Chinese side. On Kazakhstan’s side, there is nothing but barren lands.
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And actually, these lands are just wasted land as their soils are too acid and there is limited water to grow any food. You can only count on the water from the melting glaciers in the surrounding mountains. For people in Kazakhstan, it is too expensive to grow and they don’t have a big market to sell their products. That’s why those Kazakhs in Kazakhstan decided not to cultivate on those lands.
. This is a state enterprise with a military background. XPCC has amassed 2.6 million employees and farmers including Uyghurs and Hans and operate as a giant organisation. Therefore due to its scale, the cost of operation can be reduced and their market can be directly connected to the whole Chinese market.
Since the past three decades, XPCC has been sending its agriculture professionals to Israel every year to learn Israeli’s most advanced agriculture technology in a similar desert climate. Those Chinese students then returned to China and started cultivating those lands using the latest technology such as drip irrigation etc. Once they found those technologies can actually mature into profits, they would sell some of the newly cultivated lands to local Uyghur, Han, and Kazakhs families or hire them directly in the cooperations.
Some of these Uyghurs, Kazakhs are sent to the reeducation camps and they are forced to learn Mandarin Chinese and the latest drip irrigation techniques to save water and reduce costs. Moreover, each village is assigned with one or more communist party members to guide them through to make sure that they don’t mess up the newly cultivated land.
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Yes, the drip irrigation technique can significantly reduce water usage and cost. Thanks to the Israeli and domestic Chinese technology, they make the barren land in Xinjiang more and more fertile and productive.
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So what are those people growing on the new land?
Tomatoes, chillies, melons, grapes, and cotton. All of them can sell at higher prices than wheat.
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Thanks to the strong sunlight and cold nights in Xinjiang, those products are normally sweeter and tastier, so that they can sell for higher prices to the markets in China and the world. In China, people prefer to buy fruits from Xinjiang than the rest of China because of its great taste and quality.
Actually, agricultural efficiency is so high in Xinjiang that it produces much more than the Chinese market actually needs. Instead of relying on the “free market” causing the prices to drop and hurt those Uyghur farmers, XPCC, as a state enterprise, is pushing to sell those products to the rest of the world at higher prices.
What if the rest of the country doesn’t want to buy the products?
The communist XPCC is relying on China’s “superpower” to force those customers from the rest of the world to buy using some terms and conditions that you can’t refuse. This strategy is learned from the U.S. agricultural business model. This is exactly what the US has been doing. And this is what “state capitalism” is about. Whenever Xi Jinping is visiting a country, he is also in charge of selling those products to the country by signing “free trade” agreement using carrots and “implicit sticks”.
If you are not convinced, let us move to the next location for more proof:
Location 6: Hejing, Bayingol, Xinjiang, China 42°18’36.1″N 86°36’15.4″E
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What are those “red” lands in the middle of the desert?
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If we zoom in, you can see it is actually the land of “tomatoes” — billions of tomatoes. You can imagine the amount by measuring the total area.
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Next time you enjoy Italian spaghetti, Turkish kebab, or spreading Heinz ketchup on your chips, think about the fact that you may be eating tomatoes from Xinjiang.
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It might not directly say the tomatoes are from Xinjiang. These tomatoes might be first exported to a third world country and then rebranded just as the honey was.
China produces 56.3 million tonnes of tomatoes and dominates 1/3 of the world’s tomato exports. Over 14 million are from Xinjiang. You can verify this by looking at the global top ten ketchup companies The World’s Leading Producers of Tomatoes
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COFCO Group (China) 2nd
Xinjiang Chalkis Co. Ltd (China) 3rd
Fuyuan Agriculture Products Limited (China) 6th
Heinz (United States) 7th
Xinjiang Tianye Co., Ltd. (China) 15th
These companies are more or less the redistributors from the XPCC and the Chinese government. These companies can actually return most of the profits back to the Xinjiang farmers. And just recently the Chinese government is trying to sell Xinjiang tomatoes to eastern Europe through the one belt one road initiative. As Xi Jinping just visited Italy this March 2019, I am not sure whether Italy is interested in Xinjiang’s tomatos or not after Xi Jinping’s visit at this time. The western media will never tell you.
Besides tomatoes and chillis, China is also the largest producer of grapes, accounting for 19.1% of it’s global production. And the best grapes are from Turpan, Xinjiang, which accounts for the majority of that percentage. However, China really sucks at making wines from grapes.
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Finally, let’s talk about the main crops such as rice, wheat, and corns in China. They are the most important foods of all, not only to human beings but also to animals such as pigs, chickens, and cattle that produce meat and milk.
Here is a simple comparison between the top four producers across the world:
Arable Land: China 1086 India 1579 EU 1091 US 1631 (1000 km2)
Rice: China 208.1 India 169.5 EU 3.1 US 9.2 (million tonnes)
Wheat: China 134.3 India 98.5 EU 150.2 US 47.3 (million tonnes)
Corn: China 257.3 India 26.0 EU 60.9 US 366.2 (million tonnes)
As you can see, China is an all-around top crop producer compared to the other three regions. However, for a population of 1.4 billion, this is enough to be “filling” but still far from enough if the Chinese want to achieve similar “well-fed” status in per-capita consumption in terms of the developed country standard just like the EU and US.
Currently, there is just not enough arable land for China to produce enough crops to raise 1.4 billion people to the well-fed status. And what’s worse, the arable land in China is quickly shrinking as more and more land has been used for industries and cities.
Location 7: Xingtai, Hebei, China 37°35’54.1″N 114°55’20.8″E
To show you how the Chinese were quickly using up their precious land, our next destination is the great northern plain of China. This is where the most crops are grown in China. (Picture scale: top to bottom 1500km)
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If we zoom in to any location in the plain, for example, the Xingtai city, a 4th tier city, a “small” city with 7 million people. (Picture scale: top to bottom 60km).
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This is actually quite scary to many people. The green fields are the farmlands. These white dots are actually villages. Each “dot” contains around 500 people. The larger white regions are towns with around 10k to 100k people.
As you can see, as more and more people are getting rich and building large houses on the farmlands, those green land would be running out gradually. It is estimated that China is losing around 3,000 km2 area of arable land every year. Those arable land would be turned into “white” and dead concrete land. This is obviously a disaster and the Chinese government has been trying every effort to regulate the land uses. However, you just can’t control the huge momentum of “urbanisation” so easily.
Location 8: Qingyang, Gansu, China 35°41’00.7″N 107°40’38.3″E
The lack of arable land has been a “top concern” ever since the CCP has governed China. From the era of Mao Zedong, the CCP has been organising massive cultivations on hilly lands on different parts of China. There are countless examples. Here is the most significant one: Loess Plateau
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This 640,000 km² plateau is actually not suitable for growing crops. But if you zoom in, you can see all the valleys, all the hills are converted to arable lands. From above, all the cultivated lands appeared like “roots”.
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Just zoom in to any place, you would find all the hills are converted to terraces.
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However, people have found that creating too much terraced land would cause land degradation and destructive mudslide during the monsoon season. From year 1999, the CCP realised that its previous massive cultivation campaign does not improve crop production significantly but instead has caused many floods and mudslides, then it halted the cultivation and proposed the “Returning Farmland to Forest Program (退耕还林)” campaign.
For those lands with low yield, farmers are forced to give up their land and they have to grow trees on them. And for the farmers who lost the land, the government would compensate the farmers with a fee that is equivalent to the field earnings.
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The above picture shows the impact of the forestation and afforestation. This is proof that after many lessons, the CCP has gradually grasped the key to sustainable development.
Xi Jinping once said: “China highly values ecological and environmental protection. Guided by the conviction that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, the country advocates harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and sticks to the path of green and sustainable development.”
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These are not empty words. Every “word” is backed by actual actions. Many people outside China may wonder why mainland Chinese still prefer Xi Jinping. One of the reasons is that he restructured the old bureaucracy of China to be more “environment focused”. For example, the local environmental officials now have the authority to impeach local mayors if the region has done badly in sustainable development.
The outcome of “Returning Farmland to Forest Program” is definitely causing the reduction of the arable land in China. However, despite the arable land degradation, thanks to the huge investment in agriculture technology, agriculture efficiency still improves, making its domestic crop production still increase.
One example is the new technology that allows you to grow rice using salty sea water.
Despite the domestic crop production increase, China is still not self-sustainable in terms of rice, wheat, and corn. It has to import 10% of its annual consumption from the rest of the world. However, most of them are not directly for human consumption.
Example 1: Beer and Baijiu production
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Since 2006, China has become the world’s largest producer of beer with 46.5438 million kiloliters, which is more than double that of the US. It has increased production by 4.9% annually. Besides wheat, China has to import most of the hop plant for beers from Germany and the USA.
And China is also the world’s leading producer of spirit alcohol. Most Chinese people don’t favor Whiskey or Vodka, but prefer drinking Baiju, which is more fragrant and rich in flavour. The Baiju production is around 13.6 million kiloliters, which is much more than western people consume. And the local rice wine made by individual Chinese households is not even counted!
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As a result, some parts of China has a much heavier drinking culture that the rest of the world is not even aware of. Let me tell you. It is much heavier than the British and the Russians.
Example 2: Pig and pork production
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Global pork production
The above graph just shows how do the Chinese love pork so much. Some of the pigs raised in China fed on the corns imported from the USA and Brazil. This also applies to the chickens, cattle and other animals raised in China.
Conclusion
China is able to provide enough food which includes foods other than just plain rice or wheat. The variety of foods offered on the Chinese table is much more diverse and cheaper than within most developed places in the world. This applies to “poor people” as well. This is based on my personal experiences and observations after traveling to many different countries in Europe, the US, and Japan.
For example, in China, a group of eight people can sit at a round table, enjoying 20 different dishes including different meats, vegetables, desserts, etc. They don’t have to worry about religious restrictions, allergic concerns, and personal spaces.
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In Shandong, the total of this dinner costs around $50. The same set of 20 dishes could cost $150 in Beijing/Shanghai/Taipei, or $300 in California/Japan/Hong Kong, etc. And we are not counting the beers and drinks. Actually, most people in California/Japan don’t have the luxury to enjoy 20 different dishes at all but it is more than common in China.
After this extremely long post, I hope that you have learned something new about China and also now know how the Chinese can feed themselves far beyond just “enough”.
Costanza & Son | Seinfeld
Enjoy.
Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Take 15 minutes to toss 7 easy ingredients into a slow cooker, and you’ll have a warm and delicious soup to satisfy hungry appetites.
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed cream of potato soup
1 can (14 oz) roasted garlic-seasoned chicken broth
2 cups frozen sliced carrots
1 cup half-and-half
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Biedronek
Let me introduce Biedronek. The name is a bit complicated to translate, but relevant to his story, so please bear with me.
Biedronek was found as a little kitten in the parking lot of a shop named Biedronka (Ladybird in Polish). Since “biedronka” is a female word and our little ball of fur was definitely male, he was named “Biedronek” which would be a male version of “ladybird”. A “Lordbird” of a sort.
Unfortunately, when he was found, he was dying. He was either ran over by a car or chewed on by a dog. His skull was partially crushed, his right ear was missing, and his right eye was severely damaged. Some good people rescued him and took him to a local foundation which saves homeless cats and dogs. This is his first photo, still in veterinary clinic, but already stable and recovering:
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For some time, his doctors and foundation caretakers thought that he is permanently blind and deaf, but after several weeks it turned out he can see and hear after all.
This is Biedronek a little bit later:
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He looks cute here, but the damage to his head left him with a permanent scowl on his face, with his right canine and right side of the jaw exposed most of the time. This is probably why no one wanted to adopt him from the foundation for six months:
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And after those six months we were looking to adopt a new cat, and we took an instant liking for Biedronek and his ugly mug. This is his first photo in our home (with our other cat, Carmen):
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Biedronek is living with us for almost five years now, he witnessed our wedding, he moved with us to a new home, and was with us when our son was born. He is only a little disabled, his right eye does not work, and he lacks 3D vision, but compensates for it by memorizing every jump in the apartament. Now he looks like this:
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Despite being almost five years old, he is still playful like a little kitten, and they get along with Carmen and our son very nicely.
Watch “Michael Hudson | American Empire Repeating History”
This video definitely deserves some of your time !
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Says it all in 15 minutes.
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Michael Hudson offered us here 15 minutes of a scholarly, straight to the point, lucid speech discussing supremely well about the arch-overused rapprochement between the so-called US-China rivalry and what happened 25 centuries ago between Athens and Sparta : the proverbial Thucydides trap having kindled the infamous Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) Thucydides (~460~400) chronicled and clearly explained.
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Any imperialistic oligarchy will preferentially and mostly loot its opponents first, its allies second and its people last but the plundering of the 3 groups can be simultaneous, of course, but at different degrees. The stripping and corraling of its own population at a high intensity and using methods of control and repression from different registers are sure signs of sharp decline if not imminent end (I avoid the word ‘collapse’ because it’s uselessly spectacular.)
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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir/Gene Tierney- L’Aventure de Mme Muir- Finale
So wonderful. Wonderful ending to a long duration love affair with a ghost.
What has President Xi Jinping done that has made him so liked and respected in China?
In 2013, he launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the most ambitious infrastructure project in human history. Today, over 149 countries have signed up — that’s more than 3/4 of the world’s nations! BRI is making many, many friends for China. The Chinese are brimming with pride.
He cleaned up corruption within the central government which was a sore point for the people.
In 2020, he finally eradicated extreme poverty (as defined by the UN) in China. This has been the goal of China for thousands of years and it was ultimately achieved under his watch.
In 2022, he successfully hosted the Olympic Winter Games. In addition to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, the Chinese are brimming with pride.
In 2022, he launched China’s first supercarrier, the Type 003 named Fujian. China is the only other nation capable of building supercarriers. The Chinese are brimming with pride.
In 2022, he put China’s own international space station, the Tiangong, into space and he invited all nations to participate in China’s space station program, including the United States (recall that USA banned China from the ISS). What a class act! The Chinese are brimming with pride.
He protected the people from COVID-19 with a stunningly low 246,618 total infections and 5,226 total deaths at the time of writing (data from Worldometer). For comparison, USA had 97,026,001 total infections and 1,075,338 total deaths. Let’s remind everyone that China has 4X the population of USA.
He made China the biggest pollution fighter on the planet:
He avoided the US trap of getting sucked into a proxy war over Taiwan. (Putin got sucked into a proxy war over Ukraine.) Xi Jinping was simply too damn clever for the Americans.
All of the above make Xi one of the greatest Chinese leaders who ever lived.
China’s World Domination Through Trade Networks
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Fathom 1967 Anthony Franciosa,Raquel Welch,Ronald Fraser,Richard Briers,Greta Chi,Elizabeth Ercy
A great 1960s era movie! If you have a few hours, check it out.
At the least, just check out the first five minute into for a taste of real 1960s reality.
DM parses the Tunnel of Light
Finally, please enjoy these two videos where DM parses the remote viewing of the Tunnel of Light system.
The following is the 28th part from a series of articles describing the adventure that a follower who goes by the handle "daegonmagus" has experienced since reading MM. They are very interesting and fascinating. I hope that you all learn from his journey and maybe learn a thing or two as he relates his unique experiences to the readership here.
Lately he has been conducting lucid dreaming (LD) to map out the subconscious / non-physical realms that surround us. His writings are very interesting, but describe things way beyond my understanding. Never the less, many MM readers find great value in his experiences, and writings, and one can easily see benefit in reading his writings.
I hope that you enjoy this article.
-MM
Daegonmagus Intel Obtained Through A Deliberate LD Recon Operation
11/09/2022
Looks like lucid dreaming is back on the menu, boys. So yeah, I have been putting it in my affirmations to basically regain my lucid dreaming abilities, as I have been going through a several year long dry patch.
I thought I was being a little too optimistic asking for at least one LD a week.
Now I should also mention, I have just finished up my 3 month period of my affirmation campaign, and am on about day 5 of the rest period – too optimistic my arse.
My LDs appear to be coming back, so far weekly and boy, they are a lot more vivid than they used to be.
I first noticed this clarity back at the end of June when I had my little flying fun with the consciousness craft.
Last week it involved stealing another craft out of some compound and using it to drop anti matter bombs on some mining operation setup in a forest.
Last night it was something a bit more important, which I will get to in a moment. I also need to make an amendment here to a past article where I mentioned there seems to be a 10 hour lag between having a thought and it manifesting in the dream state.
Scratch that; I have noticed lately it is more like 7 hours.
This comes from having dreams about multiple subjects I was thinking of that I could pin point back to thinking 7 hours before my usual bed time. So handy hint, try and find that 7 hour point before your sleeping time and use it to run your self through some “am I dreaming scenarios”.
You might surprise yourself.
Anyways, getting back to the LD. Our youngest had woken up around 4:15am, which, of course, woke me up a long with it. After spending some time thinking of the usual shit one thinks of that keeps them from falling asleep at that hour, I decided to try LDing.
After propping my right heel so it sat on top of my left foot and rolling my right ear into the oversized triangular pillow hugging my neck, I immediately I noticed I was somewhat tense (guys get into the habit of recognizing this if you want to master LDing ).
So, I made the effort to relax that tension away, and within moments I had a stream of hypnogogic imagery flowing through my head.
This imagery is the sweet point; you have got to get this to flow like a gentle stream past you without letting it turn into a torrent that takes you into unconscious sleeping.
The hard part is trying not to focus too intently on it. So, doing what I do, and relaxing into the gentle stream of hypnogogic imagery, I once again carried my conscious awareness into the dreaming state.
I was in a place I have been in before, sort of a seedy alleyway type deal.
I was 100% lucid and aware, so I asked a dream character if he realized he was dreaming (remembering a post from a lucid dreaming facebook group where someone did similar), and he sort of stopped and got aggressive threatening to wake me up.
Other dream characters started attacking me, but rather than annihilate them, I just smiled at them and made my abilities very obvious to them and they all stopped and left me to my business, figuring I wasn’t worth the trouble.
The dream started to become distorted and break apart, but I swiftly kept it together by focusing on background objects; I seem to be getting much better at this and can keep the dream stable completely automatically without even thinking about it; this was impressive even for my standards.
I used the broken environment opportunity to picture the consciousness craft facility with the intention to try and fly another consciousness craft.
I was successful in generating the same building, but it was broken from the distortions generated by the run in with the other dream characters.
I seem to be stuck in an area of this facility somewhat reminiscent of a reception waiting area.
I look out the windows, and it is pretty damned obvious I am off world.
The architecture of the buildings outside seems futuristic and many years evolved from our modern standards.
I walk down a small hallway and find a door to my right but it is locked by what appears to be key code entry.
I manifest a card and use it to gain entry.
Within seconds of walking through the door, I had a completely stable dream environment; I was here, in this place, not just dreaming it, there was no doubt about it.
This seemed to be a different part of the same consciousness craft facility, but more open, sort of like a small hangar.
Up in front of me is a curved wall, and behind that another hallway that branches off from the curved wall.
I take the curved hallway and find it takes me to similar doors that led to the consciousness craft hangar; big, thick metal doors that had some sort of red paint outline at their top.
The doors opened, and the similar hooking consciousness thing happens, then I find myself in what seems to be some kind of futuristic space mall.
Up ahead of me was what appeared to a small commercial spaceship rental company in the middle of the mall.
On a small circular stage they had two retro what looked like cars they were showcasing. These looked like standard convertible cadillacs or similar, but they did not have wheels (floated a foot off the ground) and had a single small compartment in the middle towards the front instead of seating.
Upon getting closer, I noticed a tall sign about 8 ft above me plonked right at the edge of the platform.
It was written in a retro 60s style cursive hand like you’d expect to find at old retro diners.
I looked at the sign and could read the name off it as clear as day (if the cursive allowed it);. It wasn’t just a name but a whole sentence alluding to the retroness of these cars being the gimmick that this company was selling; I noted the name Schweigler {something } Schwarz. Schweigler I am 90% sure of, Schwarz was 100%, specifically for RVing later. Middle initial was something like R.
I step onto the platform to get a better look at these convertibles.
Then it suddenly dawns on me. No fucking way; these are commercialized versions of the consciousness craft I flew a few months ago.
Someone, presumably Schweigler and Schwarz, had taken the technology that modulates your consciousness into them for powering.
I get the distinct impression I am in some sort of future world line.
In the compartment in the front is a cylinder sort of object with a spherical or dodecahedron shaped clear crystal in it.
A sales representative comes over, a young woman probably in her early 20s, maybe even her late teens, and goes through the usual sales pitch with me.
She seems human.
I pretend I am a dumb old man who has no idea what he is that I am looking at, but I have already figured out what these things are, and come to the realization I am on an espionage operation and need just a little bit more information from her.
She tells me you place your consciousness inside the crystal, then you are able to power the car.
She asks me if would like to take one for a test drive, to which I play coy telling I’d probably break it. She insists, and before she even gets a chance to tell me how to do it, I am projecting my consciousness into the crystal the same way I’d come accustomed to using the spherical portals.
I can feel all my quanta break apart as it all goes into the crystal, kind of like a very brief hyperdrive from starwars.
I am now consciously tethered to the convertible, so I hover it up off the ground and take off tpwards a space port, no longer paying any attention to the sales representative.
Somehow I wind up in a completely different place; I am now inside this strange building made entirely of centuries old wood that looks severely rotted.
There a people everywhere, just sort of sitting and existing and in a somber state of mind. What the fuck is this place?
I untether my consciousness from the convertible and am again moving around like I have a body.
I do a little exploring, trying to pick up on any conversation threads I can to figure out where this is.
This place is weird and new, and somewhat confusing; it is as if someone built several buildings and walk ways between them out of these same decrepit and rotten wood, then entirely enclosed those walkways with even more rotten wood.
There was no outside, everywhere you walked there was just this wooden roof above you making it quite disorientating as to where exactly you were.
I got the impression there wasn’t anything outside of the wood, not even ground. Thick dust and cobwebs lined every surface, and to get to each building you had to navigate through small flights of steps.
Recon gathered here told me this was a capturing outpost for discarnate consciousness that had died from physical earth bodies.
They were basically been housed here against their will, and had been for up to centuries.
There was no conceivable way to exit this place. I don’t even know how I got here, but It had something to do with that Cadillac convertible. Was this how Schweigler and Schwarz had built their empire?
I did not like this. These souls were desperate.
They had just been dumped here and left to rot along with the wood. I vowed to do something about it. Just then, a demonic voice began speaking to me, taunting me and telling me that he was the one who had put them here. I can’t remember what I told it, but it seemed to anger it to no end. It told me to wait until I expire from my physical body and see what it has in store for me then, to which I told it to go right ahead.
This angered it more, and without warning part of this weird cluster of buildings just got ripped into oblivion and I found myself standing on a verandah overlooking nothing but blue sky, as this voice boomed out at me from the space below.
I told it it had no authority over these people and that they deserved more than to be used as its slaves or pets.
It threw whatever insults and threats in regards to my own soul it could throw at me, to which I stood firmly and told it to fuck right off.
Others started to stand up and stand by my side, as my quashing of it words turned into a speech fit for rallying soldiers.
This demon did not like this one bit. It was if I was breaking its spell that gave it hold over the other souls; they were no longer in somber states, but now had purpose burning in their eyes.
Others were telling it to fuck off along with me.
The demon retreated back into the depths of the sky void, and after that I woke up. I have explicit memory of thousands of these discarnate consciousnesses agreeing to fighting for me against the amnesia/ reincarnation regime.
Questions for Domain Commander:
What is this space port mall place, and is it and the consciousness craft I flew several months back Domain owned and operated, or owned by a third party? Who are Schweigler {something} Schwarz? I suggest this name be paid particular attention to and traced as it is somehow strongly linked to this. Was I operating from a future worldline?
MM comments
When DM was LDing this event, my wife bought a new car. Just a Toyota sedan. It’s a good, simple, reliable hybrid car. Nothing special. But brand new, being a 2022 model.
I did not write or talk about this to anyone. It’s a personal MM moment, and something done out of necessity. Nothing to report on.
Yet…
You have to wonder.
It is entirely possible that DM was picking up on MM physical actions and activities. If so, then that would explain the car dealership, the new “retro” models, and the futuristic mall.
There is no doubt that PSI abilities and LD ability go “hand in hand”.
But don’t hold me to that.
It could be coincidence. But, you all know what I say about coincidence, don’t you?
In any event, it is a tricky world out there. So much going on and we interpret what we see with our experiences. DM is connected to others in his group, whether he realizes it or not, and is connected to MM as well. Again, is probably not realizing it at all.
The combined “chatter” on this PSI “party line” will absolutely influence his LD experiences. And thus what he experiences is colored by the “chatter” on the PSI party line.
This bit of extraneous data should not disparage or confuse his experiences.
Personally, I think that it enhances it.
Like special jet fuel that allows his LD experiences to go further, have better color, and depth and richness. Which is why I say “clean out your closets”, and “make new friends”, and experience more of the world. They supercharge your abilities.
The combination of affirmation campaigns, and MM associations are “turbo charging” DM’s LD experiences.
The only problem that remains is how to improve the sorting and filtering of the input “feed” during these events. What is actual intel, and what in influenced intel? Things need to be filtered better. Somehow. So that while they are turbocharged, they are not overwhelmed by distractions and confusions. Whether PSI or environmental.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
The world is changing. And China is growing. The United States is falling inward, and the rest of the world is making choices. What choice will you make? To collapse along with the litany of lies, distortions, greed and perversions, or grow with a new phoenix that rises out from the ashes of the old? What will be your choice?
We the Silent Majority
by Asia Teacher for the Saker blog
History has an unfortunate habit of repeating itself, invariably drawing the minority into the same world of beliefs as those who previously fell for them. Removing moral, spiritual and intellectual values, aka traditions and replacing them with woke ideologies, green agendas and cultural equality follows a well-trod political path to disaster. As we head for collapse, can or will the silent majority stop the decline?
We’re not statesmen or diplomats and we don’t know Russia’s battle plans, nor are we ever going to be president of anything. We’re famous, but unknown, who are we?
We’re the silent majority!
If you’re over forty you’ll probably remember us. We’re the ones who told you not to put your finger in the fire as it would hurt. However, if you’re under forty you’ll have met us at the ballot box every four years as we try to stop the crazies among you from voting in the demagogues promising you a utopia.
We’re an odd lot and believe in things others find strange, such as God and think Justin Bieber is something found in a tissue after blowing your nose. We don’t get our news from twitter which is probably why we’re a bit behind the new-age times and we don’t believe Generation Z when they tell us Shakespeare was an African. However, we do remember the warnings from former dissidents Solzhenitsyn, Bukovsky and even President Putin who warned you not to go down the road you’re on now.
We the silent majority were laughing at the ‘Woke’ Cultural Revolution and diversity obedience training years before it became fashionable. It was already obvious what would happen way back in 1993, coincidently, shortly after the collapse of the USSR when the European Union emerged offering the gullible an unhealthy dose of Gramscian Cultural Marxism disguised as freedom. As the vocal minority now scratch their collective heads at the mess they’ve created, we’re the silent majority occasionally heard muttering “I told you so.”
Likewise, we are not responsible for the current political, economic and moral decline around you. We did not support corporate fascism in minimum wage gig-economies, lock downs, non-existent alternative energy sources, or an unhealthy obsession with homosexuality believing it had anything to do with freedom and democracy.
As attention spans wane due to a lack of sensationalism and the Ukraine becomes just another ongoing news item, the next self-inflicted crisis is an energy one. We silent majority raise an eyebrow as we’re told that Russia is an unreliable energy supplier sanctioned from supplying the oil needed and the reason behind rising food prices is the fault of a European drought as we had two weeks of hot sun in the summer.
In our brave new world, everyone’s smiling but no one’s happy. Moreover, when we glance around us we all know something is wrong. The only difference between us is who we point our fingers at. Currently, it’s all Biden’s fault but yesterday Trump was to blame. Today it’s Russia, tomorrow it will be China (again). Russian and Chinese societies aren’t collapsing, ours are and we’ve got nowhere to flee as the stupid lash out in all directions to prolong the agony of indoctrinated beliefs they’re hiding behind.
Our political system is broken, our multicultural societies are in chaos, inflation is soaring, we’re bankrupt and awaiting possible mass civil protests in the near future; that’s if the fools in charge don’t lead us into a nuclear conflict first.
Yet whilst muttering “here we go again”, nevertheless we the silent majority are prepared to join the coming mass civil disobedience protests as the minority complain about the agents of social programming they not so long ago cheered for and are too stupid to realize they’re the cause of, but think more of it is the solution.
Asia Teacher is a UK citizen, retired teacher of English plus Social and Political Science.
Hippies
From the 1960s television show 1Adam12.
What is something that you can do in your country that a person in America cannot do?
American citizen living in Germany here.
I get asked often about how long I will stay in Germany and why Germany. I want to stay indefinitely and the reason why is precisely because the USA is not the best country in the world (there is no such thing). I am treated better and have more opportunities in Germany.
Here are some things that I can do in Germany that I could not do in the USA.
I can go to the doctor without fear of bankruptcy, without having to argue with insurance companies, without receiving random medical bills at a later date.
I and my husband can have a child and get paid maternity and paternity leave.
I can go to university without taking on debt.
I get 30+ days of vacation each year that I am encouraged and expected to take.
I can feel secure in my job because they cannot fire me without cause. There is no such thing as so called “employment at will” laws.
I can raise kids who are bilingual in an environment that values bilingualism.
I can drink in public places. I can crack open a beer or wine on the sidewalk, in a park, on public transit, nearly everywhere.
I don’t have to worry about taking a bullet at my place of work (I’m a teacher). When I do have kids I won’t have to worry about them being shot in school either. In fact I don’t have to worry about guns at all because they just aren’t prolific here.
I don’t have to worry about CPS (Child Protective Services) being called or being arrested if I let my kids be independent and go do things by themselves. It’s considered normal for even a 6-year-old to walk to the bakery by themself, go to the park by themself, and to walk to school by themself… even in big cities.
I don’t have to leave a tip because I know that my servers are paid fair wages. My servers don’t push me out of a restaurant when I am finished eating. I can sit and enjoy a drink and conversation and I can let my server know when I am ready to leave.
I don’t have to worry so much about nudity. People here tend to have the perspective that it’s just a body and being nude is generally not illegal.
I don’t need to have a car to get just about anywhere. I can use public transit.
I have more freedom of movement. As a woman, I can walk around alone in a big city at 2 in the morning and feel safe. I experience far fewer (nearly zero) instances of street harassment.
I don’t have to tolerate religion being shoved in my face on a regular basis. Yes, people here can be religious too, but they nearly always keep it to themselves.
Slow-Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
Perfect for the approaching Fall weather.
If you’re a fan of our famous Stuffed Peppers, this hearty stuffed pepper soup is for you! Made with ground beef, green bell peppers, and diced tomatoes, this comforting recipe simmers all day in the slow cooker, so it’s ready for dinner when you get home. While this soup is richly flavored and oh-so delicious on its own, a slice of crusty garlic bread would make for an excellent companion.
Slow-Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
Ingredients
2 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
2 green bell peppers, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 small onion, diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1 carton (32 oz) Progresso™ beef-flavored broth
1 cup water
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 cups cooked rice
Shredded cheese, if desired
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Just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Only modification that I made was using 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb Italian sausage. My whole family loved it. Definitely will be making this one again.
The Brady Bunch – Marcia, Marcia, Marcia
Short clip.
Can the US derail China’s Made in China 2025 plan?
Heard of this company?
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They are one of the world’s most famous EPC companies, known for successfully delivering megaprojects around the world. It is not an exaggeration Bechtel can build entire cities, industrial complexes, and power grids from scratch.
Fifty years ago, that was rather special, because Bechtel already had a CV that included the Hoover dam, and BART. In more recent years, Bechtel’s major projects include Boston’s Big Dig, and the Channel tunnel linking the UK with France.
Pretty impressive, by any standard. If you have a difficult civil engineering project, Bechtel is the go-to contractor if you need been-there, done-that expertise. It has been the top U.S. contractor for 21 consecutive years, according to the ENR.
How much revenue did the top U.S. contractor generate last year?
About $25.5 billion.
Now let’s cross the Pacific to China, a flight from first world to third to look at the Chinese competition.
What’s China’s Bechtel?
I would wager a bet very few have heard of this company:
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CSCEC, or the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
What was their revenue in 2019?
1.2 trillion RMB, or $171 billion—almost 7 (yes, 7!) Bechtels worth of business.
With a list of completed projects that include:
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That is what one third world EPC is capable of, in terms of sheer scale and complexity.
What’s my point?
Fifty years ago, Bechtel was special, and operated in the rarefied air of exclusivity.
Two decades into the new century, third world “upstarts” operate on way greater scale and have just-as-impressive references.
The difference this time? They are significantly cheaper and faster while staying on-spec.
Which is the same story you will find across the industrial spectrum. There may be few Chinese brands you’re aware of, but I bet there are numerous Chinese-made products in the average household, especially critical components of electronics found in everything from throwaway flashlights to the latest iphone.
China has consistently delivered on-spec products at unbeatable prices and speed for decades. That is why she is the world’s factory—entirely on merit.
I once asked an industry veteran why businesses are unable to resist the allure of China. He explained it wasn’t a matter of choice. If his competitor moves his factories to China, he has to follow suit or risk irrelevance within a decade. In other words, business models are turbocharged with Chinese production. Unless you have a niche market with moats and high walls, you die, even if you are brontosaurus size.
All that talk about IP theft and forced tech transfers is way off base. The companies that went to China made decisions with their eyes wide open. They caught the prevailing wind which blew them into China’s embrace. In fact, many couldn’t wait to get in bed with the Chinese after catching wind of their competitors’ bottomline post-China.
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Notice the elevated proportion of those 25–34? That translates into tens of millions jobs that won’t be filled by those coming after them (the 10–24).
China is facing a labor crunch in the coming decade. Thankfully, it is not a nightmare because China is now at $10,000 GDP per capita, firmly third world. Which means there are plenty of third world jobs in the economy. Like assembling iphones. Or making plastic flowers. What the demographics tell us is older factories making low-margin goods will find it difficult to replace labor in the tight market, and fade into obsolescence. Wages will rise, fueled by better qualified youth from improving education outcomes.
Demographics is destiny and it is the inevitable labor crunch that will bring about an end to cheap China. This is the real reason why the Chinese themselves are moving low margin production offshore. Trump’s trade war is merely a friendly shove towards an unavoidable future.
What is this MIC 2025? In short, it is a push towards self-sufficiency in these key sectors:
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MIC 2025 seeks to raise the domestic content of core components and materials to 40 percent by 2020 and 70 percent by 2025.
Which is where the economy has to evolve anyway, due to the changing labor structure. MIC isn’t about Chinese brands taking over the world. Rather, it is about Chinese brands developing home-grown technology to compete more prominently in the domestic market. This is no different from any country. Toyota and Panasonic dominate the Japanese market, so does LG and Samsung in Korea and GM and Apple stateside.
There is nothing sinister about MIC 2025, except it will make Chinese brands more visible. Which cuts into the “easy money”—branding. That is why CSCEC isn’t attacked like Huawei. Expect ever wilder conspiracy theories about how evil Chinese are taking over the world by robbing and stealing everyone blind, as Chinese brands creep up the domestic, then global brand visibility index.
Good luck trying to stop MIC 2025, because seriously, other than illegal tariffs, the rechurning of Taiwan/HK separatism, and a multidimensional and broad-base media flame war, America has not provided alternatives to MIC 2025.
The Chinese consumer will ask, do you have anything 90% as good but half the price?
The answer is no, which answers the question too.
Asia’s future takes shape in Vladivostok, the Russian Pacific
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted
Sixty-eight countries gathered on Russia’s far eastern coast to listen to Moscow’s economic and political vision for the Asia-Pacific
The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok is one of the indispensable annual milestones for keeping up not only with the complex development process of the Russian Far East but major plays for Eurasia integration.
Mirroring an immensely turbulent 2022, the current theme in Vladivostok is ‘On the Path to a Multipolar World.’ Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, in a short message to business and government participants from 68 nations, set the stage:
“The obsolete unipolar model is being replaced by a new world order based on the fundamental principles of justice and equality, as well as the recognition of the right of each state and people to their own sovereign path of development. Powerful political and economic centers are taking shape right here in the Asia-Pacific region, acting as a driving force in this irreversible process.”
In his speech to the EEF plenary session, Ukraine was barely mentioned. Putin’s response when asked about it: “Is this country part of Asia-Pacific?”
The speech was largely structured as a serious message to the collective west, as well as to what top analyst Sergey Karaganov calls the “global majority.” Among several takeaways, these may be the most relevant:
Russia as a sovereign state will defend its interests.
Western sanctions ‘fever’ is threatening the world – and economic crises are not going away after the pandemic.
The entire system of international relations has changed. There is an attempt to maintain world order by changing the rules.
Sanctions on Russia are closing down businesses in Europe. Russia is coping with economic and tech aggression from the west.
Inflation is breaking records in developed countries. Russia is looking at around 12 percent.
Russia has played its part in grain exports leaving Ukraine, but most shipments went to EU nations and not developing countries.
The “welfare of the ‘Golden Billion’ is being ignored.”
The west is in no position to dictate energy prices to Russia.
Ruble and yuan will be used for gas payments.
The role of Asia-Pacific has significantly increased.
In a nutshell: Asia is the new epicenter of technological progress and productivity.
No more an ‘object of colonization’
Taking place only two weeks before another essential annual gathering – the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand – it is no wonder some of the top discussions at the EEF revolve around the increasing economic interpolation between the SCO and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
This theme is as crucial as the development of the Russian Arctic: at 41 percent of total territory, that’s the largest resource base in the federation, spread out over nine regions, and encompassing the largest Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on the planet, linked to the free port of Vladivostok. The Arctic is being developed via several strategically important projects processing mineral, energy, water and biological natural resources.
So it’s perfectly fitting that Austria’s former foreign minister Karin Kneissel, self-described as “a passionate historian,” quipped about her fascination at how Russia and its Asian partners are tackling the development of the Northern Sea Route: “One of my favorite expressions is that airlines and pipelines are moving east. And I keep saying this for twenty years.”
Amidst a wealth of roundtables exploring everything from the power of territory, supply chains and global education to “the three whales” (science, nature, human), arguably the top discussion this Tuesday at the forum was centered on the role of the SCO.
Apart from the current full members – Russia, China, India, Pakistan, four Central Asians (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), plus the recent accession of Iran – no less than 11 further nations want to join, from observer Afghanistan to dialogue partner Turkey.
Grigory Logvinov, the SCO’s deputy secretary general, stressed how the economic, political and scientific potential of players comprising “the center of gravity” for Asia – over a quarter of the world’s GDP, 50 percent of the world’s population – has not been fully harvested yet.
Kirill Barsky, from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, explained how the SCO is actually the model of multipolarity, according to its charter, compared to the backdrop of “destructive processes” launched by the west.
And that leads to the economic agenda in the Eurasian integration progress, with the Russian-led Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) configured as the SCO’s most important partner.
Barsky identifies the SCO as “the core Eurasian structure, forming the agenda of Greater Eurasia within a network of partnership organizations.” That’s where the importance of the cooperation with ASEAN comes in.
Barsky could not but evoke Mackinder, Spykman and Brzezinski – who regarded Eurasia “as an object to be acted upon the wishes of western states, confined within the continent, away from the ocean shores, so the western world could dominate in a global confrontation of land and sea. The SCO as it developed can triumph over these negative concepts.”
And here we hit a notion widely shared from Tehran to Vladivostok:
Eurasia no longer as “an object of colonization by ‘civilized Europe’ but again an agent of global policy.”
‘India wants a 21st Asian century’
Sun Zuangnzhi from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) elaborated on China’s interest in the SCO. He focused on achievements: In the 21 years since its founding, a mechanism to establish security between China, Russia and Central Asian states evolved into “multi-tiered, multi-sector cooperation mechanisms.”
Instead of “turning into a political instrument,” the SCO should capitalize on its role of dialogue forum for states with a difficult history of conflicts – “interactions are sometimes difficult” – and focus on economic cooperation “on health, energy, food security, reduction of poverty.”
Rashid Alimov, a former SCO secretary general, now a professor at the Taihe Institute, stressed the “high expectations” from Central Asian nations, the core of the organization. The original idea remains – based on the indivisibility of security on a trans-regional level in Eurasia.
Well, we all know how the US and NATO reacted when Russia late last year proposed a serious dialogue on “indivisibility of security.”
As Central Asia does not have an outlet to the sea, it is inevitable, as Alimov stressed, that Uzbekistan’s foreign policy privileges involvement in accelerated intra-SCO trade. Russia and China may be the leading investors, and now “Iran also plays an important role. Over 1,200 Iranian companies are working in Central Asia.”
Connectivity, once again, must increase: “The World Bank rates Central Asia as one of the least connected economies in the world.”
Sergey Storchak of Russian bank VEB explained the workings of the “SCO interbank consortium.” Partners have used “a credit line from the Bank of China” and want to sign a deal with Uzbekistan. The SCO interbank consortium will be led by the Indians on a rotation basis – and they want to step up its game. At the upcoming summit in Samarkand, Storchak expects a road map for the transition towards the use of national currencies in regional trade.
Kumar Rajan from the School of International Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University articulated the Indian position. He went straight to the point: “India wants a 21st Asian century. Close cooperation between India and China is necessary. They can make the Asian century happen.”
Rajan remarked how India does not see the SCO as an alliance, but committed to the development and political stability of Eurasia.
He made the crucial point about connectivity revolving around India “working with Russia and Central Asia with the INSTC” – the International North South Transportation Corridor, and one of its key hubs, the Chabahar port in Iran: “India does not have direct physical connectivity with Central Asia. The INSTC has the participation of an Iranian shipping line with 300 vessels, connecting to Mumbai. President Putin, in the [recent] Caspian meeting, referred directly to the INSTC.”
Crucially, India not only supports the Russian concept of Greater Eurasia Partnership but is engaged in setting up a free trade agreement with the EAEU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, incidentally, came to the Vladivostok forum last year.
In all of the above nuanced interventions, some themes are constant. After the Afghanistan disaster and the end of the US occupation there, the stabilizing role of the SCO cannot be overstated enough. An ambitious road map for cooperation is a must – probably to be approved at the Samarkand summit. All players will be gradually changing to trade in bilateral currencies. And creation of transit corridors is leading to the progressive integration of national transit systems.
Let there be light
A key roundtable on the ‘Gateway to a Multipolar World’ expanded on the SCO role, outlining how most Asian nations are “friendly” or “benevolently neutral” when it comes to Russia after the start of the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine.
So the possibilities for expanding cooperation across Eurasia remain practically unlimited. Complementarity of economies is the main factor. That would lead, among other developments, to the Russian Far East, as a multipolar hub, turning into “Russia’s gateway to Asia” by the 2030s.
Wang Wen from the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies stressed the need for Russia to rediscover China – finding “mutual trust in the middle level and elites level”. At the same time, there’s a sort of global rush to join BRICS, from Saudi Arabia and Iran to Afghanistan and Argentina:
“That means a new civilization model for emerging economies like China and Argentina because they want to rise up peacefully (…) I think we are in the new civilization age.”
B. K. Sharma from the United Service Institution of India got back to Spykman pigeonholing the nation as a rimland state. Not anymore: India now has multiple strategies, from connecting to Central Asia to the ‘Act East’ policy. Overall, it’s an outreach to Eurasia, as India “is not competitive and needs to diversify to get better access to Eurasia, with logistical help from Russia.“
Sharma stresses how India takes SCO, BRICS and RICs very seriously while seeing Russia playing “an important role in the Indian Ocean.” He nuances the Indo-Pacific outlook: India does not want Quad as a military alliance, privileging instead “interdependence and complementarity between India, Russia and China.”
All of these discussions interconnect with the two overarching themes in several Vladivostok roundtables: energy and the development of the Arctic’s natural resources.
Pavel Sorokin, Russian First Deputy Minister of Energy, dismissed the notion of a storm or typhoon in the energy markets: “It’s a far cry from a natural process. It’s a man-made situation.” The Russian economy, in contrast, is seen by most analysts as slowly but surely designing its Arctic/Asian cooperation future – including, for instance, the creation of a sophisticated trans-shipment infrastructure for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov made sure that Russia will actually increase its gas production, considering the rise of LNG deliveries and the construction of Power of Siberia-2 to China: “We will not merely scale up the pipeline capacity but we will also expand LNG production: it has mobility and excellent purchases on the global market.”
On the Northern Sea Route, the emphasis is on building a powerful, modern icebreaker fleet – including nuclear. Gadzhimagomed Guseynov, First Deputy Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, is adamant: “What Russia has to do is to make the Northern Sea Route a sustainable and important transit route.”
There is a long-term plan up to 2035 to create infrastructure for safe shipping navigation, following an ‘Arctic best practices’ of learning step by step. NOVATEK, according to its deputy chairman Evgeniy Ambrosov, has been conducting no less than a revolution in terms of Arctic navigation and shipbuilding in the last few years.
Kniessel, the former Austrian minister, recalled that she always missed the larger geopolitical picture in her discussions when she was active in European politics (she now lives in Lebanon): “I wrote about the passing of the torch from Atlanticism to the Pacific. Airlines, pipelines and waterways are moving East. The Far East is actually Pacific Russia.”
Whatever Atlanticists may think of it, the last word for the moment might belong to Vitaly Markelov, from the board of directors of Gazprom: Russia is ready for winter. There will be warmth and light everywhere.”
Hee Haw – Archie Campbell’s Rindercella Story
My generation…
WTF? Watch the whole thing.
Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three – 1996
Oh. Takes us all back in the day…
Are fat girls discriminated against in China?
I’m seeing way too many answers saying that there are very few fat girls in China – when nothing could be farther from the truth.
Here’s a fat Chinese girl… they are everywhere in China.
Fat Chinese girl.
There’s an important disclaimer to be made though – fat in China doesn’t mean the same thing that “fat: does in the US.
American “fat” girl…
American “fat” girl.
Seeing someone that would qualify as morbidly obese is incredibly rare in China – I would be hard-pressed to recall the last time it happened to me. That being said, there’s morbidly obese, and then there’s overweight. And being overweight is becoming a problem in China.
American “fat” = Morbidly obese
Chinese “fat” = Overweight. Big boobies. A few extra pounds / Kilos.
A decade ago, sure, there were very few overweight people. But today, especially among the younger generations, you are seeing a giant boom in fat Chinese girls.
Recent articles in Forbes and The Guardian point out that obesity in China is actually HIGHER than in the US.
I think those statistics should be taken with a grain of salt (especially since they might not look at variance – see my morbidly obese point above), but they are indicative of a trend. China is getting fat.
This picture is taken from a fat camp. You read that right. It’s a summer camp where parents send their kids so they lose weight.
In my opinion, this is primarily due to three reasons:
Fast Food Culture: Yup, blame the West on this one. But China was quick to pick up on the trend with its own domestic brands like Yonghe Wang. People are getting busier, have more income, and yes, prefer not to waste time on cooking. Enter fastfood.
Few hobbies. You know what’s strange in China? I’ll write a whole post about this at some point, but there is an incredible absence of hobbies. Usually it’s zero hobbies, or ONE hobby that they’re REALLY into. This is changing a bit with the post-90s generation, but even then, the hobbies tend to be more lifestylish (learning how to make cakes) rather than sporty. And the reason for that is China’s national exam, the Gaokao, which basically has kids being pushed all the way til they’re 18 to study as HARD as they can to get into a good uni. Evenings? Extra tutoring. Weekends? Extra tutoring. Want a break? Here, watch TV or play a video game on the iPad. There’s no time for sports (especially since athletes are actually kinda looked down upon – with a few exceptions, back off Yao Ming fans – but you wouldn’t tell your father in law you enjoy playing football).
Grandparents: So you know that old joke about grandma force-feeding you stuff? Well it’s the same in China, with two big differences. The first is that these grandparents are starting to have only one grandkid – so there’s extra attention paid there. There’s also the fact that the grandparents taking care of the kid while the parents work is pretty much mainstream here, and you have a perfect storm – there’s no way that kid is not getting fat.
Alright, with that out of the way, let’s tackle the question: are fat girls discriminated against in China?
The short answer is yes.
China is HIGHLY obsessed with beauty. There’s a reason why major cosmetics brands (and I invite Megan Cox to help fill in some details if I miss anything here) group countries by regions – except China. Perfect white skin, perfect hair. There’s an obsession with the damage pollution is having on your skin. There’s a craziness over the single/double eyelid debate (double is better apparently).
More importantly, your beauty is a VERY important social status symbol. If you have poor skin and poor teeth well, it’s probably because you can’t afford the good stuff.
So just with that, you can imagine that fat girls are already facing an uphill struggle.
If they want to work consumer facing jobs, it’s even more difficult. The anti-discrimination rules have a lot of leeway in them when it comes to enforcement, and it’s a rare day when your waitress at the restaurant, or the shop keeper in the nice branded store, is overweight. Desk jobs are easier – but not always as a lot of the senior managers doing the hiring are still male, and may prefer a nice-to-look-at employee…
A really interesting additional point is that fat boys don’t have the same stigma attached. Fat girls will be poked in the belly by grannies and told to lose weight. Fat boys will get an extra serving (you’re too skinny!). Success for a girl is highly dependent on looks, success for a guy is far more on earnings.
Soul Train Line Dance to Earth Wind & Fire’s – Mighty Mighty
When people knew how to dance.
UK Couple’s Home Renovation Leads to Rare Coin Hoard Worth $280,000
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When a couple living in an 18th-century North Yorkshire village home embarked on a renovation project, they were ready to spend money, and redoing the old kitchen floor was on the list. But before they could get past the first stage of tearing out the old floorboards the renovation workers stumbled upon a rare coin hoard, numbering more than 260 coins.
Ironically, what they found under their “ancient” kitchen floor increased their fortunes by 280,000 dollars (281,000 euros)! That’s the rough estimated auction value of the rare coin hoard found under their kitchen floorboards, which is now being sold off by Spink & Son, an auctioneer nearly as old as the coins in North Yorkshire hoard.
A Mixed Rare Coin Hoard Under An 18th-century Kitchen Floor
In 2019, in the village of Ellerby, in the historical home the North Yorkshire couple had lived in for ten years, early kitchen floor renovations led to a rare coin hoard fortune. According to the Smithsonian Magazine , workers who lifted the floorboards encountered an obstruction that they initially believed to be an electrical cable buried in concrete. Further investigation revealed a salt-glazed earthenware tumbler no bigger than a soda can buried 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) under the ground. Hearing coins rattle inside, they spilled out the contents and found a truly rare and unusual coin hoard, reported Livescience.
The rare coin hoard consisted of more than 260 coins, dating to between 1610 and 1727 AD. A single Brazilian coin was notable as it was in circulation in England in the 1720s.
Interestingly, included in the cache are two coins which are of greater value because they have mint errors. A George I guinea from 1720 with two tail sides instead of the king’s head on one side has been valued at around 4,590 dollars (4,610 euros) by the auctioneer. And a Charles II guinea from 1675 has the king’s name in Latin spelt incorrectly as (Craolvs instead of Carolvs) and is expected to fetch about 1,725 dollars (1,733 euros).
Metro.co quotes Gregory Edmund, an auctioneer with Spink & Son as saying, “This is a fascinating and highly important discovery. It is extraordinarily rare for hoards of English gold coins to ever come onto the marketplace. This find of over 260 coins is also one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain. They’re not mint perfect coins, they are coins that have had a hard life. It is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from so unassuming a find location. As a coin specialist of many years experience, I cannot recall a similar discovery in living memory, and it is therefore an enormous privilege to be able to properly document and explore this hoard for the benefit of future generations.”
Edmund added that the remarkable rare coin hoard accurately reflects the £50 and £100 coins that were used in 1610-1727 AD England.
The Coin Hoard Owners Were Merchants Mistrustful The Bank
Experts have been able to determine who the original owners of the coins were. “The coins almost certainly belonged to the Fernley-Maisters, Joseph and Sarah who married in 1694,” quotes CNN from the Spink & Son press release.
The Fernley-Maisters were a wealthy mercantile family from the 16th to the 18th century and many members of the extended clan lived in the area. They traded in iron ore, timber, and coal from the Baltic states. Beginning in the early 1700s, over the generations, many family members served in parliament.
After Joseph and Sara died, the family largely petered out and that’s probably why the coins were never retrieved despite being reasonably accessible.
But the real question is why were they stashed away in the first place?
“Joseph and Sarah clearly distrusted the newly-formed Bank of England, the 'banknote' and even the gold coinage of their day because they (chose) to hold onto so many coins dating to the English Civil War and beforehand. Why they never recovered the coins when they were really easy to find just beneath original 18th century floorboards is an even bigger mystery, but it is one hell of a piggy bank,” CNN quotes Edmund as saying.
Fortunately for the couple who now “own” the coin hoard, the coins do not fall under the specification for “treasure” under British law and they will get ownership of all except the Brazilian coin. The coins found in July 2019 have now been officially disclaimed as the youngest of them, a George I guinea from 1727, was less than 300 years old at the time of discovery, according to the Smithsonian Magazine .
The coins will go on auction in October 2022 and the overall proceeds should more than cover the couple’s expenses for all their historical home renovations!
The Case for a New American Civil War
by Dmitri Orlov for the Saker blog
Will the USA hold together through 2024? Earlier this year Covid-related complications took the life of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the bombastic perennial leader of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party. He was known not just for his inimitable oratory but also for the uncanny accuracy of his predictions. For example, he predicted the start of Russia’s Special Military Operation in the Ukraine almost to the day—months before the fact and at a time when nobody else had much of a clue as to what would happen. Another prediction of his reads as follows: “There won’t be a US presidential election in 2024 because there will no longer be a United States.”
Will he turn out to be prescient on this count too?
Let’s watch!
Zhirinovsky is by no means alone with making such a prediction. Recent opinion polls show over 40% of Americans expressing apprehensions that a new civil war is likely to break out over the next decade or so. Perish the thought that the good people surveyed had performed an independent analysis, based on which they were able to compute the probability of a civil war! By now, the vast majority of the people in the US have been conditioned to perceive reality as a mosaic composed of short news clips, sound bites, scenes no longer than can fit between two television commercials and miniature narratives that present this or that imaginary object in a positive or a negative light. They think that a civil war is likely because that’s what they have been told through mass media or the invisibly yet relentlessly chaperoned social media.
The oligarchy, which controls all of the above, is toying with two alternative business plans.
Plan A, which is more profitable and less risky, doesn’t feature a civil war while Plan B, risky though still profitable, does.
In either case, the profits accrue from confiscating wealth from the population; with Plan A, less of that wealth gets blown up, hence more profit. But Plan A requires securing complete obedience and docility from an increasingly distressed and restive population.
Paraphrasing Klaus Schwab, they have to put up with having nothing and pretend to be happy (as a condition for being allowed to stay indoors and fed).
To keep the US population at bay, the oligarchy must keep it supplied with vast quantities of junk food, liquor, drugs and pornography. And in spite of all the propaganda urging people to sort themselves into a rainbow of genders, most of them sterile, some women may still manage to get pregnant, refuse to have an abortion and actually give birth to children, preventing the population from shrinking as fast as the dwindling resource base. “Listen, women are getting pregnant every day in America, and this is a real issue,” quoth VP Kamala Harris. In spite of the politically incorrect term “women”—wombed men, that is—her message is crystal clear: her fellow-Americans should be spayed and neutered like the proper domestic animals she thinks they are. Your pets aren’t sterilized, don’t you now; they are transgender! Doesn’t that sound much more fashionable?
But what if the junk food, liquor, drug and pornography pipelines run dry up faster than the population can be whittled away using LGBT propaganda and free and plentiful abortions? Then it would be time for Plan B, where Americans get to shoot at each other using all of the small arms in their possession. A combination of Plans A and B is also theoretically possible, where the blue, democrat states are kept placated and pacified, and in fear of the red, republican states, where civil war rages and corpses litter the roadsides while, in turn, the red state denizens are kept deathly afraid of wandering into blue territory for fear of having their children castrated and their sacred guns confiscated. But such a precarious balance may be hard to strike and a far more likely scenario is one of stable disorder, where the oligarchy pools its most valuable human resources into a few well-defended enclaves while allowing the rest of the populace to succumb to internecine strife.
But neither Plan A, nor Plan B can address a major looming problem: how to discharge (cancel, that is, rather than fulfill) the responsibilities of the US federal government. The major ones are Social Security, SSI, Medicare and defense. Roughly half of US households receives significant financial help from the federal government while defense is the largest welfare program the world has ever witnessed. The US federal debt is already astronomic and amounts to roughly half of the world’s GDP. If it were a physical object, it would be plainly visible from outer space with the naked eye. It is still growing by leaps and bounds, with the 2022 budget deficit forecast to exceed $1 trillion, down from around $2 trillion the previous two years, but still a staggering amount.
How long this financial farce can continue is anyone’s guess, but with all the major creditor nations now in a race to sell off their US debt holdings, the writing is plainly on the wall. How to shed the twin burdens of foreign creditors and domestic dependents? Here, having a civil war that sacks Washington, DC and disbands the federal government would be most efficacious. Whatever local political structures remain would repudiate the federal debt as onerous and utterly preposterous and refuse to take over federal defense spending and social support programs; problem solved!
Joe Biden seems to be thinking along these lines already. In a recent speech in Philadelphia, he said: “For those brave right-wing Americans… if you want to fight against the country, you need an F-15. You need something little more than a gun.” Does he, with his son Hunter, have some F-15s they would like to sell to those brave right-wing Americans? Note that he mentioned F-15s, not F-35s: he’d like to furnish ancient yet effective, combat-ready aircraft for performing bombing runs against the US capital, not gold-plated, bug-riddled, never-quite-ready-for-combat boondoggles like the F-35. But before Washington, DC is ready to be struck from the political map, some major looting has to take place, via a major bout of political corruption.
The Ukraine, which has been Joe and Hunter Biden’s personal playground for years now, has been used as the main money-laundering hub. Of the over $10 billion the Biden administration has spent on the Ukraine so far, very little has actually made it to the Ukraine; the rest was used to line some pocket or some political campaign coffer or other right in the US. Of the weapons that did make it to the Ukraine, at least a third was sold on the international black market by the Kiev junta.
Even the weapons that did make it to the frontlines are being briskly traded away by foreign mercenaries and shipped off to parts unknown. The bits of it that do filter through to the troops get blown up or taken as trophies by the relentlessly (though very slowly and carefully) advancing Russians. Over the course of the Special Operation, the Russians have amassed quite a treasure trove of hugely expensive yet rather ineffectual, overcomplicated and quite fragile weapons systems that cannot be maintained in the field and were abandoned by retreating Ukrainians.
Another major bit of extra income has come from the sale of a major portion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China and other foreign nations: 300 million of the 700 million barrels have now been sold and the SPR now stands at its lowest level in 40 years. This is an interesting result, given that the shale oil bonanza peaked in 2019 and, with the drilling now concentrated in a single patch of the Permian Basin, and that, given very high depletion rates, it is set to be reduced to a trickle in as little as 2 or 3 years. Although fact checkers from fake news media outlets have cried foul, entities associated with Hunter Biden are said to have been involved.
Of course, we’ll never find out the full details because Hunter Biden is magic, having been placed far above the law: if he gets away with pedophilia, drug dealing, transporting hookers against state lines and other such crimes, then what’s a little (or a lot of) white-collar crime between fellow-crooks? Not to be outdone by his son, Biden-père and the rest of the democrat establishment appear poised to steal the midterm congressional elections in the most obvious and blatant way possible, making it impossible to continue to claim that the US is still any sort of democracy at all. Once the message that democracy is dead and that Washington is a den of thieves has been drummed into everyone’s heads, the path will be cleared for the opening salvos of Plan B.
But what if those “brave, right-wing Americans” on whom Biden seems to pin his hopes don’t come through and Plan B peters out with a whimper rather than go off with a bang? What if they just sit around in bars blubbering into their beers, then go home and polish their guns? Well, don’t expect the Russians or the Chinese to help! They could put the US out of its misery—but they won’t. The Russians are all stocked up on sunflower seeds (their choice over popcorn); likewise, the Chinese have stacked away plenty of rice chips. They will sit back and watch this pan-Eurasian celebration of Schadenfreude, not lifting a finger to help.
Nadav Ben-Yehuda
24-year-old Israeli climber Nadav Ben-Yehuda, who was 300 meters from the summit of Everest, gave up his dream of conquering the planet’s highest peak in order to save an injured Turkish climber.
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Ben-Yehuda described the incident as follows: “I passed two fresh corpses. The corpses were fresh, because they were the bodies of people on the same ropes along which I climbed, realizing that they were dying and not having the strength to move, people did not crawl away, but buckled up, and fell into a coma and died, those who continued to move stepped over them.
When I saw him, I recognized him. It was Aydin Irmak (Turkey), we met him in the camp. He was unconscious, he had no gloves, no oxygen, no crampons, his helmet was off. He was waiting for the end. Other climbers walked past him without lifting a finger, but I knew that if I passed by, he would surely die. I knew I should have at least tried to save him.
Aidin and I started the descent, it lasted 9 hours. It was very difficult to carry him because he was heavy. From time to time he regained consciousness, but then turned off again. When he came to, he screamed in pain and this made our descent even more difficult. Very slowly, but we descended, but at some point my oxygen mask broke, a little while later we met a climber from Malaysia, who was also on his last legs. It became clear that it was completely impossible to go further. I yelled at the climbers I met going up and demanded some oxygen for the two wounded, some responded … “
They reached the camp, were evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu, and were hospitalized. Everyone got frostbite, Nadav Ben-Yehuda suffered severe frostbite on his fingers as he was forced to take off his gloves during the rescue operation.
“I was faced with a choice – to be the youngest Israeli to climb Everest, which would be great for my career, or to try to take a climber off the mountain – I chose the second option and I managed to do it … Thanks to everyone who helped me in preparation and taught me, which gave me enough strength to go down the mountain myself and pull down the one in need of help “
(Nadav Ben Yehuda, 2012)
Caught in a Trap: We Can’t Go On Together With Suspicious Minds
A few months ago, one of my offspring texted and asked if I had read or heard anything about the new Elvis movie that was playing in theaters at the time. When I said “no”, they responded back that they had seen the film, that it was very good, and these words: “I didn’t know Elvis was that big of deal back then”.
So allow me some latitude as I’m going somewhere with this…
In my mind, I thought: “Really? How could my kid not know? Elvis Presley was considered the “king of rock and roll”.
On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t so odd. After all, Elvis music was not played around my kids when they were growing up; and I, personally, have only considered the man, vaguely, as an American historical icon.
I considered my own cognitive associations involving Elvis:
– My dad had some Elvis gospel and Christmas albums.
– I have heard most of Elvis Presley’s songs at one time or another.
– I eventually learned that many Elvis songs were first performed by other musicians and blues singers.
– I had seen portions of various Elvis movies while surfing through TV channels, as well as some segments of an early 1980s (or late 1970s?) documentary which ran years later on HBO (or another premium cable TV channel like HBO).
– My sister-in-law was always a huge Elvis fan, even to the point of placing Elvis figurines and pictures in her home. She is fifteen years older than me and once when the topic came up, I asked her if she had ever seen the aforementioned documentary and the segment where Elvis was in the back of a limousine referencing his after-show “adventures” with a female fan the night before. My sister-in-law replied: “Yeah, I saw that too. I know he was like that but I don’t choose to remember him that way”.
– When I was in my early teens I would sometimes stay at my cousin’s house. He was my age and lived in a large American city. One day, during a week I was there, his older sister (i.e. my female cousin) and her two teenage girlfriends had tickets to attend an Elvis concert. They spent most of the day getting ready, trying on outfits, putting on make-up, and monopolizing the bathrooms. I remember my Aunt giving me a wide-eyed look of exasperation and exclaiming: “It mystifies me how those girls can spend seven hours getting ready for a two-hour concert!” And I’m fairly certain that was the first time I had ever heard the word “mystifies” spoken in a sentence.
– Then the relatively large impact on American society after Elvis died in 1977.
– And, finally, the bizarre performances of Elvis impersonators. I can understand why cover singers would perform some of the Elvis songs, but do they really need to dress, talk, and act like him too?
If that’s all that came to my mind when I thought of Elvis, then I suppose it is understandable that today’s young adults might not fully realize the emotional impact Elvis made on the generation(s) preceding mine.
A short time after the text exchange with my kid, I read that Elvis Presley’s previous wife, Pricilla, and his daughter, Lisa Marie, liked the film. I found that interesting and was actually a little surprised. In fact, I was now somewhat curious about the movie knowing it was produced and filmed in such a way that it earned the endorsement of Presley’s ex-wife and daughter.
After doing some cursory research on the film, I learned it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2002, it was released in the U.S. the following month, and was said to be a critical and financial success.
Knowing all that, but primarily upon the recommendation of my progeny, I decided I would see the film and asked my wife to join me when we found the time. Unfortunately, we never did find the time to see the movie in our local theater before Elvis had left the building, so to speak.
As luck would have it, however, National Cinema Day occurred over this past Labor Day weekend and a nearby theater was playing a re-release of the film. Even better, the tickets were only $3 each.
Sold. We saw the show.
However, I never expected the movie to be an ominous morality tale that is particularly pertinent to our current life and times.
The opening scenes showcased the sexual carnality of a couple dirty dancing to blues music and contrasted with the rapturous emotionalism at a gospel tent revival. In my view, the comparison was a metaphor demonstrating the duality dividing through the heart of not just young Elvis Presley, but within all individuals and societies.
Colonel Tom Parker was played by Tom Hanks who creepily performed the role of a parasitical carnival barker slowly draining the vitality of Elvis, who Parker perceived as the “Greatest Show on Earth”. Overall, however, the film portrayed Parker as a cleverly clownish carny milking the “marks” of their money at every opportunity.
Furthermore, if the revelations in the movie are accurate, then Parker was an indebted grifter operating under a false identity and, therefore, easily blackmailed by government agents and gangsters. As a result, he, in turn, gaslighted Elvis into becoming a never-ending meal ticket, first, as a controversial rock singer, later as a B-movie star and, eventually, as an overweight, burnt-out Vegas showman.
Elvis wanted to innovate and grow and make his own decisions, but Parker didn’t think these would be in his (Parker’s) best interests, so security dangers were manufactured. The threats allowed Elvis to be easily gaslighted into choosing safety over his own freedom; and all the while being drugged to mitigate his ever-increasing mental anguish.
The movie addressed the early childhood of Elvis through his death in 1977 and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were sympathetically addressed in the film, but NOT the murder of President John F. Kennedy. It wasn’t even mentioned once; neither was the controversy surrounding Presley’s courtship of Priscilla Beaulieu when she was only 14 years old; in spite of their relationship being a main element of the film.
Peculiar? Perhaps.
Regardless, throughout his career, Elvis lacked the insight and courage to free himself from Parker’s spell until, in time, the singer was transitioned into an obese and befuddled puppet caught in Parker’s financial trap.
Sound familiar?
In the same manner as Tom Hank’s portrayal of Colonel Tom Parker, establishment authoritarians around the globe have indebted themselves to central banking gangsters and have, in turn, gaslighted naive citizens into becoming drug-addled wage slaves lacking both the insight and courage to break free from their mental chains.
As a result, and similar to the Shakespearian tragedy of Elvis Presley’s life and death, it appears the direction and momentum of current world events are speeding toward a conclusion as inevitable as any snuff film.
For more than a century now, Americans have been gaslighted by materialistic carnival barkers into accepting all that glitters. And every Big Show must have a grand finale. Accordingly, since 2016, we seem to have entered America’s sordid Vegas years and just prior to the tragic ending.
The dreamweavers continually cast spells; and, for us, it is like watching a movie but with genuine consequences. Indeed, we have witnessed continuous gaslighting over the past several years: Russiagate, Ukrainegate, banana republic impeachment trials, Covid, the 2020 Presidential Election as the “most secure election in American history”, and the ensuing January 6th “insurrection”.
Now, American law enforcement institutions have been weaponized to the point of raiding the home of a former U.S. president.
The FBI invasion into Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort occurred on August 8, 2022. Three days later, a suspect was shot dead after attempting to break into a Cincinnati FBI field office. According to the news headlines, the suspect’s name was Ricky Shiffer and, he definitely appeared to hit all of the right notes:
Officials are investigating Shiffer’s ties to the US Capitol riot and right wing extremism as he appears to have claimed that he was present in Washington on 6 January on Truth Social, a pro-Trump social media site.Federal agents were already looking into Shiffer’s ties to the Capitol attack before the FBI standoff, the New York Times reports.Shiffer also appeared to support Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of a stolen election in 2020 and responded to social media posts by pro-Trump figures such as congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr.His social media posts made reference to the FBI’s search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Monday.– SOURCE
A few days afterward, I posted an article that stated “everything seen or heard in The Really Big Show® is a lie”.
The next day, in the thread of that post on another website, I speculated on the real reason behind the Trump raid as follows:
The FBI and DHS have observed since the Aug. 8 raid an increase in threats posted online that include a “threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters and issuing general calls for ‘civil war’ and ‘armed rebellion.’”– SOURCE
So, it appears, after the Covid deception and the 2020 election debacle, increasing internet censorship, the re-energizing of the liberal base by SCOTUS reopening the abortion debate, rising inflation, billions to Ukraine, blue-collar workers taxed to pay for the gender studies degrees of woke Snowflakes, the Afghanistan debacle, invasion at the southern border, and MAGA candidates winning election primaries…. it has become quite clear as to why “Dark Brandon” officially declared war on 70+ million MAGA voters in his “red rant” address to the nation on Thursday, September 1, 2022:
The day after Biden’s diatribe, the propaganda machines were set for maximum output:
By Friday afternoon, posts on forums popular among white supremacists and far-right extremists called for the assassination of Biden, and named Jewish administration officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as potential targets. Declarations of civil war were also appearing, according to documents detailing some of the threats.“On Gab, one user posted a series of violent threats accusing Biden of stealing the election,” according to a threat alert from Site Intelligence Group sent to law enforcement agencies and others on Friday. Trump and many of his supporters have long claimed, without evidence, that the 2020 presidential election won by Biden was stolen from Trump due to widespread voter fraud.Site Intelligence Group, which tracks online extremism activity, issued several threat alerts detailing calls for violence in response to Biden’s speech. The potential threats were posted in online forums tied to the Proud Boys, neo-Nazis and other extremist groups.– SOURCE
Or perhaps the FBI planted plans for a dirty bomb at Mar-a-Lago.
Whatever the false flag, would you be surprised if one (or more) took place soon? Me neither. The blame, of course, would be placed on MAGA “extremists” and it would simultaneously address multiple current problems for the globalist carnival barkers – especially if the psyop occurred prior to the U.S. Midterm Elections this fall.
Conclusion
In the end, the Greatest Show on Earth is not the one we see. It is, in fact, the gaslighting that emanates from behind the stage. Just as Colonial Tom Parker tricked Elvis into choosing safety over the singer’s better judgment, so, too, do modern-day carnies deceive the “marks” into playing their fool’s game.
In the latest film version of Elvis Presley’s life, and, seemingly, in reality, Elvis and Colonel Parker had a mutually dependent relationship rooted in the materialistic desires of greed and security. Parker gave himself credit for the success of Elvis and the singer, in response, considered the Colonel as a protector, of sorts, overseeing the minutia of the daily grind; and the devil was always in the details. In a twisted fashion, the two even appeared to have an affection for each other as Parker parasitically profited from the relationship and as Presley was “protected” (wink, wink) from threats near and far.
And when Elvis grew suspicious of Parker, that’s when the king of rock and roll fully realized exactly how owned he was: and the more Presley tried to pull away, the more Parker gaslighted. Of course, the gaslighting was only necessary because Elvis had free will; but the singer chose not to reclaim his surrendered natural rights out of fear, or complacency, or both.
In like fashion, American’s have experienced safety over freedom gaslighting on many occasions: In the last quarter-century alone, we’ve seen 911 and the War on Terrorists, Saddam and Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Evil Trump against Progressive America, mandates versus the COVID virus, the bully Putin invading Ukraine, and, now, the New Normal Americans against MAGA extremists.
Over and over, it’s always the same old trick dialectic: Love Big Brother and accept his protection from the imaginary Emmanuel Goldstein that is sneaking up from behind, or hiding just ahead, and around every corner, near and far, at home and abroad.
We’re caught in a trap. We can’t get out. And we can’t go on together with suspicious minds.
Slow-Cooker Three Cheese Broccoli Soup
I LOVE this soup.
Three cheese broccoli soup is a comfort food classic that will warm and satisfy the whole family. Get everything ready with just 15 minutes of prep, and your slow cooker will do the rest. The result is a deliciously easy slow-cooker broccoli cheese soup that will have everyone spooning up seconds.
Additional shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, if desired
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First time using this recipe and it did NOT disappoint!! What attracted me was how easy it was to prepare, but the taste blew me away! We just had our first snow storm and this soup is so fitting!!
Here’s the thing: Poland can’t go to war with Russia, because it is a member of NATO. If Poland goes to war with Russia, that means the United States, Britain, and Germany, among others, all have to join in. So instead of having an irrelevant war that no one cares about in Eastern Europe, you have a world war.
There is virtually no chance that if NATO went to war with Russia, China wouldn’t join in to aid Russia, because Russia has become a massive buffer state for China (in more ways than just geographically, though part of that is geographic).
Poland could end up in a military conflict with Russia within three to ten years, Deputy Defense Minister Marcin Ociepa told the Polish newspaper DGP in an interview published on Wednesday. Warsaw would need the time remaining before the supposed war to acquire as many arms as possible, he added. “There is a serious risk of a war with Russia,” Ociepa said, adding that the timing of this potential war depends “on how the conflict in Ukraine ends.”According to the official, it would ultimately depend on “how many years Russia will need to rebuild its military potential.” He did not identify any additional factors that could either increase or decrease the risk of a conflict.
So the only factors are how the Ukraine conflict ends and how much military power Russia has when it’s over. There is nothing with diplomacy, or Poland’s relationship to Russia. And there is no interest in avoiding it. It’s just a matter of when.
Ociepa raised the issue while describing the “geopolitical reality” that was supposedly forcing Poland to rapidly increase its own defense potential. “We have to use this time for the maximum rearmament of the Polish Army,” he told the newspaper, as he defended what the Polish media called a “record” defense budget, augmented by certain “undefined” additional expenses.Poland’s draft state budget for the next year entails record outlays on the armed forces, amounting to 97 billion zloty ($20.52 billion), Poland’s PAP news agency reported. Some additional funds for modernizing the army would be raised through the extra-budgetary Armed Forces Support Fund managed by the Polish state bank BGK, it added.
People should really be angry about this. What right does Poland have to commit us all to a war with Russia? They are effectively saying they are going to start a war by saying that it is inevitable, and we’re all going to get dragged along with them. Just like with the Ukraine, this is all about spite, about trying to do revenge for the USSR. That’s what drives these people.
Frankly, they never had a right to tell people to do these sanctions so everyone has to freeze. In the UK, they are doing game shows where they will pay your energy bills.
This is about Eastern European democracy, we’re told.
They’re not even making the argument that this has anything to do with the safety, security, or prosperity of the people paying for it, which is in some ways an entirely new kind of war. The Jews who run these wars used to at least have to tell you that it somehow benefited you – now they just tell you that it vaguely benefits people in some country you know nothing about and have no reason to care about.
Honestly, I’m in some way surprised that there isn’t more pushback in Europe over this. In America, people are still being told that it is the shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline that has caused a rise in energy prices. People here don’t even know that Europe exists, or they think Joe Biden is the president there also. Conservatives will argue with you if you say the war on Russia is causing these prices, and say it’s all Joe Biden. I say: “yeah, you’re right, it is all Joe Biden – he’s the one who declared war on Russia – just like he declared war on you, you fat boomer monkey.”
I have no idea if the average European supports this war against Russia like the average American does. I would think they don’t, but how is it possible they are not protesting?
A game show will pay your heating bill? This is ridiculous.
People will just tolerate absolutely anything. No one will do anything.
Al Di Meola – Song to the Pharao Kings
Enjoy.
Where you live will determine your happiness
What is the level of support from the Chinese people for the Communist Party of China?
There’s an ever-growing cohort of increasingly desperate Covid long-haulers, many affected for over two years, having difficult legal conversations about medical early retirement and independence payment support. They need answers, treatments – and to know that we take the situation sufficiently seriously to stop creating more cases. Where’s the herd immunity? Danny Altmann, Professor of Immunology, Imperial College London.
Remember when network talking heads discussed vaccination rates with the fervent ignorance they usually reserve for the stock market? Remember when Covid was a national obsession?
Then the narrative simply changed.
As deaths rose, coverage fell, leaving only The Narrative: “Filthy Chinese eating habits started Covid. Either that or they developed it in a lab and it escaped. They suppress the epidemic by suppressing their people. We have done all a democracy can do”.
Regardless of the veracity or falsity of those claims, media and governments sustain The Narrative with pre-emptive timing, artful framing, diligent suppression, breathtaking omission, ingenious manipulation, and flat out lies. It’s propaganda on a global scale but, cui bono? How many Americans benefit from this? How many Europeans?
Ignoring the alternative hypothesis
As we shall see, Covid-19 probably reached China after Europe but Western governments were ready with The Narrative. The Narrative surfaced only hours after the Chinese discovered it, “It originated in China!” But Yale’s Jeffrey Sachs says, ‘scientific’ studies supporting the official view, that Covid came from animals in a Wuhan market, were faked. “The scientists who are saying that now said the same thing on February 4, 2020, before doing any research. And published the same statement in March 2020, before they had any facts at all. So they’re creating a narrative. And they’re denying the alternative hypothesis[1] without looking closely at it”.
Framing
After the narrative stigmatized China (‘Wuhan virus’), it promoted high-tech American vaccines as a panacea, but showed no interest in learning – or teaching us about – the virus, baffling the medical community. In January, 2020, two weeks after hearing of Covid, a UW professor of infectious diseases asked permission to use ongoing flu testing to monitor for the virus. Federal officials refused, repeatedly and, when she persisted, issued a cease-and-desist order. When fifty-seven soldiers arrived at a Nebraska military base from Wuhan, local infectious disease specialist Dr. James Lawler asked to test them for Covid. The CDC refused. When The Lancet’s Covid Commission asked about the CDC’s research program on SARS-like viruses, the NIH refused to discuss it, and continues to block a WHO inspection like China’s.
Suppression
This one blew me away: when NIH scientists’ published results contradict the official narrative, the media ignore them. Brazilian virologists found Covid antibodies from November 2019, Spanish virologists found them from March 2019, the WHO in Milan in November 2019, and Italians in September, 2019. France found an indigenous outbreak in 2019, and French military athlete Elodie Clouvel and her boyfriend caught Covid at the Wuhan military games. Dozens of Virginians and Marylanders died from a still-unexplained respiratory outbreak with Covid symptoms. After the Mayo Clinic ruled out vaping as a cause of death in the EVALI epidemic, media dropped the story, despite the fact that the deceased had Covid symptoms[2]. Belleville, NJ, Mayor Michael Melham was seropositive in November, 2019, and so were thousands of others, according to their testimonies.
When twenty-seven CDC scientists analyzed archived Red Cross blood taken back in December, 2019, they found 1% – 4% of Americans Covid seropositive, which qualifies it as an endemic infection. The CDC certified the world’s first[3] Covid death because it occurred in America, not China. And the WHO has abandoned its search for Patient X, always the first step in tracing virus’ origins.
There are a dozen Pulitzer Prizes here, but no journalists willing to question The Narrative.
Omission
Herd immunity has been the West’s default policy since the Plague of Justinian, though whether it is applicable to Covid is a question we are settling by means of the largest human experiment in human history.
Historically, when plagues arrived, nobles called in the priests then retreated to their hunting lodges until herd immunity was established. Says former UK Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn, “I distinctly remember going to a [February, 2020] meeting at the Cabinet Office, where we got a lecture about herd immunity. It was absurd that actually you would build up herd immunity by allowing people to die. So, while the government was going into eugenic formulas, they were not making adequate preparations”. The West’s default policy remains benign neglect, confirmed by the failure of President Ford’s program of Swine Flu vaccinations.
Since they had helped write the WHO’s pandemic playbook, American and Chinese public health officials advocated following its recommendations for dealing with Covid, and most governments tried to do so but mixed messages, political squabbling, incompetence, and a dearth of useful information in the media eroded public trust in the West.
Then, swiftly, silently, smoothly, as deaths began rising again, The Narrative became ‘Covid is ‘over’, leaving post-Covid America resembling postwar Afghanistan: suffering 100,000 annual, excess Covid deaths and wrecking millions of lives with long Covid.
The ‘vaccine’ narrative
The narrative remained laser-focused on the benefits of vaccination and ignored its serious side effects:[4] it prevents neither infection nor transmission, must be taken before infection, and is so briefly efficacious that the CDC no longer regards it as significant: “COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status”. Now The Narrative promotes a pharmacopeia of vaccinations while demonizing alternate ways to contain the virus. It still ignores front-line clinicians and serious policy discussions, and leaves alternatives unexplored[5].
Innocent Explanation?
Doubtless there are compelling reasons for Western governments and media to collude to shape the Covid narrative but, as Jeffrey Sachs asks, why deny the alternative hypothesis[6] without even examining it? Again, cui bono?
Meanwhile, the outcome of this experiment will not only determine how nations respond to future epidemics, but even alter their standing in the world.
[1] After a Malaysian Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, the narrative, “Russia did it,” was established by the time the last pieces of wreckage hit the ground, without mentioning that only two countries have previously shot down passenger airliners: the US and Ukraine.
[2] No EVALI cases were reported outside the USA, and the CDC refused to share biopsy material with researchers.
[3] According to the CDC, Lovell ‘Cookie’ Brown died of Covid on January 9, 2020. China’s first death followed a week later.
[4] President Ford authorized immunization after an outbreak of Swine Flu A. Big Pharma demanded guaranteed profits and indemnity. The vaccine triggered Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients and the program was abandoned.
[5] In the year China spent developing a vaccine, they kept deaths near zero by prevention. Regular physical activity, daily exposure to sunlight, weight loss, herbs, and exercise. CCTV ran explanations of why N95 masks work and how to wear them. Epidemiologists, statisticians, virologists, preventive medics, and economists explained what was going on. But when two hundred million old folk refused to get vaccinated they backed off, and to this day, ninety percent of the population has not experienced a lockdown.
[6] < Denying alternatives without examining them is SOP. After a Malaysian Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, the narrative, “Russia did it,” was established by the time the last pieces of wreckage hit the ground, though only two countries had previously shot down passenger airliners: the US and Ukraine.
A Bad Ass Tony Soprano Moment
I love this.
Does Xi Jinping’s wife have rather an expensive materialistic taste?
Peng Liyuan is the wife to the most powerful man in China.
“Before Xi came to prominence he was only known as the husband of Peng Liyuan”.
Ms. Peng was way way more famous, popular, and a famous celebrity on stage and TV for hundreds of millions, way before China even knew her husband.
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Super talented soprano, she is well liked for her soaring renditions, which she has been performing for citizens and troops since she was 18 years old.
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She is definitely very smart as well. Books are written about her.
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Rare indeed for a first lady who looks like a model but is ranked as a major-general. Even with DVDs.
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She knows her most important duties to Mr Xi and to China. (Charity, AIDS program; Earthquake, Rural Education, Ambassador for anti-tobacco; Ambassador – tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS for the World Health Organization, etc).
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Does she have an expensive materialistic taste?
I really doubt it, she is too smart and sensible for that. Mr Xi, too, is too smart and principled for that.
All Chinese would be very proud to see her shine in her nicest clothes. She represents the high elegance of the modern Chinese woman and is a great ambassador for China wherever she goes.
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Copies of her overcoat, handbag, scarf and shoes appeared almost immediately in online stores.
The “Chinese First Lady” chooses to wear Chinese brands rather than draping herself in foreign luxury labels. This wins her wide praise. Yet, her sharp sense of style won her a place on Vanity Fair’s international best dressed list in 2013 (her friend Michelle Obama just missed the list).
See, she is smart.
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I think she is about the best companion Mr Xi Jinping could ever have. “He is one lucky man – “..decided within 40 mins that she will be his wife”. Peng shared that she deliberately wore ugly army trousers just to test his character”. I guessed she wore no luxury things either.
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And they always look so cool and smart together.
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EDIT:
Ma Ke is the local designer often quoted as associated with Ms Peng. She has described Ms Peng’s current style as “neat, simple, elegant but with a strong presence.” She added she wasn’t concerned with presenting a “first lady” style as she is with presenting an image of a modern Chinese woman who is “independent-minded, affectionate and full of strength”.
Putin Lays Out How U.S. Caused Its Own Inflation Crisis
Spot on.
Summer Is Nearly Over, The Fall Is Almost Here, And Winter Is Coming…
I have been hearing from so many people that have a really bad feeling about what the months ahead will bring. Global events are starting to spiral out of control, and it has become exceedingly clear that we are rapidly moving into extremely challenging times. In the past, we would always talk about famine, war and pestilence in hypothetical terms, but now they have become clear and present dangers. For weeks, I have been warning that the period of relative stability that we have been enjoying this summer would soon be over. The fall is almost here, and winter is coming. Of course the difficulties that we will be facing as 2022 rolls into 2023 will just be the beginning of our problems. The years in front of us aren’t going to look anything like the years that we have just been through, and many will be absolutely shocked by how fast conditions change.
Today, I went to the grocery store and I was horrified by how much prices have risen.
But these prices will look like bargains six months from now.
As I have carefully been documenting, we are in the beginning stages of the worst global food crisis that any of us have ever seen.
Right now, crops are being devastated by endless drought all over the globe. China is currently experiencing the worst drought that it has witnessed in recorded history, the western half of the U.S. is in the midst of the worst multi-year megadrought in 1,200 years, and Europe is enduring the worst drought that it has been through in at least 500 years.
Agricultural production is going to be way down all over Europe in 2022, and now the energy crisis is threatening crops that have actually been grown successfully.
That is because putting harvested vegetables in cold storage is no longer profitable because of how insanely high energy prices have become.
Around 29 tonnes of leeks are lost. It has a gross value of around 700,000. “This is madness. This is food that should have been harvested and taken care of,” says Gjestvang.On the farm, the family grows around 3,000 tonnes of vegetables each growing season. The leeks had normally been taken to cold storage, so that they would be found in Norwegian vegetable counters this winter. But the calculation simply does not add up for the farmer.With today’s electricity prices, Gjestvang does not see it as financially sound to spend money on storing the vegetables. In that case, it will be a purely loss-making project, he believes.
So tons and tons of good vegetables will rot instead of showing up in the stores in the months ahead.
Gjestvang knows that this is a tremendous waste, but he just can’t afford to pay 16 times as much for cooling than he did last year…
In the high season, Gjestvang uses around 80,000 kilowatt-hours a month for cooling. Previously, Gjestvang paid around [NOK] 24,000 for electricity per month. Now the price is almost 16 times as high.The way the market is now, with a cautiously high electricity price of NOK five [the country’s base currency], it will be NOK 400,000. It is not possible to achieve, he says.
This is happening all over Europe.
If Europeans think that vegetable prices are high now, just wait until we get into early 2023.
Meanwhile, crops are failing here in the United States on a widespread basis. The following comes from the Washington Post…
It was a bad year for corn. And for tomatoes. And for many other American crops.Farmers, agricultural economists and others taking stock of this summer’s growing season say drought conditions and extreme weather have wreaked havoc on many row crops, fruits and vegetables, with the American Farm Bureau Federation suggesting yields could be down by as much as a third compared with last year.
If yields really are down “by as much as a third” what do you think that will do to food prices?
It doesn’t take a genius to answer that question.
A global food crisis is here, and there is no short-term hope on the horizon.
In fact, one UN official is now projecting that total global grain production could be down another 40 percent in 2023 due to elevated fertilizer prices…
More than six months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the global fertilizer crunch threatens to starve a planet as prices are too high for some farmers ahead of the next planting season.That’s the view of Maximo Torero, chief economist from the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), who told Bloomberg TV that elevated fertilizer prices could decrease global grain production by upwards of 40% in the next planting season.
If that actually happened, it would be catastrophic.
The one thing that would really help is if the war in Ukraine ended. That would definitely stabilize global energy prices and give us a chance to start digging our way out of this mess.
Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen.
Instead of trying to find a way to achieve peace with Russia, the Biden administration continues to escalate matters…
The Biden administration is arming Ukraine with weapons that can do serious damage to Russian forces, and, unlike early in the war, U.S. officials don’t appear worried about Moscow’s reaction.In the past several months, Washington has detailed tranches of new drones, harder-hitting missiles and deadly rocket systems as part of billions of dollars pledged to the former Soviet country. The clear support is a far cry from the early days of the war, when the U.S. government seemed hesitant to list exactly what was being sent into Ukraine so as not to tip off or draw the ire of Moscow.
All of this assistance is starting to really help on the battlefield.
In recent days, a counter-offensive in the Kharkiv area has had great success. Apparently a very large number of foreign fighters under the umbrella of “the international legion of Ukraine” are involved in this counter-offensive. But the Russians suspect that a lot of these foreign fighters are actually special operations personnel from the United States, the UK and other NATO countries. If that is true, the war in Ukraine has now gone to an entirely new and dangerous level.
Of course the Russians continue to escalate matters as well.
Cutting off the flow of gas to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was a very aggressive move, and now Europe is facing a winter in which large segments of the economy literally shut down for the foreseeable future…
In addition, energy prices have reached a level that threatens the existence of many companies. Just this week, German toilet paper company Hakle filed for bankruptcy, with the owners citing unsustainable energy and material costs as the primary factor. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that Europe’s steel industry, which requires massive amounts of cheap natural gas to run, is slashing production and facing severe financial headwinds. Other sectors, such as chemical production, agriculture, and automating are all facing unprecedented hurdles as the energy crisis continues to grip Europe.Cries for help from the once booming German economy are now coming from business leaders, associations, and consumers, with the Federation of German Industries (BDI) also warning of a wave of bankruptcies due to energy cost inflation. A new analysis by the BDI states that this is a major challenge for 58 percent of companies, and 34 percent believe the current crisis represents a matter of survival. Germany is no exception either, with warning from the United Kingdom showing that six in ten manufacturing companies face the risk of closure due to the energy crisis.
The fall of the European economy has arrived, and the winter that follows is going to be extraordinarily painful.
We are facing a massive global food crisis, a massive global energy crisis, a massive global inflation crisis and a war with Russia all at the same time.
And to be honest, what we have been through so far is just the very small tip of a very large iceberg.
Decades of incredibly bad decisions have brought us to this point, and our leaders continue to make even more incredibly bad decisions.
So buckle up, because the ride ahead is going to be extremely unpleasant.
Chunky Tomato Soup
It’s gonna be cold soon. This would be the perfect item for the kitchen stove, don’t you know…
Put a spin on creamy tomato soup! Every spoonful is loaded with chunks of celery, carrots and tomatoes.
Chunky Tomato Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium stalks celery, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
2 cans (28 oz each) Italian-style (plum) tomatoes, undrained
What Putin and China are doing this week will change EVERYTHING
This is a followup to an earlier video early last week. (The one with the prime 9 minutes of info and then an infomercial).
This one continues on that venue, and is keeping us advised of the massive changes globally that is not being reported in the West. It’s about the USD, and the new currency that will be used throughout Asia.
Worth a watch! Do not be thrown off with the infomercial after 9 minutes or so. This is good, solid intel here. Pay attention.
A scientific expedition in Antarctica discovers the remnants of an alien spaceship that had crashed there millions of years ago, and decides – unwisely – to melt the frozen remnants of one of the forms found nearby. When the alien being revives and reveals incredible shape-changing abilities and other stupendous powers, the race is on not only to save themselves but also and especially to save the whole human race from destruction.
First published in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, this 22,500-word novella — that became the basis of John Carpenter’s celebrated 1982 film The Thing — was written by the magazine’s recently-appointed editor, John Campbell [1], who had changed the name of the magazine that year and who piloted its evolution and that of the whole sci-fi genre to a more serious, thoughtful and literary basis.
Under his leadership Astounding became the leading science-fiction magazine in the late thirties, the forties and the early fifties, the golden age of science-fiction.
CHAPTER I
THE place stank. A queer, mingled stench that only the ice-buried cabins of an Antarctic camp know, compounded of reeking human sweat, and the heavy, fish-oil stench of melted seal blubber. An overtone of liniment combated the musty smell of sweat- and snow-drenched furs. The acrid odor of burnt cooking fat, and the animal, not-unpleasant smell of dogs, diluted by time, hung in the air. Lingering odors of machine oil contrasted sharply with the taint of harness dressing and leather. Yet somehow, through all that reek of human beings and their associates — dogs, machines and cooking — came another taint. It was a queer, neck-ruffling thing, a faintest suggestion of an odor alien among the smells of industry and life. And it was a life-smell. But it came from the thing that lay bound with cord and tarpaulin on the table, dripping slowly, methodically onto the heavy planks, dank and gaunt under the unshielded glare of the electric light. Blair, the little bald-pated biologist of the expedition, twitched nervously at the wrappings, exposing clear, dark ice beneath and then pulling the tarpaulin back into place restlessly. His little birdlike motions of suppressed eagerness danced his shadow across the fringe of dingy gray underwear hanging from the low ceiling, the equatorial fringe of stiff, graying hair around his naked skull a comical halo about the shadow’s head. Commander Garry brushed aside the lax legs of a suit of underwear, and stepped toward the table. Slowly his eyes traced around the rings of men sardined into the Administration Building. His tall, stiff body straightened finally, and he nodded. “Thirty-seven. All here.” His voice was low, yet carried the clear authority of the commander by nature, as well as by title. “You know the outline of the story back of that find of the Secondary Pole Expedition. I have been conferring with second-in-Command McReady, and Norris, as well as Blair and Dr. Copper. There is a difference of opinion, and because it involves the entire group, it is only just that the entire Expedition personnel act on it. “I am going to ask McReady to give you the details of the story, because each of you has been too busy with his own work to follow closely the endeavors of the others. McReady?” Moving from the smoke-blued background, McReady was a figure from some forgotten myth, a looming, bronze statue that held life, and walked. Six feet four inches he stood as he halted beside the table, and, with a characteristic glance upward to assure himself of room under the lower ceiling beam, straightened. His rough, clashingly orange windproof jacket he still had on, yet on his huge frame it did not seem misplaced. Even here, four feet beneath the drift-wind that droned across the Antarctic waste above the ceiling, the cold of the frozen continent leaked in, and gave meaning to the harshness of the man. And he was bronze – his great red-bronze beard, the heavy hair that matched it. The gnarled, corded hands gripping, relaxing, gripping relaxing on the table planks were bronze. Even the deep-sunken eyes beneath heavy brows were bronzed. Age-resisting endurance of the metal spoke in the cragged heavy outlines of his face, and the mellow tones of the heavy voice. “Norris and Blair agree on one thing, that animal we found was not-terrestrial in origin. Norris fears there may be danger in that; Blair says there is none.
“BUT I’ll go back to how, and why, we found it. To all that was known before we came here, it appeared that this point was exactly over the South Magnetic Pole of Earth. The compass does point straight down here, as you all know. The more delicate instruments of the physicists, instruments especially designed for this expedition and its study of the magnetic pole, detected a secondary effect, a secondary, less powerful magnetic influence about 80 miles southwest of here. “The Secondary Magnetic Expedition went out to investigate it. There is no need for details. We found it, but it was not the huge meteorite or magnetic mountain Norris had expected to find. Iron ore is magnetic, of course; iron more so — and certain special steels even more magnetic from the surface indications, the secondary pole we found was small, so small that the magnetic effect it had was preposterous. No magnetic material conceivable could have that effect. Soundings through the ice indicated it was within one hundred feet of the glacier surface. “I think you should know the structure of the place. There is a broad plateau, a level sweep that runs more than 150 miles due south from the Secondary station, Van Wall says. He didn’t have time or fuel to fly farther, but it was running smoothly due south then. Right there, where that buried thing was, there is an ice-drowned mountain ridge, a granite wall of unshakable strength that has damned back the ice creeping from the south. “And four hundred miles due south is the South Polar Plateau. You have asked me at various times why it gets warmer here when the wind rises, and most of you know. As a meteorologist I’d have staked my word that no wind could blow at -70 degrees — that no more than a 5mile wind could blow at -50 — without causing warming due to friction with ground, snow and ice and the air itself. “We camped there on the lip of that ice-drowned mountain range for twelve days. We dug out camp into the blue ice that formed the surface, and escaped most of it. But for twelve consecutive days the wind blew at 45 miles an hour. It went as high as 48, and fell to 41 at times. The temperature was -63 degrees. It rose to -60 and fell to -68. It was meteorologically impossible, and it went on uninterruptedly for twelve days and twelve nights. “Somewhere to the south, the frozen air of South Polar Plateau slides down from that 18,000foot bowl, down a mountain pass, over a glacier, and starts north. There must be a funnelling mountain chain that directs it, and sweeps it away for four hundred miles to hit that bald plateau where we found the secondary pole, and 350 miles farther north reaches the Antarctic Ocean. “It’s been frozen there since Antarctica froze twenty million years ago. There never has been a thaw there. “Twenty million years ago Antarctica was beginning to freeze. We’ve investigated, thought and built speculations. What we believe happened was about like this. “Something came down out of space, a ship. We saw it there in the blue ice, a thing like a submarine without a conning tower or directive vanes. 280 feet long and 45 feet in diameter at its thickest. “Eh, Van Wall? Space? Yes, but I’ll explain that better later.” McReady’s steady voice went on. “It came down from space, driven and lifted by forces men haven’t discovered yet, and somehow — perhaps something went wrong then — it tangled with Earth’s magnetic field. It came south here, out of control probably, circling the magnetic pole. That’s a savage country there, but when Antarctica was still freezing it must have been a thousand times more savage. There must have been blizzard snow, as well as drift, new snow falling as the continent glaciated. The swirl there must have been particularly bad, the wind hurling a solid blanket of white over the lip of that now buried mountain.
“THE SHIP struck solid granite head-on, and cracked up. Not every one of the passengers in it was killed, but the ship must have been ruined, her driving mechanism locked. It tangled with Earth’s field, Norris believes. Nothing made by intelligent beings can tangle with the dead immensity of a planet’s natural forces and survive. “One of its passengers stepped out. The wind we saw there never fell below 41, and the temperature never rose above -60. Then — the wind must have been stronger. And there was drift falling in a solid sheet. The thing was lost completely in ten paces.” He paused for a moment, the deep, steady voice giving way to the drone of wind overhead, and the uneasy, malicious gurgling in the pipe of the galley stove. Drift — a drift-wind was sweeping by overhead. Right now the snow picked up by the mumbling wind fled in level, blinding lines across the face of the buried camp. If a man stepped out of the tunnels that connected each of the camp buildings beneath the surface, he’d be lost in ten paces. Out there, the slim, black finger of the radio mast lifted 300 feet into the air, and at its peak was the clear night sky. A sky of thin, whining wind rushing steadily from beyond to another beyond under the licking, curling mantle of the aurora. And off north, the horizon flamed with queer, angry colors of the midnight twilight. That was spring 300 feet above Antarctica. At the surface — it was white death. Death of a needle-fingered cold driven before the wind, sucking heat from any warm thing. Cold — and white mist of endless, everlasting drift, the fine, fine particles of licking snow that obscured all things. Kinner, the little, scar-faced cook, winced. Five days ago he had stepped out to the surface to reach a cache of frozen beef. He had reached it, started back — and the drift-wind leapt out of the south. Cold, white death that streamed across the ground blinded him in twenty seconds. He stumbled on wildly in circles. It was half an hour before rope-guided men from below found him in the impenetrable murk. It was easy for man — or thing — to get lost in ten paces. “And the drift-wind then was probably more impenetrable than we know.” McReady’s voice snapped Kinner’s mind back. Back to welcome, dank warmth of the Ad Building. “The passenger of the ship wasn’t prepared either, it appears. It froze within ten feet of the ship. “We dug down to find the ship, and our tunnel happened to find the frozen —animal. Barclay’s ice-ax struck its skull. “When we saw what it was, Barclay went back to the tractor, started the fire up and when the steam pressure built, sent a call for Blair and Dr. Copper. Barclay himself was sick then. Stayed sick for three days, as a matter of fact. “When Blair and Copper came, we cut out the animal in a block of ice, as you see, wrapped it and loaded it on the tractor for return here. We wanted to get into that ship. “We reached the side and found the metal was something we didn’t know. Our beryllium-bronze, non-magnetic tools wouldn’t touch it. Barclay had some tool-steel on the tractor, and that wouldn’t scratch it either. We made reasonable tests — even tried some acid from the batteries with no results. “They must have had a passivating process to make magnesium metal resist acid that way, and the alloy must have been at least 95 per cent magnesium. But we had no way of guessing that, so when we spotted the barely opened locked door, we cut around it. There was clear, hard ice inside the lock, where we couldn’t reach it. Through the little crack we could look in and see that only metal and tools were in there, so we decided to loosen the ice with a bomb.
“WE HAD decanite bombs and thermite. Thermite is the ice softener; decanite might have shattered valuable things, where the thermite’s heat would just loosen the ice. Dr. Copper, Norris and I placed a 25pound thermite bomb, wired it, and took the connector up the tunnel to the surface, where Blair had the steam tractor waiting. A hundred yards the other side of that granite wall we set off the thermite bomb. “The magnesium metal of the ship caught, of course. The glow of the bomb flared and died, then it began to flare again. We ran back to the tractor, and gradually the glare built up. From where we were we could see the whole ice-field illuminated from beneath with an unbearable light; the ship’s shadow was a great, dark cone reaching off toward the north, where the twilight was just about gone. For a moment it lasted, and we counted three other shadow things that might have been other — passengers frozen there. Then the ice was crashing down and against the ship. “That’s why I told you about that place. The wind sweeping down from the Pole was at our backs. Steam and hydrogen flame were torn away in white ice-fog; the flaming heat under the ice there was yanked away toward the Antarctic Ocean before it touched us. Otherwise we wouldn’t have come back, even with the shelter of that granite ridge that stopped the light. “Somehow in the blinding inferno we could see great hunched things, black bulks glowing, even so. They shed even the furious incandescence of the magnesium for a time. Those must have been the engines, we knew. Secrets going in blazing glory — secrets that might have given Man the planets. Mysterious things that could lift and hurl that ship and had soaked in the force of the Earth’s magnetic field. I saw Norris’ mouth move, and ducked. I couldn’t hear him. “Insulation — something — gave way. All Earth’s field they’d soaked up twenty million years before broke loose. The aurora in the sky above licked down, and the whole plateau there was bathed in cold fire that blanketed vision. The ice-ax in my hand got red hot, and hissed on the ice. Metal buttons on my clothes burned into me. And a flash of electric blue seared upward from beyond the granite wall. “Then the walls of ice crashed down on it. For an instant it squealed the way dry ice does when it’s pressed between metal. “We were blind and groping in the dark for hours while our eyes recovered. We found every coil within a mile was fused rubbish, the dynamo and every radio set, the earphones and speakers. If we hadn’t had the steam tractor, we wouldn’t have gotten over to the Secondary Camp. “Van Wall flew in from Big Magnet at sunup, as you know. We came home as soon as possible. That is the history of — that.” McReady’s great bronze beard gestured toward the thing on the table.
CHAPTER II
BLAIR stirred uneasily, his little bony fingers wriggling under the harsh light. Little brown freckles on his knuckles slid back and forth as the tendons under the skin twitched. He pulled aside a bit of the tarpaulin and looked impatiently at the dark icebound thing inside. McReady’s big body straightened somewhat. He’d ridden the rocking, jarring steam tractor forty miles that day, pushing on to Big Magnet here. Even his calm will had been pressed by the anxiety to mix again with humans. It was lone and quiet out there in Secondary Camp, where a wolf-wind howled down from the Pole. Wolf-wind howling in his sleep — winds droning and the evil, unspeakable face of that monster leering up as he’d first seen it through clear, blue ice, with a bronze ice-ax buried in its skull. The giant meteorologist spoke again. “The problem is them. Blair wants to examine the thing. Thaw it out and make micro slides of its tissues and so forth. Norris doesn’t believe that is safe, and Blair does. Dr. Copper agrees pretty much with Blair. Norris is a physicist, of course, not a biologist. But he makes a point I think we should all hear. Blair has described the microscopic life forms biologists find living, even in this cold an inhospitable place. They freeze every winter, and thaw every summer — for three months — and live. “The point Norris makes is — they thaw, and live again. There must have been microscopic life associated with this creature. There is with every living thing we know. And Norris is afraid that we may release a plague — some germ disease unknown to Earth — if we thaw those microscopic things that have been frozen there for twenty million years. “Blair admits that such micro-life might retain the power of living. Such unorganized things as individual cells can retain life for unknown periods, when solidly frozen. The beast itself is as dead as those frozen mammoths they find in Siberia. Organized, highly developed lifeforms can’t stand that treatment. “But micro-life could. Norris suggests that we may release some disease form that man, never having met it before, will be utterly defenseless against. “Blair’s answer is that there may be such still living germs, but that Norris has the case reversed. They are utterly non-immune to man. Our life chemistry probably — ” “Probably!” The little biologist’s head lifted in a quick, birdlike motion. The halo of gray hair about his bald head ruffled as though angry. “Heh. One look — ” “I know,” McReady acknowledged. “The thing is not Earthly. It does not seem likely that it can have a life-chemistry sufficiently like ours to make cross-infection remotely possible. I would say that there is no danger.” McReady looked toward Dr. Copper. The physician shook his head slowly. “None whatever,” he asserted confidently. “Man cannot infect or be infected by germs that live in such comparatively close relatives as the snakes. And they are, I assure you,” his clean-shaven face grimaced uneasily, “much nearer to us than — that.”
VANCE NORRIS moved angrily. He was comparatively short in this gathering of big men, some five feet eight, and his stocky, powerful build tended to make him seem shorter. His black hair was crisp and hard, like short, steel wires, and his eyes were the gray of fractured steel. If McReady was a man of bronze, Norris was all steel. His movements, his thoughts, his whole bearing had the quick, hard impulse of steel spring. His nerves were steel — hard, quick-acting — swift corroding. He was decided on his point now, and he lashed out in its defense with a characteristic quick, clipped flow of words. “Different chemistry be damned. That thing may be dead — or, by God, it may not — but I don’t like it. Damn it, Blair, let them see the foul thing and decide for themselves whether they want that thing thawed out in this camp. “Thawed out, by the way. That’s got to be thawed out in one of the shacks tonight, if it is thawed out. Somebody — who’s watchman tonight? Magnetic — oh, Connant. Cosmic rays tonight. Well, you get to sit up with that twenty-million year-old mummy of his. “Unwrap it, Blair. How the hell can they tell what they are buying if they can’t see it? It may have a different chemistry. I don’t know what else it has, but I know it has something I don’t want. If you can judge by the look on its face — it isn’t human so maybe you can’t — it was annoyed when it froze. Annoyed, in fact, is just about as close an approximation of the way it felt as crazy, mad, insane hatred. Neither one touches the subject. “How the hell can these birds tell what they are voting on? They haven’t seen those three red eyes, and the blue hair like crawling worms. Crawling — damn, it’s crawling there in the ice right now! “Nothing Earth ever spawned had the unutterable sublimation of devastating wrath that thing let loose in its face when it looked around this frozen desolation twenty million years ago. Mad? It was mad clear through — searing, blistering mad! “Hell, I’ve had bad dreams ever since I looked at those three red eyes. Nightmares. Dreaming the thing thawed out and came to life — that it wasn’t dead, or even wholly unconscious all those twenty million years, but just slowed, waiting — waiting. You’ll dream, too, while that damned thing that Earth wouldn’t own is dripping, dripping in the Cosmos House tonight. “And, Connant,” Norris whipped toward the cosmic ray specialist, “won’t you have fun sitting up all night in the quiet. Wind whining above — and that thing dripping — ” He stopped for a moment, and looked around. “I know. That’s not science. But this is, it’s psychology. You’ll have nightmares for a year to come. Every night since I looked at that thing I’ve had ’em., That’s why I hate it — sure I do and don’t want it around. Put it back where it came from and let it freeze for another twenty million years. I had some swell nightmares that it wasn’t made like we are which is obvious but of a different kind of flesh that it can really control. That it can change its shape, and look like a man — and wait to kill and eat — “That’s not a logical argument. I know it isn’t. The thing isn’t Earth logic anyway. “Maybe it has an alien body chemistry, and maybe its bugs do have a different body chemistry. A germ might not stand that, but, Blair and Copper, how about a virus? That’s just an enzyme molecule, you’ve said. That wouldn’t need anything but a protein molecule of any body to work on. “And how are you so sure that, of the million varieties of microscopic life it may have, none of them are dangerous? How about diseases like hydrophobia — rabies — that attacks any warm blooded creature, whatever its body chemistry may be? And parrot fever? Have you a body like a parrot, Blair? And plain rot — gangrene — necrosis, do you want? That isn’t choosy about body chemistry! ”
BLAIR LOOKED up from his puttering long enough to meet Norris’ angry gray eyes for an instant. “So far the only thing you have said this thing gave off that was catching was dreams. I’ll go so far as to admit that.” An impish, slightly malignant grin crossed the little man’s seamed face. “I had some, too. So. It’s dream-infectious. No doubt an exceedingly dangerous malady. “So far as your other things go, you have a badly mistaken idea about viruses. In the first place, nobody has shown that the enzyme molecule theory, and that alone, explains them. And in the second place, when you catch tobacco mosaic or wheat rust, let me know. A wheat plant is a lot nearer your body chemistry than this otherworld creature is. “And your rabies is limited, strictly limited. You can’t get it from, nor give it to, a wheat plant or a fish which is a collateral descendant of a common ancestor of yours. Which this, Norris, is not.” Blair nodded pleasantly toward the tarpaulined bulk on the table. “Well, thaw the damned thing in a tub of formalin if you must thaw it. I’ve suggested that — ” “And I’ve said there would be no sense in it. You can’t compromise. Why did you and Commander Garry come down here to study magnetism? Why weren’t you content to stay at home? There’s magnetic force enough in New York. I could no more study the life this thing once had from a formalin-pickled sample than you could get the information you wanted back in New York. And if this one is so treated, never in all time to come can there be a duplicate! The race it came from must have passed away in the twenty millions years it lay frozen, so that even if it came from Mars then, we’d never find its like. And — the ship is gone. “There’s only one way to do this and that is the best possible way. It must be thawed slowly, carefully, and not in formalin.” Commander Garry stood forward again, and Norris stepped back muttering angrily. “I think Blair is right, gentlemen. What do you say?” Connant grunted. “It sounds right to us, I think — only perhaps he ought to stand watch over it while it’s thawing.” He grinned ruefully, brushing a stray lock of ripe-cherry hair back from his forehead. “Swell idea, in fact — if he sits up with his jolly little corpse.” Garry smiled slightly. A general chuckle of agreement rippled over the group. “I should think any ghost it may have had would have starved to death if it hung around here that long, Connant,” Garry suggested. “And you look capable of taking care of it. ’Ironman’ Connant ought to be able to take out any opposing players, still.” Connant shook himself uneasily. “I’m not worrying about ghosts. Let’s see that thing. I — ” Eagerly Blair was stripping back the ropes. A single throw of the tarpaulin revealed the thing. The ice had melted somewhat in the heat of the room and it was clear and blue as thick, good glass. It shone wet and sleek under the harsh light of the unshielded globe above. The room stiffened abruptly. It was face up there on the plain, greasy planks of the table. The broken half of the bronze ice-ax was still buried in the queer skull. Three mad, hate-filled eyes blazed up with a living fire, bright as fresh-spilled blood. from a face ringed with a writhing, loathsome nest of worms, blue, mobile worms that crawled where hair should grow — Van Wall, six feet and 200 pounds of ice-nerved pilot, gave a queer, strangled gasp and butted, stumbled his way out to the corridor. Half the company broke for the doors. The others stumbled away from the table. McReady stood at one end of the table watching them, his great body planted solid on his powerful legs. Norris from the opposite end glowered at the thing with smoldering heat. Outside the door, Garry was talking with half a dozen of the men at once. Blair had a tack hammer. The ice that cased the thing schluffed crisply under its steel claw as it peeled from the thing it had cased for twenty thousand thousand years —
CHAPTER III
I KNOW you don’t like the thing, Connant, but it just has to be thawed out right. You say leave it as it is till we get back to civilization. All right, I’ll admit your argument that we could do a better and more complete job there is sound. But — how are we going to get this across the Line? We have to take this through one temperate zone, the equatorial zone, and half way through the other temperate zone before we get it to New York. You don’t want to sit with it one night, but you suggest, then, that I hang its corpse in the freezer with the beef?” Blair looked up from his cautious chipping, his bald, freckled skull nodding triumphantly. Kinner, the stocky, scar-faced cook, saved Connant the trouble of answering. “Hey, you listen, mister. You put that thing in the box with the meat, and by all the gods there ever were, I’ll put you in to keep it company. You birds have brought everything movable in this camp in onto my mess tables here already, and I had to stand for that. But you go putting things like that in my meat box or even my meat cache here, and you cook your own damn grub.” “But, Kinner, this is the only table in Big Magnet that’s big enough to work on,” Blair objected. “Everybody’s explained that.” “Yeah, and everybody’s brought everything in here. Clark brings his dogs every time there’s a fight and sews them up on that table. Ralsen brings in his sledges. Hell, the only thing you haven’t had on that table is the Boeing. And you’d ’a’ had that in if you coulda figured a way to get it through the tunnels.’ Commander Garry chuckled and grinned at Van Wall, the huge Chief Pilot. Van Wall’s great blond beard twitched suspiciously as he nodded gravely to Kinner. “You’re right, Kinner. The aviation department is the only one that treats you right.” “It does get crowded, Kinner,” Garry acknowledged. “But I’m afraid we all find it that way at times. Not much privacy in an Antarctic camp.” “Privacy? What the hell’s that? You know, the thing that really made me weep, was when I saw Barclay marchin’ through here chantin’ ’The last lumber in the camp! The last lumber in the camp!’ and carryin’ it out to build that house on his tractor. Damn it, I missed that moon cut in the door he carried out more’n I missed the sun when it set. That wasn’t just the last lumber Barclay was walkin’ off with. He was carryin’ off the last bit of privacy in this blasted place.” A grin rode even on Connant’s heavy face as Kinner’s perennial goodnatured grouch came up again. But it died away quickly as his dark, deep-set eyes turned again to the red-eyed thing Blair was chipping from its cocoon of ice. A big hand ruffed his shoulder-length hair, and tugged at a twisted lock that fell behind his ear in a familiar gesture. “I know that cosmic ray shack’s going to be too crowded if I have to sit up with that thing,” he growled. “Why can’t you go on chipping the ice away from around it — you can do that without anybody butting in, I assure you — and then hang the thing up over the power plant boiler? That’s warm enough. It’ll thaw out a chicken, even a whole side of beef, in a few hours.” “I know.” Blair protested, dropping the tack hammer to gesture more effectively with his bony, freckled fingers, his small body tense with eagerness, “but this is too important to take any chances. There never was a find like this; there never can be again. It’s the only chance men will ever have, and it has to be done exactly right.
“LOOK, you know how the fish we caught down near the Ross Sea would freeze almost as soon as we got them on deck, and come to life again if we thawed them gently? Low forms of life aren’t killed by quick freezing and slow thawing. We have — ” “Hey, for the love of Heaven you mean that damned thing will come to life!” Connant yelled. “You get the damned thing — Let me at it! That’s going to be in so many pieces — ” “NO! No, you fool — ” Blair jumped in front of Connant to protect his precious find. “No. Just low forms of life. For Pete’s sake let me finish. You can’t thaw higher forms of life and have them come to. Wait a moment now — hold it! A fish can come to after freezing because it’s so low a form of life that the individual cells of its body can revive, and that alone is enough to reestablish life. Any higher forms thawed out that way are dead. Though the individual cells revive, they die because there must be organization and cooperative effort to live. That cooperation cannot be re established. There is a sort of potential life in any uninjured, quick-frozen animal. But it can’t — can’t under any circumstances — become active life in higher animals. The higher animals are too complex, too delicate. This is an intelligent creature as high in its evolution as we are in ours. Perhaps higher. It is as dead as a frozen man would be.” “How do you know?” demanded Connant, hefting the ice-ax he had seized a moment before. Commander Garry laid a restraining hand on his heavy shoulder. “Wait a minute, Connant. I want to get this straight. I agree that there is going to be no thawing of this thing if there is the remotest chance of its revival. I quite agree it is much too unpleasant to have alive, but I had no idea there was the remotest possibility.” Dr. Copper pulled his pipe from between his teeth and heaved his stocky, dark body from the bunk he had been sitting in. “Blair’s being technical. That’s dead. As dead as the mammoths they find frozen in Siberia. Potential life is like atomic energy — there, but nobody can get it out, and it certainly won’t release itself except in rare cases, as rare as radium in the chemical analogy. We have all sorts of proof that things don’t live after being frozen — not even fish, generally speaking — and no proof that higher animal life can under any circumstances. What’s the point, Blair?” The little biologist shook himself. The little ruff of hair standing out around his bald pate waved in righteous anger. “The point is,” he said in an injured tone, ’that the individual cells might show the characteristics they had in life, if it is properly thawed. A man’s muscle cells live many hours after he has died. Just because they live, and a few things like hair and fingernail cells still live, you wouldn’t accuse a corpse of being a Zombie, or something. “Now if I thaw this right, I may have a chance to determine what sort of world it’s native to. We don’t, and can’t know by any other means, whether it came from Earth or Mars or Venus or from beyond the stars. “And just because it looks unlike men, you don’t have to accuse it of being evil, or vicious or something. Maybe that expression on its face is its equivalent to a resignation to fate. White is the color of mourning to the Chinese. If men can have different customs, why can’t a so-different race have different understandings of facial expressions?”
CONNANT laughed softly, mirthlessly. “Peaceful resignation! If that is the best it could do in the way of resignation, I should exceedingly dislike seeing it when it was looking mad. That face was never designed to express peace. It just didn’t have any philosophical thoughts like peace in its makeup. “I know it’s your pet — but be sane about it. The thing grew up on evil, adolesced slowly roasting alive the local equivalent of kittens, and amused itself through maturity on new and ingenious torture. ” “You haven’t the slight right to say that,” snapped Blair. “How do you know the first thing about the meaning of a facial expression inherently inhuman! It may well have no human equivalent whatever. That is just a different development of Nature, another example of Nature’s wonderful adaptability. Growing on another, perhaps harsher world, it has different form and features. But it is just as much a legitimate child of Nature as you are. You are displaying the childish human weakness of hating the different. On its own world it would probably class you as a fish-belly, white monstrosity with an insufficient number of eyes and a fungoid body pale and bloated with gas. “Just because its nature is different, you haven’t any right to say it’s necessarily evil.” Norris burst out a single, explosive, “Haw!” He looked down at the thing. “May be that things from other worlds don’t have to be evil just because they’re different. But that thing was! Child of Nature, eh? Well, it was a hell of an evil Nature.” “Aw, will you mugs cut crabbing at each other and get the damned thing off my table?” Kinner growled. “And put a canvas over it. It looks indecent.” “Kinner’s gone modest,” jeered Connant. Kinner slanted his eyes up to the big physicist. The scarred cheek twisted to join the line of his tight lips in a twisted grin. “All right, big boy, and what were you grousing about a minute ago? We can set the thing in a chair next to you tonight, if you want. ” “I’m not afraid of its face,” Connant snapped. “I don’t like keeping awake over its corpse particularly, but I’m going to do it.” Kinner’s grin spread. “Uh-huh” He went off to the galley stove and shook down ashes vigorously, drowning the brittle chipping of the ice as Blair fell to work again.
CHAPTER IV
“CLUCK,” reported the cosmic ray counter, cluck-brrrp-cluck.” Connant started and dropped his pencil. “Damnation.” The physicist looked toward the far corner, back at the Geiger counter on the table near that comer, and crawled under the desk at which he had been working to retrieve the pencil. He sat down at his work again, trying to make his writing more even. It tended to have jerks and quavers in it, in time with the abrupt proud-hen noises of the Geiger counter. The muted whoosh of the pressure lamp he was using for illumination, the mingled gargles and bugle calls of a dozen men sleeping down the corridor in Paradise House formed the background sounds for the irregular, clucking noises of the counter, the occasional rustle of falling coal in the copper-bellied stove. And a soft, steady drip-drip-drip from the thing in the corner. Connant jerked a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, snapped it so that a cigarette protruded and jabbed the cylinder into his mouth. The lighter failed to function, and he pawed angrily through the pile of papers in search of a match. He scratched the wheel of the lighter several times, dropped it with a curse and got up to pluck a hot coal from the stove with the coal tongs. The lighter functioned instantly when he tried it on returning to the desk. The counter ripped out a series of chucking guffaws as a burst of cosmic rays struck through to it. Connant turned to glower at it, and tried to concentrate on the interpretation of data collected during the past week. The weekly summary — He gave up and yielded to curiosity, or nervousness. He lifted the pressure lamp from the desk and carried it over to the table in the corner. Then he returned to the stove and picked up the coal tongs. The beast had been thawing for nearly 18 hours now. He poked at it with an unconscious caution; the flesh was no longer hard as armor plate, but had assumed a rubbery texture. It looked like wet, blue rubber glistening under droplets of water like little round jewels in the glare of the gasoline pressure lantern. Connant felt an unreasoning desire to pour the contents of the lamp’s reservoir over the thing in its box and drop the cigarette into it. The three red eyes glared up at him sightlessly, the ruby eyeballs reflecting murky, smoky rays of light. He realized vaguely that he had been looking at them for a very long time, even vaguely understood that they were no longer sightless. But it did not seem of importance, of no more importance than the labored, slow motion of the tentacular things that sprouted from the base of the scrawny, slowly pulsing neck. Connant picked up the pressure lamp and returned to his chair. He sat down, staring at the pages of mathematics before him. The clucking of the counter was strangely less disturbing, the rustle of the coals in the stove no longer distracting. The creak of the floorboards behind him didn’t interrupt his thoughts as he went about his weekly report in an automatic manner, filing in columns of data and making brief, summarizing notes. The creak of the floorboard sounded nearer.
CHAPTER V
BLAIR came up from the nightmare-haunted depths of sleep abruptly. Connant’s face floated vaguely above him; for a moment it seemed a continuance of the wild horror of the dream. But Connant’s face was angry, and a little frightened. “Blair — Blair you damned log, wake up.” “Uh-eh?” the little biologist rubbed his eyes, his bony, freckled fingers crooked to a mutilated child-fist From surrounding bunks other faces lifted to stare down at them. Connant straightened up. “Get up — and get a lift on. Your damned animal’s escaped.” “Escaped — what! ” Chief Pilot Van Walls’s bull voice roared out with a volume that shook the walls. Down the communication tunnels other voices yelled suddenly. The dozen inhabitants of Paradise House tumbled in abruptly, Barclay, stocky and bulbous in long woollen underwear, carrying a fire extinguisher. “What the hell’s the matter?” Barclay demanded. “Your damned beast got loose. I fell asleep about twenty minutes ago, and when I woke up, the thing was gone. Hey, Doc, the hell you say those things can’t come to life. Blair’s blasted potential life developed a hell of a lot of potential and walked out on us.’ Copper stared blankly. “It wasn’t — Earthly,” he sighed suddenly. “I — I guess Earthly laws don’t apply.” “Well, it applied for leave of absence and took it. We’ve got to find it and capture it somehow.” Connant swore bitterly, his deep-set black eyes sullen and angry. “It’s a wonder the hellish creature didn’t eat me in my sleep.” Blair stared back, his pale eyes suddenly fear-struck. “Maybe it did — er — uh — we’ll have to find it. “You find it. It’s your pet. I’ve had all I want to do with it, sitting there for seven hours with the counter clucking every few seconds, and you birds in here singing night music. It’s a wonder I got to sleep. I’m going through to the Ad Building.” Commander Garry ducked through the doorway, pulling his belt tight. “You won’t have to. Van’s roar sounded like the Boeing taking off down wind. So it wasn’t dead?” “I didn’t carry it off in my arms, I assure you,” Connant snapped. “The last I saw, that split skull was oozing green goo, like a squashed caterpillar. Doc just said our laws don’t work — it’s unearthly. Well, it’s an unearthly monster, with an unearthly disposition, judging by the face, wandering around with a split skull and brains oozing out.” Norris and McReady appeared in the doorway, a doorway filling with other shivering men. “Has anybody seen it coming over here?” Norris asked innocently. “About four feet tall — three red eyes brains oozing — Hey, has anybody checked to make sure this isn’t a cracked idea of humor? If it is, I think we’ll unite in tying Blair’s pet around Connant’s neck like the ancient Mariner’s albatross. “It’s no humor,” Connant shivered. “Lord, I wish it were. I’d rather wear —” He stopped. A wild, weird howl shrieked through the corridors. The men stiffened abruptly, and half turned.
“I THINK it’s been located,” Connant finished. His dark eyes shifted with a queer unease. He darted back to his bunk in Paradise house, to return almost immediately with a heavy .45 revolver and an ice-ax He hefted both gently as he started for the corridor toward Dogtown. “It blundered down the wrong corridor — and landed among the huskies. Listen the dogs have broken their chains — ” The half-terrorized howl of the dog pack changed to a wild hunting melee. The voices of the dogs thundered in the narrow corridors, and through them came a low rippling snarl of distilled hate. A shrill of pain, a dozen snarling yelps. Connant broke for the door. Close behind him, McReady, then Barclay and Commander Garry came. Other men broke for the Ad Building, and weapons — the sledge house. Pomroy, in charge of Big Magnet’s five cows, started down the corridor in the opposite direction he had a six-foot handled, long-tined pitchfork in mind. Barclay slid to a halt, as McReady’s giant bulk turned abruptly away from the tunnel leading to Dogtown, and vanished off at an angle. Uncertainly, the mechanician wavered a moment, the fire extinguisher in his hands, hesitating from one side to the other. Then he was racing after Connant’s broad back. Whatever McReady had in mind, he could be trusted to make it work. Connant stopped at the bend in the corridor. His breath hissed suddenly through his throat. “Great God — ” The revolver exploded thunderously; three numbing, palpable waves of sound crashed through the confined corridors. Two more. The revolver dropped to the hard-packed snow of the trail, and Barclay saw the ice-ax shift into defensive position. Connant’s powerful body blocked his vision, but beyond he heard something mewing, and, insanely, chuckling. The dogs were quieter; there was a deadly seriousness in their low snarls. Taloned feet scratched at hard-packed snow, broken chains were clinking and tangling. Connant shifted abruptly, and Barclay could see what lay beyond. For a second he stood frozen, then his breath went out in a gusty curse. The Thing launched itself at Connant, the powerful arms of the man swung the ice-ax flat side first at what might have been a hand. It scrunched horribly, and the tattered flesh, ripped by a half-dozen savage huskies, leapt to its feet again. The red eyes blazed with an unearthy hatred, an unearthly, unkillable vitality. Barclay turned the fire extinguisher on it; the blinding, blistering stream of chemical spray confused it, baffled it, together with the savage attacks of the huskies, not for long afraid of anything that did, or could live, held it at bay. McReady wedged men out of his way and drove down the narrow corridor packed with men unable to reach the scene. There was a sure fore-planned drive to McReady’s attack. One of the giant blow-torches used in warming the plane’s engines was in his bronzed hands. It roared gustily as he turned the corner and opened the valve. The mad mewing hissed louder. The dogs scrambled back from the three-foot lance of blue-hot flame. “Bar, get a power cable, run it in somehow. And a handle. We can electrocute this — monster, if I don’t incinerate it.” McReady spoke with an authority of planned action. Barclay turned down the long corridor to the power plant, but already before him Norris and Van Wall were racing down.
BARCLAY found the cable in the electrical cache in the tunnel wall. In a half minute he was hacking at it, walking back. Van Wall’s voice rang out in a warning shout of “Power!” as the emergency gasoline-powered dynamo thudded into action. Half a dozen other men were down there now; the coal, kindling were going into the firebox of the steam power plant. Norris, cursing in a low, deadly monotone, was working with quick, sure fingers on the other end of Barclay’s cable, splicing in a contactor in one of the power leads. The dogs had fallen back when Barclay reached the corridor bend, fallen back before a furious monstrosity that glared from baleful red eyes, mewing in trapped hatred. The dogs were a semi circle of red-dipped muzzles with a fringe of glistening white teeth, whining with a vicious eagerness that near matched the fury of the red eyes. McReady stood confidently alert at the corridor bend, the gustily muttering torch. held loose and ready for action in his hands. He stepped aside without moving his eyes from the beast as Barclay came up. There was a slight, tight smile on his lean, bronzed face. Norris’ voice called down the corridor, and Barclay stepped forward. The cable was taped to the long handle of a snow shovel, the two conductors split, and held 18 inches apart by a scrap of lumber lashed at right angles across the far end of the handle. Bare copper conductors, charged with 220 volts, glinted in the light of pressure lamps. The Thing mewed and halted and dodged. McReady advanced to Barclay’s side. The dogs beyond sensed the plan with the almost telepathic intelligence of trained huskies. Their whimpering grew shriller, softer, their mincing steps carried them nearer. Abruptly a huge, night-black Alaskan leapt onto the trapped thing. It turned squalling, saber-clawed feet slashing. Barclay leapt forward and jabbed. A weird, shrill scream rose and choked out. The smell of burnt flesh in the corridor intensified; greasy smoke curled up. The echoing pound of the gas-electric dynamo down the corridor became a slogging thud. The red eyes clouded over in a stiffening, jerking travesty of a face. Arm-like, leg-like members quivered and jerked. The dogs leapt forward, and Barclay yanked back his shovel-handled weapon. The thing on the snow did not move as gleaming teeth ripped it open.
CHAPTER VI
GARRY looked about the crowded room. Thirty-two men, some tensed nervously standing against the wall, some uneasily relaxed, some sitting, most perforce standing, as intimate as sardines. Thirty-two, plus the five engaged in sewing up wounded dogs, made thirty seven, the total personnel. Garry started speaking. “All right, I guess we’re here. Some of you — three or four at most — saw what happened. All of you have seen that thing on the table, and can get a general idea. Anyone hasn’t, I’ll lift – ” His hand strayed to the tarpaulin bulking over the thing on the table. There was an acrid odor of singed flesh seeping out of it. The men, stirred restlessly, hasty denials. “It looks rather as though Charnauk isn’t going to lead any more teams,” Garry went on. “Blair wants to get at this thing, and make some more detailed examination. We want to know what happened, and make sure right now that this is permanently, totally dead. Right?” Connant grinned. “Anybody that doesn’t agree can sit up with it tonight.” “All right then, Blair, what can you say about it? What was it?” Garry turned to the little biologist. “I wonder if we ever saw its natural form. ” Blair looked at the covered mass. “It may have been imitating the beings that built that ship — but I don’t think it was. I think that was its true form. Those of us who were up near the bend saw the thing in action; the thing on the table is the result. When it got loose, apparently, it started looking around. Antarctica still frozen as it was ages ago when the creature first saw it — and froze. From my observations while it was thawing out, and the bits of tissue I cut and hardened then, I think it was native to a hotter planet than Earth. It couldn’t, in its natural form, stand the temperature. There is no life form on Earth that can live in Antarctica during the winter, but the best compromise is the dog. It found the dogs, and somehow got near enough to Charnauk to get him. The others smelled it — heard it — I don’t know anyway they went wild, and broke chains, and attacked it before it was finished. The thing we found was part Charnauk, queerly only half dead, part Charnauk half-digested by the jellylike protoplasm of that creature, and part the remains of the thing we originally found, sort of melted down to the basic protoplasm. “When the dogs attacked it, it turned into the best fighting thing it could think of. Some other world beast apparently.” “Turned,” snapped Garry. “How?” “Every living thing is made up of jelly — protoplasm and minute, submicroscopic things called nuclei, which control the bulk, the protoplasm. This thing was just a modification of that same worldwide plan of Nature; cells made up of protoplasm, controlled by infinitely tinier nuclei. You physicists might compare it — an individual cell of any living thing — with an atom; the bulk of the atom, the space-filling part, is made up of the electron orbits, but the character of the thing is determined by the atomic nucleus. “This isn’t wildly beyond what we already know. It’s just a modification we haven’t seen before. It’s as natural, as logical, as any other manifestation of life. It obeys exactly the same laws. The cells are made of protoplasm, their character determined by the nucleus.
“ONLY in this creature, the cell nuclei can control those cells at will. It digested Charnauk, and as it digested, studied every cell of his tissue, and shaped its own cells to imitate them exactly. Parts of it — parts that had time to finish changing — are dog-cells. But they don’t have dog-cell nuclei.” Blair lifted a fraction of the tarpaulin. A torn dog’s leg with stiff gray fur protruded. “That, for instance, isn’t dog at all; it’s imitation. Some parts I’m certain about; the nucleus was hiding itself, covering up with dog-cell imitation nucleus. In time, not even a microscope would have shown the difference.” “Suppose,” asked Norris bitterly, “it had had lots of time?” “Then it would have been a dog. The other dogs would have accepted it. We would have accepted it. I don’t think anything would have distinguished it, not microscope, nor Xray, nor any other means. This is a member of a supremely intelligent race, a race that has learned the deepest secrets of biology, and turned them to its use.” “What was it planning to do?” Barclay looked at the humped tarpaulin. Blair grinned unpleasantly. The wavering halo of thin hair round his bald pate wavered in the stir of air. “Take over the world, I imagine.” “Take over the world! Just it, all by itself?” Connant gasped. “Set itself up as a lone dictator?” “No,” Blair shook his head. The scalpel he had been fumbling in his bony fingers dropped; he bent to pick it up, so that his face was hidden as he spoke. “It would become the population of the world.” “Become — populate the world? Does it reproduce asexually?” Blair shook his head and gulped. “It’s — it doesn’t have to. It weighed 85 pounds. Charnauk weighed about 90. It would have become Charnauk, and had 85 pounds left, to become — oh, Jack for instance, or Chinook. It can imitate anything — that is, become anything. If it had reached the Antarctic Sea, it would have become a seal, maybe two seals. They might have attacked a killer whale, and become either killers, or a herd of seals. Or maybe it would have caught an albatross, or a skua gull, and flown to South America.” Norris cursed softly. “And every time, it digested something, and imitated it — ” “It would have had its original bulk left, to start again,” Blair finished. “Nothing would kill it. It has no natural enemies, because it becomes whatever it wants to. If a killer whale attacked, it would become a killer whale. If it was an albatross, and an eagle attacked it, it would become an eagle. Lord, it might become a female eagle. Go back — build a nest and lay eggs!” “Are you sure that thing from hell is dead?” Dr. Copper asked softly. “Yes, thank Heaven,” the little biologist gasped. “After they drove the dogs off, I stood there poking Bar’s electrocution thing into it for five minutes. It’s dead and — cooked.” “Then we can only give thanks that this is Antarctica, where there is not one, single, solitary, living thing for it to imitate, except these animals in camp.” “Us,” Blair giggled. “It can imitate us. Dogs can’t make 400 miles to the sea; there’s no food. There aren’t any skua gulls to imitate at this season. There aren’t any Penguins this far inland. There’s nothing that can reach the sea from this point except us. We’ve got the brains. We can do it. Don’t you see — it’s got to imitate us — it’s got to be one of us — that’s the only way it can fly an airplane — fly a plane for two hours, and rule — be — all Earth’s inhabitants. A world for the taking — if it imitates us! “It didn’t know yet. It hadn’t had a chance to learn. It was rushed — hurried — look the thing nearest its own size. Look — I’m Pandora! I opened the box! And the only hope that can come out is — that nothing can come out. You didn’t see me. I did It. I fixed it I smashed every magneto. Not a plane can fly. Nothing can fly.” Blair giggled and lay down on the floor crying.
CHIEF PILOT Van Wall made a dive for the door. His feet were fading echoes in the corridors as Dr. Copper bent unhurriedly over the little man on the floor. From his office at the end of the room he brought something, and injected a solution into Blair’s arm. “He might come out of it when he wakes up,” he sighed rising. McReady helped him lift the biologist onto a nearby bunk. “It all depends on whether we can convince him that thing is dead.” Van Wall ducked into the shack brushing his heavy blond beard absently. “I didn’t think a biologist would do a thing like that up thoroughly. He missed the spares in the second cache. It’s all right. I smashed them.” Commander Garry nodded. “I was wondering about the radio.” Dr. Copper snorted. “You don’t think it can leak out on a radio wave, do you? You’d have five rescue attempts in the next three months if you stop the broadcasts. The thing to do is talk loud and not make a sound. Now I wonder — ” McReady looked speculatively at the doctor. “It might be like an infectious disease. Everything that drank, any of its blood — ” Copper shook his head. “Blair missed something. Imitate it may, but it has, to a certain extent, its own body chemistry, its own metabolism. If it didn’t it would become a dog — and be a dog and nothing more. It has to be an imitation dog. Therefore you can detect it by serum tests. And its chemistry, since it comes from another world. Must be so wholly, radically different that a few cells, such as gained by drops of blood, would be treated as disease germs by the dog, or human body.” “Blood — would one of those imitations bleed?” Norris demanded. “Surely. Nothing mystic about blood. Muscle is about 90 per cent water; blood differs only in having a couple per cent more water, and less connective tissue. They’d bleed all right,” Copper assured him. Blair sat up in his bunk suddenly. “Connant — where’s Connant?” The physicist moved over toward the little biologist. “Here I am. What do you want?” “Are You?” giggled Blair. He lapsed back into the bunk contorted with silent laughter. Connant looked at him blankly “Huh? Am I what?” “Are you there?” Blair burst into gales of laughter. “Are you Connant? The beast wanted to be a man — not a dog —”
CHAPTER VII
DR. COPPER rose wearily from the bunk, and washed the hypodermic carefully. The little tinkles it made seemed loud in the packed room, now that Blair’s gurgling laughter had finally quieted. Copper looked toward Garry and shook his head slowly. “Hopeless, I’m afraid. I don’t think we can ever convince him the thing is dead now.” Norris laughed uncertainly. “I’m not sure you can convince me. Oh, damn you, McReady. ” “McReady?” Commander Garry turned to look from Norris to McReady curiously. “The nightmares,” Norris explained. “He had a theory about the nightmares we had at the Secondary Station after finding that thing.” “And that was?” Garry looked at McReady levelly. Norris answered for him, jerkily, uneasily. “That the creature wasn’t dead, had a sort of enormously slowed existence, an existence that permitted it, none the less, to be vaguely aware of the passing of time, of our coming, after endless years. I had a dream it could imitate things.” “Well,” Copper grunted, “it can.” “Don’t be an ass,” Norris snapped. “That’s not what’s bothering me. In the dream it could read minds, read thoughts and ideas and mannerisms.” “What’s so bad about that? It seems to be worrying you more than the thought of the joy we’re going to have with a mad man in an Antarctic camp.” Copper nodded toward Blair’s sleeping form. McReady shook his great head slowly. “You know that Connant is Connant, because he not merely looks like Connant — which we’re beginning to believe that beast might be able to do but he thinks like Connant, talks like Connant, moves himself around as Connant does. That takes more than merely a body that looks like him; that takes Connant’s own mind, and thoughts and mannerisms. Therefore, though you know that the thing might make itself look like Connant, you aren’t much bothered, because you know it has a mind from another world, a totally unhuman mind, that couldn’t possibly react and think and talk like a man we know, and do it so well as to fool us for a moment. The idea of the creature imitating one of us is fascinating, but unreal because it is too completely unhuman to deceive us. It doesn’t have a human mind.” “As I said before,” Norris repeated, looking steadily at McReady, “you can say the damnedest things at the damnedest times. Will you be so good as to finish that thought — one way or the other?” Kinner, the scar-faced expedition cook, had been standing near Connant. Suddenly he moved down the length of the crowded room toward his familiar galley. He shook the ashes from the galley stove noisily. “It would do it no good,” said Dr. Copper, softly as though thinking out loud, “to merely look like something it was trying to imitate; it would have to understand its feelings, its reaction. It is unhuman; it has powers of imitation beyond any conception of man. A good actor, by training himself, can imitate another man, another man’s mannerisms, well enough to fool most people. Of course no actor could imitate so perfectly as to deceive men who had been living with the imitated one in the complete lack of privacy of an Antarctic camp. That would take a superhuman skill.” “Oh, you’ve got the bug too?” Norris cursed softly.
CONNANT, standing alone at one end of the room, looked about him wildly, his face white. A gentle eddying of the men had crowded them slowly down toward the other end of the room, so that he stood quite alone. “My God, will you two Jeremiahs shut up?” Connant’s voice shook. “What am I? Some kind of a microscopic specimen you’re dissecting? Some unpleasant worm you’re discussing in the third person?” McReady looked up at him; his slowly twisting hand stopped for a moment. “Having a lovely time. Wish you were here. Signed: Everybody. “Connant, if you think you’re having a hell of a time, just move over on the other end for a while. You’ve got one thing we haven’t; you know what the answer is. I’ll tell you this, right now you’re the most feared and respected man in Big Magnet.” “Lord, I wish you could see your eyes,” Connant gasped. “Stop staring, will you! What the hell are you going to do?” “Have you any suggestions, Dr. Copper?” Commander Garry asked steadily. “The present situation is impossible.” “Oh, is it?” Connant snapped. “Come over here and look at that crowd. By Heaven, they look exactly like that gang of huskies around the corridor bend. Benning, will you stop hefting that damned ice-ax?” The coppery blade rang on the floor as the aviation mechanic nervously dropped it. He bent over and picked it up instantly, hefting it slowly, turning it in his hands, his browns eyes moving jerkily about the room. Copper sat down on the bunk beside Blair. The wood creaked noisily in the room. Far down a corridor, a dog yelped in pain, and the dog-drivers’ tense voices floated softly back. “Microscopic examination,” said the doctor thoughtfully, “would be useless, as Blair pointed out. Considerable time has passed. However, serum tests would be definitive. “Serum tests? What do you mean exactly?” Commander Garry asked. “If I had a rabbit that had been injected with human blood — a poison to rabbits, of course, as is the blood of any animal save that of another rabbit and the injections continued in increasing doses for some time, the rabbit would be human-immune. If a small quantity of its blood were drawn off, allowed to separate in a test-tube, and to the clear serum, a bit of human blood were added, there would be a visible reaction, proving the blood was human. If cow, or dog blood were added — or any protein material other than that one thing, human blood — no reaction would take place. That would prove definitely.” “Can you suggest where I might catch a rabbit for you, Doc?” Norris asked. “That is, nearer than Australia; we don’t want to waste time going that far.” “I know there aren’t any rabbits in Antarctica,” Copper nodded, “but that is simply the usual animal. Any animal except man will do. A dog for instance. But it will take several days, and due to the greater size of the animal, considerable blood. Two of us will have to contribute.” “Would I do?” Garry asked. “That will make two,” Copper nodded. “I’ll get to work on it right away.” “What about Connant in the meantime?” Kinner demanded. “I’m going out that door and head off for the Ross Sea before I cook for him.” “He may be human — ” Copper started. Connant burst out in a flood of curses. “Human! May be human, you damned saw bones! What in hell do you think I am?” “A monster,” Copper snapped sharply. “Now shut up and listen.” Connant’s face drained of color and he sat down heavily as the indictment was put in words. “Until we know — you know as well as we do that we have reason to question the fact, and only you know how that question is to be answered — we may reasonably be expected to lock you up. If you are — unhuman — you’re a lot more dangerous than poor Blair there, and I’m going to see that he’s locked up thoroughly. I expect that his next stage will be a violent desire to kill you, all the dogs, and probably all of us. When he wakes, he will be convinced we’re all unhuman, and nothing on the planet will ever change his conviction. It would be kinder to let him die, but we can’t do that, of course. He’s going in one shack, and you can stay in Cosmos House with your cosmic ray apparatus. Which is about what you’d do anyway. I’ve got to fix up a couple of dogs.” Connant nodded bitterly. “I’m human. Hurry that test. Your eyes Lord, I wish you could see your eyes staring — ”
COMMANDER Garry watched anxiously as Clark, the dog handler, held the big brown Alaskan husky, while Copper began the injection treatment. The dog was not anxious to cooperate; the needle was painful, and already he’d experienced considerable needle work that morning. Five stitches held closed a slash that ran from his shoulder across the ribs half way down his body. One long fang was broken off short; the missing part was to be found half-buried in the shoulder bone of the monstrous thing on the table in the Ad Building. “How long will that take?” Garry asked, pressing his arm gently. It was sore from the prick of the needle Dr. Copper had used to withdraw blood. Copper shrugged. “I don’t know, to be frank. I know the general method, I’ve used it on rabbits. But I haven’t experimented with dogs. They’re big, clumsy animals to work with; naturally rabbits are preferable, and serve ordinarily. In civilized places you can buy a stock of human-immune rabbits from suppliers, and not many investigators take the trouble to prepare their own.” “What do they want with them back there?” Clark asked. “Criminology is one large field. A says he didn’t murder B, but that the blood on his shirt came from killing a chicken. The State makes a test, then it’s up to A to explain how it is the blood reacts on human-immune rabbits, but not on chicken-immunes.” “What are we going to do with Blair in the meantime?” Garry asked wearily. “It’s all right to let him sleep where he is for a while, but when he wakes up — ” “Barclay and Benning are fitting some bolts on the door of Cosmos House,” Copper replied grimly. “Connant’s acting like a gentleman. I think perhaps the way the other men look at him makes him rather want privacy. Lord knows, heretofore we’ve all of us individually prayed for a little privacy. ” Clark laughed bitterly. “Not any more, thank you. The more the merrier.” “Blair,” Copper went on, “will also have to have privacy — and locks. He’s going to have a pretty definite plan in mind when he wakes up. Ever hear the old story of how to stop hoof-and-mouth disease in cattle?” “If there isn’t any hoof-and-mouth disease, there won’t be any hoof-and-mouth disease,” Copper explained. “You get rid of it by killing every animal that exhibits it, and every animal that’s been near the diseased animal. Blair’s a biologist, and knows that story. He’s afraid of this thing we loosed. The answer is probably pretty clear in his mind now. Kill everybody and everything in this camp before a skua gull or a wandering albatross coming in with the spring chances out this way and — catches the disease.” Clark’s lips curled in a twisted grin. “Sounds logical to me. If things get too bad maybe we’d better let Blair get loose. It would save us committing suicide. We might also make something of a vow that if things get bad, we see that that does happen.”
COPPER laughed softly. “The last man alive in Big Magnet wouldn’t be a man,” he pointed out. “Somebody’s got to kill those creatures that don’t desire to kill themselves, you know. We don’t have enough thermite to do it all at once, and the decanite explosive wouldn’t help much. I have an idea that even small pieces of one of those beings would be self-sufficient.” “If,” said Garry thoughtfully, “they can modify their protoplasm at will, won’t they simply modify themselves to birds and fly away? They can read all about birds, and imitate their structure without even meeting them. Or imitate, perhaps, birds of their home planet.” Copper shook his head, and helped Clark to free the dog. “Man studied birds for centuries, trying to learn how to make a machine to fly like them. He never did do the trick; his final success came when he broke away entirely and tried new methods. Knowing the general idea, and knowing the detailed structure of wing and bone and nerve tissue is something far, far different. And as for otherworld birds, perhaps, in fact very probably, the atmospheric conditions here are so vastly different that their birds couldn’t fly. Perhaps, even, the being came from a planet like Mars with such a thin atmosphere that there were no birds.” Barclay came into the building, trailing a length of airplane control cable. “It’s finished, Doc. Cosmo House can’t be opened from the inside. Now where do we put Blair?” Copper looked toward Garry. “There wasn’t any biology building. I don’t know where we can isolate him.” “How about East Cache?” Garry said after a moment’s thought. “Will Blair be able to look after himself — or need attention?” “He’ll be capable enough. We’ll be the ones to watch out,” Copper assured him grimly. “Take a stove, a couple of bags of coal, necessary supplies and a few tools to fix it up. Nobody’s been out there since last fall, have they?” Garry shook his head. “if he gets noisy — I thought that might be a good idea.” Barclay hefted the tools he was carrying and looked up at Garry. “if the muttering he’s doing now is any sign, he’s going to sing away the night hours. And we won’t like his song.” “What’s he saying?” Copper asked. Barclay shook his head. “I didn’t care to listen much. You can if you want to. But I gathered that the blasted idiot had all the dreams McReady had, and a few more. He slept beside the thing when we stopped on the trail coming in from Secondary Magnetic, remember. He dreamt the thing was alive, and dreamt more details. And — damn his soul — knew it wasn’t all dream, or had reason to. He knew it had telepathic powers that were stirring vaguely, and that it could not only read minds, but project thoughts. They weren’t dreams, you see. They were stray thoughts that thing was broadcasting, the way Blair’s broadcasting his thoughts now a sort of telepathic muttering in its sleep. That’s why he knew so much about its powers. I guess you and I, Doc, weren’t so sensitive — if you want to believe in telepathy.” “I have to,” Copper sighed. “Dr. Rhine of Duke University has shown that it exists, shown that some are much more sensitive than others.” “Well, if you want to learn a lot of details, go listen in on Blair’s broadcast. He’s driven most of the boys out of the Ad Building; Kinner’s rattling pans like coal going down a chute. When he can’t rattle a pan, he shakes ashes. “By the way, Commander, what are we going to do this spring, now the planes are out of it?” Garry sighed. “I’m afraid our expedition is going to be a loss. We cannot divide our strength now. “It won’t be a loss — if we continue to live, and come out of this,” Copper promised him. “The find we’ve made, if we can get it under control, is important enough. The cosmic ray data, magnetic work, and atmospheric work won’t be greatly hindered. ” GARRY laughed mirthlessly. “I was just thinking of the radio broadcasts. Telling half the world about the wonderful results of our exploration flights, trying to fool men like Byrd and Ellsworth back home there that we’re doing something.” Copper nodded gravely. “They’ll know something’s wrong. But men like that have judgment enough to know we wouldn’t do tricks without some sort of reason, and will wait for our return to judge us. I think it comes to this: men who know enough to recognize our deception will wait for our return. Men who haven’t discretion and faith enough to wait will not have the experience to detect any fraud. We know enough of the conditions here to put through a good bluff.” “Just so they don’t send ’rescue’ expeditions,” Garry prayed. “When — if — we’re ever ready to come out, we’ll have to send word to Captain Forsythe to bring a stock of magnetos with him when he comes down. But — never mind that.” “You mean if we don’t come out?” asked Barclay. “I was wondering if a nice running account of an eruption or an earthquake via radio — with a swell windup by using a stick of decanite under the microphone — would help. Nothing, of course, will entirely keep people out. One of those swell, melodramatic ’last-man-alive-scenes’ might make ’em go easy though.” Garry smiled with genuine humor. “is everybody in camp trying to figure that out too?” Copper laughed. “What do you think, Garry? We’re confident we can win out. But not too easy about it, I guess.” Clark grinned up from the dog he was petting into calmness. “Confident, did you say, Doc?”
CHAPTER VIII
BLAIR MOVED restlessly around the small shack. His eyes jerked and quivered in vague, fleeting glances at the four men with him; Barclay, six feet tall and weighing over 190 pounds; McReady, a bronze giant of a man; Dr. Copper, short, squatly powerful; and Benning, five feet ten of wiry strength. Blair was huddled up against the far wall of the East Cache cabin, his gear piled in the middle of the floor beside the heating stove, forming an island between him and the four men. His bony hands clenched and fluttered, terrified. His pale eyes wavered uneasily as his bald, freckled head darted about in birdlike motion. “I don’t. want anybody coming here. I’ll cook my own food,” he snapped nervously. “Kinner may be human now, but I don’t believe it. I’m going to get out of here, but I’m not going to eat any food you send me. I want cans. Sealed cans.” “O.K., Blair, we’ll bring ’em tonight,” Barclay promised. “You’ve got coal, and the fire’s started. I’ll make a last — ” Barclay started forward. Blair instantly scurried to the farthest corner. “Get out! Keep away from me, you monster!” the little biologist shrieked, and tried to claw his way through the wall of the shack. “Keep away from me — keep away — I won’t be absorbed — I won’t be — ” Barclay relaxed and moved back. Dr. Copper shook his head. “Leave him alone, Bar. It’s easier for him to fix the thing himself. We’ll have to fix the door, I think — ” The four men let themselves out. Efficiently, Benning and Barclay fell to work. There were no locks in Antarctica; there wasn’t enough privacy to make them needed. But powerful screws had been driven in each side of the door frame, and the spare aviation control cable, immensely strong, woven steel wire, was rapidly caught between them,. and drawn taut. Barclay went to work with a drill and a keyhole saw. Presently he had a trap cut in the door through which goods could be passed without unlashing the entrance. Three powerful hinges from a stock crate, two hasps and a pair of three-inch cotter-pins made it proof against opening from the other side. Blair moved about restlessly inside. He was dragging something over to the door with panting gasps and muttering, frantic curses. Barclay opened the hatch and glanced in, Dr. Copper peering over his shoulder. Blair had moved the heavy bunk against the door. It could not be opened without his cooperation now. “Don’t know but what the poor man’s fight at that,” McReady sighed. “If he gets loose, it is his avowed intention to kill each and all of us as quickly as possible, which is something we don’t agree with. But we’ve something on our side of that door that is worse than a homicidal maniac. If one or the other has to get loose, I think I’ll come up and undo those lashings here.” Barclay grinned. “You let me know, and I’ll show you how to get these off fast. Let’s go back.” The sun was painting the northern horizon in multicolored rainbows still, though it was two hours below the horizon. The field of drift swept off to the north, sparkling under its flaming colors in a million reflected glories. Low mounds of rounded white on the northern horizon showed the Magnet Range was barely awash above the sweeping drift. Little eddies of wind-lifted snow swirled away from their skis as they set out toward the main encampment two miles away. The spidery finger of the broadcast radiator lifted a gaunt black needle against the white of the Antarctic continent. The snow under their skies was like fine sand, hard and gritty.
“SPRING,” said Benning bitterly, “is come. Ain’t we got fun! I’ve been looking forward to getting away from this blasted hole in the ice.” “I wouldn’t try it now, if I were you.” Barclay grunted. “Guys that set out from here in the next few days are going to be marvelously unpopular.” “How is your dog getting along, Dr. Copper?” McReady asked. “Any results yet?” “In 30 hours? I wish there were. I gave him an injection of my blood today. But I imagine another five days will be needed. I don’t know certainly enough to stop sooner.” “I’ve been wondering — if Connant were — changed, would he have warned us so soon after the animal escaped? Wouldn’t he have waited long enough for it to have a real chance to fix itself? Unless we woke up naturally?” McReady asked slowly. “The thing is selfish. You didn’t think it looked as though it were possessed of a store of the higher justices, did you?” Dr. Copper pointed out. “Every part of it is all of it, every part of it is all for itself, I imagine. If Connant were changed, to save his skin, he’d have to — but Connant’s feelings aren’t changed; they’re imitated perfectly, or they’re his own. Naturally, the imitation, imitating perfectly Connant’s feelings, would do exactly what Connant would do.” “Say, couldn’t Norris or Van give Connant some kind of a test? If the thing is brighter than men, it might know more physics than Connant should, and they’d catch it out,” Barclay suggested. Copper shook his head wearily. “Not if it reads minds. You can’t plan a trap for it. Van suggested that last night. He hoped it would answer some of the questions of physics he’d like to know answers to.” “This expedition-of-four idea is going to make life happy.” Benning looked at his companions. “Each of us with an eye on the others to make sure he doesn’t do something — peculiar. Man, aren’t we going to be a trusting bunch! Each man eyeing his neighbors with the grandest exhibition of faith and trust — I’m beginning to know what Connant meant by ’I wish you could see your eyes.’ Every now and then we all have it, I guess. One of you looks around with a sort of ’I-wonder-if-the-other-three-are-look.” Incidentally, I’m not excepting myself.” “So far as we know, the animal is dead, with a slight question as to Connant. No other is suspected,” McReady stated slowly. “The ’always four’ order is merely a precautionary measure.” “I’m waiting for Garry to make it four-in-a-bunk,” Barclay sighed. “I thought I didn’t have any privacy before, but since that order — ”
NONE watched more tensely than Connant. A little sterile glass test-tube, half-filled with straw colored fluid. One—two—three—four—five drops of the clear solution Dr. Copper had prepared from the drops of blood from Connant’s arm. The tube was shaken carefully, then set in a beaker of clear, warm water. The thermometer read blood heat, a little thermostat clicked noisily, and the electric hotplate began to glow as the lights flickered slightly. Then — little white flecks of precipitation were forming, snowing down in the clear straw-colored fluid. “Lord,” said Connant He dropped heavily into a bunk, crying like a baby. “Six days — ” Connant sobbed, “six days in there wondering if that damned test would lie — ” Garry moved over silently, and slipped his arm across the physicist’s back. “It couldn’t tie,” Dr. Copper said, “The dog was human-immune and the serum reacted.” “He’s — all right?” Norris gasped. “Then — the animal is dead — dead forever?” “He is human,” Copper spoke definitely,” and the animal is dead.” Kinner burst out laughing, laughing hysterically: McReady turned toward him and slapped his face with a methodical one-two, one-two action. The cook laughed, gulped, cried a moment, and sat up rubbing his checks, mumbling his thanks vaguely. “I was scared. Lord, I was scared—” Norris laughed bitterly. “You think we weren’t, you ape? You think maybe Connant wasn’t?” The Ad Building stirred with a sudden rejuvenation. Voices laughed, the men clustering around Connant spoke with unnecessarily loud voices, jittery, nervous voices relievedly friendly again. Somebody called out a suggestion, and a dozen started for their skis. Blair. Blair might recover — Dr. Copper fussed with his test-tubes in nervous relief, trying solutions. The party of relief for Blair’s shack started out the door, skis clapping noisily. Down the corridor, the dogs set up a quick yelping howl as the air of excited relief reached them. Dr. Copper fussed with his tubes. McReady noticed him first, sitting on the edge of the bunk, with two precipitin-whitened test-tubes of straw-colored fluid, his face whiter than the stuff in the tubes, silent tears slipping down from horror-widened eyes. McReady felt a cold knife of fear pierce through his heart and freeze in his breast. Dr. Copper looked up. “Garry,” he called hoarsely. “Garry, for God’s sake, come here.” Commander Garry walked toward him sharply. Silence clapped down on the Ad Building. Connant looked up, rose stiffly from his seat. “Garry — tissue from the monster precipitates too. It proves nothing. Nothing but but the dog was monster-immune too. That one of the two contributing blood — one of us two, you and I, Garry — one of us is a monster.”
CHAPTER IX
“BAR, CALL back those men before they tell Blair,” McReady said quietly. Blair went to the door; faintly his shouts came back to the tensely silent men in the room. Then he was back. “They’re coming,” he said. “I didn’t tell them why. Just that Dr. Copper said not to go.” “McReady,” Garry sighed, “you’re in command now. May God help you. I cannot.” The bronzed giant nodded slowly, his deep eyes on Commander Garry. “I may be the one,” Garry added. “I know I’m not, but I cannot prove it to you in any way. Dr. Copper’s test has broken down. The fact that he showed it was useless, when it was to the advantage of the monster to have that uselessness not known, would seem to prove he was human.” Copper rocked back and forth slowly on the bunk. “I know I’m human. I can’t prove it either. One of us two is a liar, for that test cannot lie, and it says one of us is. I gave proof that the test was wrong, which seems to prove I’m human, and now Garry has given that argument which proves me human which he, as the monster, should not do. Round and round and round and round and — “ Dr. Copper’s head, then his neck and shoulders began circling slowly in time to the words. Suddenly he was lying back on the bunk, roaring with laughter. ’It doesn’t have to prove one of us is a monster! It doesn’t have to prove that at all! Ho-ho If we’re all monsters it works the same! We’re all monsters — all of us — Connant and Garry and I — and all of you.” “McReady,” Van Wall, the blond-bearded Chief Pilot, called softly. “you were on the way to an M.D. when you took up meteorology, weren’t you? Can you make some kind of test?” McReady went over to Copper slowly, took the hypodermic from his hand, and washed it carefully in 95 per cent alcohol. Garry sat on the bunk edge with wooden face, watching Copper and McReady expressionlessly. “What Copper said is possible,” McReady sighed. “Van, will you help here? Thanks.” The filled needle jabbed into Copper’s thigh. The man’s laughter did not stop, but slowly faded into sobs, then sound sleep as the morphia took hold. McReady turned again. The men who had started for Blair stood at the far end of the room, skis dripping snow, their faces as white as their skis. Connant had a lighted cigarette in each hand; one he was puffing absently, and staring at the floor. The heat of the one in his left hand attracted him and he stared at it, and the one in the other hand stupidly for a moment. He dropped one and crushed it under his heel slowly. “Dr. Copper,” McReady repeated, “could be right. I know I’m human but of course can’t prove it. I’ll repeat the test for my own information. Any of you others who wish to may do the same.” Two minutes later, McReady held a test-tube with white precipitin settling slowly from straw colored serum. “It reacts to human blood too, so they aren’t both monsters.” “I didn’t think they were,” Van Wall sighed. “That wouldn’t suit the monster either; we could have destroyed them if we knew. Why hasn’t the monster destroyed us, do you suppose? It seems to be loose.” McReady snorted. Then laughed softly. “Elementary, my dear Watson. The monster wants to have lifeforms available. It cannot animate a dead body, apparently. It is just waiting — waiting until the best opportunities come. We who remain human, it is holding in reserve.” Kinner shuddered violently. “Hey. Hey, Mac. Mac, would I know if I was a monster? Would I know if the monster had already got me? Oh Lord, I may be a monster already.” “You’d know, ” McReady answered. “But we wouldn’t,” Norris laughed shortly, half-hysterically. McReady looked at the vial of serum remaining. “There’s one thing this damned stuff is good for, at that,” he said thoughtfully. “Clark, will you and Van help me? The rest of the gang better stick together here. Keep an eye on each other,” he said bitterly. “See that you don’t get into mischief, shall we say?” McReady started down the tunnel toward Dog Town, with Clark and Van Wall behind him. “You need more serum?” Clark asked. McReady shook his head. “Tests. There’s four cows and a bull, and nearly seventy dogs down there. This stuff reacts only to human blood and — monsters.”
McREADY came back to the Ad Building and went silently to the wash stand. Clark and Van Wall joined him a moment later. Clark’s lips had developed a tic, jerking into sudden, unexpected sneers. “What did you do?” Connant exploded suddenly. “More immunizing?” Clark snickered, and stopped with a hiccough. “Immunizing. Haw! Immune all right.” “That monster,” said Van Wall steadily, “is quite logical. Our immune dog was quite all right, and we drew a little more serum for the tests. But we won’t make any more.” “Can’t — can’t you use one man’s blood or another dog — ” Norris began. “There aren’t,” said McReady softly, “any more dogs, Nor cattle, I might add.” “No more dogs?” Benning sat down slowly. “They’re very nasty when they start changing,” Van Wall said precisely, “but slow. That electrocution iron you made up, Barclay, is very fast. There is only one dog left our immune. The monster left that for us, so we could play with our little test. The rest — ” He shrugged and dried his hands. “The cattle — ,” gulped Kinner. “Also. Reacted very nicely. They look funny as hell when they start melting. The beast hasn’t any quick escape, when it’s tied in dog chains, or halters, and it had to be to imitate.” Kinner stood up slowly, His eyes darted around the room, and came to rest horribly quivering on a tin bucket in the galley. Slowly, step by step. he retreated toward the door, his mouth opening and closing silently, like a fish out of water. “The milk — ” he gasped. “I milked ’em an hour ago —” His voice broke into a scream as he dived through the door. He was out on the ice cap without windproof or heavy clothing. Van Wall looked after him for a moment thoughtfully. “He’s probably hopelessly mad,” he said at length, “but he might be a monster escaping. He hasn’t skis. Take a blow-torch — in case.” The physical motion of the chase helped them; something that needed doing. Three of the other men were quietly being sick. Norris was lying flat on his back, his face greenish, looking steadily at the bottom of the bunk above him. “Mac, how long have the — cows been not-cows —” McReady shrugged his shoulders hopelessly. He went over to the milk bucket, and with his little tube of serum went to work on it. The milk clouded it, making certainty difficult. Finally he dropped the test-tube in the stand and shook his head. “It tests negatively. Which means either they were cows then, or that, being perfect imitations, they gave perfectly good milk.” Copper stirred restless in his sleep and gave a gurgling cross between a snore and a laugh. Silent eyes fastened on him. “Would morphia — a monster —” somebody started to ask. “Lord knows,” McReady shrugged. “It affects every Earthly animal I know of.” Connant suddenly raised his head. “Mac! The dogs must have swallowed pieces of the monster, and the pieces destroyed them! The dogs were where the monster resided. I was locked up. Doesn’t that prove — ” Van Wall shook his head. “Sorry. Proves nothing about what you are, only proves what you didn’t do.” “It doesn’t do that,” McReady sighed. “We are helpless. Because we don’t know enough, and so jittery we don’t think straight. Locked up! Ever watch a white corpuscle of the blood go through the wall of a blood vessel? No? It sticks out a pseudopod. And there it is — on the far side of the wall. ” “Oh,” said Van Wall unhappily. “The cattle tried to melt down, didn’t they? The could have melted down — become just a thread of stuff and leaked under a door to recollect on the other side. Ropes no no, that wouldn’t do it. They couldn’t live in a sealed tank or — ” “If,” said McReady, “you shoot it through the heart, and it doesn’t die, it’s a monster. That’s the best test I can think of, offhand.” “No dogs,” said Garry quietly, “and no cattle. It has to imitate men now. And locking up doesn’t do any good. Your test might have work, Mac, but I am afraid it would be hard on the men.”
CHAPTER X
CLARK LOOKED up from the galley stove as Van Wall, Barclay, McReady and Benning came in, brushing the drift from their clothes. The other men jammed into the Ad Building continued studiously to do as they were doing, playing chess, poker, reading. Ralsen was fixing a sledge on the table; Van and Norris had their heads together over magnetic data, while Harvey read tables in a low voice. Dr. Copper snored softly on the bunk. Garry was working with Dutton over a sheaf of radio messages on the corner of Dutton’s bunk and a small fraction of the radio table. Connant was using most of the table for Cosmic Ray sheets. Quite plainly through the corridor, despite two closed doors, they could hear Kinner’s voice. Clark banged a kettle onto the galley stove and beckoned McReady silently. The meteorologist went over to him. “I don’t mind the cooking so damn much,” Clark said nervously, “but isn’t there some way to stop that bird? We all agreed that it would be safe to move him into Cosmos House.” “Kinner?” McReady nodded toward the door. “I’m afraid not. I can dope him, I suppose, but we don’t have an unlimited supply of morphia, and he’s not in danger of losing his mind. Just hysterical.” “Well, we’re in danger of losing ours. You’ve been out for an hour and a half. That’s been going on steadily ever since, and it was going for two hours before. There’s a limit, you know.” Garry wandered over slowly, apologetically. For an instant, McReady caught the feral spark of fear — horror — in Clark’s eyes, and knew at the same instant it was in his own. Garry — Garry or Copper — was certainly a monster. “If you could stop that, I think it would be a sound policy, Mac,” Garry spoke quietly. “There are tensions enough in this room. We agreed that it would be safe for Kinner in there, because everyone else in camp is under constant eyeing.” Garry shivered slightly. “And try, try in God’s name, to find some test that will work.” McReady sighed. “Watch or unwatched, everyone’s tense. Blair’s jammed the trap so it won’t open now. Says he’s got food enough, and keeps screaming ’Go away, go away — you’re monsters. I won’t be absorbed. I won’t. I’ll tell men when they come. Go away.’ So — we went away.” “There’s no other test?” Garry pleaded. McReady shrugged his shoulders. “Copper was perfectly right. The serum test could be absolutely definitive if it hadn’t been — contaminated. But that’s the only dog left, and he’s fixed now.” “Chemicals? Chemical tests?” McReady shook his head. “Our chemistry isn’t that good. I tried the microscope, you know.” Garry nodded. “Monster-dog and real dog were identical. But you’ve got to go on. What are we going to do after dinner?”
VAN WALL joined them quietly. “Rotation sleeping. Half the crowd asleep; half awake. I wonder how many of us are monsters? All the dogs were. We thought we were safe, but somehow it got Copper — or you.” Van Wall’s eyes flashed uneasily. “It may have gotten every one of you — all of you but myself may be wondering, looking. No, that’s not possible. You’d just spring then. I’d be helpless. We humans might somehow have the greater number now. But — ” he stopped. McReady laughed shortly. “You’re doing what Norris complained of in me. Leaving it hanging. ’But if one more is changed — that may shift the balance of power.’ It doesn’t fight. I don’t think it ever fights. It must be a peaceable thing, in its own — inimitable — way. It never had to, because it always gained its end — otherwise.” Van Wall’s mouth twisted in a sickly grin. “You’re suggesting then, that perhaps it already has the greater numbers, but is just waiting — waiting, all of them — all of you, for all I know — waiting till I, the last human, drop my wariness in sleep. Mac, did you notice their eyes, all looking at us?” Garry sighed. “You haven’t been sitting here for four straight hours, while all their eyes silently weighed the information that one of us two, Copper or I, is a monster certainly — perhaps both of us.” Clark repeated his request. “Will you stop that bird’s noise? He’s driving me nuts. Make him tone down, anyway.” “Still praying?” McReady asked. “Still praying,” Clark groaned. “He hasn’t stopped for a second. I don’t mind, his praying if it relieves him, but he yells, he sings psalms and hymns and shouts prayers. He thinks God can’t hear well way down here.” “Maybe He can’t,” Barclay grunted. “Or He’d have done something about this thing loosed from hell.” “Somebody’s going to try that test you mentioned, if you don’t stop him,” Clark stated grimly. “I think a cleaver in the head would be as positive a test as a bullet in the heart.” “Go ahead with the food. I’ll see what I can do. There may be something in the cabinets.” McReady moved wearily toward the corner Copper had used as his dispensary. Three tall cabinets of rough boards, two locked, were the repositories of the camp’s medical supplies. Twelve years ago McReady had graduated, had started for an internship, and been diverted to meteorology. Copper was a picked man, a man who knew his profession. thoroughly and modernly. More than half the drugs available were totally unfamiliar to McReady; many of the others he had forgotten. There was no huge medical library here, no series of journals available to learn the things he had forgotten, the elementary, simple things to Copper, things that did not merit inclusion in the small library he had been forced to content himself with. Books are heavy, and every ounce of supplies had been freighted in by air. McReady picked a barbiturate hopefully. Barclay and Van went with him. One man never went anywhere alone in Big Magnet. Ralsen had his sledge put away, and the physicists had moved off the table, the poker game broken up when they got back. Clark was putting out the food. The click of spoons and the muffled sounds of eating were the only sign of life in the room. There were no words spoken as the three returned; simply all eyes focused on them questioningly, while the jaw moved methodically. MeReady stiffened suddenly. Kinner was screeching out a hymn in a hoarse, cracked voice. He looked wearily at Van Wall with a twisted grin and shook his head. “Hu-uh.”
VAN WALL cursed bitterly, and sat down at the table. “We’ll just plumb have to take that till his voice wears out. He can’t yell like that forever.” “He’s got a brass throat and a cast-iron larynx,” Norris declared savagely. “Then we could be hopeful, and suggest he’s one of our friends. In that case he could go on renewing his throat till doomsday.” Silence clamped down. For twenty minutes they ate without a word. Then Connant jumped up with an angry violence. “You sit as still as a bunch of graven images. You don’t say a word, but oh Lord, what expressive eyes you’ve got. They roll around like a bunch of glass marbles spilling down a table. They wink and blink and stare — and whisper things. Can you guys look somewhere else for a change, please? “Listen, Mac, you’re in charge here. Let’s run movies for the rest of the night. We’ve been saving those reels to make ’em last. Last for what? Who is it’s going to see those last reels, eh? Let’s see ’em while we can, and look at something other than each other. “Sound idea, Connant I, for one, am quite willing to change this in any way I can.” “Turn the sound up loud, Dutton. Maybe you can drown out the hymns,” Clark suggested. “But don’t,” Norris said softly, “don’t turn off the lights altogether.” “The lights will be out.” McReady shook his head. “We’ll show all the cartoon movies we have. You won’t mind seeing the old cartoons, will you?” “Goody, goody — a moom pitcher show. I’m just in the mood.” McReady turned to look at the speaker, a lean, lanky New Englander, by the name of Caldwell. Caldwell was stuffing his pipe slowly, a sour eye cocked up to McReady. The bronze giant was forced to laugh. “O.K., Bart, you win. Maybe we aren’t quite in the mood for Popeye and trick ducks, but it’s something.” “Let’s play Classifications,” Caldwell suggested slowly. “Or maybe you call it Guggenheim. You draw lines on a piece of paper, and put down classes of things — like animals, you know. One for ’H’ and one for ’U’ and so on. Like ’Human and ’Unknown’ for instance. I think that would be a hell of a lot better game. Classification, I sort of figure is what we need right now a lot more than movies. Maybe somebody’s got a pencil that he can draw lines with, draw lines between the ’U’ animals and the ’H’ animals for instance.” “McReady’s trying to find that kind of pencil,” Van Wall answered quietly, “but we’ve got three kinds of animals here, you know. One that begins with ’M’. We don’t want any more.” “Mad ones, you mean. Uh-huh. Clark, I’ll help you with those pots so we can get our little peepshow going.” Caldwell got up slowly.
DUTTON and Barclay and Benning, in charge of the projector and sound mechanism arrangements, went about their job silently, while the Ad Building was cleared and the dishes and pans disposed of. McReady drifted over toward Van Wall slowly, and leaned back in the bunk beside him. “I’ve been wondering, Van,” he said with a wry grin, “whether or not to report my ideas in advance. I forgot the ’U animals’ as Caldwell named it, could read minds. I’ve a vague idea of something that might work. it’s too vague to bother with though. Go ahead with your show, while I try to figure out the logic of the thing. I’ll take this bunk.” Van Wall glanced up, and nodded. The movie screen would be practically on a line with his bunk, hence making the pictures least distracting here, because least intelligible. “Perhaps you should tell us what you have in mind. As it is, only the unknowns know what you plan. You might be —unknown before you got it into operation.” “Won’t take long, if I get it figured out right. But I don’t want any more all-but-the-test-dog-monsters things. We better move Copper into this bunk directly above me. He won’t be watching the screen either.” McReady nodded toward Copper’s gently snoring bulk. Garry helped them lift and move the doctor. McReady leaned back against the bunk, and sank into a trance, almost, of concentration, trying to calculate chances, operations, methods. He was scarcely aware as the others distributed themselves silently, and the screen lit up. Vaguely Kinner’s hectic, shouted prayers and his rasping hymn-singing annoyed him till the sound accompaniment started. The lights were turned out, but the large, light-colored areas of the screen reflected enough light for ready visibility. It made men’s eyes sparkle as they moved restlessly. Kinner was still praying, shouting, his voice a raucous accompaniment to the mechanical sound. Dutton stepped up the amplification. So long had the voice been going on, that only vaguely at first was McReady aware that something seemed missing. Lying as he was, just across the narrow room from the corridor leading to Cosmos House, Kinner’s voice had reached him fairly clearly, despite the sound accompaniment of the pictures. It struck him abruptly that it had stopped. “Dutton, cut that sound,” McReady called as he sat up abruptly. The pictures flickered a moment, soundless and strangely futile in the sudden, deep silence. The rising wind on the surface above bubbled melancholy tears of sound down the stove pipes. “Kinner’s stopped,” McReady said softly. “For God’s sake start that sound then, he may have stopped to listen,” Norris snapped. McReady rose and went down the corridor. Barclay and Van Wall left their places at the far end of the room to follow him. The flickers bulged and twisted on the back of Barclay’s gray underwear as he crossed the still-functioning beam of the projector. Dutton snapped on the lights, and the pictures vanished. Norris stood at the door as McReady had asked. Garry sat down quietly in the bunk nearest the door, forcing Clark to make room for him. Most of the others had stayed exactly where they were. Only Connant walked slowly up and down the room, in steady, unvarying rhythm. “If you’re going to do that, Connant,” Clark spat, “we can get along without you altogether, whether you’re human or not. Will you stop that damned rhythm?” “Sorry.” The physicist sat down in a bunk, and watched his toes thoughtfully. It was almost five minutes, five ages while the wind made the only sound, before McReady appeared at the door. “We,” he announced, “haven’t got enough grief here already. Somebody’s tried to help us out. Kinner has a knife in his throat, which was why he stopped singing, probably. We’ve got monsters, madmen and murderers. Any more ’M’s’ you can think of, Caldwell? If there are, we’ll probably have ’em before long.”
CHAPTER XI
“IS BLAIR loose?” someone asked. “Blair is not loose. Or he flew in. If there’s any doubt about where our gentle helper came from this may clear it up.” Van Hull held a footlong, thin-bladed knife in a cloth. The wooden handle was half-burnt, charred with the peculiar pattern of the top of the galley stove. Clark stared at it. “I did that this afternoon. I forgot the damn thing and left it on the stove.” Van Wall nodded. “I smelled it, if you remember. I knew the knife came from the galley.” “I wonder,” said Benning, looking around at the party warily, “how many more monsters have we? If somebody could slip out of his place, go back of the screen to the galley and then down to the Cosmos House and back he did come back, didn’t he? Yes everybody’s here. Well, if one of the gang could do all that — ” “Maybe a monster did it,” Garry suggested quietly. “There’s that possibility.” “The monster, as you pointed out today, has only men left to imitate. Would he decrease his — supply, shall we say?” Van Wall pointed out. “No, we just have a plain, ordinary louse, a murderer to deal with. Ordinarily we’d call him an ’inhuman murderer’ I suppose, but we have to distinguish now. We have inhuman murderers, and now we have human murderers. Or one at least.” “There’s one less human,” Norris said softly. “Maybe the monsters have the balance of power now.” “Never mind that,” McReady sighed and turned to Barclay. “Bar, will you get your electric gadget? I’m going to make certain — ” Barclay turned down the corridor to get the pronged electrocuter, while McReady and Van Wall went back toward Cosmos House. Barclay followed them in some thirty seconds. The corridor to Cosmos House twisted, as did nearly all corridors in Big Magnet, and Norris stood at the entrance again. But they heard, rather muffled McReady’s sudden shout. There was a savage scurry of blows, dull chthunk, shluff sounds. “Bar — Bar —” And a curious, savage mewing scream, silenced before even quick-moving Norris had reached the bend. Kinner — or what had been Kinner — lay on the floor; cut half in two by the great knife McReady had had. The meteorologist stood against the wall, the knife dripping red in his hand. Van Wall was stirring vaguely on the floor, moaning, his hand half-consciously rubbing at his jaw. Barclay an unutterably savage gleam in his eyes, was methodically leaning on the pronged weapon in his hand, jabbing, jabbing. Kinner’s arms had developed a queer, scaly fur, and the flesh had twisted. The fingers had shortened, the hand rounded, the fingernails become three-inch long things of dull red horn, keened to steel-hard razor-sharp talons. McReady raised his head, looked at the knife in his hand and dropped it. “Well, whoever did it can speak up now. He was an inhuman murderer at that — in that he murdered an inhuman. I swear by all that’s holy, Kinner was a lifeless corpse on the floor here when we arrived. But when it found we were going to jab it with the power — it changed.”
NORRIS stared unsteadily. “Oh. Lord, those things can act. Ye gods — sitting in here for hours, mouthing prayers to a God it hated! Shouting hymns in a cracked voice — hymns about a Church it never knew. Driving us mad with its ceaseless howling — “Well. Speak up, whoever did it, You didn’t know it, but you did the camp a favor. And I want to know how in blazes you got out of that room without anyone seeing you. It might help in guarding ourselves.” “His screaming — his singing. Even the sound projector couldn’t drown it.” Clark shivered. “It was a monster.” “Oh,” said Van Wall in sudden comprehension. “You were sitting right next to the door, weren’t you! And almost behind the projection screen already.” Clark nodded dumbly. “He — it’s quiet now. It’s a dead — Mac, your test’s no damn good. It was dead anyway, monster or man, it was dead.” McReady chuckled softly. “Boys, meet Clark, the only one we know is human! Meet Clark, the one who proves he’s human by trying to commit murder—and failing. Will the rest of you please refrain from trying to prove you’re human for a while? I think we may have another test.” “A test!” Connant snapped joyfully, then his face sagged in disappointment. “I suppose it’s another either-way-you-want-it.” “No,” said McReady steadily. “Look sharp and be careful. Come into the Ad Building. Barclay, bring your electrocuter. And somebody — Dutton — stand with Barclay to make sure he does it. Watch every neighbor, for by the Hell these monsters come from, I’ve got something, and they know it. They’re going to get dangerous!” The group tensed abruptly. An air of crushing menace entered into every man’s body, sharply they looked at each other. More keenly than ever before — is that man next to me an inhuman monster? “What is it?” Garry asked, as they stood again in the main room. “How long will it take?” “I don’t know exactly,” said McReady, his voice brittle with angry determination. “But I know it will work, and no two ways about it. It depends on a basic quality of the monsters, not on us. ’Kinner’ just convinced me.” He stood heavy and solid in bronzed immobility, completely sure of himself again at last. “This,” said Barclay, hefting the wooden-handled weapon, tipped with its two sharp-pointed, charged conductors, “is going to be rather necessary, I take it. Is the power plant assured?” Dutton nodded sharply. “The automatic stoker bin is full. The gas power plant is on standby. Van Wall and I set it for the movie operation and we’ve checked it over rather carefully several times, you know. Anything those wires touch, dies,” he assured them grimly “I know that.” Dr. Copper stirred vaguely in his bunk, rubbed his eyes with fumbling hand. He sat up slowly, blinked his eyes blurred with sleep and drugs, widened with an unutterable horror of drug-ridden nightmares. “Garry,” he mumbled, “Garry — listen. Selfish—from hell they came, and hellish shellfish — I mean self — Do I? What do I mean?” he sank back in his bunk, and snored softly.
McREADY looked at him thoughtfully. “We’ll know presently,” he nodded slowly. “But selfish is what you mean all right. You may have thought of that, half-sleeping, dreaming there. I didn’t stop to think what dreams you might be having. But that’s all right. Selfish is the word. They must be, you see.” He turned to the men in the cabin, tense, silent men staring with wolfish eyes each at his neighbor. Selfish, and as Dr. Copper said— every part is a whole. Every piece is self-sufficient, an animal in itself. “That, and one other thing, tell the story. There’s nothing mysterious about blood; it’s just as normal a body tissue as a piece of muscle, or a piece of liver. But it hasn’t so much connective tissue, though it has millions, billions of life-cells” McReady’s great bronze beard ruffled in a grim smile. “This is satisfying, in a way. I’m pretty sure we humans still outnumber you — others. Others standing here. And we have what you, your otherworld race, evidently doesn’t. Not an imitated, but a bred-in-the-bone instinct, a driving, unquenchable fire that’s genuine. We’ll fight, fight with a ferocity you may attempt to imitate, but you’ll never equal! We’re human. We’re real. You’re imitations, false to the core of your every cell. “All right. It’s a showdown now. You know. You, with your mind reading. You’ve lifted the idea from my brain. You can’t do a thing about it. “Standing here — “Let it pass. Blood is tissue. They have to bleed, if they don’t bleed when cut, then, by Heaven, they’re phony! Phony from hell! If they bleed — then that blood, separated from them, is an individual — a newly formed individual in its own right, just as they, split, all of them, from one original, are individuals! “Get it, Van? See the answer, Bar?” Van Wall laughed very softly. “The blood — the blood will not obey. It’s a new individual, with all the desire to protect its own life that the original — the main mass from which it was split — has. The blood will live — and try to crawl away from a hot needle, say!” McReady picked up the scalpel from the table. From the cabinet, he took a rack of test-tubes, a tiny alcohol lamp, and a length of platinum wire set in a little glass rod. A smile of grim satisfaction rode his lips. For a moment he glanced up at those around him. Barclay and Dutton moved toward him slowly, the wooden-handled electric instrument alert. “Dutton,” said McReady,” suppose you stand over by the splice there where you’ve connected that in. Just make sure no—thing pulls it loose.” Dutton moved away. “Now, Van, suppose you be first on this.” White-faced, Van Wall stepped forward. With a delicate precision, McReady cut a vein in the base of his thumb. Van Wall winced slightly, then held steady as a half inch of bright blood collected in the tube. McReady put the tube in the rack, gave Van Wall a bit of alum, and indicated the iodine bottle. Van Wall stood motionlessly watching. McReady heated the platinum wire in the alcohol lamp flame, then dipped it into the tube. it hissed softly. Five times he repeated the test. “Human, I’d say.” McReady sighed, and straightened. “As yet, my theory hasn’t been actually proven — but I have hopes. I have hopes. “Don’t, by the way, get too interested in this. We have with us some unwelcome ones, no doubt, Van, will you relieve Barclay at the switch? Thanks. O.K., Barclay, and may I say I hope you stay with us? You’re a damned good guy.” Barclay grinned uncertainly; winced under the keen edge of the scalpel. Presently, smiling widely, he retrieved his long-handled weapon. “Mr. Samuel Dutt — Bar!”
THE TENSITY was released in that second. Whatever of hell the monsters may have had within them, the men in that instant matched it. Barclay had no chance to move his weapon as a score of men poured down on that thing that had seemed Dutton. It mewed, and spat, and tried to grow fangs — and was a hundred broken, torn pieces. Without knives, or any weapon save the brute given strength of a staff of picked men, the thing was crushed, rent. Slowly they picked themselves up, their eyes smoldering, very quiet in their emotions. A curious wrinkling of their lips betrayed a species of nervousness. Barclay went over with the electric weapon. Things smoldered and stank. The caustic acid Van Wall dropped on each spilled drop of blood gave off tickling, cough-provoking fumes. McReady grinned, his deep-set eyes alight and dancing. “Maybe,” he said softly,. “I underrated man’s abilities when I said nothing human could have the ferocity in the eyes of that thing we found. I wish we could have the opportunity to treat in a more befitting manner these things. Something with boiling oil, or melted lead in it, or maybe slow roasting in the power boiler. When I think what a man Dutton was — “Never mind. My theory is confirmed by — by one who knew? Well, Van Wall and Barclay are proven. I think, then, that I’ll try to show you what I already know. That I too am human.” McReady swished the scalpel in absolute alcohol, burned it off the metal blade, and cut the base of his thumb expertly. Twenty seconds later he looked up from the desk at the waiting men. There were more grins out there now, friendly grins, yet withal, something else in the eyes. “Connant,” McReady laughed softly, “was right. The huskies watching that thing in the corridor bend had nothing on you. Wonder why we think only the wolf blood has the right to ferocity? Maybe on spontaneous viciousness a wolf takes tops, but after these seven days — abandon all hope, ye wolves who enter here! “Maybe we can save time. Connant, would you step for— ” Again Barclay was too slow. There were more grins, less tensity still, when Barclay and Van Wall finished their work. Garry spoke in a low, bitter voice. “Connant was one of the finest men we had here — and five minutes ago I’d have sworn he was a man. Those damnable things are more than imitation.” Garry shuddered and sat back in his bunk. And thirty seconds later, Garry’s blood shrank from the hot platinum wire, and struggled to escape the tube, struggled as frantically as a suddenly feral, red-eyed, dissolving imitation of Garry struggled to dodge the snake-tongue weapon Barclay advanced at him, white faced and sweating. The Thing in the test-tube screamed with a tin, tinny voice as McReady dropped it into the glowing coal of the galley stove.
CHAPTER XII
“THE LAST OF IT?” Dr. Copper looked down from his bunk with bloodshot, saddened eyes. “Fourteen of them — ” McReady nodded shortly. “In some ways if only we could have permanently prevented their spreading — I’d like to have even the imitations back. Commander Garry — Connant — Dutton — Clark —” “Where are they taking those things?” Copper nodded to the stretcher Barclay and Norris were carrying out. “Outside. Outside on the ice, where they’ve got fifteen smashed crates, half a ton of coal, and presently will add ten gallons of kerosene. We’ve dumped acid on every spilled drop, every torn fragment. We’re going to incinerate those.” “Sounds like a good plan.” Copper nodded wearily. “I wonder, you haven’t said whether Blair —” McReady started. “We forgot him! We had so much else! I wonder — do you suppose we can cure him now? “If— ” began Dr. Copper, and stopped meaningly. McReady started a second time. “Even a madman. It imitated Kinner and his praying hysteria —” McReady turned toward Van Wall at the long table. “Van, we’ve got to make an expedition to Blair’s shack.” Van looked up sharply, the frown of worry faded for an instant in surprised remembrance. Then he rose, nodded. “Barclay better go along. He applied the lashings, and may figure how to get in without frightening Blair too much.” Three quarters of an hour, through -37 cold, while the Aurora curtain bellied overhead. The twilight was nearly 12 hours long, flaming in the north on snow like white, crystalline sand under their skis. A 5mile wind piled it in drift-lines pointing off to the northwest. Three quarters of an hour to reach the snow-buried shack. No smoke came from the little shack, and the men hastened. “Blair!” Barclay roared into the wind when he was still a hundred yards away. “Blair!” “Shut up,” said McReady softly. “And hurry. He may be trying a long hike. If we have to go after him —no planes, the tractors disabled —” “Would a monster have the stamina a man has?” “A broken leg wouldn’t stop it for more than a minute,” McReady pointed out.
BARCLAY gasped suddenly and pointed aloft. Dim in the twilit sky, a winged thing circled in curves of indescribable grace and ease. Great white wings tipped gently, and the bird swept over them in silent curiosity. “Albatross ” Barclay said softly. “First of the season, and wandering way inland for some reason. If a monster’s loose— ” Norris bent down on the ice, and tore hurriedly at his heavy, windproof clothing. He straightened, his coat flapping open, a grim blue-metaled weapon in his hand. It roared a challenge to the white silence of Antarctica. The thing in the air screamed hoarsely. Its great wings worked frantically as a dozen feathers floated down from its tail. Norris fired again. The bird was moving swiftly now, but in an almost straight line of retreat. It screamed again, more feathers dropped and with beating wings it soared behind a ridge of pressure ice, to vanish. Norris hurried after the others. “It won’t come back,” he panted. Barclay cautioned him to silence, pointing. A curiously, fiercely blue light beat out from the cracks of the shack’s door. A very low, soft humming sounded inside, a low, soft humming and a clink and clank of tools, the very sounds somehow bearing a message of frantic haste. McReady’s face paled. “Lord help us if that thing has —” He grabbed Barclay’s shoulder, and made snipping motions with his fingers, pointing toward the lacing of control-cables that held the door. Barclay drew the wire-cutters from his pocket, and kneeled soundlessly at the door. The snap and twang of cut wires made an unbearable racket in the utter quiet of the Antarctic hush. There was only that strange, sweetly soft hum from within the shack, and the queerly, hectically clipped clicking and rattling of tools to drown their noises. McReady peered through a crack in the door. His breath sucked in huskily and his great fingers clamped cruelly on Barclay’s shoulder. The meteorologist backed down. “It isn’t,” he explained very softly, “Blair. It’s kneeling on something on the bunk—something that keeps lifting. Whatever it’s working on is a thing like a knapsack — and it lifts.” “All at once,” Barclay said grimly. “No Norris, hang back, and get that iron of yours out. It may have — weapons.” Together, Barclay’s powerful body and McReady’s giant strength struck the door. Inside, the bunk jammed against the door screeched madly and crackled into kindling. The door flung down from broken hinges, the patched lumber of the doorpost dropping inward. Like a blue-rubber ball, a Thing bounced up. One of its four tentacle-like arms looped out like a striking snake. In a seven-tentacled hand a six-inch pencil of winking, shining metal glinted and swung upward to face them. Its line-thin lips twitched back from snake-fangs in a grin of hate, red eyes blazing. Norris’ revolver thundered in the confined space. The hate-washed face twitched in agony, the looping tentacle snatched back. The silvery thing in its hand a smashed ruin of metal, the seven tentacled hand became a mass of mangled flesh oozing greenish-yellow ichor. The revolver thundered three times more. Dark holes drilled each of the three eyes before Norris hurled the empty weapon against its face.
THE THING screamed a feral hate, a lashing tentacle wiping at blinded eyes. For a moment it crawled on the floor, savage tentacles lashing out, the body twitching. Then it staggered up again, blinded eyes working, boiling hideously, the crushed flesh sloughing away in sodden gobbets. Barclay lurched to his feet and dove forward with an ice-ax. The flat of the weighty thing crushed against the side of the head. Again the unkillable monster went down. The tentacles lashed out, and suddenly Barclay fell to his feet in the grip of a living, livid rope. The thing dissolved as he held it, a white-hot band that ate into the flesh of his hands like living fire. Frantically he tore the stuff from him, held his hands where they could not be reached. The blind Thing felt and ripped at the tough; heavy, windproof cloth, seeking flesh — flesh it could convert — The huge blow-torch McReady had brought coughed solemnly. Abruptly it rumbled disapproval throatily. Then it laughed gurglingly, and thrust out a blue-white, three-foot tongue. The Thing on the floor shrieked, flailed out blindly with tentacles that writhed and withered in the bubbling wrath of the blow-torch. It crawled and turned on the floor, it shrieked and hobbled madly, but always McReady held the blow-torch on the face, the dead eyes burning and bubbling uselessly. Frantically the Thing crawled and howled. A tentacle sprouted a savage talon — and crisped in the flame. Steadily McReady moved with a planned, grim campaign. Helpless, maddened, the Thing retreated from the grunting torch, the caressing, licking tongue. For a moment it rebelled, squalling in inhuman hatred at the touch of icy snow. Then it fell back before the charring breath of the torch, the stench of its flesh bathing it. Hopelessly it retreated — on and on across the Antarctic snow, The bitter wind swept over it twisting the torch-tongue; vainly it flopped, a trail of oily, stinking smoke bubbling away from it— McReady walked back toward the shack silently. Barclay met him at the door. “No more?” the giant meteorologist asked grimly. Barclay shook his head. “No more. It didn’t split?” “It had other things to think about,” McReady assured him. “When I left it, it was a glowing coal. What was it doing?” Norris laughed shortly. “Wise boys, we are. Smash magnetos, so planes won’t work. Rip the boiler tubing’ out of the tractors. And leave that Thing alone for a week in this shack. Alone and undisturbed.” McReady looked in at the shack more carefully. The air, despite the ripped door, was hot and humid. On a table at the far end of the room rested a thing of coiled wires and small magnets, glass tubing and radio tubes. At the center a block of rough stone rested. From the center of the block came the light that flooded the place, the fiercely blue light bluer than the glare of an electric arc, and from it came the sweetly soft hum. Off to one side was another mechanism of crystal glass, blown with an incredible neatness and delicacy, metal plates and a queer, shimmery sphere of insubstantiality. “What is that?” McReady moved nearer.
NORRIS grunted. “Leave it for investigation. But I can guess pretty well. That’s atomic power. That stuff to the left — that’s a neat little thing for doing what men have been trying to do with 100ton cyclotrons and so forth. It separates neutrons from heavy water, which he was getting from the surrounding ice.” “Where did he get all — oh. Of course, A monster couldn’t be locked in — or out. He’s been through the apparatus caches.” McReady stared at the apparatus. “Lord, what minds that race must have —” “The shimmery sphere I think it’s a sphere of pure force. Neutrons can pass through any matter, and he wanted a supply reservoir of neutrons. Just project neutrons against silica — calcium — beryllium— almost anything, and the atomic energy is released. That thing is the atomic generator.” McReady plucked a thermometer from his coat. “It’s 120 in here, despite the open door. Our clothes have kept the heat out to an extent, but I’m sweating now.” Norris nodded. “The light’s cold. I found that. But it gives off heat to warm the place through that coil. He had all the power in the world. He could keep it warm and pleasant, as his race thought of warmth and pleasantness. Did you notice the light, the color of it?” McReady nodded. “Beyond the stars is the answer. From beyond the stars. From a hotter planet that circled a brighter, bluer sun they came.” McReady glanced out the door toward the blasted, smoke-stained trail that flopped and wandered blindly off across the drift. “There won’t be any more coming, I guess. Sheer accident it landed here, and that was twenty million years ago. What did it do all that for?” he nodded toward the apparatus. Barclay laughed softly. “Did you notice what it was working on when we came? Look.” He pointed toward the ceiling of the shack. Like a knapsack made of flattened coffee-tins, with dangling cloth straps and leather belts, the mechanism clung to the ceiling. A tiny, glaring heart of supernal flame burned in it, yet burned through the ceiling’s wood without scorching it. Barclay walked over to it, grasped two of the dangling straps in his hands, and pulled it down with an effort. He strapped it about his body. A slight jump carried him in a weirdly slow arc across the room. “Anti-gravity,” said McReady softly. “Anti-gravity,” Norris nodded. “Yes, we had ’em stopped, with no planes, and no birds. The birds hadn’t come but they had coffee-tins and radio parts, and glass and the machine shop at night. And a week — a whole week — all to itself. America in a single jump — with anti-gravity powered by the atomic energy of matter.
“We had ’em stopped, Another half hour — it was just tightening these straps on the device so it could wear it — and we’d have stayed in Antarctica, and shot down any moving thing that came from, the rest of the world.” “The albatross— ” McReady said softly. “Do you suppose— ” “With this thing almost finished? With that death weapon it held in its hand? “No, by the grace of God, who evidently does hear very well, even down here, and the margin of half an hour, we keep our world, and the planets of the system too. Anti-gravity, you know, and atomic power. Because They came from another sun, a star beyond the stars. They came from a world with a bluer sun.”
Ah. maybe you aren’t aware of it. Don’t worry. You might read about it in a decade or two. As I have repeatedly stated; “the end will not be reported upon in the news”.
Today is Lantern Festival in China. Enjoy your “moon cakes” and Baijiu.
Common violence. Organized violence is occurring monthly.
Opposing sides develop governing/war structures. Just in case.
Common violence that is generally deemed by governmental authorities as justified based on ideology.
Open War.
I’ve kept the Clock O’Doom the same, though tensions are certainly increasing. The advice remains. Avoid crowds. Get out of cities. Now. A year too soon is better than one day too late.
Front Matter
Welcome to the latest issue of the Civil War II Weather Report. These posts are different than the other posts at Wilder Wealthy and Wise and consist of smaller segments covering multiple topics around the single focus of Civil War 2.0, on the first or second Monday of every month. I’ve created a page (LINK) for links to all of the past issues. Also, subscribe because you’ll join over 710 other people and get every single Wilder post delivered to your inbox, M-W-F at 7:30AM Eastern, free of charge. Most of today’s memes are free-range, and not originals. The crop was really good this month.
Naming The Enemy: You
Since Biden was sworn in, the relationship between citizens and the government has fundamentally changed. Trump was like a game show host. Biden is like a character from a Stephen King novel, and not one of the good ones.
The unipolar, American led, world order.
The sheer hate shown by the Left, though, has replaced every bit of pretend love. Biden has set himself up not as the President of the United States, but, at best, the President of the Democratic Party. And that party, as well as all of the Left has let the mask slip.
How far?
This far:
Not a parody.
Yes. That is a governor of a state, indicating that people who live in the state she is supposed to represent, should move. Admittedly, she looks like she’s auditioning for the role of Morticia for the “couldn’t get a date in high school players”. But since she (presumably) hasn’t (yet) Cuomo’d her staff, well, she’s the governor.
And she hates you.
You are her enemy. She has made that clear.
And so did Biden’s press secretary:
Diversity includes everyone except YOU.
Merely voting for the “wrong” candidate makes you the enemy. You, too, can be a “threat to our democracy” if you don’t vote the way that Big Biden wants you to vote. I’m not sure why that upsets them, since the voting isn’t how they win elections, it’s the counting that wins them elections.
But I guess it sets you up to be an extremist.
What’s an extremist?
If you are not with us, you must be killed.
Anyone who doesn’t believe what (they) the Leftist “majority” believe. Simple, right? Don’t like chocolate? Extremist. Think that owning guns might be a right?
Extremist. Biden even said so. Again.
Last summer, he threatened his own citizens.
Apparently, he liked the results so much that he did it again.
Biden trying to unify the nation.
I think Joe might have forgotten something:
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But, seriously, he really, really, might have forgotten something:
The optics are so 1950.
And I thought he was on Ukraine’s side? But, regardless, he has this really weird view on weapons, and I think it can be summarized by this one meme:
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And all of this nonsense was before his ill-advised 1930’s totalitarian aesthetic national speech. What did he want to talk about with his background that would have been appropriate at a May Day parade at Red Square in 1936?
Yikes!
Well, he had a lot to say. About inflation? No. About Russia? China? Ukraine? The energy crisis? The economy? No. Really just about how much he really, really hates anyone on the Right.
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People on the Left were quick to join in:
Civil war is revving up it’s engines!
So, you’re the Enemy of the Left. Congratulations! But I’m not so sure about Biden’s comments . . . .
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Violence And Censorship Update
Just like the segment above, I had more censorship this month than I can work through. In many cases, it is actively impacting writers like me, with (apparently) Google® doing quite a bit to throttle traffic. This is nothing new, but as far as I can tell, it’s accelerating and becoming more brazen at all levels.
But on the bigger stage, “Gays Against Groomers” was shut down. The person running “Libs of TicTok” was doxed as well, but still maintains their presence. Why shut them down?
I’m guessing a narrative violation, since “Groomer” is now officially a hate word.
Hate word.
But that’s just a Twitter® account. It’s not like big tech is actively trying to shut down speech from the Right, is it?
Remember, the FBI searched Barron Trump’s bedroom before they searched Hunter Biden’s. And they leaked photos of Trump’s place, but not photos of the Epstein investigation. That probably tells you all you need to know about how political the FBI is.
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But at least big tech is doing this on its own, right?
No. They colluded with the Biden Administration on a regular basis on “what to censor”, which in any real world would be a big deal. But who controls what’s on the net? Big tech. The idea that independent voices can get a large following is something they’re working desperately to control.
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They’re trying to understand why you would avoid taking the science juice into your veins. Testing and actual data are too much to ask. Keep in mind that one statistic I saw showed that 44% of pregnant women who were in the science juice trial miscarried. And that it’s still recommended for pregnant women.
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Even Bill Maher, who is no real friend to the Right, is stunned at the hypocrisy. Me?
Not so much anymore.
Biden’s Misery Index
Let’s take a looks to see how we’ve done this month . . . .
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Yup, up again.
Updated Civil War II Index
The Civil War II graphs are an attempt to measure four factors that might make Civil War II more likely, in real time. They are broken up into Violence, Political Instability, Economic Outlook, and Illegal Alien Crossings. As each of these is difficult to measure, I’ve created for three of the four metrics some leading indicators that combine to become the index. On illegal aliens, I’m just using government figures.
Violence:
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Violence ticked upward this month, though not to previous levels. I think it continues to be muted because the Left has kept their dogs on a leash.
Political Instability:
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Up is more unstable, and it dropped a bit. We’ll see what impact Biden’s speech has.
Economic:
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Economic indicators ricocheted down this month. Not promising, but this is a strange election season.
Illegal Aliens:
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It set a new record for this time of year. But it was down. Must still be hot out. And Elon had something to say, too.
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Shocks To The System
When the Russians invade Ukraine, I was mainly worried about the impact of losing the things that Russia and Ukraine made that would impact the outside world – things like wheat, or fertilizer. I really didn’t expect the West to collectively decide, “breathing isn’t important” and cut off their own oxygen. They did. Natural gas is very important to the European economy, and without it, whole segments of what they produce have to get shut down – like COVID-level impacts, but because they decided not to buy natural gas.
Oops.
Whether intentional or not, it certainly has given a lot of data about shock testing of the economy of Europe:
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Now it’s created such imbalances in the European energy market that electricity bills are skyrocketing. How do girls decide who they’re going to date?
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Collectively, the governments are deciding that they want the ability to do (spins wheel) whatever they want to do in response to the crisis. Really.
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Meanwhile, electricity shortages are showing up elsewhere. In Colorado, I think users got a credit for installing the remote-control thermostat plus an annual payment ($25?) but lose the ability to choose how warm their house is. Not horrific, but a sign, potentially of stresses to come.
As the interest rates go up, another stress goes up, too. Housing prices drop and the housing market starts to lock up. We’ve seen this before.
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Economic stresses, especially energy stresses, have the ability to be incredibly destabilizing to a society, pushing it from near war to over the edge. Beware as the economy falls apart.
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Americans Are Too Pampered and Neurotic to Fight a Civil War
Opinion by Bonnie Kristian – Aug 13
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“War,” for Crowder, means sharp words on a podcast. “War,” for Breitbart, meant starting a website—the gif Crowder used came from a 2012 documentary, Hating Breitbart, about the launch of his eponymous Breitbart.com. Most of the shitposting about the need to “lock and load” is just that, and for all our negative partisanship and inflammatory social media use, Americans have yet to show ourselves at anything like a critical mass inclined to kill each other over politics.
US is running parallel to outbreak of Spanish Civil War, but our Regime has something the Socialists of the 1930s did not: technological supremacy
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The Spanish Civil War was not about rivals within a system; it was about the system itself. This is why matters are so irreconcilable in the United States today. The Left has been captured by a revolutionary ideology that will not tolerate rivals at all, and in fact construes tolerance for dissent as an unacceptable compromise with evil. It is pushing the forces of the Right towards radicalization and illiberalism simply for the sake of self-preservation.
...
This, I think, is why any talk of an American civil war is mostly just talk.
The Regime -- meaning both the State and private institutional actors -- have the technological power to marginalize those it wants to marginalize. When we become a cashless society -- and the Regime used Covid as an opportunity to move us all towards that goal (remember the "coin shortage" bullshit?) -- it will be impossible to buy and sell if your card is disabled electronically.
No, America Is Not on the Verge of a New Civil War
Clickbait headlines aside, there’s little evidence that most Americans expect that it will take violence to settle our differences. And there’s plenty of evidence that most favor compromise, common ground and progress.
It's true that research also finds that the strongest partisans on both sides have the highest approval of the use of violence to achieve political ends. But it also appears that receiving even one pacifying message significantly drops the acceptance of violence, even if it comes from the leader of the disliked party. The lesson is that finger-pointing is at best misguided and at worst calculated for show; each side’s political elites have the power to push our society in a peaceful direction — if they choose.
Americans want to be led to common ground and progress. Even the slightest nod from political leadership can redirect the most hardened partisans away from violence and to a place where compromise is acceptable. When our leaders choose this path, their base may tell them they are weak, but a majority of the country sees a sliver of hope that we may be able to rebuild our crumbling institutions and overcome the lack of trust in them.
Far more concerning than a handful of Americans foreseeing civil war is what happens when our leaders choose not to use their platforms to unify people. When aspiring politicians see the most famous and successful of their ilk achieve their stature by manufacturing and repeating reasons to be afraid of their fellow countrymen, it is little wonder why they might eschew calmer, pacifying rhetoric. If our elected officials make this personally beneficial but publicly disastrous choice, we must not stand for it. We need to replace them through the democratic means enshrined in our system.
People in America are unhappy. Unhappiness always leads to trouble. If you couple that with high taxes, inflation, lack of work, and tribalism, you will have a dangerous stew of discontent. This will result in calamity.
Home-Style Meatloaf
When it’s comfort that you seek, nothing satisfies quite like a classic meatloaf. And if you don’t have a go-to recipe, we offer you this one. It skips any fussy steps and avoids exotic ingredients. This is pure and simple, the perfectly seasoned, down-home version you remember from way way back. So next time you’re missing mama’s cooking or need a meal that’ll go over well with the whole fam, turn to this can’t-miss recipe.
The food lines are back, and they are starting to get really long. But this wasn’t supposed to happen. We are being told that unemployment is very low, even though that is not actually true. And we are also being told that the inflation rate is still only in the single digits, and of course that is not exactly true either. All over the country, middle class Americans are watching their lifestyles be absolutely eviscerated by the cost of living crisis, and an increasing number of them are turning to food banks. So we are seeing very long lines at food banks in major cities from coast to coast, and we are also seeing very long lines in rural locations such as northwest Montana…
Across the Flathead, food pantries are facing emptier shelves and scarcer donations as demand for their services grows.“Our numbers have definitely been increasing,” Ann Bohmer, co-manager of the Columbia Falls Food Bank, said. “[There’s been an] influx of people and a shortage of supplies.”
The Columbia Falls Food Bank is now “overwhelmed” by the level of demand that it is experiencing, and unfortunately the same thing can be said for countless other food banks across the nation…
The problem of overwhelmed and understocked food banks is not unique to northwest Montana. Food and gas prices are skyrocketing across the country, forcing Americans to pinch pennies and limit purchases. As of last month, grocery store prices were up 10.8% from the same time last year. While supermarket tabs are getting higher, lines at food pantries are getting longer, as Americans struggle to put meals on the table.
You should never, ever look down on those that need to use local food banks.
Because the truth is that with a few bad breaks you could soon need to use one yourself.
Prior to this new economic crisis, a woman in the Phoenix area named Tomasina John had never visited a food bank before, but now her local food bank is an indispensable lifeline for her family…
Tomasina John was among hundreds of families lined up in several lanes of cars that went around the block one recent day outside St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix. John said her family had never visited a food bank before because her husband had easily supported her and their four children with his construction work.“But it’s really impossible to get by now without some help,” said John, who traveled with a neighbor to share gas costs as they idled under a scorching desert sun. “The prices are way too high.”
Sadly, economic conditions have forced dozens of food banks all over the country to either shut down or reduce services at a time when they are needed more than ever.
Elsewhere in the United States, rising prices have forced dozens of charitable nonprofits to shutter, temporarily close, or reduce services. This spring, Nashville’s Little Pantry closed down after five years of operation. New Jersey’s Angels Community Outreach announced a temporary closure due to supply shortages. And Utah’s Tooele Food Pantry canceled an important food drive because of staffing and logistical issues. Among the food banks that remain open, some are putting limitations on how often people can visit and how much food they can get.
If our food banks are under this much financial stress already, what will things be like a year from now?
That is something to think about.
Across the Atlantic, they are dealing with similar problems in the UK…
Food banks are running out of supplies amid an “overwhelming” surge of new people falling into hardship during the cost of living crisis, with some charities forced to turn away families in need.
As I discussed yesterday, an unprecedented energy crisis has much of Europe on the verge of a full-blown economic collapse.
Energy bills have soared to unprecedented heights, and the cost of living has become extremely oppressive. As a result, many in the UK are now skipping meals on a regular basis…
Four out of 10 Universal Credit claimants have admitted to missing meals over the summer in order to keep up with rising costs, research shows.Some 41% of people on benefits admitted to skipping meals over the past three months, with a further 38% claiming to have had just one meal or gone a whole day without eating because they couldn’t afford to buy enough food.The research was conducted by The Trussell Trust, Britain’s biggest food bank charity, which surveyed 1,846 UK adults claiming benefits between August 10 and 31 via YouGov.
But this nightmare won’t just be isolated to Europe. There will be widespread food shortages all over the globe in 2023, and the head of the UN says that it is likely that there will be “multiple famines” next year.
So why aren’t more people getting prepared?
Top government officials all over the planet are openly telling us that there will be food shortages in 2023, but the vast majority of the people out there seem to assume that everything is going to work out just fine somehow.
Just because we have always had plenty of food in the past does not mean that we will have enough food in the future.
According to the World Food Program, 828 million people all over the world go to bed hungry each night, vast numbers of people in Europe are already being forced to skip meals because of rising food costs, and children are literally starving to death in Africa right now.
But here in the United States we will be immune from the global food crisis because we are so special, right?
If you want to stick your head in the sand and pretend that everything is just fine, go ahead and do so.
Meanwhile, the food lines are getting longer and longer, and crops are failing all over the planet.
Virus Control by China
China has shown that it is capable of mobilizing as a society from 0 to 100 towards a common goal in order to stop the virus ( Tbx | Sep 7 2022 16:28 utc | 114).
This is all the more remarkable considering that China was the FIRST country to experience the pandemic. (The fact that recent, relatively small outbreaks have occurred after two years of essentially normal life strongly implies that the virus re-entered China from elsewhere.)
What's particularly maddening is that China provided a clear template of how to keep the virus under control, and this was widely ignored around the world because of "freedom" and more so "money".
In the end, by prioritizing those things we have lost out on both counts, and to boot, life expectancy has been reduced.
I wonder what Darwin would have to say about all of this...
Posted by: farm ecologist | Sep 8 2022 14:16 utc | 12
I find it very hard to disagree with that premise as the brutal reality tells us:
Eliza Fletcher, a mother of two, went for her regular early jog but never made it back to her kids. She was abducted and murdered.
The tragedy in Memphis, Tennessee, triggered a public opinion storm in the US. Meanwhile, quite a few voices suggest that she shouldn't have been jogging at 4:30 in the morning.This is what social order looks like in the US - going out in an "inappropriate" time, one could get killed.In a TV program aired on Tuesday local time, Fox News host Tucker Carlson commented, "An American citizen should be able to live or walk anywhere in America without being raped or murdered for it, period. That is the baseline requirement for civilization. It's called order."Unfortunately, that is not what the US has right now and Americans seem to have forgotten this "baseline requirement."
There are too many violent crimes, and people have, to some extent, gotten used to it, taking the situation as a part for their normal lives.
That's why many people's first reaction is suggesting that Fletcher should have chosen a different time, different route, taken precautions to defend herself, and some even said that she should have used a treadmill.This is why Carlson lamented that "everyone knows the rules" - one should go to safe places in safe period of time - otherwise, "you run the risk of being raped and murdered. That's how things work in this country. So, adapt. Accept it. Move on." He also warned that the entire country will be Memphis if Americans don't put a stop to this insanity.This is the US.
On the outside, it is still a highly developed country.
But on the inside, parts of the US look like Somalia, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. More and more common people who live in the US simply do not feel safe anymore.
As Carlson put it, the US lost the baseline requirement for civilization, or order. [My Emphasis]
The editorial then gets into the epidemic of mass shootings, one of which occurred just after Flecther’s murder in Memphis. And as economic conditions deteriorate further, the violence will escalate.
Did you know China has foregone all mRNA vaccines? The vaccines China administered to its people – along with massive lockdowns and what not – are Sinovax, not the Western types. They have expressed interest but have not followed this interest up with even literally a single deployment…
…research only.
Long, slow research, and cautious, and careful testing of the mRNA injections on animals.
Secondly, it has never been clear to me that COVID was ever going to be eradicated. Unless the entire world goes under the CCP or equivalent – it is simply impossible that China-type measures would ever hold up anywhere including Europe.
Figaro and Blaze were two kittens my sons found dumped in the middle of nowhere while on a day trip with their grandparents. Of course they brought them home to me 🤦🏻♀️ But honestly, who could resist those sweet little faces??
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Italian Sausage Soup
Warm and hearty! This rich Italian soup combines sausage, broccoli, tomatoes and, best of all, pasta.
Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 lb turkey Italian sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 cup uncooked mostaccioli pasta (3 oz)
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (28 oz) Muir Glen™ organic whole peeled tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso™ Vegetable Classics French onion soup
Yeah. It’s not too far from where I (once) lived, and I (even) used to have relatives living there. Like most of the old steel sections of PA, it’s dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Nothing is going on there except government offices and a flourishing drug trade. The video discusses something that is so typical of what America has become.
Watch this clip… soak it up.
Tucker Carlson: This is shocking
Yeah. It’s a mess, and it’s typical for Western Pennsylvania. This is a tale of the “kids of oligarchs” taking over and driving a disaster further into the ground…
Fitness coach Dmitry Stuzhuk
fitness coach Dmitry Stuzhuk
This is the last photo of fitness coach Dmitry Stuzhuk, husband of the famous Ukrainian blogger Sophia Stuzhuk and father of three little children.
Dmitry posted this photo on his Instagram account shortly before he fell into a coma and died. The caption ran: “I got COVID-19.”
After returning home from vacation in Turkey, Dmitry was tested positive with Coronavirus.
He was suffering from problems with the cardiovascular system.
Earlier Dmitry escaped from the hospital, deciding to continue treatment at home, because “they don’t feed their patients.”
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…There’s a guy playing with his kids, working in a gym, posting pics on Instagram, and vacationing in a five-star resort in Turkey, and the next moment he is being buried in a closed casket.
This is a reminder that life is short, so don’t postpone things you have always meant to do.
Tell your loved ones things you have always meant to say.
Because tomorrow it might be too late.
Every moment needs to be enjoyed to the fullest because this moment is all we got.
Kirk & Scotty after the fight with Klingons
Scotty threw the first punch!
Protecting your car from being stolen
My mom’s 1965 Ford Mustang.
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That’s my mom on the right with the ‘Stang, a ’65 she bought from her brother who worked at a dealership in Hollywood back then. He arranged for 5 Mustangs to be painted in a Thunderbird color just so she could get her preferred color without paying extra. It’s a rare car.
(Next to her is her good friend Cindy and her Thunderbird, year unknown to me. More on her and that car in a moment.) [Edit: Thanks to Matthew Lallo I now know that a 57 T-Bird. Thanks, Matt!]
That Mustang was stolen three times in the 80s and 90s. Each time the thieves were able to get into it, pop it into neutral and push it down the block to a small cul-de-sac to try to get it running. Each time they failed. Each time we found the Mustang sitting there, lightly molested but otherwise intact. I think we had to replace the radio once.
The reason they were unable to start the car is simple. Dad installed one of these:
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A small toggle switch mounted under the dash, too small to be noticed easily, acted as a simple ignition interrupt. The thieves pulled the wires off the ignition switch but were unable to get a spark. They’d pop the hood and check the battery, but weren’t able to figure out why there was no spark. None of them noticed the little toggle switch.
Mom was religious about flipping that switch each and every time she parked, and it paid off.
As a side note, Cindy’s T-Bird was stolen a number of times, too, and each time foiled, but they were using much more sophisticated anti-theft devices. I think it even has a LoJack. I find it kind of funny that Mom’s cheap toggle switch was just as effective as Cindy’s more expensive devices.
Arnold Ziffel Tests his Civil Rights – Green Acres – 1967 & 1968
Enjoy!
Matthew Ehret
September 1, 2022
Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia is heralding more tectonic changes in the rules of the Great Game in ways that few have begun to realize.
Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia is heralding more tectonic changes in the rules of the Great Game in ways that few have begun to realize.
While many people are quick to criticize China for having looked the other way while the atrocious Saudi-led offensive in Yemen has continued to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians since 2015, these same people miss the fact that a higher geopolitical reality is being born which will have a much greater benefit to both the people of Yemen and humanity more generally if it is not sabotaged.
Just to be clear: Saudi Arabia has a lot of blood on her hands.
However, the monarchy is also not merely the unidimensional player which many often assume whose goal is to simply bask forever in oil profits while spreading wahhabite radicalism across the Arab world while subduing any nation who stands in their way.
There is also an emergent robust young generation in Saudi Arabia (half of the 31 million Saudis are under 25) and a renewed embrace of advanced technological progress as a driver for a post-hydrocarbon age. This more healthy dynamic within the Saudi population and governing class was outlined clearly in the Saudi Vision 2030 program of April 2016 and earlier the January 2016 Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which read: “In the process of jointly pursuing the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, China is willing to coordinate development strategies with Arab states, put into play each other’s advantages and potentials, promote international production capacity cooperation and enhance cooperation in the fields of infrastructure construction, trade and investment facilitation, nuclear power, space satellite, new energy, agriculture and finance, so as to achieve common progress and development and benefit our two peoples.”
This positive orientation can be seen by an array of common sense transformations of the Saudi foreign policy priorities over recent years made possible by the smooth diplomacy of both China and Russia who are leading in the creation of a new viable security/financial architecture far outside of the control of western unipolarists. Among the chief of these new priorities is a focus on vectoring east towards a pro-China policy, and improving diplomatic relations with historic enemies within the region.
Rebuilding Relationships and Stability in the Middle East
In November 2020, Saudi Arabia and Iraq re-opened their borders and began restoring cooperative ties 30 years after Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait saw a near total cutting off of relations. Saudi Arabia and Turkey (both of whom having suffered from overlapping spheres of interest within the Middle East) have also gone far to reset their relations with Erdogan and Crown Prince Bin Salman announcing a “new era of cooperation” after the latter’s visit to Ankara. In their joint communique, Saudi Arabia and Turkey wrote of “their common determination to enhance cooperation in the bilateral relations between the two countries including in the political, economic, military, security and cultural fields.”
It wasn’t three days after this meeting that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met with the Crown Prince in Jeddah where matters of economic, regional stability, “bilateral relations and opportunities for joint cooperation” was discussed (followed by the Iraqi PM’s meeting with his Iranian counterparts a day later). Iran and Iraq are currently in the final stages of work on the first rail connection between the two states in history with the Shalamcheh-Basra rail line that can easily connect to the existent 1500 km railway across Iraq and could then easily stretch into Syria and Lebanon as part of the Southern corridor of the BRI.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have also sped up their efforts to rebuild diplomatic ties after the disastrous execution of Shiite cleric Nimr-al-Nimr caused the total rupture of ties in 2016. Other gulf states who had also cut ties with Iran such as UAE and Kuwait have already restarted relations. It is this author’s contention that this breakthrough would have been entirely impossible were it not for the fact that both China and Russia have made it clear that Iran is an integral pillar of the Greater Eurasian Partnership, playing a potential stabilizing role in the middle east, as well as a key node in the functionality of both the International North South Transportation Corridor and also the southern route of the Belt and Road Initiative.
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This turn towards rationality by Saudi Arabia makes perfect sense.
The western overlord of the Middle East who have used Saudi Arabia and other regimes as weapons in their geopolitical arsenal of oil geopolitics and the creation/deployment of terrorism have made it clear that the “post-Great Reset” rules based international order sees little room for hydrocarbon fuels which have been deemed “enemy #1” to be destroyed at all cost in the pursuit of “global net zero” by 2050. As such, even on a practical level, there will be very little role which Saudi Arabia or any other oil-reliant state will play within this utopic new order.
A Sane Energy Policy
China, on the other hand, has no such delusional green visions and instead offers a more rational energy vision with its partners outlined in the August 2022 Memorandum of Understanding signed by Saudi’s Aramco and China’s Sinopec to vastly expand cooperation on petrochemical integration, engineering, construction, up and downstream technology and hydrogen production. The head of Aramco even said: “Ensuring the continuing security of China’s energy needs remains our highest priority – not just for the next five years but for the next 50 and beyond.”
Ever since Saudi Arabia first floated the idea of selling oil to China in yuan rather than U.S. dollars back in March 2022, it has become increasingly clear that the age of the U.S. dollar as the sole reserve currency is quickly coming to an end. Since 2016 Sino-Saudi trade has expanded massively with China becoming Saudi Arabia’s primary trade partner with bilateral trade hitting $87 billion in 2021. Meanwhile China purchases over 25% of all the oil Saudi Arabia produces.
On a deeper level which touches on the substance of long term successful survival (vs mere momentary pragmatic tactical survival), Saudi Arabia has increasingly come to the realization that it needs a new way of doing things. The age of oil geopolitics shaped by speculative spot and futures markets as it was played since 1973 is by all intents and purposes over and anyone wishing to continue playing by those rules will not survive for long. The new reality setting the tone for the Middle East is based upon real, measurable growth with a focus on interconnectivity, rail, and industrial corridors. The prices of oil and other commodities is increasingly being set by the measurable needs of nations and people, instead of the myopic impulses of speculators obsessed with making money and no concern for the real world.
As such, it makes perfect sense that China has worked so hard to help Saudi Arabia become the second nuclear powered gulf state (following the UAE’s recent leap into the 21st century with 2.7 GW of energy now constructed as of this writing).
As early as 2016, China signed an MOU to help Saudi Arabia build 4th generation gas cooled reactors and in 2020 Chinese companies signed an agreement to help Saudi Arabia not only utilize its vast uranium resources but also become proficient in all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. This would be vital not only to help Saudi Arabia successfully transition off of its reliance on hydrocarbons, but would also create vast new reservoirs of oil for the global markets now desperately in need of fuel. The vast opportunities for mass desalination is yet another reason why nuclear is the obvious choice for any nation seriously thinking about overcoming water scarcity in sustainable ways.
Interconnectivity Grows
Besides the $500 billion NEOM megacity on the Red Sea which Xi will be visiting shortly, the Saudi Vision 2030 has also made the construction of several megaprojects a high priority such as the 450 km high speed Haramain Railway completed by China Railway Construction Corporation linking Mecca to Medina.
This project provides a solid extension to the 2700 km north-south railway completed in 2015 which connects Riyadh to Al Haditha on Jordan’s border.
An additional 460 km of railways connecting various GCC members is also being built.
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Additionally, the $200 billion Persian Gulf-Red Sea high speed railway (aka: Saudi Land bridge) received full support from all six Gulf Cooperation Council members in 2021 which will see a 2100 km high speed railway stretch across the Arabian Desert with branches that could easily extend north into Egypt where similar projects are already underway and south into Yemen and beyond through the 26 km Bal el-Mandeb Strait across the Red Sea into East Africa.
If a successful peace process can endure between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and if Iran can be brought into a mediating role, it is entirely feasible that this project dubbed “The Bridge of the Horn of Africa” when it was first unveiled in 2009, may finally see the light of day.
During the 14th century, European artists noted that oil and water cannot be mixed without a third element of egg tempura serving as a medium whereby an array of pigments arriving from as far as Arabia and even Asia, could be turned into paint.
In this same way, China and to a large extent Russia have become this “third medium” which has made antagonistic political interests across the Middle East harmonize under a new paradigm of cooperation and trust.
A potentially beautiful new future driven by the re-awakening of the spirit of the Silk Road is being painted before our eyes.
Dio – Heaven And Hell Live In London 2005
Ronnie James. Rest in peace.
As a Hong Konger, what can we do if China sends their troops to Hong Kong finally?
Question:
What can we do if China sends their troops to Hong Kong finally?
Answer:
PLA soldiers already stationed in Hong Kong.
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Did you drop out of elementary school or something?
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Have you not seen the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building in Central? It’s right next to Victoria Harbour. You can’t miss it.
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Seriously, I doubt whether you’ve even visited Hong Kong, let alone live there, dear Anonymous.
Chris Cornell – Black Hole Sun Acoustic
Enjoy.
It Is Going To Take “Trillions” To Fix The Massive Derivatives Crisis That Has Erupted In Europe
This thing in Europe is rapidly becoming rather serious. Vladimir Putin’s decision to end the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has caused an enormous derivatives crisis to erupt in Europe, and it is going to take a giant mountain of money to fix it. Some are already referring to this as a “Lehman Brothers moment” for the European financial system, and authorities all over the EU are really starting to freak out. We haven’t seen anything like this since 2008, and if the Europeans are not able to contain the damage we could soon see a tsunami of financial panic sweep across the entire globe.
European energy trading is being strained by margin calls of at least $1.5 trillion, putting pressure on governments to provide more liquidity buffers, according to Norway’s Equinor ASA.Aside from fanning inflation, the biggest energy crisis in decades is sucking up capital to guarantee trades amid wild price swings. That’s pushing European Union officials to intervene to prevent energy markets from stalling, while governments across the region are stepping in to backstop struggling utilities. Finland has warned of a “Lehman Brothers” moment, with power companies facing sudden cash shortages.
We aren’t talking about 1.5 million dollars.
We aren’t even talking about 1.5 billion dollars.
1.5 trillion dollars is a colossal amount of cash.
To put this in perspective, if you were able to create a stack of one trillion dollar bills it would be 67,866 miles high.
So a stack of 1.5 trillion dollars would be over 100,000 miles high.
We often use the phrase “a mountain of money” rather flippantly, but this really would be a colossal mountain of money.
The problem is not with the physical markets. Rather, we are being told that 1.5 trillion dollars in “liquidity support” will be needed because derivatives trading has gone completely haywire…
“Liquidity support is going to be needed,” Helge Haugane, Equinor’s senior vice president for gas and power, said in an interview. The issue is focused on derivatives trading, while the physical market is functioning, he said, adding that the energy company’s estimate for $1.5 trillion to prop up so-called paper trading is “conservative.”
1.5 trillion dollars is the “conservative” estimate that we are being given right now.
That means that the final bill will likely be in the “trillions”.
Where is all of that money going to come from?
Over the years, I have done so many articles about the dangers of derivatives.
Is the inevitable global derivatives meltdown finally upon us?
The European Commission is also examining measures to help with liquidity. These could include credit lines from the European Central Bank, new products as margin collateral, and temporary suspensions of derivatives markets, according to a policy background paper seen by Bloomberg News.
If they actually decided to temporarily suspend the trading of derivatives, that would actually create even more panic.
This entire crisis could be solved if the war in Ukraine ends and Russian gas starts flowing back into Europe.
But that isn’t going to happen. Neither side is going to back down, and there will not be peace any time soon.
And so this is going to be a very bitter and very cold winter for Europeans, and the Russians are openly taunting them…
Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom has taunted Europe with a sinister video warning about a long winter with snow and ice sweeping across the continent.The two-minute clip titled Winter will be Long shows how Europe will freeze amid the exorbitant energy prices caused by Vladimir Putin’s savage invasion of Ukraine.The footage shows a worker turning off the supplies, sending the gas pressure needle to zero, as icy clouds ominously creep across the screen, interspersed with aerial shots of Brussels, Berlin, Paris and London.
This winter, we are likely to see shortages, mandatory rationing and insanely high energy bills all over Europe.
According to Zero Hedge, it is now being projected that energy bills in Europe will increase by a total of 2 trillion euros and will ultimately reach 20 percent of all disposable income.
Needless to say, we are now in unprecedented territory.
We have already started to see absolutely massive protests in major European cities, and Italian politician Matteo Salvini is openly admitting that this crisis has brought Europeans to “their knees”…
On Sunday Salvini urged an end to Russia energy sanctions which are only leaving Europeans “on their knees” due to higher energy bills and lack of supply. “Several months have passed and people are paying two, three, even four times more for their bills,” he said in an interview RTL radio. “And after seven months, the war continues and Russian Federation coffers are filling with money.”He explained that not only are the sanctions not working, but they hit Italy harder. While saying he stands in solidarity with Ukraine, he’s not willing to stick with something obviously counterproductive where the blowback is felt more in Europe, Italy in particular with its soaring energy import prices, and not the intended target of the Putin government.
The longer the gas stays off, the worse things are going to get.
So what happens if the Russians never turn the gas back on?
The second-largest steel producer in the world, ArcelorMittal, is the most recent business name to announce the closure of a factory in Europe as a result of rising gas and energy costs.Due to the outrageously high surge in energy prices, ArcelorMittal is shutting down one of the two existing blast furnaces at its steelworks plant in Bremen of Germany, starting by the end of September until any further updates.
Many have warned that Europe is plunging into a “recession”, but the truth is that what the Europeans are facing is much more serious than that.
This is going to be bad.
And things are going to stay bad until there is peace with the Russians, and the truth is that peace with the Russians may not happen at all.
Months ago, western leaders were openly bragging that they were going to crush the Russian economy.
It turns out that Europe is the one being crushed instead.
Summer is almost over, winter is coming, and the Europeans are completely and utterly unprepared for what is coming next.
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What is life like for Uyghurs in Xinjiang now that the Chinese Communist Party is in power?
A lot better than before.
When I was living in China, Uyghur induced acts of terrorism were just every day events. Dozens of police were killed in Xinjiang every week. I wanted to go and visit some of the beautiful places in the Chinese wild west, but Uyghur friends strongly advised against it. My life would be in danger every minute I was there. Daily news reports confirmed this.
I nearly lost a good friend who was almost in the wrong place at the wrong time due to Uyghur terrorist acts. A group of deranged Uyghurs stormed into a train station in Kunming (which is not in Xinjiang btw) with big knives and started killing random people. My friend had just left the station 10 minutes before.
Uyghur fanatics were pressing for an independent islamic state in Xinjiang, and were perpetuating numerous acts of murder and mayhem to get their way. They would show up in Beijing with the family vehicle, with wife and kids on board, and go plowing into crowds of innocent people, killing as many as possible until they were finally stopped.
In such an environment, it’s impossible to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys.
Previous dynasties would have quickly exterminated the entire Uyghur population. The CCP demonstrated extreme restraint by just gathering everybody up and sending them all to facilities where they would be taught to be polite neighbors. Of course, the normal aggrieved crybabies wept their crocodile tears over the oppression that prevented them from doing random acts of murder. Waah waaah waaaah.
Xinjiang is a beautiful and safe place to visit now. Try it sometime. I plan on doing so when the pandemic stuff calms down.
Look at it this way. How would the people of the US react to a large group of Muslims taking over an entire state and attempting to establish an islamic republic within our borders, while perpetuating bloody acts of terrorism all over America? Would the US government exercise any restraint at all? I think not.
Five years ago at 4:41am she started yowling and crying and walking all over me and nipping my nose. I couldn’t figure out what her problem was until I heard the most devastating sound coming from my Bengal cat “Mouseman”. He was 20 years old.
my Bengal cat “Mouseman”
The night before he could not walk anymore. He lost a lot of weight. He had no control of his bladder.
I had an appointment for that morning for the vet to come to the house to help my boy Over Rainbow Bridge.
Anyway I awoke to him gurgling.
He was asleep on a blanket next to my pillow. I picked him up and placed him on my chest.
Kiki kept nuzzling him as he took his final breath in my arms breaking my heart.
If it weren’t for Kiki I would not have been able to say goodbye to my heart.
Kiki
Which country have you visited that turned out to be nothing like how it is depicted?
China!
When I first came to China for work, most of what I had known about China was from the western media.
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Trump visited Beijing’s Forbidden City (Nov 2017).
However, after living here for a few years, I feel that there are lots and lots of junk information in the western media. It seems that a good number of journalists, who write articles about China, in all likelihood, have never been to China. 🙂
Well, China is a lot better place than what we typically read in the English newspapers. In fact, China is one of the safest place to live on this earth.
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Shanghai.
Here are some simple facts about China:
1. Don’t get into drug related crimes. Even the Spartans can’t save you.
2. In general, you don’t need to worry about safety. You can wander in cities and in the countryside. You can wander in days and in the nights. No issues. Just don’t touch the law.
3. Learn some basic Chinese if you are coming to live here for a long term. It’s really important.
4. Learn to use chopsticks. You’ll meet them on a daily basis.
5. China is huge. So many awesome places to explore. Travel in China. I prefer to go solo. It’s fun.
6. People are very friendly and willing to help you all the time. Make sure to strike a conversation as most of the locals are shy, especially if you only speak English to them.
7. Try some local food. Much affordable, and delicious. There are so many authentic local food. You don’t have to eat those western pizza and burger in China.
8. Public transportation is very efficient, and couldn’t be cheaper. Just RMB 2/ride in Shanghai buses, doesn’t matter how far you go. Further, if you buy the city smart card, you can save more.
9. Economy is doing great. Lots of foreigners in China for work and long term stay. So many expat communities.
Living in China has been a wonderful experience.
Liam Gallagher – Wonderwall Acoustic
Enjoy this trip though memory lane…
This Winter, Europe Plunges Into “The New Dark Ages”
Could you imagine being sent to prison for three years if you dared to set your thermostat above 66 degrees Fahrenheit? As you will see below, this is a proposed regulation that is actually being considered in a major European country right now. If you have not been paying much attention to what is happening in Europe, you need to wake up. Natural gas in Europe is seven times more expensive than it was early last year, and that is because of the war in Ukraine. Over the past few decades, the Europeans foolishly allowed themselves to become extremely dependent on gas from Russia. In fact, more than 55 percent of the natural gas that Germany uses normally comes from Russia. But now the war has changed everything, and Europe is facing an extremely harsh winter of severe shortages, mandatory rationing and absolutely insane heating bills.
Things are going to get very cold and very dark all over Europe in the months ahead, and those Europeans that choose to rebel against the new restrictions that are being implemented could literally find themselves in prison…
Switzerland is considering jailing anyone who heats their rooms above 19C for up to three years if the country is forced to ration gas due to the Ukraine war.The country could also give fines to those who violate the proposed new regulations.Speaking to Blick, Markus Sporndli, who is a spokesman for the Federal Department of Finance, explained that the rate for fines on a daily basis could start at 30 Swiss Francs (£26).
19 degrees Celsius is just 66 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you live in Europe, prepare to dress very warmly this winter.
Some may be anticipating that they will just use portable radiant heaters to keep things toasty, but apparently using such heaters “would not be allowed” under the new regulations that Switzerland is considering…
Blick also reported that radiant heaters would not be allowed and saunas and swimming pools would have to stay cold.
This is serious.
We have never seen anything like this before, and the longer the war in Ukraine stretches on the worse the energy crisis in Europe will become.
An end to the era of cheap energy also means that a severe economic slowdown is in the cards, and this is already starting to show up in the numbers…
Europe is showing signs of heading into a recession as multiple economic surveys show the region’s services and manufacturing sectors slowing down while a large number of the continent’s citizens are struggling to cope with rising prices.The S&P Global Eurozone Composite Output Index fell to an 18-month low in August at 48.9, according to a Sept. 5 news release (pdf).The eurozone private sector “moved further into contractionary territory” in August. Both services and manufacturing output fell for the month.
Of course what we have witnessed so far is just the beginning.
In yet another truly astonishing announcement that demonstrates the desperation of this hour, German steelmaker ArcelorMittal, one of the largest steel production facilities in Europe, has shuttered operations due to high energy prices. (See their announcement here, in German.)“With gas and electricity prices increasing tenfold within just a few months, we are no longer competitive in a market that is 25% supplied by imports,” said CEO Reiner Blaschek.This comes after announced closures of aluminum smelters, copper smelters and ammonia production plants over the last few weeks. Ammonia — necessary for fertilizer — is now 70% offline in the EU.
Many more factories will be forced to shut down in the coming months.
Deeply alarmed by what is taking place, 40 CEOs from Europe’s metals industry have jointly issued an open letter in which they warn that their companies are facing an “existential threat to our future”…
Ahead of Friday’s emergency summit, the business leaders of Europe’s non-ferrous metals industry are writing together to raise the alarm about Europe’s worsening energy crisis and its existential threat to our future. Our sector has already been forced to make unprecedented curtailments in the last 12 months. We are deeply concerned that the winter ahead could deliver a decisive blow to many of our operations, and we call on EU and Member State leaders to take emergency action to preserve their strategic electricity-intensive industries and prevent permanent job losses.50% of the EU’s aluminium and zinc capacity has already been forced offline due to the power crisis, as well as significant curtailments in silicon and ferroalloys production and further impacts felt across copper and nickel sectors. In the last month, several companies have had to announce indefinite closures and many more are on the brink ahead of a life-or-death winter for many operations. Producers face electricity and gas costs over ten times higher than last year, far exceeding the sales price for their products. We know from experience that once a plant is closed it very often becomes a permanent situation, as re-opening implies significant uncertainty and cost.
This is what an economic collapse looks like.
Things are already so bad that scientists are even considering shutting down the Large Hadron Collider…
Europe’s energy crisis is being felt by everyone – including the scientists working deep underground in Switzerland at the Large Hadron Collider.The European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN, is even considering taking its particle accelerators offline.This is due to the accelerators’ high energy demands, and the organisation’s desire to keep the region’s electricity grid stable.
So at least one good thing could potentially come out of this crisis.
But overall, the months ahead are going to be an immensely uncomfortable time for Europe.
As conditions become tougher and tougher, ordinary Europeans are going to become angrier and angrier.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is openly admitting that there will be “civil unrest”, but he insists that Europeans must make sacrifices in order to support the war in Ukraine…
Vladimir Putin’s ‘energy blackmail’ over Europe could lead to ‘civil unrest’ this winter, the NATO Secretary General has warned.Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that winter ‘will be hard’ as ‘families and businesses feel the crunch of soaring energy prices and costs of living’ in the coming months.Writing in the Financial Times, the boss of the Western security alliance said that it is worth paying the price to support Ukraine.
Eventually, there will be tremendous civil unrest in major cities in the United States as well.
We are still only in the very early stages of this new global energy crisis, and it is going to turn all of our lives upside down.
Meanwhile, we are also plunging into a horrific global food crisis. As I detailed a few days ago, even the head of the UN is admitting that there will be “multiple famines” in 2023.
Life as we know it is about to change.
Right now, all eyes are on Europe because things are starting to get really crazy over there.
Europe is going to descend into “the new Dark Ages” this winter, and the entire world will experience extreme pain as a result.
The Ending Scene From The Trouble with Tribbles
Have fun!
What is an unexpected danger in Australia?
The unexpected danger in Australia, is how far everything is. The distances are huge.
In the outback desert especially.
Travellers die there with unnerving frequency. Foreigners die; urban Australians die; local aborigines die. They drive in cars, they think the cars can handle it, they think they have enough provisions, but no, no, no.
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Guess what this shows? It shows the Shelton family—Steve, Skye, their 4 children—in the middle of the Simpson Desert. If you magnify the photo (The Australian Magazine, 24–25 November 2018), you will find their 1998 Nissan Patrol GU, plus their camper-trailer with a blue awning attached, plus the 2008 Nissan Patrol of Rick Shea and his daughter, who came to their aid. But who couldn’t do much, apart from stay with them.
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The Sheltons left the Mount Dare Hotel on Wednesday, 5th September 2018. They were at the end of a 4-week driving holiday from their home near Brisbane, Queensland, across the Northern Territory.
The Simpson Desert is 175,000 sq km in area and between 550 and 715 kilometres wide, depending on which track you take. It consists of more than 1100 parallel sand dunes running north-south. The Sheltons began driving to Birdsville, 477 km away.
On Friday morning, the engine stalled on the crest of a dune. Uh-oh. They had brought lots of water, but the aluminium container stored under the trailer had burst: 110 litres were gone. They had 84 litres left.
They had a UHF line-of-sight radio. It did not reach far, what with the undulating terrain, but it did reach Rick Shea and his daughter, who were driving to Rockhampton, Queensland. They arrived.
Rick had an HF radio, which covers 1000’s of kilometres. Rick rang the Birdsville Roadhouse for its recovery service. Birdsville said to ring the Mount Dare Hotel, which was “closer”: 240 km away. Mount Dare wanted $5000 upfront.
About 10,000 to 15,000 tourists cross the desert every season, and many break down. Mount Dare effects 20 to 25 recoveries per season. If a camper-trailer needs rescuing, that requires 2 trucks (there and back), wages for the mechanics, money for fixing the trucks (they break down too and suffer terrible wear and tear). It does not come cheap. More like, $440 per hour.
The Sheltons had problems with their credit card; they eventually got $3000 from their parents. They were told the rescue trucks would arrive on Sunday. The trucks did not arrive on Sunday. One of the trucks had been in a crash, the other was waiting for a part. The replacement parts were being sourced by the Kulgera Roadhouse.
It is 1 day’s drive from Kulgera to Mount Dare. It is 2 days’ drive from Mount Dare to where the Sheltons were stranded.
Late on Tuesday afternoon—after 5 days of waiting, with dwindling water and food—2 Nissan Patrols crested the dune with, each, a mechanic from Kulgera. They unloaded 120 litres of water. It took them 4 hours, to find the broken sensor in the timing mechanism. They built a replacement.
On Wednesday morning, the mechanics accompanied the travellers for 50 km, then turned back for Kulgera. During the round trip, one of their trucks suffered a broken shock absorber, a shredded tyre, and a damaged fuel tank.
The Sheltons rolled into Birdsville on Thursday 13th September.
Their bill exceeded $10,000.
The moral of this tale is:
take a satellite phone and an emergency radio beacon; bring 7 litres of water per person per day; tell people when you expect to arrive; stay with your vehicle; and … make sure your credit card is active.
Super-Easy Chocolate Donuts Recipe
Yum!
Catherine Semochkina, Instagram blogger
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Many Russians are addicted to watching glamorous life unfold live on the social media. There is no shortage of individuals who are even more addicted to living and showing this life to them. It can lead to a tragic end.
Catherine studied at the Pirogov Medical School, and was a resident at the Department of Oncology. She was from a nice, middle-class family and had always been a good student.
Catherine’s friends spoke of her as a polite and positive person. One of of her friends, Julia, said in a TV interview that Catherine was “smart and always had a smile on her face.”
Catherine devoted a lot of time to her Instagram blog, although she never wrote or posted anything about her personal life.
Catherine had 84,000 followers on her Instagram account. She blogged about her studies in the medical school and travels.
Judging by the profile, the girl led a luxurious lifestyle: she traveled to Italy, France, and Dubai. She wore branded clothes, and visited the most expensive restaurants in Moscow.
In many photos on her Instagram, Catherine appeared in revealing outfits, swimsuits and underwear. She participated in Miss Maxim 2018 contest, and made an explicit photo shoot for the magazine.
All this gave rise to rumors that the girl provided escort services, and some subscribers openly expressed it in their comments.
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“Our short but fun trip to Corfu has come to an end. It was really great to escape torrential rains of Moscow to the Ionian Sea.”
That was her last Instagram post published on July 22, 2019.
After Catherine returned from her trip to the Greek island, she did not answer calls and messages from her parents. They were worried and asked the landlord to visit the apartment that Catherine rented from him.
When he entered the apartment, he saw a suitcase in the hallway. Catherine’s legs protruded from it. She was naked except for black, lace garters. There were stab wounds on her neck and chest.
A few days later, Maxim Gareev, a fan of plastic surgeries and a regular client of the elite prostitutes, was arrested. They called him Ken, because of his fixation on his appearance.
Mr. Gareev confessed that he spent a night with Catherine. In the morning he stabbed her five times, and tried to stuff her body into a suitcase, but the girl was too tall and didn’t fit in.
During the interrogation, Mr. Gareev said that Catherine constantly made fun of his sexual prowess and called him a “cheapskate”.
Mr. Gareev was tried and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Maxim Gareev
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Rock on!
What is the funniest anti-China propaganda you have ever heard?
Inflation. Gas Prices. Food shortages. Popular unrest. Shootings, car jacking, diversity, racial protests. Anger. Collapse of this or that…
All of these items are fixtures of the United States and it’s proxy nations; known collectively as “The West”. Don’t project that on Russia. Don’t project that on China. Don’t project that on Africa. Etc.
Just a kind reminder to all of youse guys who fall for the idea that the “entire world” is going to suffer from famine, inflation and energy shortages. It’s not. Just YOUR NATION. The rest are doing just fine, thank you.
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Robert Plant. I hope that his resonates with you all.
A Cat Owner speaks out
I had a friend who suggested euthanizing my two Siamese cats, because of the cat hair on the furniture.
I took these two in as soon as I got my own place after my mom died. They were her cats. My stepfather barely took care of them. They got food and water but the litter box was very dirty and they weren’t vaccinated, or taken to the vet for check-ups. They didn’t get any love.
Back then I lived on 600e per month in an expensive tiny two room apartment, but the cats got the love they needed. One of them wasn’t spayed, so I took care of that as well.
They were so important to me. Suffice to say the girl who made that suggestion is not my friend anymore.
After my two beloved Siamese cats died of old age (luckily they had some years in a bigger home), I got two rescues. And then another Siamese.
I discovered I can’t do life without cats.
Don’t ever tell your friend who is a cat person that she should euthanize her cats. You will be removed, the cats will stay. I can promise you that.
Matthew worked this evening and a homeless gentlemen walked in the restaurant with .50 cents and asked if there was anything on the menu he could buy. Matthew asked him what he would order if he could and the man said anything would help his hunger pains. So Matthew rung him up for a hearty meal and then used his own debit card to pay for the mans meal. He handed him the receipt and told him to relax and take a seat. The story could end there and It would be a happy ending, but apparently a women watched my son during his random act of kindness. Not only did she write the company to let them know about the caring employee they had working for them, she also rewarded my son with a very generous tip! ”So proud to be his mom and I can pat myself on the back knowing that I’ve played a part in raising this big hearted young man.”
What a wonderful young man! Wish there were more like him.
Most of what we know in the west about China is wrong: we read articles, see, hear news reports, there are even books about how China is economically collapsing but they’ve been saying it for over 20 years and China, including Hong Kong has 135 companies listed in the Fortune 500; that’s more than any other country in the world including the USA which only has 122
Foreign investment has steadily grown and, globally, China is the number one recipient. This is because, despite what we hear, people who know the best places to put money, know that stability and good legislation will protect their investment.
We read that China is authoritarian or totalitarian but, if you’ve watched anything about China, you’ve seen people, including people like me, travelling freely and posting videos from all over the country including “sensitive” areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang.
Thousands, no: tens of thousands of videos are online showing life going on as normal. Traveling through those areas, as I often do and am even doing right now, Southwest China’s Chongqing, the “totalitarian police” never stop me, or anyone else to ask what pictures we’ve taken. They’ve never confiscated any photographs or videos, even from media organizations who deliberately goad police into forcing them to stop filming in public places where individuals have asked them not to film. If they had, you could be assured, you would have seen it in media.
The country has crime, like anywhere else but it’s reducing every year in every category except online fraud. The murder rate in China has seen a steady decline and is now around 0.5 per 100,000 people: compared to the USA where, according to some news reports, it’s at its highest rate in many years of 6 per 100,000 and in some places, such as Birmingham, Alabama, Baltimore in Maryland, just next to Washington DC where it’s over 50 per 100,000 and St Louis Missouri, where, in 2019 the number went up to 64.5 people killed per 100,000. Here’s what’s even more frightening, those numbers of 3 years ago, have risen.
Looking at education, students get 9 years of free education and, at 57.8%, more Chinese students enter tertiary education than almost every other country. That number grows every year from only 3.4% in 1990. China’s education modernization plan is aligned to support the modernization and future growth of the country and is so cheap the concept of student debt is virtually unknown.
Social security laws mean that working people receive medical insurance, unemployment insurance for the day the unthinkable happens and they may lose their jobs but unemployment is declining at 5.5% and the government has put in some emergency strategies to help recovery since the Covid pandemic.
Young employees pay into housing funds to help them purchase their first home and a pension fund which they can claim when they retire at 50 or 55 for women and 60 for men.
Let’s be honest, if China didn’t have good social security and employment protection laws, ethical companies in the west wouldn’t come and work here yet as of last year more than 1.06 million foreign companies were registered and operating in China, this was 23,000 more than the year before.
China isn’t a collapsing economy, it’s still growing; nor is it a slave labour force, or more than a million foreign registered companies wouldn’t work here and, if we read beyond western headlines, we find workers are well rewarded and well protected.
It’s not a totalitarian police state but it is well policed and as a result, it’s safe and people value that ability to walk anywhere at any time with a feeling of security and, contrary to what many people think most Chinese people have a very high regard and respect for their local police.
So, if it’s not all the things that the “experts and China watchers” say it is: what else have they and the international media got wrong?
Well, they get China’s governance wrong too. China is growing in health, education, economy, infrastructure and improved living conditions at a time when other countries are entering, or have already entered a recession.
Looking at other more developed countries, what can we see?
Bank Interest rates are going up and almost everyone has some debt;
Fuel costs are increasing so decisions will need to be made soon on whether to eat or keep warm
Poverty rates are rising, as more and more people fall into that position where they can no longer afford to have an apartment, good clothes and food, they need to choose which to miss out on.
Public disorder has increased in recent years as there’s more dissatisfaction with police having more power, using more violence and even in one notable country, killing more civilians than ever before.
Life spans are declining as people in some developed countries are dying younger than they used to. This has been brought about by mismanagement of a pandemic but is also partially caused by some people who simply can’t afford to go to a hospital.
China on the other hand has none of these problems and the reason for that is good governance. Who provides that governance? The CPC. But what’s really important to remember is not what they do, but how they do it.
Every year, each leader in China reports on what they’ve achieved. They provide information on their plans for what they will achieve in the coming period to meet with the goals of the 5-year plan. When they look for promotions, they enter a process of selection and approval but only after getting endorsement from their peers, their supervisors and even their subordinates.
If they fail to meet their objectives or if they haven’t managed things well, they are removed, as has been seen in some notable incidences particularly around the management of the Covid pandemic.
Senior leaders are elected by Party organizations so, in order to become a leader in a Chinese community, you need a combination of experience, voting and managerial efficiency, these are the only ways to get ahead in Chinese governance.
China doesn’t really have politicians, it has bureaucrats, they are politically savvy as all politicians need to be but they must also be popular with their peers and the people they serve. And remember, they serve the people not their donors.
In America, it’s possible to be a popular TV personality or a mediocre lawyer and still go on to become a President. If you can make it to the Senate or Congress, there are no term limits, we’ve recently seen octogenarian politicians stirring up discontent around the globe. There’s no age limit so a 78 year old who ought to be retired can make it into the White House and potentially stay there until they’re 86.
The UK isn’t much better, they’ve recently lost an inefficient and bumbling prime minister who seemed to forget that truth and honesty were part of his responsibilities. He wasn’t elected by the people, his own party put him there, the same as they do in China. He doesn’t have term limits and neither do Australia, New Zealand, Canada or many other democracies, so why did it cause such a stir when China removed something from their statute that most countries in the world don’t believe in anyway?
What qualifications did the last prime minister of the UK have? He was a failed journalist. What qualifications did the last prime minister of Australia have? He was a failed marketing manager. Neither of these leaders were elected to the head of their parties by the people they represent, they were both put into that position by their parties and failed because they didn’t have the qualifications, the integrity or both, to do their job properly.
Now, people can say but at least we were able to vote them out. Maybe that’s true but how much damage can they do in the four years or five years before you get the opportunity to do that?
In China on the other hand, there may only be one party but those people who lead it got there through a proven track record of administrative success in lesser roles. Xi Jinping for example, holds a degree in chemical engineering and a Doctor in Law and started his government career as party secretary in a Shaanxi village, and has held leadership roles in several provinces as well as the city of Shanghai; which has a population larger than Australia and several European countries.
Li Kejiang holds a Bachelor of Law and a PhD in economics and has worked his entire life in administrative roles.
In fact, every member of China’s senior government can demonstrate a proven track record of management, efficiency and knowledge. They have all been elected to the position by others who are equally as well experienced in their own jobs.
Only through hard work, extensive study, a process of election and selection is it possible to reach the top in China’s governance.
So, do I support the CPC? Actually, I do, I’ve seen what they can do, I’ve seen how well they do it and, when I compare it to other countries I know about, I can see there’s no comparison. It’s quite obvious why the Chinese government has the support of almost 100% of the people they represent.
What isn’t so obvious is why so many people who are not Chinese would like to change that.
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If the Chinese system is so effective, why does it only work in China and isn’t being adopted by other developing nations?
Most Chinese clearly understand that China’s current system is in fact the result of a passive choice, and a pragmatic one.
Many of the respondents here with Chinese cultural backgrounds mentioned the Chinese civil bureaucratic tradition, so I don’t need to explain it in detail, but I would add that China is probably the only country that had a strong civil bureaucratic tradition before modernization, and that the later system had to adapt to the civil bureaucratic tradition rather than the other way around, which leads to an innate limitation in terms of viable institutional choices for China now and even for the future.
I still have to mention two famous emperors, the first of course being First Emperor of Qin, Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng
It is well known that King Zheng did two main things in China, the first being that he de facto unified China, and the second being that he unified Chinese writing. These two crucial facts offered all subsequent Chinese powers that be the possibility that if their power was sufficient, he would definitely unify China. This led to a unique historical phenomenon, as the opening chapter of “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” states, “That which is long divided must unify, and that which is long unified must divide.” This also led to the loss of the roots of China’s feudal aristocratic tradition similar to that of the West, and after numerous struggles and natural selection, you could only have one aristocrat, and that aristocrat was the emperor.
Well, we then introduce another emperor, Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian.
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Soon, the emperors ruling China realized that any nobleman with a fief and a private army, whether he was a relative or a brother, was aiming to “unify China,” so all nobles would in fact become enemies of the emperor. A wise emperor, or Yang Jian as we call him, quickly figured out that if he did not rely on the nobility to rule the country, he would have to rely on the commoners. Obviously, making the commoners the ruling class would require teaching them the knowledge of the ruling class and setting the threshold for the best talent to become the emperor’s servants. From then on, Yang Jian set up the imperial examination system to give the commoners the possibility to leap up the ladder of the commoner class and to destroy the aristocratic tradition completely.
When the imperial examination system was established, there were several factors that needed to be noted.
The avenue of upward mobility for the commoner class was opened and could never be closed because the commoners had a strong desire to change their fate, the bureaucratic clique was extremely powerful, and no ruler dared to challenge this, which I think is easy to understand.
No matter how dynasties change, they only change the structure of the ruling class for a short time, and when power is rebalanced, it is still the same people who become the actual managers of this country through exams, and no matter who becomes emperor, those who have the ability and will to become civil bureaucrats always become civil bureaucrats, and they always make the same decisions.
A large number of the commoner class became part of the bureaucratic group by learning the knowledge of the ruling class, that is, the Confucian doctrine, which was the only way for the commoners to break through the class. This led to a near overlap between the intellectual and bureaucratic classes in China, and at the same time, it meant that in China, learning knowledge and preparing to be an official were equated, so there was no ground for the birth of natural science in China. In the West, the early scientists were usually aristocrats or missionaries, and there is a reason for that. Because they were provided for, they did not have to think about survival and had extra resources to complete their scholarship. Their Chinese counterparts during the same period, on the other hand, despite being no less talented and capable, needed to devote more energy to taking exams, handling government affairs, and completing their higher authorities’ KPIs, and when they did their jobs well, they would be promoted. There are always unfamiliar environments and more complex challenges waiting for them. Of course there were certain geniuses who did a better job of governance by summarizing techniques, such as Shen Kuo, but of course, technique is not the same as science.
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Since the position of officials in the bureaucratic group depends only on exams and KPI’s and has nothing to do with their own wealth, this leads to the fact that mercantilism has never appeared in China and capital has never been strong enough to confront the bureaucratic class, only because the former holds the economy and the latter holds the state apparatus, they may become allies for short-term interests, but once the interests go against each other, it is always the businessmen who are deprived of power. Thus, capital is always a vassal of the bureaucratic group.
The ruling class was constantly on the move because of examinations, and the official in a high position knew this, he had no other choice but to provide his offspring with better educational resources, however this did not guarantee that his family would always retain this advantage, so he had to try to reinforce the class advantage by buying land, therefore the fall of every Chinese dynasty was always due to excessive land annexation, which could not be avoided.
To be fair, a strong bureaucratic system is a double-edged sword. First of all, the system is extremely executive and feasibility, with every policy being passed from the center to every corner of the empire with the precision of a cog. At the same time, this system was always able to screen the most capable geniuses into the management system of the empire, which was the core advantage of China to remain competitive for thousands of years. However, people are always selfish, especially the geniuses who rise to power among the commoners always want to cash in on power as quickly as possible, which leads to shocking corruption. Once the country is in crisis and control decreases, officials will always prioritize their own interests, so they will quickly push the country into an irreparable abyss, as was the case in the late Ming Dynasty.
Because of the strong bureaucratic tradition you cannot reject and which will always exist, China’s attempts at Western-style democracy will always fail. The reason is also simple, because of checks and balances. As other respondents have said, the British Empire also borrowed from the Chinese bureaucracy to form a modern civil service, and it didn’t have problems. This is because their civil service system emerged after the aristocratic tradition, and elected officials were usually aristocrats because the established resources of the aristocracy gave them a higher probability of being elected, and even if they were not competent and experienced enough, they could use their original large resource system against powerful professional bureaucrats. The same is true in the United States, except that big capitalists have replaced the aristocracy. However, China’s aristocratic tradition has long been destroyed, and there has never been a mercantile tradition, so capitalists cannot get involved in politics. Elected officials with no roots and only speeches will only become puppets for powerful bureaucrats. When the power of the bureaucrats cannot be checked, the country will quickly be consumed by corruption and division.
This situation was clearly reflected in history after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, when Sun Yat-sen, the father of the nation, never effectively took control of the country and his governing philosophy was considered naive and impractical. Yuan Shikai, a representative of the powerful bureaucratic class, quickly took control of the country and proclaimed himself emperor. After Yuan’s death, the bureaucracy was completely out of control and warlords were formed, who in order to consolidate their power could only sell out the interests of the country in exchange for support from foreign powers… Until the most powerful warlord, Chiang Kai-shek, completed his nominal unification, at which point he met the Communists.
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The Communists were in some ways a natural fit with the bureaucratic tradition.
They are both anti-aristocratic but not anti-elite, and they both believe that the elite represent powerful productive forces, while the aristocracy are the assholes of society
Both encourage a strong government that runs the state with precision and science through smart policies and strong enforcement
The Chinese bureaucratic class, or intellectual class, has long been influenced by Confucianism and believes that “social commonwealth”, or egalitarianism, is the ultimate political ideal, which happens to be compatible with communism
Since China had no aristocracy and the capitalists had no power, there was no resistance to communism in China and it was easily accepted by the masses.
After that, the Communist Party naturally and unstoppably became the ruling party in China.
Of course, problems also in the early communist confrontation with bureaucratic traditions. Since the means of production, such as land, could not be bought and sold, the bureaucrats finally realized that their power cannot be turned into wealth and that the governor and the peasant did not get much difference, and they became dissatisfied.
Mao was keenly aware of this, who was a staunch communist with romantic and idealistic beliefs, could not tolerate the theft of revolutionary gains, so he launched the Cultural Revolution in an attempt to confront the bureaucratic tradition.
Contrary to the perception of most Westerners, Mao was not the same as Stalin, who had the ability to act because he had the power to do so. By the time Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, he had been out of control of the country for some time and was basically retired, with Liu Shaoqi as the country’s leader at the time. However, Mao used his great popularity among the people to overthrow the government in power with a single “big-character poster”, calling Liu Shaoqi and others “those in power who have taken the capitalist road” and reawakening the public’s vigilance of the bureaucratic class. As the officials in power feared Mao’s great prestige, the government dared not confront them as long as people held Mao’s quotations, so Mao’s quotations and the “loyalty dance” became the symbols of the era. Bureaucrats, elites, and intellectuals were beaten down and criticized, someone even went to college because he scored 0 on his exams, and Confucian doctrine was seen as evil and incomprehensible. It was the ultimate revolution against the bureaucratic tradition.
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As it turned out, when the bureaucracy collapsed, the country did not get better but fell into complete chaos, with schools closed, factories shut down, and the whole country in trouble, and the Cultural Revolution ultimately failed. Before his death, Mao became a “Don Quixote” type of brave man and took a huge blame, of course, he was responsible for it, but it should be admitted that it was not as he wished.
When the pragmatic Deng Xiaoping reorganized the country in ruins, he should have realized that if he couldn’t beat it, he should join it. In fact, Deng’s series of policies was to restore the tradition of civil bureaucratic since ancient times. He restored university entrance exams, civil service exams, land deals, and the top-down monitoring and assessment system… In this way the country started to function smoothly and China entered an era of rapid development, but of course, corruption followed.
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Until now, Xi Jinping has been able to control corruption through a series of powerful measures, and the bureaucracy and the state have once again reached a certain balance. If the bureaucracy is an unstoppable sword, then there must be a strong wielder of the sword to use it. After countless trials and errors, the Communist Party replaced the imperial power as the sword-bearer, and as most Chinese people perceive, this was the choice of history. Even if the Communist Party is overthrown, it will not change for the better, but will only bring chaos, until the next powerful sword-bearer appears.
Bureaucratic tradition and power politics, like the thorn apple, are both beautiful and dangerous, and as Chinese, we have no choice. Maybe the success of the CPC is just part of the cycle of governance and chaos that has been going on in China for thousands of years, maybe not. We don’t know, but most of us think it is not universal and that each nation should find its own path according to its own history.
Looking back at this answer after some time, I realized that this article seems to be more inclined to describe the negative aspects of the civil bureaucratic tradition. Obviously, I wrote this answer thinking from a Chinese perspective, and I tacitly assumed that people understood the advantages of the civil bureaucratic tradition, which may have been a small misunderstanding, and I am in fact neutral about the phenomenon. So I decided to make a small update, which I had mentioned in other comments, and I’ll post those here as well:
Earlier, I argued why the only form of politics that can eventually be stabilized in China is “bureaucratic dictatorship”.This means that you have to accept the tactics that any authoritarian regime would use, such as speech control, censorship, party bans… This is because authoritarian regimes do not have good enough mechanisms to release pressure, and holding all the power means taking all the pressure（With great power comes great responsibility）, and the media is usually a multiplier of negative emotions, and when you receive bad news every day through all the information channels, especially in a country as big as China, the legitimacy of the regime will have no footing. When English becomes the de facto world language, China also de facto loses the ability and possibility to challenge the world’s mainstream political consensus, which makes a firewall at the national level inevitable.
Yet China’s political ecology is not anti-democratic, even if it is not Western-style democracy, it still has the core of democracy.
First of all, you need to acknowledge that any civilian, regardless of background, can prove his or her ability to become the ruler of the country in China through exams and hard work, and that ensuring this upward mobility is at the heart of Chinese culture. In the Chinese bureaucracy, this ability stratification effect is visible to the naked eye; almost every official at the appropriate level has the appropriate level of ability, and except for young people starting out, mature civil servants have a clear sense of the gap between their abilities and those of their superiors.
Second, officials are under constant pressure from both their superiors and the public, and if their performance is poor or causes more discontent, not only does he lose the possibility of promotion himself, but his superiors’ political careers are also affected. This is something that is endless in the Chinese political ecology (e.g. COVID-19, where hundreds of officials were dealt with for not performing up to expectations despite a natural disaster), so this accountability mechanism ensures that most of the time the interests of the officials and the people are aligned.
Third, because of the hierarchical promotion mechanism rather than elections, there is a greater preference for outcome justice rather than procedural justice to justify the bureaucracy in China. This forces officials to confront problems with more pragmatic strategies rather than empty promises.
In fact, our current system is more akin to a mega-corporation in which the shareholders are all the people, the National People’s Congress is the shareholders’ meeting, the Central Political Bureau is like the board of directors, and the general secretary is like the chairman. As a leader, Xi Jinping is not a “dictator” as Westerners think of him, but more like a coordinator of interests and political forces. You can easily understand how a company works, so you can understand how the CPC works. Obviously, there is not that much freedom in this system, you can’t get a position by simply promising it, you have to prove your suitability for a position through your working experience. If you somehow attack the leadership in the company, usually your career will also be affected…and the corporate system, which happens to be the most competitive form of the system that evolves through full business competition after survival of the fittest.
Of course, some people prefer the Western style of one-person-one-vote democracy and free social atmosphere, which is fully understandable and not to be criticized, and they can choose their preferred lifestyle through immigration. Those who are more pragmatic will choose to stay and build this huge country and make it better.
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Robert Plant. Imagine. 1983. Fall.
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The Book
Oh boy, do I have a story for you.
This “family possession” wasn’t something passed down through generations of my family. It was something I bought for around $12 at a thrift store back in 2012. Something I hoped to keep forever, and maybe share with my own children in the distant future.
It was a book, an old book.
Its cover was a gray-blue and almost marbled, like water on an overcast day.
Its pages were stiff with age, and the edges rough cut. They crackled ever so slightly every now and then as I turned them.
It had etchings covered in something like tissue paper, illustrations of moments and animals mentioned within its pages.
It smelled old, like quiet private libraries, caught in a fragment of time highlighted by dust motes floating in beams of late-afternoon sunlight and warm, velvet-lined armchairs.
From the moment I first touched fingers to cover, I was in love with this book. The real kicker was opening to the first couple pages and finding it had been published in the 1800s. I was holding a book that was around 150 years old. I was holding a physical manifestation of history.
It was a first edition Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I didn’t know then how much it could be worth; I trusted that the thrift shop knew how to properly research each potentially valuable item that came through their doors.
I debated for probably two seconds over whether or not I should buy it. At $12? Hell yes, I bought it!
Fast forward to 2014.
My fiancé and I were broke, living on our own in an apartment we couldn’t afford. He was working at a car dealership as a “trainee”, which — at least at this particular dealership — was code for “work twice as hard only to have to give your seniors most of your commission and hope for the best.”
He ran so low on gas that day, that he called me from the dealership 30 minutes away, trying to hide his own stress, to tell me that he didn’t think he could make the drive home.
Our account was down to the single digits.
We had no cash.
Can you tell where this is going?
I ransacked our apartment for anything of remotely any value. I texted him photos of various items, asking, “is this okay to sell?”
I had one of those digital TV antennae that don’t work as advertised, a beautiful wooden handled pocket knife, and a couple of other things.
I saw Walden. I didn’t want to sell it. I hadn’t even finished it yet — life just kept getting in the way and I had a hard time digesting the outdated language of the book. I will always regret that. I can always get a newer print of the book, but it just won’t be the same, so I hesitate still.
I shoved down my attachment to the book and sped down the street to the pawn shop.
I saved the book for last. The guy at the counter had been very uninterested up until that point — “what do you want for this? Ehh, that’s a little much.”
I brought the book up. “I’m sure it’s not worth much, but I love this and it’s all I have left.”
He takes one look at it and his eyes go from tired and uncaring to nearly predatory. I didn’t register it until after the book was tucked safely behind his counter.
“How much do you want for this?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I need $20.” I thought I was shooting high.
“Done,” he said, way too quickly.
And that, I’m afraid, was the last I saw of that lovely, ancient, beautiful book.
Fast forward to 2016.
I’m sitting in the living room at my parents’ house, recounting the tale of the oldest book I ever owned to my family.
I stop to wonder just how much that book was worth.
I did a google search, and I swear I nearly dropped in a dead faint.
This first edition book was selling online in a number of places for anywhere between $400 and $10,000.
Ten. Thousand. Dollars.
Doing a quick search now (because for the life of me I can’t remember the exact published year of my copy), I found the one that looked the most like what I had.
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There was another on the first page just now selling for over $6,000.
I’m not going to lie… I cried. I laughed and then I cried really freaking hard.
I wished that I had had the foresight to just take the book to an appraiser or something.
Actually, I wish I’d just kept it, honestly.
But the actual worth of that book would have helped us out a hell of a lot more than the $20 that went right into my husband’s gas tank.
And that was the story of my biggest regret to date. I will consider myself blessed if it remains so.
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Some notes
If you believe someone is lying to you, don’t say anything. If they continue to elaborate on what they are saying then they are lying.
The worst feeling in the world is to know you were used and lied to by someone you trusted.
If someone gives you advice, respond with “you’re right”. It sounds more diplomatic than “I know.”
Psychologists say the key to confidence is walking into a room and assuming everyone likes you.
When people say, “you’ve changed, there’s a 95% chance that you just stopped acting the way they wanted you to.
A sleeping human brain can still understand the words being spoken around it.
Having at least one “Lazy day” per week can help reduce stress, high blood pressure, stroke
People who are more perfectionist are more likely to be depressed, because they stress themselves out so much.
We tend to believe others pay attention to our behavior and appearance much more than they actually do. This is called the spotlight effect.
We are more attracted to people wearing red because red triggers a basic, primal response in humans as a signal of sexuality, fertility, health, and status.
The human mind spends most of it’s time replaying memories over and over with the desire to relive them.
It’s impossible to remain angry at someone you truly love.
Anger lasting for more than 3 days indicates that you’re not in love.
the person arguing loses his temper and starts shouting, natural human tendency is to shout back. DON’T! Stay calm and reply in silence. This will piss them off even more. Try it! It works.
Usually the people who are “too nice” get hurt the most.
THE QUIETEST PEOPLE TEND TO HAVE THE LOUDEST MINDS
Remember: The one that gossips with you. Will also gossip about you!
If someone makes eye contact with you for 60% of a conversation they’re bored, 80% and they’re attracted to you and 100% of the time then they are threatening you.
Your gut feelings are usually accurate and correct. If you truly feel there is something,chances are there is.
Listening to sad songs creates positive notions, because it helps the person feel understood
Feelings don’t die easily because we keep feeding them with memories. That’s exactly why it’s so hard to move on.
What Putin and China are doing will change EVERYTHING
Listen Up! Pay attention!
First 9 minutes are important, then the paid-for, for-profit segment begins. Just check out the first nine minutes.
Ukraine
This cartoon pretty much sums it up.
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Russia ‘Alarmed’ At Lack Of U.S. Visas To Attend UN General Assembly
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations has said it’s “alarming” that no one from the 56-member Russian advance team and delegation headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has received a U.S. entry visa to attend a UN General Assembly debate in New York later this month.
Back in the day, I devoted months perfecting my home-made pizzas. Key to that is mastering pizza dough. It’s surprisingly simple. Check out the video. -MM
The EU shouldn’t gang up on China says French PM
EU will soon come to term that their economic engine is from China. They have to accept the maths and turn rationale, or else:
The EU shouldn’t gang up on China with the U.S. even if it stands closer to Washington by virtue of shared values, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
“A situation to join all together against China, this is a scenario of the highest possible conflictuality. This one, for me, is counterproductive,”
Macron said, speaking in English, during a discussion broadcast by Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council on Thursday.
This kind of common front against China — as other European leaders have advocated given the new Biden administration’s revived openness to traditional alliances — risks pushing Beijing to lower its cooperation on issues like combatting climate change, and exacerbating its aggressive behavior in Asia, including in the South China Sea, according to the French president.
But, as soon as I got to Thailand, he let me know he was my new Thai father. He even told my parents when they visited “When Charissa is in America, she is your daughter. But in Thailand, she is my daughter. I will always take care of her.”
When I first arrived, I was helpless, lonely, and unable to speak the language. Dr. Jao did everything he could to make me comfortable and adjusted. He made his students hang out with me so I wouldn’t be alone. He made his other students take me to breakfast, lunch, and dinner to help me order food. He got a phone plan for me. He made me text him whenever I traveled anywhere just so he would know I was safe. He got a motorcycle for me to borrow when I said I wanted my own transportation. The other grad students called me “Dr. Jao’s princess”.
I truly could not have survived here without him.
Every day, Dr. Jao takes me and his other grad student to lunch. He pays for our meals and talks with us until we are finished eating.
Afterwards, he takes us to a coffee shop. He always orders a hot cocoa. I always thought of hot cocoa as a winter treat, but my Thai dad loves to drink hot cocoa every day, it’s a true joy in his life.
Dr. Jao sits and talks with us for an hour or more. Sometimes he tells me about his childhood. Other times he wants to talk about my travels. Some days he just wants to laugh and joke. He also likes to make me practice speaking Thai.
It’s my absolute favorite part of every day, it brings me so much joy.
When I think about leaving Thailand after I graduate, drinking hot cocoa with my Thai dad is truly what I’ll miss the most.
A List Of 33 Things We Know About The Coming Food Shortages
Things are far worse than you are being told. Over the past few months, I have been carefully documenting facts that show that global food production is going to be way down in 2022.
Unfortunately, most people out there don’t seem to understand that the food that isn’t being grown in 2022 won’t be on our store shelves in 2023. We are potentially facing an absolutely unprecedented worldwide food crisis next year, but the vast majority of the population doesn’t seem very alarmed about this. So I would encourage you to help me get this warning out by sharing this list with as many people as you possibly can. As you will see below, we now have so many data points that it is impossible to deny what is coming. The following is a list of 33 things we know about the coming food shortages…
#1 The hard red winter wheat crop in the United States this year “was the smallest since 1963”. But in 1963, there were only 182 million people living in this nation. Today, our population has grown to 329 million.
#2 It is being projected that the rice harvest in California will be “half what it would be in a normal year”.
#3 The U.S. tomato harvest will come in at just 10.5 million tons in 2022. That is over a million tons lower than a normal year.
#15 At least 40 percent of the United States has been suffering from drought conditions for 101 consecutive weeks.
#16 Overall, this is the worst multi-year megadrought in the United States in 1,200 years.
#17 Europe is currently experiencing the worst drought that it has seen in 500 years. In some parts of central Europe, river levels have fallen so low that “hunger stones” are being revealed for the first time in centuries.
#27 A third of the entire nation of Pakistan was under water after recent floods absolutely devastated that nation, and agricultural areas were hit particularly hard. As a result, the vast majority of the crops in the country have been “washed away”…
It has also been estimated that roughly 65 per cent of the country’s food basket — particularly crops like rice, cotton, wheat and onion — have been washed away.Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in an interview to CGTN earlier this week, offered an even starker outlook by saying that “about 80 to 90 per cent” of the country’s crops have been damaged by the floods.
#28 The prices of some fertilizers have tripled since 2021, while the prices of some other fertilizers have actually quadrupled.
#29 One payment company is reporting that the number of Americans using their app to take out short-term loans for groceries has risen by 95 percent.
#30 Demand at U.S. food banks is now even worse than it was during the height of the COVID pandemic.
#31 The World Health Organization is telling us that millions of people in Africa are now potentially facing a very real possibility of starving to death.
#32 According to the World Food Program, 828 million people around the world go to bed hungry each night. Needless to say, that number will soon be much higher.
#33 UN Secretary General António Guterres has publicly stated that he believes that it is likely that there will be “multiple famines” in 2023.
As global food supplies get tighter and tighter, so will the risk of civil unrest.
The risk of civil unrest has surged this year in more than half of the world’s countries, signaling a coming period of heightened global instability fueled by inflation, war, and shortages of essentials, a new analysis says.According to Verisk Maplecroft, a UK-based risk consulting and intelligence firm, 101 of the 198 countries tracked on its Civil Unrest Index saw an increase in their risk of civil unrest between the second and third quarters of this year.
In recent weeks, we have seen absolutely massive protests in cities all over the planet.
But conditions aren’t even that bad yet.
So what will things be like in 2023 when it finally becomes exceedingly clear that there simply will not be enough food for everyone?
Wealthy countries will have the resources to buy up much of what is available on the market, and that means that many poor countries will deeply suffer.
If everything that you have read in this article sounds familiar, that is because we have been warned for years that such conditions were coming.
In 2023, there will be famines and civil unrest all over the globe.
This is not a drill. An extremely serious global Western food crisis has already begun, and I would encourage you to get prepared for what is ahead while you still can (if you live in the West).
Pizza Sauce Recipe – Chef John’s Secret Pizza Sauce Recipe
Come on! So easy to make. Try it!
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (3/4) Mary Wants Some Action (1976)
Here’s some “old school” television for you all.
What was the most expensive thing you ever got for free, because someone made a mistake and didn’t charge you?
Many years ago a bank ordered the repossession (repo) of my Tahoe even though I had made all the payments on time. The repo person was nice enough to come in my accountancy business and inform me in case I wanted to get my belongings out of the vehicle.
I showed him my paid receipts and he said he had no choice because he had an order to repossess the vehicle. I asked would he wait while I called the bank and my attorney. He said sure no problem. We sat in my office as I first called my attorney. My attorney asked me to call the bank with him on the line and inform the bank that my attorney was on the other line.
Now we have the bank on the phone, and after 20 minutes of research and faxing over copies of my payment receipts, the bank had admitted that I had in fact made my payments on time every month. I said “Great — can you tell the repo person that everything’s is fine?” They said they could not because the legal department was closed and they were the only ones who could cancel the repo order. So the repo had no choice but to take my Tahoe. He said I was the first person he ever heard of and saw who had proof that he had had made all his payments.
It turns out the bank had misapplied all my payments as unfound cash. I asked what that was, and they said that’s when someone comes to the bank and gives them cash and leaves without telling them what it is for. I had one question, “How many people actually do this?” I also asked them, “Why do my receipts have the loan number on them?” They did not have an answer.
After the call, my attorney told me to let the repo guy have the vehicle and since he was sure my credit was damaged to apply for business loans the next day. I applied for a business loan of $250K at several banks. All of them had turned me down because I had a repossession on my credit.
Six months later — thanks to my attorney and the bank saying they did nothing wrong — I ended up receiving a brand-new Tahoe from my local Chevy dealer for free (paid for by the bank): the most expensive model I could find with all the bells and whistles and extended warranty and whatever else they could sell me. (Note I made one car salesmen very happy, as I didn’t even want a discount.) As a bonus my attorney also forced the bank to pay me $250k since they had destroyed my credit, preventing me from obtaining a business loan, therefore losing out on the opportunity to buy another accounting practice to expand my business.
Exactly one month after that, the veterinarian next to our business had ordered a new air conditioner (AC) for his business, but the AC company took ours instead and destroyed it in the removal process. I ended up with a brand-new $10k AC unit.
2004 was a very good year for me because of other people’s mistakes.
What do I do when my husband gives me the ultimatum that it’s either him or my cat I’ve had for 12 years?
My wife came with a cat and neither me or the cat liked the other. One day while eating, that SOB clawed me at my ankle. I jumped up and told my wife that either the cat goes or i’m going. My wife looked at both of us and said that the cat wasn’t going any where and neither was i.
I looked at that damn cat and he looked at me and swear we both shrugged our shoulders and ended up becoming the best of friends.
Thousands in Mali celebrate expulsion of French ambassador
Demostrators have poured into the street of the Malian capital, Bamako, to cheer at the expulsion of the French ambassador.
The celebrations on Friday, where people waved Russian flags and burned cardboard cut-outs of French President Emmanuel Macron, came as tensions between the West African country and its former colonial power have been steadily soaring.
“There are thousands and thousands and thousands of Malians today who say ‘No’ to France. So, what the European Union and France need to do is respect the Malian authorities,” Moulaye Keita, member of the country’s National Transition Council, told reporters....
Why does China do NOTHING about the slander and lies thrown at it by the west?
Can’t China speak up for itself? Does China not realize that sooner or later, all the slander and lies could end up having it embroiled in war against America and the west, nuclear weapons or no? Doesn’t China realize that Consent for war against it is being created by the day?
China does speak up. Vociferously. But it doesn’t matter. The West has a total lock on censorship and propaganda in Western media.
Think about it…USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and EU have ganged up on China, one lone country. It’s a huge imbalance.
If these Euro-American nations are so gung-ho on starting a war with China, there isn’t much China can do about it. They can start a war but China will most certainly finish it.
China is a major nuclear power. She can certainly nuke America, Britain, Germany, Japan, Australia and Canada without breaking a sweat.
China has the world’s largest army, by far, and the world’s largest navy to boot. China has started to build supercarriers!
China has some of the most advanced stealth fighters in the J-20 and J-31.
China has operational hypersonic missiles. Even USA doesn’t.
And Russia has declared that it will come to China’s aid in the event of war.
You thought the Second World War was horrific? Fuck, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
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Has China caught up to the United States economically? If so, when did this happen?
China surpassed USA economically by purchasing power parity in 2013. China is expected to overtake USA by nominal GDP before the end of this decade.
But putting aside economic numbers, it is fairly obvious that China is already economically much more powerful than USA…
China is the economic engine and manufacturing hub of the world economy.
China has accumulated vast trade surpluses.
China is the king of infrastructure. In addition to building massive infrastructure within China, it’s also building infrastructure for countries all around the globe, thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
China is so powerful that she is leading BRICS to create an alternative reserve currency to the US Dollar (the pillar of American power).
It’s also important to note that USA is declining. USA faces a crushing $30 trillion national debt fueled by endless money printing. The US Dollar is backed by thin air. This is unsustainable.
Al’s Labor Day Speech | Married With Children
Dancing with the Politicians
US Foreign policy has become a full-time comedy routine
If the non-stop dancing duo Biden and Blinken is seriously seeking to validate its view that the United States of America is and should be the world’s hegemon, they are going about it the wrong way. They should be taking their lead from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky by turning their press conferences into entertainments with dancing bears and scantily clad chanteuses pirouetting and singing across the stage. They would benefit from recalling how Zelensky rose to power through his performances of comedy routines in which he would be prancing around on high heels with three colleagues who appeared to be mocking what might be construed as gay mannerisms to amuse the audience? Or perhaps the rather more outre performance where Zelensky would play a piano with his penis? If one can remember all that it would most definitely help to understand the foreign policy that is somehow playing out in Ukraine, where Zelensky has transitioned into a serious, unsmiling guy who is adept at solicitations for money and weapons. His pleading has become a shameless full-time endeavor as he now appears on thousands of screens via video link all over the world, saturating the airwaves and dropping in on both major and minor gatherings. Australian journalist Caitlin Johnstone recalls how he has appeared on “the Grammy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the World Economic Forum and probably the Bilderberg group as well, [while also] having meetings with celebrities like Ben Stiller, Sean Penn, and Bono and the Edge from U2. It’s as busy a PR tour as he could possibly have without having a discussion about the strategic importance of long-range artillery with Elmo on Sesame Street.”
Elmo might in fact be coming next as NPR is clearly one of Zelensky’s biggest fans. One also suspects that before the Ukrainian President is finished, he will be addressing a rotary meeting in Sioux Falls South Dakota. And Zelensky has even turned begging into a family affair, with his wife Olena welcomed by the President and First Lady at the White House while also going on to address the US Congress, entreating America’s Solons to provide plenty of cash and things that go bang to thwart the ambitions of one Vladimir Putin. As she put it, she is concerned lest her son and daughter be unable to return to school and university in the fall. She then observed that “We would have answers if we had air defense systems” which would enable a “joint victory in the name of life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness.”
Indeed, a high point of the recent antics has to be the unique cover photo shoot by Vogue magazine, in which the lovey-dovey couple Volodymyr and Olena grin and hug before the cameras. Zelensky declares his undying affection . Vogue aside, the entire Zelensky performance, choreographed as it is by neocons inside and outside the administration, is perfectly color and image coordinated. Zelensky has an endless supply of olive drab t-shirts and he entertains in Kiev a steady stream of statesmen and even heads of government from Europe and the US, including the US Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has appointed a seasoned Justice Department “Special Investigations”, i.e. “Nazi hunter” investigator, named Eli Rosenbaum to look into possible Russian war crimes.
The Garland/Rosenbaum dynamic duo will not be looking into possible Ukrainian war crimes like the recent assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow as it is not part of the mandate from Biden/Blinken and besides which the Ukes are America’s friends, just like the Israelis who are such great friends that they also get a pass on whatever they inflict on the Palestinians, including shooting or blowing up civilians. Indeed, Zelensky’s White House approved message is always the same: “give us money and guns and we will defeat the Russkies.” So Honest Joe Biden gives them the cash and the things that go bang in the night and in return they get a hearty hand shake when the bundles of Benjamins get transferred into the trunk of someone’s car. All of which leads one to wonder if Mr Z is the best reliable source for anything having to do with himself and the corrupt toadies that adhere to him, given the recurring reports that some donated weapons are already making their way into the black market just as quickly as the money goes into officials’ pockets. Zelensky has reacted to criticism by shutting down opposition parties and media, assassinating dissident politicians and firing or imprisoning any other official who might be inclined to disagree with him.
Apart from that, there is allegedly a war going on, which may not be evident from all the horse trading taking place at the presidential palace. It also would appear to be counter-intuitive that the Russians, blamed without much in the way of evidence for atrocity after atrocity, have apparently proven willing to let Zelensky entertain all his guests undisturbed. If you are truly committing a lot of war crimes, why not add one more to the list by blowing up the Kiev presidential palace and both killing Zelensky and probably ending the war at a stroke?
There are, in fact, two wars taking place simultaneously. There is, to be sure, fighting going on around Donbas, but the more important conflict is the phony war being waged by the Biden Administration and a number of European Chancelleries in support of whatever is actually taking place in Ukraine. This latter aspect of the war consists of perhaps the most stifling – and effective – propaganda effort the world has ever seen. It includes Joe Biden and his brigade of clowns, but it also has a supporting cast consisting of NATO, a number of European heads of state and virtually the entire western media. Social media has also joined in the struggle, banning Russian originating news stories and opinion, and using algorithms and other forms of manipulation to make reporting favorable to Moscow go away. The allied effort to defeat and destroy Russia relies on lies, half-truths, and out-and-out deception. But why bother to do it? It is because the war was preventable and avoidable, which is what the White House and other governments cannot admit to the public. It makes absolutely no sense and will benefit no one when it is over, and “over” might mean “really over” as nuclear weapons are on the table.
But what about the good old American exceptionalism which Biden-Blinken and that stalwart warrior Merrick Garland are supposed to be defending? Well, that seems to have taken a hit as much of the world, watching the fiasco unfold in Ukraine, apparently doesn’t appreciate the Anglo-Saxon sense of humor. To them, the war in Ukraine would never have started if the US and Europeans had invested in the tiniest effort as mediators to come to a negotiated solution. They have given up on the United States as a “force for good” and have rather concluded that Washington is a global bully and a regular aggressor.
Former US Air Force colonel and PhD Karen Kwiatkowski has an interesting tale to tell about how far the mighty have fallen. She writes “…I saw that the Solomon Islands refused (ignored really, which is even better) a US Coast Guard request to come to port, to buy fuel, like with real American dollars, y’all! Why was the US Coast Guard floating around the South Pacific – were they lost? After getting a fuller picture – they were looking for lawbreaking fishermen and that’s where their mission took them…” So what was the US response to this outrage, which was immediately blamed on interference by the Chinese? We need “a new embassy in the Solomon Islands… along with a new five year engagement plan in the Pacific.”
During the Cold War before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a commonly heard comment was that the country had become economically and politically an “Upper Volta with rockets,” which implied that the USSR spent so much on weapons that the civilian economy was starved of resources. Well, welcome to the former United States of America. As the nation’s decline and fall will no doubt be facilitated due to the millions of mostly Latino “asylum seekers” flowing over America’s southern border, the US as a “Bolivia with nukes” might be more appropriate. The world is tired of Washington and its pretenses and the walls will inevitably come tumbling down when the Biden unsustainable trillions of dollars of added debt-surge brings on bankruptcy Argentina style. A sharp change in course might be able to fix some of the problems, but there is an election coming up which the White House is keen to win by flooding its cherished constituencies with funny money in exchange for votes, a practice which once upon a time would have been seen as corruption. Come to think of it, the US has become a banana republic run by an essentially criminal gang that alternates every few years to pretend to be a democracy. Can’t get much lower than that, but Biden sure is trying!
How to Make Mozzarella Cheese 2 Ingredients Without Rennet
OMG! Do you have any idea about the secret pizza message that I am laying down here?
Is it true that China is trying to change the climate in one of its regions? How and why?
If you mean desert greening (as a result of which the climate inevitably changes to a more humid and less severe one), then yes – they do it, and they have success. The Mu-Us Desert is clear evidence:
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China Used a Shijian-21 Satellite to Pull Another One Out of Its Orbit
Cool, huh? Well, the USA doesn’t think so. U.S. officials are concerned the technology could be militarized.
European Stainless Steel Mills Are Closing Due To Energy Crisis
Ya don’t say!
Stainless steel prices continue to struggle as we approach the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile, nickel prices float just above their 2021 average, closing August at $21,320 / mt. Both indices seem to indicate an overly-cautious marketplace, with buyers and sellers seemingly waiting to see what the other will do.
This sort of “commodity” standoff is less than ideal. MetalMiner has recommended that buyers of flat-rolled stainless expect lower transaction prices as we move into autumn. After all, alloy surcharges are low, and competition between service centers is higher. In fact, many U.S. flat-rolled mills have no customers on allocation, thanks to imports affecting overall supply.
Still, the battle between supply and demand is a never-ending one. And in a tight market full of people looking to maximize their dollar, anything can happen.
Stainless Steel Mills Shut Down Across Europe
What would happen if the stainless steel market suddenly lost millions of tons of production? We won’t have to wait long to find out the answer because it’s already happening. As August ended, more and more reports came in detailing European stainless steel producers having to scale back or shut down production altogether.
Of course, Europe faces a catastrophic energy crisis. While many economists remain focused on the coming winter, Putin’s retaliatory gas cutoff has done plenty of damage already. So far, around three million tons of Europe’s stainless steel capacity is at risk. With energy costs surging, many plants simply can’t afford to “keep the lights on,” so to speak.
Earlier in August, the Belgian Aperam Mill shut down its mill in Genk. Soon after, they reduced production at their Chatelet Mill. More recently, Spanish company Acrinox announced it would cut production and place around 85% of its employees on short-time work. Obviously, all eyes are now on other major European producers, many of whom have just as much incentive to cut and run.
GDP comes from many sources. However, GDP derived from wall streets' speculative activities on real estate, currency, and / or stocks does not represent the entire nation. It only represents who benefits from those ventures. Which is the obvious profit venues; only a handful of billionaires and millionaires.
So, GDP (in and by itself) is meaningless.
This is why Xi Peng (China) focuses on something different from the West. China focuses on quality and sustainable growth.
[1] Xi regards clear water and green mountains (绿水青山) as wealth
[2] In Chinese, this means "gold mountain and silver mountain" (金山银山) [3] Thus, a nation that is full of resources, and an excellent living environment is regarded as an ideal that nations should aspire toward.
That is driver behind the massive R&D, development, production, and roll out of green technology, EV vehicles, public transport, greening of deserts that have all become a major part of the Chinese economy.
Think about it.
This is why China controls the cost of living on basic necessities such as electricity, water, internet access, food, housing.
While the outcome is low overall wages as a whole, the fact is that Chinese factory workers are better off than their equivalent in the West.
Cheers
On Comment Moderation
This is from MoA. -MM
In April this year a new commentator appeared on this blog under the name of ‘ostro’. Some of his comments were reasonable, some were a boring one-liners. There were many of them. Overall he did not bother me or others and time will always sift out commentators who do not fit the Moon of Alabama community.
At the end of July I noticed by chance that ‘ostro’ was not as harmless as he seemed. He had started to post under two names, ‘ostro’ and ‘ppp’. The comments did not relate to each other but came just minutes apart from the very same Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. That does not happen by chance. Again – the comments in themselves were not that unreasonable though at times a bit too aggressive.
Here it how that looked on the comment management screen of the software this blog is running on:
A complication in finding out what was happening was the fact that ‘ostro’ was using a proxy network. The IP-addresses where his comments were coming from were not his but from a larger proxy network provider which rents servers all over the world to disguise the locations of its users. Nothing new, nothing nefarious in itself, just something that requires a bit more work to police the comments here.
A person who uses several usernames to post comments here is a sockpuppeteer. He plays one character and another and another – all at the same time and often in concert to push the general tone of the comment section into a specific direction. This confuses other commentators. It disrupts threads. It is the opposite of being honest.
In consequence I banned ‘ostro’ and ‘ppp’, i.e. I blocked the IP addresses his comments were coming through. I did and do so with any sockpuppeteer who tries to comment on this blog under multiple names. The general Internet rule for this is simple. Choose one not yet used username and stick to it. Otherwise you will be banned.
After ‘ostro’ finally recognized that he was blocked from the comments he attempted to take revenge by really messing with this blog. Around August 7 he started to comment under a myriad of different usernames. The most prolific monikers ‘ostro’ used were ‘Gilbert’ ‘Maxx’ ‘rp’ ‘Steve’ etc. All were coming through the same large proxy network, i.e. from the same pool of IP addresses. Here is an example from one IP address.
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biggerMost of the comments under those thirty plus names were not even unreasonable. That is why it again took me some time to notice that something was wrong. At the end of August I finally started to systematically search for and block comments which had different name tags but came through the very same IP addresses. As ‘ostro’ is using a large proxy network with multiple IP addresses it took hours to block most of them. There were dozens and I am pretty sure there are still some I haven’t yet caught.
In response ‘ostro’ did something that was even more nefarious. He started to comment under the name of well known commentators here to attack other commentators. Some of the names and persons he abused in such ways were ‘Peter AU1’, ‘pretzelattack’ and ‘Helmuth von Moltke’.
The faked comments were not harmless but designed to disrupt the community by making it look as if some prominent members of this community were out to attack other prominent members.
I have since cleaned up that mess as good as I could by deleting the faked comments. The ‘ostro’ addresses where those were coming through were of course also blocked.
Those commentators who were affected by this should calm down. Your anger towards this or that other community member is unfounded as their names were probably or even likely abused to attack you.
This all could be prevented if I would demand that commentators somehow verify themselves and use some login process to comment here. The software this blog is running on allows for that. The Saker blog has recently switched to such a process after its comments section was overrun by shitposters.
I’ll try to avoid that. I like that this blog does not require user verification. It is important to me to leave the comment section as untouched as possible. Sure, I will continue to block haters and abusive language or other misbehavior whenever I see it. But it is not my task to police well formulated opinions.
‘Ostro’ is a person (or a group?) who seems to have a lot of time at his hand. He will continue to bother this blog and I will continue to fight against that. I have run Moon of Alabama for some eighteen years now and there have been dozens of abusers, some extremely tenacious, who have tried to disrupt it. I have so far beaten them all.
Other commentators, especially the longtime regulars, should be aware that this or that ‘attack’ on them may not be real. It is better to hold back than to start bar fights over stuff that was probably intentionally posted to incite you.
It is impossible for me to read and check every comment and to immediately react to abuses. If you see a problem with some comments or commentators please notify me by email. I will then handle the issue.
Thanks!
b.
Posted by b on September 4, 2022 at 10:25 UTC | Permalink
The United States ongoing provocation is only helping to push reunification
You don’t say!
China has warned the United States it will take "counter-measures" after the Biden administration approved more than $1.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.
Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said Saturday China was "firmly opposed" to the sales, which "severely jeopardize China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," and called on Washington to "immediately revoke" them.
Liu's comments on Twitter came after the Biden administration on Friday formally notified Congress of the proposed sales, which include up to 60 anti-ship missiles and up to 100 air-to-air missiles.
A friend asked me to take her to a local animal rescue place to drop off some supplies we had bought them. She had been trying for ages to persuade me to get a cat for company. She insisted we walk through the cages of cats waiting for adoption. As we approached one particular cage a black and white cat started jumping up and down against the wire trying to attract attention. The woman who ran the shelter said his name was Joe and he was only 9 months old, and that his twin sister Jenny was also in the cage, hiding in the sleeping area too scared to come out. I talked to Joe for a minute then he walked back into the sleeping area and we could see him nudging Jenny, trying to get her to come out and meet us too. Jenny eventually moved closer to the door of the sleeping area but wouldn’t come any further. She looked terrified and very unhappy. My heart melted and so I welcomed Joe and Jenny into my life. That was in 2008 and they are still with me and I love them both.
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More thoughts on GDP
GDP has nothing to do with value.
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An F-35 does not have as much value as a bullet train.
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Consider value to society. What has more value? Building a prison vs. a hospital. Or, perhaps, collecting rent vs. building new homes. Consider Service jobs vs. manufacturing jobs.
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Why do schools punish someone in a fight who is defending himself?
Are people really expected to let themselves get beaten and suffer possible severe injuries instead of protecting themselves?
About 20 years ago, my wife’s son was being bullied at school. My wife told him to talk to a teacher or the school’s ‘Dean of Students’ (because being a high school Vice Principal was not a big enough sounding title, I guess) – this moron did NOTHING! Her son, finally called me, directly. At this moment, I had served in the Marines & I was a federal agent. I told her son to go to his favorite teacher – & DOCUMENT in his notebook, the teacher’s name & all of the details. The few days later, called me again, to tell me nothing happened & the bully again hit him. Again, I told him to go directly to the ‘Dean of Students’ & to do the exact same thing – DOCUMENT all of the details, as well as the results of talking to the Dean of Students.
2 days later, my wife’s son called me early on Thursday morning, about 9 am, from the school’s pay phone – collect to my office. He told me that the bully hit him & split his lip. I asked what happened with the Dean of Students, & apparently the Dean told the bully that was a report of him bullying- NOTHING else happened to him! NOW, the Marine in me took control of my reaction – I told my wife’s son, as soon as the bully touches him again, kick him in the balls & start punching until the bully isn’t moving or someone pulls him off the bully. I also told him that I was leaving work immediately on my way.
My wife decided it would a good idea for her to join me on the way to the school – she knew that I was going to defend her son with everything I feel needed. Before we got to the school, the Dean of Students called my cell phone to tell us that my wife’s son was suspended from school for fighting. I told the Dean that I was on my way & he had better be there, with my son (yes, my wife’s son, but I always treat him as my own son & always will). I got to the school & my wife’s son was sitting in the office waiting room – the bully was also in the waiting room, nursing a bleeding nose & fat lip. I walked up to my wife’s son & told him give me the notebook & come with me. Without asking for the Dean, I walked into his office & threw the notebook on his desk. Before he could say a word, I told him to read OUT LOUD, EXACTLY WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THE NOTEBOOK.
The Dean tried to excuse the notebook & tried to give me the ‘School standard of no tolerance’. At this point, I told him that I didn’t give a “F’’ about their standard, because my standard is that if someone puts my family in danger, I WILL USE ALL OF MY RESOURCES & TRAINING TO PROTECT MY FAMILY. At this point, he called for security, the fact that I’m a large man – 6′3′’, 240 lbs added to the Dean’s fear of me, also that my badge was showing. I explained to the Dean that whether or not he or anyone else likes it, humans ARE ANIMALS – meaning that some things are NATURAL ENGRAINED INSTINCTS, just with any other animal – & we also have the instinct of flight or fight. My (wife’s) son did the right thing throughout the bullying & the school, the teacher, HE & the SYSTEM were putting MY SON IN DANGER by their lack of enforcing their OWN RULES! I also, in front of the school safety officer, explained that IF he didn’t understand that my son was correct in his actions, I was going to show him EXACTLY how that works – that I was going to start assaulting him to see if he can take a beating without trying to defend himself. The funniest part of it was that the officer started laughing, because he knew I was correct & my son was.
In the end, my son was NOT suspended – he did enjoy a 3 day weekend with me & my wife, rewarding him for doing exactly as he was told. He was excused by the school for the day without having to make up missed classes. I followed with going to the school district & having a LONG visit with them about it with my attorney. The Dean of Students was relieved of duties & in the end lost his job over this, as well as it came out that NOT ONE BULLY HAD BEEN REPRIMANDED FOR BULLYING during his tenure.
NOTHING pisses me off than the biggest ‘rules’ that allow others to do things to harm others. & it’s high time for parents to START GETTING INVOLVED!
Do you want to stop the violence, shootings at schools? GET YOUR ASS UP & INVOLVED! IF YOU are parent, YOU KNOW if your kid is bullied – or you should – & if you are the parent of a bully, GET INVOLVED! When rules are put in place & NOT enforced UNILATERALLY, it is when the bullied kids feel they can’t take anymore & they then become the aggressors in any means they can – VIOLENCE.
More steel mills are closing
Well. Duh!
The world’s second-largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, is the latest industrial company to announce a plant closure in Europe due to soaring gas and energy prices.
ArcelorMittal will shut one of its two blast furnaces at its steelworks site in Bremen, Germany, from the end of September until further notice, due to the “exorbitant rise in energy prices,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
Are the Chinese leaked documents about Uyghurs authentic?
Some claim they are written in a way Westerners would write.
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I opened the link to view the image of the alleged evidence and can confirm that, as with the question, there are obvious problems of expression in it.
1, far right, top to bottom, fourth box.
1.1 Chinese people do not use “国语”, but “汉语” or “普通话”. “国语” is the customary language in Taiwan.
1.2 “本人” is used to address oneself and does not appear when addressing others.
2. Right-most, from top to bottom, second cell.
2.1 Chinese people do not use “该人”, but “此人”.
3. Rightmost, from top to bottom, fifth box.
3.1 “本人系80后不放心人员”, which is obviously not normal Chinese, but rather like a machine translation of the language.
There are also a bunch of other presentation problems, such as the use of “研判” instead of “经过分析”, “碰撞分析” and other strange words.
My analysis concludes that the content of the image was most likely machine-translated into Chinese, and that there are many obvious misrepresentations. It has also been manually corrected by Taiwanese, which is why there are so many words that are specific to Taiwan.
h t t p s :// w e b . archive.o r g/web/20171008231624im_/http://www.xjzj.gov.cn/assets/i/favicon.png
(I split the link to avoid direct conversion by quora, so remove the spaces if you want to open it)
it opened successfully.
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It is obvious that the so-called “Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision新疆维吾尔自治区质量技术监督局” webpage is actually on the Wayback Machine website.
It is a storage platform for manually uploading web pages, videos and other data.
Therefore, the so-called “Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision” page is actually a manually uploaded page on the archive website.
It’s fake.
Basically, it can be ascertained that the page is a forged, modified “Mandarin” page.
Fake.
Fake.
Fake.
Then search for the content “Recently, the villagers’ group and village committee of Ruoqi village in Minfeng County pointed out that a press conference had recently been held by the village team and village committee of Chasianbazar village in Ruoqueya township in Minfeng County” and find the press release that appears on the Sohu website (this is a general press release, which means that the propaganda department sends the same content to many websites).
It says “learn the national language and script to learn the common national language and script学习国家语言和脚本学好国家通用语言文字”, not “国语”.
It is 100% certain that the page provided is a deliberate forgery
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I’m curious why someone was quick to provide a modified version of the page and answer questions when we pointed out that the use of “国语” was an obvious loophole?
That’s veryinteresting!
very interesting.
Issues worth thinking about:
Why the US GDP is bigger than China’s?
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How is it actually possible? China is (by far) the largest trading partners with a vast majority of the world (more than 130 countries). Not so with the United States.
The South Korean government has identified (the American demand of) slowing trade with China as a major national risk.
Instead, they vowed to strengthen economic cooperation with their neighbor after the country logged its highest ever trade deficit in August.
South Korea’s overall deficit hit US$9.47 billion last month, according to the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the highest figure since records began in 1956.
It also marked four consecutive months of trade deficit with China, its biggest trading partner, following decades of surpluses.
All right, before we begin, we need some background information.
It was right in the middle of the Sengoku period(戦国時代) a period of all out war that happened all over Japan, various warlords fighting each other over control of Japan. It wasn’t a good time to live really, if you were a peasant you could be conscripted into a army and forced to fight, and if you were a samurai you would be fighting.
Several decades before the battle, on a island called Tanegashima(種子島) a ship with some Portuguese people came there, and introduced the arabesque, something the Japanese had never seen before, although they have encountered gunpowder from the mongols.
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Anyway, the lord of the island bought several of them and ordered them to be manufactured. Pretty soon, it spread all over Japan.
It was a good weapon, anyone could be trained to use it, and it could kill or wound fully armored samurai with a shot. But it was inaccurate over long distances, took way longer than a bow to reload, and it was pretty costly to make, since metal isn’t the most common resource in Japan. Due to this, many questioned if this was a good weapon to use, so while guns were introduced, it didn’t play a significant role at first(I think).
But several Damiyo really liked these newfangled guns, especially this man named Oda Nobunaga, a warlord who liked all the new western stuff that was coming into Japan.
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He was quite successful and very ingenious.
Now, Oda and his allies were now in conflict with the mighty Takeda clan, renowned for it’s cavalry.
They met on a plain near the besieged Nagashino castle, and June 28, a mighty force of around 38,000 men on Oda’s side came. The Takeda clan spent 12,000 to face the enemy, leaving 3,000 to continue the siege.
Now Oda knew that Takeda cavalry was a force to be reckoned with, but he had a plan. He had thousands of arabesques position themselves behind a small stream that would slow down the horses and had a palisade erected. He also had his flank covered by his allies. He also developed a tactic no other damiyo had used. Since reloading was slow, he had the shooters line up in three’s, and ordered them to fire in volleys so that a continues barrage of balls could be fired.
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Meanwhile on the Takeda side, they were confident they would win. There had been rain, which Takeda assumed would render the guns useless, and the distance wasn’t that long, a few hundred meters at best. Also, their cavalry was the best in Japan, so how could they lose? They had defeated Oda and his allies in previous battles.
With these advantages, the Takeda cavalry charged. But they were wrong. One thing, the guns were still usable, and two, the enemy did not break ranks. The stream and the fortifications slowed the calvary charge and we’re fired upon continuously by the guns when they got close.
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The few Takeda samurai that made through were quickly killed by spears and swords. Again and again they charged but by midday, they turned and fled. They were pursed relentlessly, and the battle was lost after losing around 12,000 men while Oda forces suffered only 6,000 losses. The Takeda clan never recovered and eventually lost everything.
This battle was some of the most important in Japan. This resulted in a new era for warfare in Japan. Although guns had been around for some decades and had been used, never in the thousands, and as effectively as Oda did. These new experiences also was the reason of the early success in the Korean Invasion by Oda’s successor.
Oda never got to see the unification of Japan. He was betrayed by one of his allies for disputed reasons and killed in a temple. He only had a few dozen bodyguards while a whole army numbering in the thousands stormed the temple. Oda had the temple set on fire so his head wouldn’t be captured and his remains were never found. His successor defeated said traitor and unified Japan.
Fun fact: The smith who was tasked to reproduce the guns had trouble with screws, because screws weren’t a thing in Japan. A Portuguese smith had to come a year later.
Pivot towards China Dr M implores
Dr. M at the age of 97 is full of wisdom.
US has no friends in Asia. The only two surrogates; Japan and South Korea are still under US occupation.
If there is a war, they will chase the US military out of their countries to prevent being the target of Chinese bombing.
Is it true that many anti-CCP Chinese became pro-CCP after having learnt how Western media are biased against China?
Exactly Right.
As A CHINESE CITIZEN, I didn’t like the CCP until I went to Japan to study for my medical doctor degree.
After I was free to use Google, Facebook, and Twitter, I found that the Western media was full of lies, prejudice, discrimination, and fooling.
Although I think the CCP sucks, I find that the political parties in other countries are worse. One is worse than the other, full of politics, interests, lies, deception and contempt for the people.
compared to CCP, Regardless of the purpose, the least CCp helps the poorest people have eat and live in a house, rather than letting them hang out on the street aimlessly.
In China, whether you are a child from a remote rural area or born in a big city like Beijing or Shanghai, as long as you work hard, you will have the opportunity to change your life and live a life of the American middle class.
My parents, a pair of ordinary Chinese residents, their salary can support my tuition and living expenses in Japan. I talked with an American college student, and when I mentioned the student loan, the sadness on his face shocked me. He said he needed at least 10 years to repay his college tuition.
China’s medical system and medical insurance allow my parents to get comprehensive medical treatment in a timely and fast manner with little money when they are sick. As a medical practitioner, I think that the average American middle class can get the same medical services as my parents in my hometown, but it will cost more money, dozens or hundreds of times.
I am from a small, remote city in China and I don’t think the quality of life in a big city in Japan is higher. The law and order situation in Japan is also similar to my hometown. The most furious thing is that I have lost my third bicycle downstairs in my Japanese apartment. Similarly, call police are useless for lost bicycles.
I can see that the CCP has moved many poor people from China’s harsh environment to my hometown, giving them land, seeds and machines to farm them. I even saw a lot of large agricultural drones flying over rice fields.
The infrastructure in my hometown is also very good. The roads are smooth and the traffic is developed. I must drive to go out to buy food more conveniently. I don’t think my life in China is different from that in the United States or Japan.
So, since the CCP is good at governing China, why should I abandon such a life to embrace hypocritical Western democracy, I don’t want to be robbed or shot after 10pm.
Triple-Crust Peach Cobbler
When two crusts just won’t cut it, make it three with this popular triple crust peach cobbler! It’s layered with irresistibly sweet peaches, making it perfect from summer all the way to fall. Any season, any time, this recipe never falls short of amazing.
We are now officially in “Roll On The Floor Laugh Your Ass Off” territory. The United States and Europe, which are on the precipice of economic collapse, are blaming Russia for their problems. I suppose when you are deaf, dumb, blind and stupid to boot, it is wonderful to have Russia around to blame for everything.
Are you ugly? That is Russia’s fault.
Fat? Putin did it.
Broke and bankrupt? A nefarious commie plot by Putin and his Russia cronies, who are not communist.
But why let troublesome facts get in the way of telling a gargantuan lied.
Russia’s strategy of curbing supplies of natural gas to Europe has sparked a full-blown power crisis and spurred a rush for alternatives such as diesel that can be used for heating, industry and electricity generation. That’s creating a shortage of jet fuel — which is made from the same type of oil as diesel — just as demand soars.Airfares to Europe and the Americas from Asia have at least doubled from pre-pandemic levels on the back of limited capacity, as well as the jump in jet fuel prices,” said Mayur Patel, head of Asia at OAG. Prices aren’t likely to get back to 2019 levels until at least early 2023, as it will take a while for “the frenzied travel demand that has built up in recent years” to taper off, he said.The surge in aviation fuel is most pronounced in Europe, where the energy crisis is most acute. Prices there are up about 56% this year, with Asia and the US not far behind. By comparison, global oil benchmark Brent crude has risen around 21%.
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Excuse me. Russia’s strategy? Now I realize that the demented Joe Biden cannot remember what day of the week it is, but what is the excuse for a supposedly professional economic news outlet like Bloomberg.
Today, President Biden will sign an Executive Order (E.O.) to ban the import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal to the United States – a significant action with widespread bipartisan support that will further deprive President Putin of the economic resources he uses to continue his needless war of choice.The United States made this decision in close consultation with our Allies and partners around the world, as well as Members of Congress of both parties. The United States is able to take this step because of our strong domestic energy infrastructure and we recognize that not all of our Allies and partners are currently in a position to join us. But we are united with our Allies and partners in working together to reduce our collective dependence on Russian energy and keep the pressure mounting on Putin, while at the same taking active steps to limit impacts on global energy markets and protect our own economies.
These guys make Alec Baldwin look like a professional firearms safety instructor.
They are not shooting the director. They pointed the gun at their own heads and pulled the trigger. BOOM!
The United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russian oil and gas and shutdown the international financial system, which provided a mechanism for Russia to sell oil and gas to the west, and that is Putin’s fault?
I have always lived by the motto, if you’re going to jump out of a plane at altitude make sure you have a parachute attached to your body.
The same principle applies to imposing economic sanctions. If you are going to try to punish one of the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil and gas, make damn sure you have ample alternative supplies.
Paying higher airfare is chicken feed compared to the economic ass whipping the United States and Europe, especially Europe, are now starting to feel. Here is some cheery news, also courtesy of Bloomberg, about the energy tsunami that is clobbering Britain:
Soaring energy bills are threatening to put six in 10 British manufacturers out of business, according to a survey that lays bare the extent of the crisis facing the next prime minister.“The current crisis is leaving businesses facing a stark choice,” the report said. “Cut production or shut up shop altogether if help does not come soon.”
Just taking a wild guess here, but it seems that losing 60% of your manufacturing capability is a pretty big deal and might, just might, hurt the national economy of the Brits.
German exports and imports both fell in July as surging prices and the war in Ukraine threaten to send Europe’s largest economy into a recession.The trade surplus shrank to 5.4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) from 6.2 billion euros in June, as exports dropped by 2.1% and imports by 1.5%, Germany’s statistics office said Friday. Goods sales to the US, the country’s biggest market, fell by almost 14%.
Germany faces the “bitter reality” that Russia will not restore gas supplies to the country, the German economy minister said on Monday, ahead of planned halt by state energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) of exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.“It won’t come back … It is the bitter reality,” Robert Habeck said in a panel with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.Russia will halt natural gas supplies to Europe for three days at the end of the month for unscheduled maintenance to the Nord Stream pipeline, Gazprom said on Friday, piling pressure on the region as it seeks to refuel ahead of winter.
Golly gee willikers.
It only took the Germans six months to figure out that kicking Russia in the testicles would make Russia reluctant to be friends and sell the Germans gas at cut rate prices.
“The energy security of Europe without Russia is impossible,” Volodin wrote, noting that the EU had two options: “The first one. Lift illegal sanctions against our country and launch Nord Stream 2. The second one. To leave everything as it is, which will lead to problems in the economy and make life even more difficult for citizens,” he said, according to Reuters’ translation.UK Prime Minister Boris Johnston accused Russia of weaponizing natural gas in retaliation to western sanctions at a press hearing on Wednesday, though he emphasized Europe would not back down from its support of Ukraine, with countries like Germany shifting away from Russian energy supplies entirely. Europe is also on track to meeting its natural gas storage targets this winter, a positive sign as countries try to get by without Russian energy flows.
There you have it.
The west impose sanctions on Russian oil and gas, but it is Russia, not the west, that is weaponizing gas.
I have a suggestion for Vladimir Putin–let the western politicians and their people who embrace sanctioning Russia, suck on the results.
Winter is not here yet, but it is nigh.
Soon the stinky, sweating Europeans who have been compelled to cut back on hot water and air conditioning will be shivering in the hovels trying to figure out how to kindle a fire without putting their whole complex up in flames. I recall another relevant aphorism, “revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Looks like Europe has conjured up its own wintry buffet.
Bon appétit.
Plato’s Fight Against Apollo’s Temple of Delphi and the Cult of Democracy
Homer’s great poems that are left to us today, The Iliad and The Odyssey, describe the events of the Trojan War and its immediate aftermath, events which marked the descent of Greece into a Dark Age. Following the Trojan War, c.1190 BCE, the civilization of mainland Greece collapsed, written language was lost, and cities disappeared.
During this period, Greece suffered an almost complete lost of its history. To this day, we do not know much of what Greece was before and during this Dark Age.
The Iliad and The Odyssey, written around c.720 BCE heralded the reversal of the collapse, and the beginnings of Classical Greek culture.
In Plato’s Timaeus, Solon (630-560 BCE) visits the Egyptian priests of Neith to discuss Greece’s history, for unlike the Greeks, the Egyptians had done well in preserving a record of their history for over centuries. The Egyptian priests say to Solon, that this is not the first time that Greece had nearly lost all record of their history, that the Greeks had been an advanced civilization before this last deluge, and that there had been many deluges prior, each time wiping all record of the previous civilization. A very aged priest tells Solon, in Plato’s Timaeus, that several centuries earlier, Athens had been in conflict with the great power of Atlantis, which was then destroyed in a catastrophe.
The Egyptian priests recount to Solon how the Greek people had gone from an advanced civilization to being like children every time there was a natural calamity.
Solon (630-560 BCE) is considered the greatest of the seven sages of Greece, and is famous for writing the code of laws in Athens and establishing the Republic of Greece, which laid the foundations for how government and society would be organized for the next 2500 years.
Among Solon’s great deeds was the abolishment of the debt moratorium. He outlawed the sale of free men into slavery to pay their debts, and encouraged craftsmanship and industry knowing that these were among the greatest expressions of human achievement. This propelled Athens to become a world leader in the arts and sciences.
Solon also set up the Council of the Areopagus, which was made up of aristocrats, were selected based on their merit, and served the council for life. The Council of Areopagus played a major positive role in Greek politics (more on this shortly).
It is said that with these laws in place, Solon left Athens for 10 years, since the people had agreed to give the laws this amount of time, and visited Egypt among many other places. Plato, would make a similar trip two hundred years later.
Cyrus the Great (unknown-530 BCE) from around 550 to 539 BCE led a military campaign that is recognized as the reunification of the Iranian people, but also entered the territories of Lydia and Ionia. In these areas considered to be the reunification of Iran, he united the tribes, set up a common language and promoted the sciences and industry, and thus contributed much as a builder of these cities.
The reason why he went into Lydia and Ionia is a bit of a controversial case because King Croesus of Lydia had basically become convinced by the Assyrian Empire and also the priests of the Temple of Delphi that he would be victorious in an attack against Cyrus the Great, despite Cyrus being ready to leave Lydia and Ionia alone.
Cyrus the Great appears to be an exception to what followed him afterwards during the reigns of Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes who led the Persian Empire and who we will discuss further later on. [Military Campaign of Darius I 521-486 BCE, Xerxes I 485-465 BCE, Artaxerxes I 464-424 BCE.]
Babylon was the last conquest of Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE.
According to Charles Tate, author of “The Truth About Plato,” the Babylonian priesthood (led by the priests of Marduk) seeing what Cyrus the Great was accomplishing, thereupon decided to open the doors of Babylon to him. They did this partially because they knew they would not be able to resist him anyway, but also because they thought that they could use him.
When Cyrus enters Babylon, he slaughters the Babylonian King and all those considered loyal to the King. But the Marduk priests were allowed to go about their daily rituals as if nothing had happened. This was because they had made an agreement with Cyrus the Great.
Thus ended the reign of the Babylonian Empire (1895 – 539 BCE). However, as often occurs with the collapse of a powerfully ancient empire, much of the seed of that empire was transferred over to a new host.
The Marduk priesthood was ancient, and rose to prominence during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE) and continued to be venerated in the city throughout the time of Persian rule.
The Marduk priesthood always believed in the right to enslave and brutally tax the populations of Mesopotamia.
It is not clear if Cyrus the Great was aware of what the Marduk priesthood was as a global force of evil, nevertheless, he did officially recognize the god Marduk and would publicly worship him during his stay in Babylon.
However, to put things into balance, no king appeared to be free of this form of control. No Babylonian king ever made war, or peace without first consulting the oracles of the Marduk Temple. This was the exact system later put in place at Apollo’s Temple of Delphi in Greece. In fact, Marduk is the equivalent to Zeus and Apollo in Greece and Phoebus in Egypt, first originating in Babylon. And temples were set up with these priesthoods under this common network.
Not even King Leonidas with his legendary force of 300 against Persia was able to avoid paying a visit to the Cult of Delphi before setting on to the Battle at Thermopylae in 480 BCE.
One of the most famous prophecies made by the Cult of Delphi, according to the ancient historian Herodotus, was to King Croesus of Lydia in 550 BCE. King Croesus was a very rich king and the last bastion of the Ionian cities against the increasing Persian power in Anatolia. The king wished to know whether he should continue his military campaign deeper into Persian Empire territory.
According to Herodotus, the amount of gold King Croesus delivered was the greatest ever bestowed upon the Temple of Apollo. In return, the priestess of Delphi, otherwise known as the Oracle, would spout nonsensical babble, intoxicated by the gas vapours of the chasm she was conveniently placed atop. The priests would then “translate” the Oracle’s prophecy.
King Croesus was told as his prophecy-riddle, “If Croesus goes to war he will destroy a great empire.” Croesus was overjoyed and thought his victory solid and immediately began working towards building his military campaign against Persia. Long story short, Croesus lost everything and Lydia was taken over by the Persians.
It turns out the prophetic riddle was not wrong, but that Croesus mistook which great empire would fall.
The Cult of Apollo thus destroyed the Greek-allied kingdom of Lydia, misleading King Croesus. It also derailed Ionia’s resistance to the Persian invasion, countered Athenian intervention to aid Ionia against Persia, attempted to sabotage Greek resistance in the Persian War, and encouraged the suicidal Peloponnesian War launched in 434 BCE.
The priests of Delphi were also spreaders of occult superstition.
For instance, whenever the populace would be mobilized towards a certain action, such as the support for the Ionian uprising against Persia (more on this shortly), the Cult of Delphi said that terrible things were going to happen if the Athenian people supported this. The people were told that Apollo would be very upset and that plagues would be unleashed on the people if they supported such a cause.
The Apollo temples were also the wealthiest banking centers in the Mediterranean world. They would finance military campaigns, politicians, and the careers of generals who could be used to advance their agenda.
Two stories that give us an idea of what sort of god Apollo was, are those of Marsyas and Orestes. In one story, Marsyas and Apollo enter a music competition that is judged by the Muses. Marsyas, a Phrygian Satyr, was an expert player of the double fluted instrument known as the aulos.
Apollo is known for playing the lyre. The Muses decide that Marsyas is the better instrumentalist, however, in the final round Apollo sings while playing the lyre and the Muses are won over and ultimately favor Apollo.
Since the victor decides what they wish to do to their competitor, Apollo decides to flay (peel the skin off) Marsyas alive, for he was technically the better player and Apollo was so jealous that he had Marsyas slowly tortured to death.
The other well known story is by Aeschylus (524-456 BCE), in his famous Orestes trilogy. [I will go into a little bit of the political and artistic role of Aeschylus in Greece shortly.]
In the Orestes story, there is a curse that follows Agamemnon (the General of the Greeks) back from the Trojan War, since it was not a Just war.
The war started when Menelaus’s wife Helen (known as one of the most beautiful woman in the world) was seduced by Paris, a prince from Troy and ran off with him. Thus to save face, Menelaus (the brother of Agamemnon) decides Greece must go to war with Troy, a war which lasted anywhere between ten and twenty years.
In order to have good weather for the voyage, Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia to the gods. This crime sets a terrible cycle of an-eye-for-an-eye retribution that would go on for years.
Orestes is the son of Agamemnon and the story focuses on this cycle of vengeance and destruction. Creatures known as the Erinyes (aka: Furies) torment and hunt those who have committed a crime and are harbored in the temples of Apollo, who is the god of distance, death, terror, and awe.
In Aeschylus’ story, the resolution to this ongoing vicious cycle of destruction is the creation of the Council of the Areopagus, which was the council that had been set up by Solon earlier. The Erinyes are able to find their place in a more noble form of natural law and secondary to the Council of the Areopagus, which functioned like a court of law with Athena as its symbolic head.
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By 499 BCE there was the Ionian Uprising against Persia. As you can see in the map the Ionians are in the center, and the rebellion is occurring on the right side of the map in Asia (with the left side being mainland Greece).
After Solon, there was a period of tyrants who ruled Athens followed by the period of the Greek democrats. These Greek democrats were the force most controlled by not only the ever-abundant Persian coin, but also Persia’s intelligence apparatus. Hold in mind that Babylon was still at the center of the Marduk, Apollo, Phoebus network.
In 499 BCE, anti-Persian forces revolted against King Darius I. The leader of the revolt, Aristagoras of Miletus traveled throughout Greece seeking support for the rebellion. In Athens, his call was heeded with the city sending ships and heavily armed Greek soldiers resulting in many military successes.
After about a year, Greek democrats in Athens began saying that they should not be supporting the Ionian Uprising because they were led by Ionian aristocrats, thus Greek democrats should not be supporting these landowners who, it was claimed, only cared for their own interests. Unlike the Athenian Democrats, these “corrupt” Ionian aristocrats were against the rule of the Persian Empire and were for the independence of the Greek states.
The Cult of Delphi added to this mob frenzy by spreading superstition that bad things would happen if the people continued to support the Ionian rebels.
As a result of the loss of Athenian support, the men of Miletus were all butchered, the boys castrated to serve the Persian Empire as eunuchs and the women were either forced to become brides, brought to harems or forced to fend for themselves.
When Mardonius, Persian General, in 492 BCE (son-in-law to Darius I) led an armada of 600 ships against Ionia. Rather than replace Ionian aristocrats with Persian overlords, Mardonius instead placed Greek democratic stooges into power, as they were considered a much more effective control on the population.
The Council of the Areopagus, the traditional leadership of Athens established by Solon, consisting of aristocrats, also started to come under attack from the Athenian democrats.
And so there was a fight as to what the future of Athens was going to be, whether they were going to be a free people or subjects of an empire.
Cleisthenes, the first democratic leader of Athens in 510 BCE attained power not by any popular movement or class struggle but by the financing of the Cult of Apollo. Cleisthenes’s Alcmaeonid family went on to dominate the Athenian democracy for nearly one hundred years with the backing of Delphi.
In 507 BCE Cleisthenes voluntarily sent to Persia the traditional tokens of submission, earth and water, marking the first official contact between Persian imperialism and Greek democracy with a promise of Athen’s vassalage to King Darius I.
Years later, King Leonidas of Sparta also received envoys from Persia asking for these same tokens of submission. According to legend, King Leonidas exclaimed “You want earth and water?” and threw the entire Persian envoy to their deaths down a deep well.
This led to the legendary battle of King Leonidas’ 300 men at the Thermopylae in 480 BCE where they fought an incredible resistance to the onslaught of the Persian Empire, and are remembered as heroic warriors against the rule of tyranny to this day.
During this period, Athenians would also have their share in legendary battles against the Persians with the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, and the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE. However, despite their legendary victories against incredible odds, Athenian democrats were able to move the political foment to an increasingly pro-Persian stance under the government of the Cleisthenes’ Alcmaeonid family (whose members also included Pericles and Alcibiades).
The historian Herodotus (484-425 BCE) offered the following account of Persia’s motives for establishing so-called democracies to rule over its satrapies.
And thus, Greek democracy did not have a lot of respect from Herodotus either, who lived during the time of Xerxes.
King Darius I (550-486 BCE) was successful in crushing the Ionian revolt and so he thought it was going to be a piece of cake to take over the Greek mainland.
The Areopagites who were made up of the Athenian aristocracy, described themselves as the party of the Beautiful and the Good [“Beautiful” in this case, referring to that which pertains to the soul].
To the Areopagites, Greeks did not live in a nation or an empire, but in city-states, independent communities clustered around a city center.
Each city-state had different laws, worshipped different gods but were unified by the common Greek language which created the bedrock of their common culture under Homer.
One of the tools used by the Greek city states against the threat of Persia, under the direction of the Council of the Areopagus, was found in classical Greek tragedies and the Greek tragedy competitions. These competitions were held between three different playwrights (selected half a year before), who were required to compose three tragedies and one satyr play each. The Greek tragedy festivities were second only to the Athletic competitions and were deeply influential on the Greek culture.
In 493 BCE, Phrynichus staged his drama Capture of Miletus on the Ionian Uprising (about the population that was slaughtered by the Persians). The drama carried a strong warning to mainland Greeks that the defeated Ionians’ fate would soon be their own if they did not prepare to expell the Persians.
The leaders of the democracy banned it, and this became the only play ever to be censored in the history of the politically volatile Greek theater because it “called too strongly to mind the suffering of the people.” However, likely the real reason why the play was censored, was due to the fear that it would instigate an uprising by the Greek people against Persia’s increasing control over their lives.
Another famous playwright who would follow Phrynichus is Aeschylus, known as the greatest Greek tragedian.
Aeschylus would write the Orestes trilogy, as already discussed and also wrote The Persians, recounting the heroism of the Greeks in defeating Darius I at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE.
As already mentioned, Darius I was very cocky after subduing the Ionian Uprising and figured the conquering of mainland Greece would not be difficult. The Battle of Marathon was the first battle the Greeks fought against Persia and it was a humiliating defeat for the Persian Empire, where 10,000 Greeks were able to defeat 100,000 Persians.
It wouldn’t be for another ten years before Persia would try to attack mainland Greece, this time under Xerxes in 480 BCE.
Xerxes had defeated King Leonidas, but that was only because Leonidas could only organize three hundred men to follow him, since Sparta was also going through its own problems with influential Spartan politicians bought with Persian coin. If this sort of corruption had not taken hold and King Leonidas had his full army, they would have undoubtedly beat the Persian onslaught.
The Battle of Salamis would again deal a humiliating defeat to the Persians in 480 BCE. As the story goes, the Phoenicians, who had been conquered, were manning the ships of the Persian Empire and met the Greek ships, only to immediately defect to the side of the Greeks.
The Persians written by Aeschylus was again to rouse the the spirit of the Greek people to resist being ruled as a vassal state by the Persians. The play taught the people that there was no need to bow down to an inferior system that was based on subjugation and plunder.
How greatly the victory of Marathon effected the political morale of the Greeks can be seen from the fact that Aeschylus’ chosen epitaph forty years later written on his tomb stone, said nothing about his plays which guaranteed his immortality or about his lifetime as a political organizer for the Areopagites but only that he had fought at Marathon.
With this victory, Greece was now on the offensive and was preparing to take back Ionia and assist in the liberation of Egypt. This force for the first time united the two most powerful cities in Greece, Athens and Sparta, in an alliance known as the Delian League, founded in 478 BCE.
From c.461- 429 BCE Pericles would be the head of Athenian democracy. Falsely remembered as the architect of the Golden Age of Athenian culture, in fact, Pericles had done much to destroy the good works of Athens and to sabotage the anti-Persian cause. Pericles broke the alliance of the Delian League and led Greece into the Peloponnesian War, pitting Greek against Greek instead of Greek against Persian.
Under Pericles’ leadership, Athens increasingly became imperialistic and began to experience an agricultural and industrial decline and its economy was suffering for it.
Athens, under Pericles’ direction, responded to this economic crisis not by increasing the emphasis on scientific and industrial advancements but rather on increasing their imperial looting of other Athenian city-states, which increasingly were treated as vassals to Athens.
Sparta was clearly not going to go along with this and this is what broke up the very important alliance of the Delian League leading into the Peloponnesian War.
Pericles actually led Athens into the first two years of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. So it is clear, Pericles was a massive saboteur of the Greek cause against Persia.
The Peloponnesian War had Greeks fighting Greeks from 431-404 BC, lasting for nearly thirty years.
Pericles is also the one to have introduced the infamous sophists to Athens, which Plato eviscerated throughout his writings, notably the dialogues of Gorgias and Protagoras, not to mention the character of Thrasymachus in his Republic. None of these characters were fictional devices created by Plato, but were in fact leading sophists of their day. In the dialogues, Plato would showcase where these men’s true values and morals lay. In fact, it was Gorgias who was responsible for encouraging Alcibiades to commit to the suicidal run attacking Syracuse which resulted in extending the Peloponnesian War for another thirteen years.
For a price, these foreign sophists would offer any Athenian who wished his children to prosper in the city government, tutoring in the use of rhetoric and “sophistry”, which was simply the art of making a weaker argument appear the stronger. Sophistry promised a fast track to success in government, and was heavily promoted by Pericles’ chief adviser Anaxagoras.
The sophists were not surprisingly also against the anti-Persian cause.
Because Persia had not been successful in their attacks from the outside, the strategy had changed to have Greece destroy itself from within, pitting Greek against Greek.
In 417 BCE Athens was strong enough to bring the war to a close but was subverted by the decisions of one man named Alcibiades. Plato had introduced this Alcibiades in several dialogues as a promising young man that Socrates was attempting to organize, but failed to sway from the influence of the sophists. Alcibiades would heed the advice of Gorgias to invade Syracuse since this would deliver him fame and fortune. Syracuse was known for its vast troves of riches, and at the time Athens was bankrupt, largely from the costly Peloponnesian War.
The Athenians enthusiastically backed the invasion of Syracuse, and paid no heed to their leading general Nikias who is presented in Plato’s dialogue Laches discussing the meaning of courage with Socrates. Alcibiades’ expedition resulted in the decimation of the Athenian army and navy as tens of thousands of Athenians died of starvation in caves as captives of Sicily.
This massive loss was enough to keep the Peloponnesian War going for another 13 years.
Persian subversion had brought the Greeks into a collapse administered by their own hand.
***
Now we enter the timeframe of Plato.
Plato was born in 427 BCE, and thus four years into the Peloponnesian War and is a young man when the war ends in 404 BCE. Athens is considered the loser of the war, however, this had much to do with Admiral Lysander of Sparta who struck an alliance with the Persians sealing Sparta’s victory and ending the conflict.
Subsequently, the Thirty Tyrants, chosen by Lysander, are put in place as the new Athenian government.
Historical accounts say the the rule of the Thirty Tyrants, which was only about eight months long, was so horrendous that it made the Peloponnesian War look pale in comparison. Many executions and brutal in-fighting occurred further weakening a defeated Athens.
Plato is living as a young man throughout all of this, and by the age of about twenty meets Socrates, who is among the few leaders remaining of the anti-Persian force. Socrates was, among others, leading the efforts to revive the city-building tradition of Solon.
Socrates’ education in public affairs doubtlessly came from his father, who was a close friend of Aristides the Just, the leader of the Athenian Areopagites (Council of the Areopagus). Socrates was himself closely associated with the Aristides family and acted as ward to Aristide’s granddaughter and tutor to his grandson.
There is a lot of criticism that Plato and Socrates were simply philosophers who did a lot of talking but never participated in the political fight within Athens. This could not be further from the truth.
One example occurred in 406 BCE, two years before the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian war.
Conon, the a leading democratic military man in Athens (and massive stooge of Persia), charged the entire Athenian staff of military Generals with the crime of refusing to pick up shipwrecked soldiers following the Battle of Arginusae. The fact was that doing so amidst stormy waters would have put the rest of the crew at major risk. This was nothing other than an attempted military coup d’état on the part of Conon, who was calling for the execution of all of the leading Athenian military men.
Socrates, who was serving his term in rotation as president of the Athenian Assembly stopped the trial, declaring it in violation of the laws of Athens and refused to put the question to a vote. The democratic party, nonetheless, illegally condemned the Generals to death the following day. The military leadership of Athens was destroyed which paved the way for a Persian-backed Spartan victory over Athens in less than two years.
To give a more personal context of what Plato was being confronted with as a young man here are a few excerpts from his Letter VII.
In my youth I went through the same experience as many other men. I fancied that if, early in life, I became my own master, I should at once embark on a political career. And I found myself confronted with the following occurrences in the public affairs of my own city. The existing constitution being generally condemned, a revolution took place, and fifty-one men came to the front as rulers of the revolutionary government, namely eleven in the city and ten in the Peiraeus-each of these bodies being in charge of the market and municipal matters-while thirty were appointed rulers with full powers over public affairs as a whole. Some of these were relatives and acquaintances of mine, and they at once invited me to share in their doings, as something to which I had a claim. The effect on me was not surprising in the case of a young man. I considered that they would, of course, so manage the State as to bring men out of a bad way of life into a good one. So I watched them very closely to see what they would do.
And seeing, as I did, that in quite a short time they made the former government seem by comparison something precious as gold-for among other things they tried to send a friend of mine, the aged Socrates, whom I should scarcely scruple to describe as the most upright man of that day, with some other persons to carry off one of the citizens by force to execution, in order that, whether he wished it, or not, he might share the guilt of their conduct; but he would not obey them, risking all consequences in preference to becoming a partner in their iniquitous deeds-seeing all these things and others of the same kind on a considerable scale, I disapproved of their proceedings, and withdrew from any connection with the abuses of the time.
Not long after that a revolution terminated the power of the thirty and the form of government as it then was. And once more, though with more hesitation, I began to be moved by the desire to take part in public and political affairs. Well, even in the new government, unsettled as it was, events occurred which one would naturally view with disapproval; and it was not surprising that in a period of revolution excessive penalties were inflicted by some persons on political opponents, though those who had returned from exile at that time showed very considerable forbearance. But once more it happened that some of those in power brought my friend Socrates, whom I have mentioned, to trial before a court of law, laying a most iniquitous charge against him and one most inappropriate in his case: for it was on a charge of impiety that some of them prosecuted and others condemned and executed the very man who would not participate in the iniquitous arrest of one of the friends of the party then in exile, at the time when they themselves were in exile and misfortune.
As I observed these incidents and the men engaged in public affairs, the laws too and the customs, the more closely I examined them and the farther I advanced in life, the more difficult it seemed to me to handle public affairs aright. For it was not possible to be active in politics without friends and trustworthy supporters; and to find these ready to my hand was not an easy matter, since public affairs at Athens were not carried on in accordance with the manners and practices of our fathers; nor was there any ready method by which I could make new friends. The laws too, written and unwritten, were being altered for the worse, and the evil was growing with startling rapidity. The result was that, though at first I had been full of a strong impulse towards political life, as I looked at the course of affairs and saw them being swept in all directions by contending currents, my head finally began to swim; and, though I did not stop looking to see if there was any likelihood of improvement in these symptoms and in the general course of public life, I postponed action till a suitable opportunity should arise. Finally, it became clear to me, with regard to all existing communities, that they were one and all misgoverned. For their laws have got into a state that is almost incurable, except by some extraordinary reform with good luck to support it. And I was forced to say, when praising true philosophy that it is by this that men are enabled to see what justice in public and private life really is. Therefore, I said, there will be no cessation of evils for the sons of men, till either those who are pursuing a right and true philosophy receive sovereign power in the States, or those in power in the States by some dispensation of providence become true philosophers.
What this letter means is that despite the fact that Athenian society had a good constitution, a good foundation that was based off of Solon’s laws, there was nonetheless a degeneration into tyranny, corruption and mob rule.
So Plato is confronted with this and as a young man thinking to himself “What can I do about this?” Already at such a young age, Plato had the ability to see into the distant future and knew that there was nothing he could do in that very moment that could change the outcome which he was trying to prevent. Athens had reached such a point of decay, that the situation called for not only a great intervention but a great deal of work. There needed to be a total educational reform at this point because there was such a crisis in thinking which sophistry had done much to invoke.
It is at this point that Plato decides that this will be his life’s mission. Not as some romanticized idea of revolution, where one needs but lead the masses, for Plato understood that if you did not have a qualified group of thinkers to lead such a revolution, it would only bring about a bloodbath and further mayhem.
In 403 BCE, the Thirty Tyrants are expelled and there is a campaign in 401 BCE for a grouping of anti-Persian Athenian and Spartan forces to support Cyrus the Younger who is the brother of King of Persia Artaxerxes and thus heir to the Persian throne. This campaign became known as the Ten Thousand, mostly made up of Spartan soldiers.
It was hoped that Cyrus the Younger would dethrone Artaxerxes and rule Persia as a continuation of what was believed to be the rightful legacy of Cyrus the Great, a builder of cities, culture and industry and not a destroyer, plunderer or enslaver.
It was Cyrus the Younger’s wish to coexist peacefully with Greece.
Interestingly Xenophon, who is one of the leading students of Socrates (Plato and Xenophon were the two star pupils of Socrates), writes a historical account known as the Anabasis. This is especially relevant since Xenophon is also one of the soldiers of the Ten Thousand that accompanies Cyrus the Younger to fight Artaxerxes in the heart of Persian territory.
Xenophon writes in his Anabasis that he had asked Socrates for his advice and permission to join the expedition, and whether he thought it was a good idea. Xenophon was then sent on an intelligence probe to the Temple of Delphi.
Unfortunately, Cyrus the Younger is killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, after making a fatal decision to enter the fray by himself. The army of Ten Thousand won the battle but lost the war. There was now no hope that a Persian philosopher king could be placed on the Persian throne.
After Cyrus the Younger fell, chaos followed, for it was not clear whether the army should proceed to Babylon anyway or retreat back to Greece to form a contingency plan. Meno who is included in Plato’s dialogue by the same name, organizes for all of the Spartan and Greek Generals as well as all of the Captains of the Ten Thousand to be invited as “guest friends” of Persian soldiers supportive of Cyrus who had been fighting alongside the Greeks. They needed to reach a consensus whether the campaign should continue into Babylon or not.
It should be noted that to the Greeks, a “guest friend” is regarded as sacred promise by the host that no harm will be done so long as those individuals remain as guests, and the breaking of such a pact was considered one of the worst violations of the law of the Gods. But Persians are not Greeks, and the pact was broken. The very Persian men the Spartans and Greeks were fighting alongside in battle for weeks slaughtered the generals in the middle of their meal. And it was Meno who organized all of this with the Persian men.
According to Xenophon, Meno is then sent to Babylon and slowly tortured it is said even longer than any other captive. It is likely that the Persians turned on him, since they thought someone capable of this most dishonorable betrayal was not the kind of man they could ultimately trust.
Meno and Conon were biggest agents bought by the Persian Empire in Athens at the time.
At this point, the army of Ten Thousand was like a body left headless. Luckily a group of young men step up to take leadership of the disorganized force and Xenophon was among them. Through this new leadership, the ten thousand were led to safe return to Greece through a 1500 mile journey through hostile Persian territory.
In Plato’s Meno dialogue, Meno is referred to as a “guest friend of the great king” which was a polite way of saying a Persian agent and discusses with Socrates whether virtue can be taught. In this dialogue, Socrates shows Meno, how even a child Meno is keeping as a slave can discover the doubling of the square, displaying that the slave child was indeed not the inferior to Meno who was unable to solve the problem. Anytas, who is a close friend of Meno, also appears in the dialogue. It was not lost on Plato that Anytas was the chief accuser of Socrates as a corruptor of the youth, which led to Socrates’s execution.
This is no coincidence, that the traitor Meno is also associated with Anytas the chief accuser of Socrates and hints that much of this organized opposition to Socrates was Persian bought.
In 399 BCE, two years after the fall of Cyrus the Younger, Anytas and two other members of the democratic faction grouped around Admiral Conon, brought charges against Socrates on grounds of impiety and corruption of the youth. Plato writes about Socrates’ trial in the dialogue titled Apology.
Thus the many popular slanders that assert Socrates to be only a detached philosopher or Plato to be a supporter of tyranny are easily disproven when one takes the time to look at their actions in history. And despite Socrates conviction as a “corruptor of the youth” being made in the frenzy of mob rule, he abided by the verdict nonetheless, despite having opportunities to escape from his captivity (where he was kept for over a month), Socrates drank the hemlock which caused his death at the age of seventy-one.
By Socrates accepting such an unjust verdict, it showcased the terrifying injustice that arises out of mob rule (rule by popular opinion) which can easily take the form of a vicious species of tyranny onto itself. When the frenzy of mob rule is at its peak, it is the most destructive form of tyranny that can be unleashed upon a society.
Once Socrates dies, his leading allies flee Athens temporarily, because it is politically too hot for them and they risked also being imprisoned and executed.
Plato leaves for Egypt where he stays for thirteen years.
Even though Egypt was a satrapy of the Persian Empire by 525 BCE, which was conquered by King Cambyses of Persia, Egypt nonetheless had maintained a potent anti-oligarchist, anti-Persian elite. This Egyptian elite was centered in the Amun priesthood. In fact, the Athenian law-giver Solon, the philosopher Pythagoras and the scientist Thales of Miletus (another one of the seven sages alongside Solon) both traveled to Egypt nearly 200 years earlier to consult with the Amun priests.
Plato likely followed Solon’s footsteps to Egypt and during his thirteen year stay was likely involved in a political conspiracy against Persia.
During this time Agesilaus is selected by Lysander (who has been working with the Persians) to inherit the Spartan throne. Agesilaus was thought to be not too bright and thus easy to control and was also partially lame physically. Thus Agesilaus was thought to be great puppet material for the Persians.
However, things did not quite work out that way.
As soon as Agesilaus is named King of Sparta, he fired Lysander as Admiral and takes full command, turns on his pro-Persia supporters. He then used the battle-ready ten thousand soldiers (that made up the contingent that fought for Cyrus the Younger), still assembled in their camps on the coast of Ionia, to liberate Ionia from Persian rule, rather than subjugate Athens as Lysander had wanted.
Agesilaus meets Xenophon at the coast of Ionia with the Ten Thousand, and Xenophon becomes his advisor, remaining good friends for the rest of their lives. Xenophon was rather adept at military strategy and wrote The Education of Cyrus the Great, a masterpiece on military strategy which became Alexander the Great’s most cherished book, which he carried with him everywhere.
In 395 BCE Agesilaus and the Ten Thousand completely destroy Artaxerxes’ army. Lysander in Sparta and Conon in Athens maneuver to stop Agesilaus’ next move which was to strike at the heart of the Persian Empire in Babylon. They achieved this sabotage by creating a navy blockade in the Aegean Sea, which would have prevented Agesilaus’ return home making the entire military campaign for naught, and causing the Ten Thousand army to run out of resources, left completely vulnerable to a Persian onslaught.
The Cult of Delphi also aided in spreading ominous prophecies and called for the resignation of Sparta’s King, Agesilaus.
Agesilaus’ forces were saved from being cut off from their return route, thanks to the support from the Egyptian component of the anti-Persian alliance, where Plato was on the scene.
The Egyptian navy effectively moved their forces north to the Aegean Sea and forced the Athenian and Spartan navy to stand down, reopening the return route for Agesilaus and his Ten Thousand men.
Lysander’s plot to capture the Spartan throne was thus undone by the priests of Amun (in Egypt) who came forward publicly for the only time in recorded history to denounce the Temple of Apollo and Lysander as conspirators, demanding the expulsion of Lysander from Sparta.
In addition, Egypt’s King Nepherites I (Nefaarud I) gave Sparta, under the leadership of Agesilaus, materials for the production of one hundred ships and 500,000 measures of grain, to withstand any attempted attack by Conon.
Plato’s connection to this campaign can be seen by his principal activity in Egypt, and his collaboration with Eudoxus of Cnidus, one of the most outstanding mathematicians of all time, who he would continue to work closely with during their stay in Tarentum with Eudoxus’s teacher Archytas, the leader of Tarentum. Later Eudoxus’ school would merge with Plato’s Academy.
According to Charles Tate’s paper “The Truth About Plato,” Eudoxus is described by his ancient biographer to be an agent of Agesilaus in Egypt. With Plato and Eudoxus being close political allies, it is safe to say that Plato played a major role politically in organizing the Egyptian support for Agesilaus’s military campaign against the Persians.
Agesilaus, however, would have to wait for his next opportunity against Persia, after a Corinthian War was declared against Sparta before he could continue the operation. This war prevented Sparta from sending its best troops to Asia for Agesilaus’s campaign against Babylon.
The Corinthian War was an ancient Greek conflict lasting from 395 BC until 387 BC, pitting Sparta against a coalition of Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos, backed by the Achaemenid/Persian Empire.
Agesilaus has been recorded in history as having said “I have ben driven from Asia by 10,000 archers,” however, he did not mean actual archers, but Persian coin, the Daric, which had showcased Persian archers on them. Agesilaus was referencing the Persian bought city-states of Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos whose declaration of war with Sparta sabotaged his military campaign against Babylon.
In 388 BCE Plato left Egypt and he arrived in Tarentum where he stayed for three years, building an intelligence network with Eudoxus and Archytas where the trio worked on their next game plan.
Despite the Greek and Spartan soldiers being militarily superior to the Persians, the Persians had been very successful in creating internal resistance with the Greek city states against these military campaigns, through bribery and other forms of corruption.
According to Charles Tates’ hypothesis in his “The Truth About Plato,” Plato, Eudoxus, and Archytas decide that they need to first destroy the Temple of Delphi, which was the source of this corruption and counter-intelligence in Greece. By destroying the Temple of Delphi, the source of this pro-Persian financing would be cut off, making it feasible to finally lead a military campaign into the heart of Persia, Babylon.
By the fourth century, Syracuse was the richest city in all of the Mediterranean, and it was decided by Plato, Eudoxus and Archytas, that this was strategically the best base from which to launch their attack.
Unlike the Persian bought Greek city-states (except for Sparta of course), Syracuse was not pro-Persian, and had sided at every instance during the Peloponnesian War on the side of the anti-Persian forces. This is likely why Gorgias encouraged Alcibiades to launch his suicidal run against Syracuse earlier.
Plato enters Syracuse in 387 BCE and meets Dionysus I and tries to organize the him to change from being a tyrannical ruler to a lawful philosopher king. Dionysus I was a soft tyrant in relation to others who existed during his time. For instance, despite the many prominent Syracusans exiled under his reign, there is no reliable record to show he ever executed citizens. Being exiled was often only temporary with a return of possessions and citizenship often delivered in time.
Reported by the first century BCE historian Diodorus, Plato had convinced Dionysius I that if he were to liberate Greece he must destroy the Oracle of Apollo of Delphi by military force.
In 385 BCE, Plato was able to organize Dionysus I to begin one of the most ambitious city building projects ever conceived. His plan was to establish cities on the Adriatic Sea, to gain control of the passage between Italy and Greece. With this secured, the route to Epirus on the western coast of mainland Greece would come under Syracusan control. Next Dionysus I planned to use these cities as a military staging ground for a great invasion of Delphi.
With the temple priests destroyed, the financial and political intelligence underpinning of the Persian-backed Theban-led alliance against Sparta would be destroyed. Once freed from battling for its very existence, Sparta led by Agesilaus, and backed with a Syracusan fleet and all the gold captured from Delphi could complete the task begun ten years earlier and end the Persian empire.
However, Dionysus I became convinced by members of his court that Plato was plotting against him, and consigned him to a fate never used against Greeks except in a state of war. Dionysus slave of his fears and ignorance sold Plato into slavery.
Plato is purchased from slavery with the help of Dion the nephew of Dionysius I, who refuses to be paid back. The funds are subsequently used to pay for the building of the Grove of Academus, which later became known as ‘Plato’s Academy’. Eudoxus also brings his school from a city on the Black Sea and merges it with the academy.
Lists of Plato’s students have survived showing that they came from all over Greece and that several women were even included, typically excluded from schools of philosophy.
It was not just an educational center but an intelligence center.
In 367 BCE, almost twenty years after he had auctioned Plato into slavery, Dionysus I suffered the consequences of leading a tyrant’s life and died, under circumstances that strongly suggest poisoning.
He was succeeded by his son Dionysius II. Dion, the most experience person at court, quickly became the virtual regent of the young man who had just entered his twenties. Dion asked for Plato’s return to Syracuse and immediately began to immerse the boy in a rigorous study of geometry and epistemology, making it clear, that he would never become a great leader of his people if he did not first master these sciences. At first the young man was eager to learn. According to Plutarch the floors were covered with sand and used to sketch geometric constructions.
However, young Dionysus II soon became frustrated with his long hours of studying, and starts to feel like he has been lied to and cheated by Plato, who had promised him great power if he only took the time to commit to his studies.
At this point, it is getting pretty heated between Dionysus II and Plato, and Plato is kept under house arrest.
Dion is exiled and becomes a student of Plato’s Academy. Syracuse is at war with Carthage within a year, and Plato, who was under house arrest, is able to leave at the outbreak of the war.
Plato then writes his Republic, to which the question of political leadership is fundamentally a question of education. It is here that Plato characterizes the bronze, silver and gold souls, representing individual concern only for personal gratification (bronze souls), the rational individual who strives to conduct his affairs according to existing laws (silver souls), and the individual who functions on the basis of creative reason to better humankind (gold souls).
According to Charles Tate, beginning in 357 BCE Plato’s Academy directed its resources into a two pronged military campaign with the aim that Syracuse was to be seized by Dion and Delphi was to be destroyed by the forces of the native population of Phocis, with aid from Sparta.
The Third Sacred War (356 BCE – 346 BCE) is thus launched between the forces of Thebes and Phocis for control of Delphi.
Dion would eventually take the city of Syracuse, however, less than one year later, in 354 BCE Plato’s ally was assassinated.
The Asia Minor offensive had suffered a crippling setback in 362 BCE when the Spartan king Agesilaus dropped preparations to move his army from Egypt to join the rebel forces. Instead Agesilaus stayed behind in Egypt and militarily supported a rebellion by the Egyptian nobleman Nekht-har-hebi against the successor of Nectanabo I, who had died several months earlier. This rebellion was known as the Straps’ Revolt.
Not only did Agesilaus’ intervention into the succession cost the Satraps’ Revolt the support of the Spartan Army, but it pulled the troops of Nectanabo’s successor from the side of the other armies in Asia Minor, as the Egyptian Pharaoh rushed home to defend his throne.
As a consequence of the departure of the Egyptian army, Datames withdrew his forces, Orontes had already sold out to the Persians by then and the revolt collapsed.
Agesilaus died at seventy years old, the year later in Egypt.
Amun priests would guide and nurture and then bring into their country a man who would fulfil the ambitions of Agesilaus and finally free Egypt from the Persian domination: Alexander the Great. Asked to explain to the Egyptian people who this great liberator was, it is said Alexander’s soldiers gave the simple answer: “he is the son of Nectanabo.”
Historians Plutarch, Curtius, Justin, and Diodorus all report that Alexander was told upon his visit to the Temple of Amun that Amun, not Philip, was his true father.
According to history records, Alexander was recruited to this program through the embassy of Delius of Ephesus, a student of Plato’s Academy. Throughout Alexander’s career, he was to rely on Plato’s students for his guidance in the extraordinary feat not only of conquering but rebuilding Persia as a humanist empire founded on Greek culture.
This is most clearly shown by him being greatly organized by Xenophon’s The Education of Cyrus the Great.
Alexander did not have complete success, murdered after his conquering of Babylon in his early thirties. However, the cities he had built and through his education of the peoples based on the best of Greek classical culture, he had preserved for later generations the seeds of future renaissances.
In many ways, Alexander the Great was the true continuation of Cyrus the Great, with the important exception that Alexander had a much clearer idea of what was required for a re-education and advancement of culture and civilization.
Alexander the Great would die at a young age, but the accomplishments he would make in the regions that he reconquered from the Persian Empire would continue to have a strong foundation in classical Greek culture, preserving for later generations the basis upon which civilization find its renewal.
One of the best examples of this legacy of Alexander the Great is the Library of Alexandria.
The city of Alexandria was founded in 331 BCE by Alexander in Egypt.
The Library of Alexandria was founded in around 283 BCE by a Greek, which would stand as a center for knowledge as wisdom for nearly 1,000 years.
Eratosthenes, a Greek, famous for calculating the circumference of the Earth, with just a stick, headed the library starting in 255 BCE.
It is at this point that I would like to end with a few thoughts from Plato’s Theatetus, which is a beautiful dialogue written after the Republic and near the end of Plato’s life. It is a dialogue Socrates has with Theatetus, a young boy on the nature of knowledge and wisdom. In real life, Theatetus showed a lot of promise as a brilliant student in the academy but tragically died in battle as a young man.
Plato writes:
“Nothing ever is but is always becoming.The result, then, I think, is that we (the active and passive elements) are or become, whichever is the case, in relation to one another, since we are bound to one another; and so if a man says anything “is” he must say it is to or in relation to something, and similarly if he says it “becomes”; he must not say it is or becomes absolutely, nor can he accept such a statement from anyone else.If perception is knowing how do we have knowledge about the future which we have not perceived yet? This is the foundation for any good statesman and development of statecraft. Where does this wisdom arise from then?Is it not true then that all sensation which reach the soul through the body can be perceived by human beings and also by animals from the moment of birth whereas reflections about these withreference to their being and usefulness are acquired if at all with difficulty and slowly through many troubles, in others words through educationIs it then possible to attain truth for those who cannot even get as far as being? And will a man ever have knowledge of anything in truth of which he fails to attain?Then knowledge is not in the sensations, but in the process of reasoning about them; for it is possible to apprehend being and truth by reasoning but not by sensation.Knowledge is thus true opinion when accompanied by reason, but that of unreasoning true opinion is outside of the sphere of knowledge.Thus excellence is not a gift but a skill that takes practice. We do not act ‘rightly’ because we are born ‘excellent’ but rather, we achieve ‘excellence’ by acting ‘rightly.’”
Germany’s military ramps up presence in Indo-Pacific
Germany’s Bundeswehr is increasing its military presence in the Indo-Pacific — at a time when war rages closer to home, in Ukraine. But Berlin is seeking to demonstrate cooperation with its “value partners” in Australia.
A war is raging in Europe. This has put a spotlight on Germany’s Bundeswehr and its shortcomings, with leading officers deploring a dramatic shortage of functional equipment.
And yet, Germany’s air force is currently participating in a military exercise on the other side of the globe, in Australia, where it has sent six Eurofighter jets.
It’s an ambitious undertaking. Some 250 German soldiers are involved; in addition to the fighter jets, four transport aircraft and three newly acquired air-to-air refueling tankers have been sent to Darwin in northern Australia, with some 100 tons of material.
Why is it cheaper to manufacture products in China?
From Quora. -MM
I own a factory and work with Chinese factory owners and their staff every day. Every business owner I know is actively involved in cost-cutting.
Every factory doesn’t produce every component that goes into a product e.g. a hair clip factory would buy the plastic from one company and the spring from another and assemble it. If it were with an emblem, they would buy that from a third company and stick it on.
So an assembly company = factory.
Infrastructure – In China, almost every product is produced in a region where their suppliers are all nearby. e.g. electronics in Shenzhen, tiles in Foshan, furniture in Shunde, etc. Having suppliers nearby saves time and cost.
Specialization – Since each company makes only their range of products, e.g. a spring manufacturer just makes springs, they focus on more volume for that product, which gives them leverage to bargain on raw material costs.
Volumes – The more volume, the better prices you can negotiate. Also, your machines work more efficiently, the process of work is smoother, all these factors bring down the costs.
Quality – Good or bad, many companies are willing to drop the quality or replace components with the cheaper alternative to save on costs. If you compare prices, you should also compare quality. It’s often that samples are good and production is made a little cheaper.
Margins – In this cut-throat economy, margins are small. Many companies are willing to sell at low / no margins or even at a loss to get a new customer on board or to stay alive and try to see it to the next phase by losing a little but retaining the workers and factory space, etc.
Logistics – China has developed their logistics in a very efficient manner. You can get things cross country in a couple of days or across the city in a couple of hours. Less downtime, higher efficiency = lower costs.
Automation – In many industries, manual labor is being replaced with automation as salaries have risen a lot.
Flexibility – Owners are willing to relocate, change suppliers, hire / fire workers and do what it takes to reduce costs. Most are very hardworking and quite involved in their daily business.
Export rebate – Government support promotes exports and gives export companies a rebate on the value exported. Many companies rely solely on this rebate as their profit margin.
It has taken China years to set up such infrastructure and so it is not easy to replace them by moving to other countries where labor costs are lower as that is only one component of the cost.
Germany tries to turn India against China
China’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh is ‘outrageous’ and its infringement on India’s northern border is unacceptableas it amounts to a violation of the international order, German ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, said on Tuesday. Read full article →
Beijing’s zero-Covid policy and inward-looking development tactics are among the primary challenges facing the global economy, according to the new German envoy to China. German ambassador Patricia Flor also raised concerns over the rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and criticised China’s “unfair” practices for foreign businesses. Read full article →
Russia making it’s moves…
Russia is considering a plan to buy as much as $70 billion in yuan and other “friendly” currencies this year to slow the ruble’s surge, before shifting to a longer-term strategy of selling its holdings of the Chinese currency to fund investment.
Huawei has launched two new phones, a laptop, a tablet, and a medically-certified smartwatch in Europe.
Huawei took to IFA 2022 — the ongoing tech fest in Berlin — to announce a range of new devices for the international markets. The Chinese tech firm has suffered quite a blow since its US ban. Once a smartphone powerhouse globally, Huawei is now fighting for a slice of the pie even in its home country. That said, the tech maker is still very much inclined towards launching new phones internationally, even though they don’t come with Google services.
Its latest set of devices is the Huawei Nova 10 series comprising the standard Nova 10 and the Nova 10 Pro. The phones were launched in China in July but are now making their European debut in Berlin.
To stand out, Huawei has flipped the script on the two handsets. Both of them feature a 60MP ultrawide camera on the front. Yes, you read that right. Wow! Get ready for super selfies. The Pro model features another 8MP selfie camera for portrait shots.
Xinjiang exports to US hit two-year high despite Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act
Industry observers surprised by leap in reported shipments for July, as many believed number would plummet to near zero after law took effect in June. Importers now required to rebut presumption all goods from the tightly controlled far-west region of China are tainted by forced labour.
What does it feel like to become poor after being wealthy?
From Quora. -MM
It’s absolutely horrible. I was 50, had recently sold my very successful car washes, had a $1MM in my checking account, the big house, kids in private school and life was grand. I was focused on growing my other business (car wash equipment sales) when the manufacturer we represented lost a client that accounted 1/3 of our business, Hurricane Katrina hit (followed by several other hurricanes), and then the great recession. I had stopped taking a salary and started loaning the company money. I was determined to work through this. I even spent my retirement in a last attempt to turn things around. Fast forward, the company was broke, I was broke, and I couldn’t pay the house mortgage. I had to give up the house and shut down the business. A personal bankruptcy soon followed, and then a separation from my wife of 30 years. The stress was unbearable, and I contemplated suicide. The only thing that stopped me was that my dad had taken his life when I was 26, and I knew first hand the pain that my loved ones would bear for my actions.
The worst part is the loss of self confidence and depression, followed by the loss of “friends”. It’s amazing how quickly they disappear! I will say that two friends stuck by me. One in particular would check on me and take me out to ride his motorcycles to help take my mind off of things. I moved into a friend’s rental property and I started looking for work. I had owned my own companies since college, was a past Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, and had never really worked for anyone. At the worst, I was working at a construction company repairing equipment in their yard, collecting food stamps and living alone.
Fast forward a couple of years. My wife and I got back together, we moved to Texas, and I took a job back in my industry (building car washes). We now rent a nice home, and were recently able to buy a nice used car. It gets better every day. I love my job, and I hope to get back into car wash ownership (with investors), while continuing to do what I do.
In summary, there are a couple of important lessons to take from this:
Good times don’t last; bad times don’t last.
Most of the people who claim to be your friend are only there for the good times.
Business associates that you’ve spent millions of dollars with over decades will instantly turn their back on you when the money stops.
Don’t ever stop taking care of yourself. Exercise is great for relieving the stress.
Face facts. Recognize when you have a losing hand and walk away. And if bankruptcy is inevitable, just do it. Don’t procrastinate and stick your head in the sand.
Do not EVER use your retirement money. I used mine to try and save the company, and I am now 60 years old and starting over.
Never stop believing in yourself.
First Scotland-China cargo ship link starts with 1 million bottles of whisky | The National
Why only one million, why not two million?
Scotland endorsed China belts and roads. The world should endorse Scotland independence by endorsing their products.
I am born in the 90s, a small town in the southern China.
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I was a firm anti-CCP teenager back in my junior high to high school time, social media in China were just taking off, most of the young ones used QQ and nothing more.
That was roughly 15–20 years ago, when a type of Chinese people we today call ‘the public intellectual’ were at their highest activeness. They were well educated and occupied in decently-paid jobs, and often exposed to overseas experience, studying abroad, visiting scholars, doing international business or working in MNCs. They were seen by the general public as people with international vision and are well established.
They loved putting themselves out there and acted like they speak for the benefits of Chinese people, they praise western countries, western political systems, western educations, western innovations and technology, western people, western civilization and basically everything western, in a seemingly neutral, rational, sane and objective tone and manner, following with a comparison with how China does, concluding in a point that the west does everything right while the CCP government does everything wrong.
For instance a very famous case was the piece on the city sewer system in Qingdao, a former German colony in Shandong province of China.
The piece talks about how the sewer system built by the Germans during the colonial time still works today after a century, and how Qingdao never once suffered from city being flooded during heavy rain thanks to the German-built sewer system, while China today doesn’t even have the urban planning capability that the Germans had 100 years ago, leaping forward to how superior the German manufacturing was and still is today, being proved by how Chinese people love German-made cars nowadays, and how China was way behind Germany and can’t never catch up, moving on to how superior the Germans are as a people compared to the Chinese.
Such a piece was largely based on selective facts, some of which were true and made the piece believable in a way that fits people’s common sense, you’ll just think ‘oh yeah Qingdao has never been flooded by pouring rain’, then you read the part about German cars and you go ‘oh right the German cars are indeed most reliable and of excellent quality’, and you read the part comparing German and Chinese people you just go ‘yeah we cannot do what the Germans do, we are so far behind’.
You see the interesting part?
The truth is, the Germans-built part counts for roughly 0.1% of today’s city sewer system, and the one that is running well under Qingdao’s ground was built by Chinese government. The reason that Qingdao doesn’t get flooded is because the city government has implemented a thorough plan based on scientific study to prevent flood in light of heavy rain or hurricane, as well as an emergency action plan, being a coastal city also helps in some cases.
The knowledge of foreign countries was taken advantage by those ‘public intellectuals’ to make themselves look good and admirable, it plays the similar role as luxury items to showcase your social status and gain social currency.
Back in that time, stuff like this was everywhere, from newspaper to magazines, from state media to local television, and of course the internet.
People post and repost such articles on social media, driving a wide spread belief that western world is heaven: the freedom and political superiority of America, the manufacturing of Germany, the taste and gentlemen spirit of UK, the fine art and romance of France and Italy, the craftsmanship of Japan … the list goes on and on.
Such contents usually embedded indications that CCP government lacks of tons quality to pull off what the west can do, and you get the impression that the CCP government isn’t leading the country to a better place.
You find yourself in a hopeless position when you look around and see only western cars, western airplanes, western computers, western applications, western movies, western music, western coca cola … Everything you seem to like or enjoy is from the western world.
And you aspire towards the collective west, and you wonder what if China becomes ‘westernized’:
are we better off if we employ the western system?
isn’t it better if everyone can vote?
will it be better if we can do whatever the law doesn’t forbid, like in the west?
You gradually turn against CCP government, you just can’t understand why you aren’t getting what the west has, why China isn’t going as good as the west, and what is with the great fire wall? is CCP trying to hide its incompetence?
It started as disagreement, leading to oppose, and eventually becomes hatred and anti-China/CCP-ism with a pro-west sentiment.
This is what happened with me.
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When I started my university time, I had the chance to finally go abroad on international internships and backpack trips, and see for myself what it truly was out there.
My point of views started to change as I found every country has tons of problems, some are way worse than China.
I visited the *best countries* like USA, Germany, Singapore, and I visited *okay countries* like Thailand, Vietnam, India, Russia, and then I visited *bad as hell countries* like Iran and North Korea, and after graduation from college I moved to New Zealand.
I find that Beijing has filthy streets so does New York, Guangzhou has slums so does LA, I also find that Auckland has crystal clear sky so does Shenzhen, Singapore has amazing skylines so does Shanghai, big cities all suffer from traffic jams and have angry drivers and it has nothing to do with ‘being civilized’, the best urban traffic condition I found was in Pyongyang, no jams, no idiots running in red lights, no angry taxi drivers giving you the finger, just pretty traffic policewomen.
You see, when you go there and actually see it, you pick up the other side of the coin, and you realize how blinded and misjudging you were before.
I finally realized that, China was not doing bad, we were just in a shitty place to start with, and for a fact that the CCP government was doing good in pulling a country of 1.4 billion people from hell to earth.
As Chinese people continuously sharing the benefits of their motherland’s rapid growth, they become wealthier and can afford overseas trips to see the ‘western wonderland’ those public intellectuals once bragged about, and guess what? They are all like ‘oh so this is it? oh ok well…’ With 140 million outbound visits every year, the Chinese quickly gain a full picture of what the world actually looks like, the good and the bad, what others do better and lesser of China.
Putting the puzzles together, it only makes sense to have a fresh, rational and sane understanding of Chinese government and the CCP, they aren’t great for sure, but they have done some really amazing shit to get the Chinese to where they are today, and consider where they begin with and how fast they do it, it is nothing short of spectacular.
I still won’t consider myself a supporter of CCP, but I do appreciate how well they are running this country.
Perhaps some of the western fellows can also go to China and see for yourself, whether it is an evil regime as some of your media insists on, maybe you will also pick up the other side of coin like I did, who knows.
Entire whisky distillery ships out to China
An entire whisky distillery is being shipped out from Scotland to China on Friday.
More than 35 tonnes of equipment, including stills, flooring, control valves and pipework, is leaving Buckie in Moray for the port of Tianjin.
The equipment will be assembled at a facility being built in Inner Mongolia.
The shipment is part of a £3m “design and build” deal signed between Forfar firm Valentine International and China’s Mengtai Group in 2019.
The facility in Ordos will become Inner Mongolia’s first whisky distillery when it opens, probably at the end of this year.
All of the distillery equipment was built by Rothes-based firm Forsyths, which is sending a team of five engineers to supervise assembly.
Undeniable Evidence: Covid19 from Fort Detrick CIA lab, released in Wuhan to blame it on China
From Ann Ruth
Will you share your ideas with China’s Premier?
Hi, thanks for the a2a.
Li Keqiang
The gentleman pictured above is Li Keqiang and he is the current Premier of the People’s Republic of China. He has been actively involved in Chinese politics since 1982. He earned a doctorate of Philosophy of Economics. He became the youngest provincial governor at the age of 43.
In every post he has served, he has ensured that he left it better than when he inherited it.
His economic plans have thus far been excellent. His system for monitoring China was been more accurate than the traditional measurements currently. He has lessened poverty in areas of service, he grew the economy in Henan and helped it become a thriving area.
He established a network of ports for trading and cooperation in the Dalian area. He proved to be outspoken and succinct on the international stage as he represented China at the World Economic Forum.
He is second in the nation only to President Xi Jinping.
Why am I giving you his background? To help you understand that I’m not even in the same universe as a man like him. How utterly arrogant would I be, to think that I, as an American woman, have the ability to share ideas with a man of his caliber?
Would I love the opportunity to sit down in his presence, and listen to him lecture or talk about his hopes and concerns for China’s future? I absolutely would. I could learn a lot from him. And I’d be honored to have the opportunity of just hearing him.
I noticed his government website has a section where you can write him with suggestions. I think I will write him; but to tell him he’s doing a great job, and that China is prosperous in part, because of his leadership.
Many Chinese Quorans refer their answer to this cartoon. Each country is represented in a derogatory manner, but I don’t mind since my country is at least not represented by a “cunning chicken”. It was a product of the times, both a celebration and parody of Chinese online culture from the early 2000s ~ late 2010s, which was dominated mostly by people who grew up in the 70s and 80s.
If you don’t speak Chinese, know a lot about 20th century Chinese history, don’t actively browse Chinese online forums (especially military enthusiast sites like Tiexue), or don’t particularly like Chinese people in general, then nothing about this cartoon or its popularity will make sense to you. In which case, feel free to call it a “CCP/wumao propaganda”, downvote and report this answer, and move on with your life.
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For the rest of you still reading, Year Hare Affair is one of those cartoons I would recommend to a non-Chinese person for entertainment purposes, and learning to see China from the average Chinese person’s perspective. Because both the cartoon and the comic it was based on were created by grassroots netizens, for other grassroots netizens. People like it, because it is relatable.
Far from being a cartoon that waxes poetic about Chairman Mao (who only appeared very briefly in a couple of episodes), or endlessly praises the Communist Party of China, it instead pays respect to the average people of the past who made China what it is today – people who could have been one of our grandparents or uncles/aunts.
One of my favourite episodes for instance is season 2 episode 8, where an unnamed rabbit visits the eagles’ homeland (which alludes to Sino-American cooperation during the brief honeymoon period in the 70s).
There’s a scene in it where the rabbit stands before a magazine vending machine, and is forced to make the difficult choice between a boring science magazine, and a more…”exciting” one.
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The rabbit begrudgingly picks the science magazine.
This scene is basically a metaphor for the kind of choices China had to make on its way to modernisation. The biggest question back then was whether to learn from the west’s superior technology and methods of production (the science magazine), or their systems and way of life (the playboy magazine). China stayed true to its dialectical materialism, and chose to build up its hardware first.
This decision would in turn determine my fathers’ generation’s values and way of life. My parents’ generation gave up their dreams of becoming writers and artists and musicians, in order to become scientists, financial analysts, and other such experts. 科學救國 – “save the nation with the sciences” – as they used to say. “Non-constructive” hobbies (e.g. playing) were discouraged, because getting good grades and learning hard knowledge was all that mattered.
To this day, my parents are proud of my brother for graduating with honours in a global finance degree. They are less approving of my lower-second class journalism degree.
Also in the episode is a conversation between two rabbits, after seeing all that eagle’s country had to offer. One says to the other, since eagle’s home is so great and has everything, why couldn’t they just move there. The other rabbit says that “everything in eagle’s home will always belong to eagle”. Eagle built his home for other eagles, and he had to build it from scratch – good things don’t just fall out of the sky. If the rabbits wanted to make their homeland just as advanced, starting today is always better than starting tomorrow.
And that’s exactly what generations of rabbits did, in real life.
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Same person, 26 years apart.
Season 1 episode 7 was another great one. This one is about how the Soviet Union helped China transform from an agrarian nation to an industrialised one pretty much overnight, due to China’s immense contributions (and casualties) in the Korean War.
Everything in this episode is astonishingly similar to the stories my grandfather told me as a child. He was a university student who studied metallurgy engineering under a Soviet professor who was sent by Stalin himself.
When Khrushchev had an ideological split with Mao in the 60s, the USSR withdrew their technical support, and ordered all the Soviet experts to destroy their research so they wouldn’t fall into Chinese hands. Many Soviet experts, faced with the dilemma of either upholding the Internationalist spirit and doing what’s best for their students, or serving the interests of their own country first, secretly compromised by leaving their notes and diaries in public places, “forgetting” where they put them, and only destroying/finding them later, which was what my grandfather’s teacher did.
Digging for salvageable research papers among piles of burning documents was also historically accurate, and something my grandfather actually did – I couldn’t even begin to imagine his generation’s thirst for knowledge, their desire to make China a better place.
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There are some real tear-jerking moments as well. This one is from episode 5 of the Korean War special (around the 4:54 mark):
Greetings, dearest.How have you been? Surely you must be dealing with all sorts of problems? Me too. We haven't had any food supplies in this foxhole for days. It is fine though, the Americans probably won't charge up this hill until the next barrage begins. I'll take this opportunity to write you a letter, and have a chat.Oh dearest, when won't we have to fight in wars anymore? We fought Japan, we fought the Nationalists, now we fight America. Every time we are forced to fight by others. If you do not fight back, they bully you. I too would love to live in peace, but if we do not show some courage, and beg on our knees, we will never enjoy a peaceful existence.I heard from some of our mates who studied abroad, that America is actually very wealthy. They have many many tall buildings, many many factories, many many vehicles. Do you think you will have so many tall buildings, so many factories, so many vehicles, by your generation?Haha, I'm overthinking this. I actually hope that when China is beset by wars no more, I will be able to return home with the others, and tend to our crops. I wish...I wish...that everyone will have some land to till, always have a full meal, have new clothes to wear on Chinese New Year, and best of all, meat for every meal!Dearest, I write this letter to you, in the hopes of knowing whether by your generation, you will be able to have enough to eat, enough to wear, live your lives in peace. Whether you are able to walk out there with your heads held high, without being insulted as "Sick Man of East Asia", whether our dreams of a greater nation would be realised.I think, if there are so many of us who are cultured and well-learned, maybe China will be able to develop faster?Oh no! The American artillery is firing. let's end our chat here. If I don't make it back to China, please remember me, who fought for the dreams of a greater nation.
Nowhere in this scene is the greatness of the party, or any particular leader, ever mentioned. It is simply a letter from someone, who could have been one of our grandfathers, to us here in the future, wishing that we could live the kind of good life they never got the chance to experience.
We do live a good life. We don’t have to fight, because they fought for us.
This cartoon covers China’s journey from the Opium War to modern times, from the average Chinese person’s perspective. It isn’t as political as you think, and it actually does a really good job of portraying Chiang Kai-Shek (the “baldy”) and the Nationalists in a generally positive light. It also covers some of the PRC’s less honorable moments, such as its decision to partake in the global weapons market in the 80s. We made a lot of money, sure, but that’s blood money. We’re not America, we’re supposed to be better than this.
The history and politics behind a lot of events are often simplified due to time constraints (each episode is basically 10 minutes long), but I think it’s an interesting way to introduce someone to the big mystery that is China. The first three seasons in particular.
All of the countries are depicted in a comedic and occasionally derogatory manner, including the rabbit, who is somewhat greedy and manipulative. Don’t take it personally if your country is represented by an animal you don’t like. Remember, it’s just a harmless internet cartoon that, as far as I know, is only watched by people in the Sinosphere.
Word of advice: if you want to learn the Chinese language by watching this thing, don’t. It’s filled with in-jokes, memes, expressions and slang only Chinese people understand. It’s an absolute nightmare to translate a lot of it into English, and most of the English subtitled versions out there are just terrible.
What do Indonesians think of China?
I can not speak on behalf of all Indonesians. I will speak for myself and according to my perspective and experience. so, this is what I think about China.
They are a rising superpower. The country that makes a country such as the USA frightened because of its power in Economy, military, and politics. USA’s trade war rival and super influencer in Asia even the world
Cities of skyscraper buildings. We can say that with many metropolitan and megacities like Shanghai and Beijing, China has enough money to build many tall buildings. and It makes sense since the economy is also huge.
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Exporter of Cheap products. A few decades ago we had a stigma that Made-in-China products will break before we use them for the second time. but we now know that China increases the quality of its products even still at a cheap price. many Indonesian importers come to Guangzhou city to buy products in huge amount and resell it in Indonesia. here is the moment when I visit Guangzhou at a shoe store. the owner said many Indonesians came here to buy thousands of pairs of shoes to resell in Indonesia.
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Problem with the environment and garbages. Yeah, many countries struggling with this issue including China and Indonesia. but it’s already being a stigma that China’s city is dirty. even in the reality I Only see it someplace only and it’s very clean in general.
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Problem with Muslims and Islam. Before I came to China. I was afraid I can not perform pray and showing my identity as a Muslim in public. I am also afraid that I can not find any Halal food easily. but it is not that hard. I can find quite many halal restaurants may be owned by Arab of Indian expatriate living there. and people do not care about someone’s beliefs and religion.
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In the conclusion, I will say that in my perspective China is a great country. maybe have some issues as other countries but they still have a very strong and positive impression on me.
Country Blueberry Dessert
As this homey dessert bakes, the batter rises to the top, creating a delicious pudding-like creation that is irresistible!
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Ingredients
1 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fat-free (skim) milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 bags (8 oz each) Cascadian Farm™ frozen organic blueberries
2 teaspoons finely chopped crystallized ginger, if desired
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St. Clair’s Defeat
The absolute worst was probably the fight simply known as St. Clair’s Defeat.
It’s sometimes called the Battle of the Wabash after the river it took place on. In early fall 1791, US military units were sent to the ‘West’ to quell an uprising by local Indian tribes. This is the modern-day Midwest. The US was trying to sell land in that area to settlers, in order to pay off war debts and to populate the newly-claimed area and keep a hold on it from Indians and other colonial powers—the British still held forts in the region. The various Indian nations in the area, needless to say, were not pleased with this policy, or the fact that it would require their removal from ancestral lands and territories.
Warriors from these tribes, including mainly the Miami, Shawnee, Sauk, and Lenape/Delaware, had banded together to fight the young United States, and began by harassing and killing settlers migrating into their territory without their approval. The settlers themselves formed a militia, whose responses only set up a cycle of violence. This bloodshed was fairly effective at dissuading others from trying their luck, and that really put a wrench in the US plans.
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So president Washington sent an army to deal with it in 1790. That army was crushed, and ran home in humiliating defeat.
As any student of that era knows, George Washington was not a man to be discouraged by mere defeat. So the next year, he sent a bigger army, this time led by General Arthur St. Clair. St. Clair had not been particularly successful on the battlefield during the Revolution, but as a trusted aide de camp to George Washington, he had made friends in the right places. He was also the governor of the Northwest Territory, so his appointment also sent the message from Washington that it was time to clean up the mess at his own doorstep.
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St. Clair ran the usual playbook: He built a fort or two to establish a supply chain, and sallied forth with 600 regular soldiers, 800 draftees, another 600 local militia, aiming for the Miami capital.
He did not do very well. The army got a late start, and while marching through the thick woods during a November chill, nearly half the force deserted. The remaining 1,100 or so men finally set up a camp along the Wabash River (in present day Ohio, just east of the Indiana line). But St. Clair did not fortify it despite frequent skirmishes.
The Indian confederacy seized its chance. Led by Little Turtle, they encircled the camp in the pre-dawn hours, and snuck in close because the militiamen charged with patrol duty didn’t bother to do it.
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(The crosses on this battle map represent Indian placement)
The attack began at dawn.
Little Turtle was a better tactician than St. Clair, and had experience fighting US forces. He aimed the first attack square at what he knew was the weakest link: The citizen militia. The militia dropped their rifles and fled the field. Now the US forces were down by nearly a third and severely outnumbered… and the battle had just begun.
Luckily, St Clair had an artillery unit nearby, and they began to swing into position to relieve some pressure on the camp. Unfortunately for them, Little Turtle was expecting this, and Native sharpshooters picked off the artillery crews, driving them to flee the field too. The camp was doomed.
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Faced with certain annihilation, there was only one solution: Fix bayonets and charge the enemy to break through the encirclement. One battalion tried this, but the Indians saw it coming and simply retreated into the woods… where they encircled the breaking out unit and slew them almost to a man.
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As noon approached, the besieged Americans made one last desperate charge through the Indian lines into the woods. This time they made enough headway for a few of them to escape to a nearby fort. However, as they fled, their numbers dwindled as the Indians kept picking them off. After a few miles of routing the harried Americans, the Indians let them go and turned back to the camp, where the spoils of war lay with the severely wounded and camp followers, who were nearly all slaughtered.
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Out of the 920 US soldiers who actually fought in the battle, 896 were casualties… a 97% rate. 632 were killed in action. 88% of officers were casualties. To this day this is the worst any American unit has suffered in battle. I nominate it as the worst situation any has faced, because they didn’t manage to save themselves.
One of the survivors was Arthur St. Clair. His unit was so routed they couldn’t even go back for the bodies and spiked cannons. St Clair’s career as a general was obviously over, and his failure spurred the first Congressional investigation of all time.
It also made the US realize that it could not rely on irregular militia or short-term conscripts, and so it formed the volunteer unit called the Legion of the United States. This unit went on to defeat the Indian confederacy a few years later at Fallen Timbers, securing the region for US settlement once and for all.
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Rescue of a kitty
This made me smile with a bit of a tear in the eye. I wish that every single animal in the world would be adopted into a loving home, like this kitty from Bored Panda photos:
This Cat Was Abandoned And This Is His Photo Minutes After Being Rescued:
Yes. The USA has gone full-metal Mental Hospital City…
Can anybody else feel something in the air? A radical change overnight in the psychic barometric pressure? There’s a hurricane of crazy coming — and landfall is imminent.
What the HELL?
Or is it just me?
The seismic ramifications of the V For Vendetta-laced optics and poison verbiage of the Biden speech a night ago continue to reverberate and gain exponential staying power in the mass collective.
Twitter became an echo chamber of whoop ass over it.
If Trump was a loose cannon, then this was a full-on, 21 gun salute of unhinged rampant and dangerous dementia.
Jesus. H. Christ.
Dementia paired with a fascist ideology running at full gallop. And it’s very hard not to see this as maliciously deliberate.
First, the visuals…
What the Fuck? What were they thinking?
It’s a cross between Hitler, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, with a bit of Chucky thrown in for color.
It’s a real life, science-fiction depiction of Nazi Zombies coming to power.
All at those levels employ herds of optics and PR pros to meticulously select every visual and camera angle knowing exactly what they’re trying to get across covering every mindset and personality profile.
They chose what they chose for a reason.
To provoke, To incite.
They cover this kind of ground to the point of making someone like Kubrick look like a beginner.
There is ZERO chance this wasn’t entirely deliberate.
Think about that.
It’s obvious.
…
It’s really like “they” want a domestic war. Just like they want a Russia war, and a China war…
War.
War.
WAR!
What is the problem with these people?
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And where to begin with the rhetoric?
When you call out basically half the country as being domestic terrorists and imply that they will be dealt with accordingly, what do you think is going to happen?
Exactly what you want to happen — a situation you are plotting and planning for.
Other than the obvious V For Vendetta, guess what was trending on twitter all day long?
#pedohitler.
A fantastic breakdown from the ever on-point JP right here: You-Tube Video HERE
Spoiler alert: be not in the slightest surprised if another Reichstag fire event happens in the very near future.
One that will be rigged and engineered, steered and plotted, by the left to be blamed on the MAGA forces.
And one geared so that a full spectrum stranglehold can be ushered in. And I’m not the only one thinking so: Article Thread HERE
The only good thing about all this is in the saying so.
You would think.
I mean, the more word gets out that there is historical precedent, that this is a more than distinct possibility — the less likely it is to actually happen. Opening your mouth, calling their bluff, can stop a lot of things.
But, will it stop this train wreck during this catastrophic collapse of the mental-ward idiocy? One can only wish.
War on source of the vast bulk of natural resources – Russia.
War on the global manufacturing base – China.
War on the sole remaining brake on American totalitarianism – MAGA.
Hey, I’ve been using stills and screenshots from V For Vendetta for years now (at least since the Epstein arrest as I recall) to go along with the message that we are the majority, we’re actually in charge and the dominos are falling just as they should.
However, I know full well that these waters might be tougher to navigate without superhero revolutionaries being a real thing…
Maybe it could be that some Americans (and maybe even a handful of Europeans) have strengths no one even realizes…
Ah. powers yet to be revealed that may even verge on the paranormal, quantumly entangled and expressed, ready for just the right time to show themselves.
In MM’s “heyday” when I still lived in the ‘States, and I still believed, I though that there would be a day of reckoning. I would argue that American needs 40+ more GOVERNORS like these 2 avid twitter repeaters.
Nobody at the Fed level needed. Don’t you know.
This is the design of our brilliant, beautiful Constitution that they have no answer for. EVERYTHING can be controlled at the State level. It’s the way it was designed: the government answers to the States, not the other way around.
But that was then.
I’m jaded now.
I’m a pragmatic realist. No longer a dreamer. No longer a believer. It’s called the hard-slap of reality, travel, and exposure outside of the prison complex known as the United States…
… where all the inmates shout how “free” they are.
Are you free? Look at who you elected with your “democracy”! How does that tasty “democracy” taste now? And don’t give me that the system was just corrupted. It wasn’t.
History warns, has warned, and was repeated in the Federalist Papers that all “democracies” become oligarchies, then military empires, and then they die a long painful death.
How’s those death throes kicking in for ya?
Meanwhile, the wolf is at the door in other aspects also: Article HERE (I think we should be looking at Exhibit No.1 in the case against.)
Not much. So people, you either [1] pick up the torches and pitchforks or [2] you sit there and wait for the knock on your door.
It will not be televised.
It will not be reported.
It will happen with zero coverage, and any citizen bloggers posting anything will disappear from the Internet.
You won’t know what is going on until you are sitting deep down in the pile of shit.
There is a third option, of course. [3] You can flee. You can “pull a MM”. If you act quickly, you can avoid being a refugee, but don’t wait too long.
You are already electronically branded whether you are aware of it or not.
This will be the everlasting image of the failed, chaotic, treacherous Biden Administration. But always remember, it is emblematic of far worse. FAR worse. And nothing happens without the groundwork. Research and destroy. Because the weather forecast? Dark skies.
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Let’s cover these subjects and more.
MM style.
Throws off the trolls, the agencies, and the swam ‘bots, don’t you know.
Let’s talk about food.
How to Make Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza – Recipe
A personal favorite.
What was the most thoughtful thing you did for someone else?
I got a long distance phone call in the middle of the night, from a friend in another country.
He had Intel that one of his close friends who was here in Thailand had been abducted, needed help, and I was the only one he trusted to do the job right. He could not front me any money or gear.
I asked him if she was worth the risk. He said “absolutely.”
I gathered what resources and friends I had here, and helped that woman in trouble escape her captors, get to the airport, and leave the country a few days later. She was pretty sharp. She had used a smart technique to get a message out to my friend.
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This was my secret smile, at dinner that day, because everything went smooth, no casualties. Lucky.
Will China ever eliminate the “Great Firewall of China” and allow everyone equal, uncensored access to the Internet?
From Quora…
My question is why on earth would people who are anti-China want the Great Firewall torn down at all.
I have a bit of a “wumao” reputation on this site. You can see why if you checked out my Quora profile. That said, whenever I write something, I back it up with logical arguments and evidence. I don’t always do a good job at it, but I always try to.
But if you think I’m too toxic or controversial for you, if I’m making you uncomfortable, then wait till you face the onslaught of tech-savvy young Chinese people who are going to flood every comment section and social media page when the Great Firewall comes down. They will be exposing you to completely unfamiliar ideas and ways of thinking, hysterically insulting your mother, arguing with everyone about everything, spamming “NMSL
”, and hijacking threads and conversations, mostly through incoherent sentences written in broken and unintelligible English.
Not all of them have an education level of above middle school. Some of them are barely literate or mentally sound, but all of them have an axe to grind with the west, and they will outnumber you 10 to 1.
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Are you sure your puny mind can handle all this?
Let’s talk about why the Great Firewall existed in the first place.
Western countries, primarily the USA, pretty much own the internet because of massive capital behind their media, and the sheer quantity of information
.
The former is why American companies like Facebook and Google have a monopoly on various aspects of the internet around the world. Wanna make friends? Facebook. Wanna watch a video? YouTube. Wanna google something? Yahoo.
The latter is why American pop culture is seen as “default” in much of the world, including online. Meme culture is predominantly American. The most popular and readily available versions of anything tend to be in English, specifically American English. “Universal values
”are pretty much just popular American liberal values.
America’s control over the internet, and the narrative, is absolute. Any country that relies on American social media is taking a mighty big risk of having their government toppled due to populist sentiments, which is easily manipulated through social media – Twitter for example played a major role in the Arab Spring
.
Considering the size of the population in China, and the fact that it is nuclear-armed, the same Twitter-fueled colour revolution in the country would likely result in catastrophe for the whole world.
By all means, reduce the authority of the Chinese government, or go ahead and overthrow it like in The Interview, and create a power vaccum. A new question arises – what should we replace it with? Oligarchy, as in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union? Anarchy and then theocracy, like Libya after Qaddafi got iced? Or maybe some foreign power should step in, and give us all the freedom, respect and human rights we deserve? If the only solutions you have are all worse than the problem itself, don’t try to solve it. Not until you can come up with something better and more practical, at least.
This is where the Great Firewall proves its necessity. It prevented the lowest-educated members of the Chinese population from being riled up like Trump supporters at Capitol Hill.
You see, the wall itself was designed to be extremely easy to climb over, so long as you possess at least some knowledge of technology and English, which are both required to use VPNs and navigate the American-owned internet. It’s kind of like a filter rather than strict censorship in this sense. If you’re smart enough to work your way around the Great Firewall, you’re probably also smart enough to see through the bullshit out there.
More importantly, the wall basically prevented American corporations from extending their monopolies to China, allowing for local social media and tech companies to develop and thrive to such an extent, that China is actually able to export social media to the west (e.g. TikTok). Name me another country, preferably a developing one, that is capable of doing that.
By preventing Chinese cyberspaces to be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of US-centric information and net traffic, it allowed for the Chinese people to cultivate their own unique online cultures and identities. The Chinese will never get used to the idea of learning about their own country through a foreign social media or news site, which is exactly what billions of people do around the world on a daily basis – in much of the developing world, the word “Facebook” is used in lieu of the word “internet”
Because of all this, the information quantity on Chinese cyberspaces is beginning to reach a volume so high that, should the Great Firewall ever be removed, it would drown out western cyberspaces like a bursting dam.
The question at that point wouldn’t be about Chinese citizens overthrowing the CCP after seeing pictures of the Tiananmen Square incident, but whether western cyberspaces are going to have to region-lock Chinese users, and whether it would be necessary for the American military-industrial complex to build a Great Firewall of their own, just to keep their own people in their designated echo chambers.
Start thinking about these questions now, because that day will come. Probably sooner than you think.
It’s really funny just to think about how the tables are beginning to turn. We thought we were building The Wall to keep out the White Walkers, only to find out The Wall was there to protect the White Walkers from millions of Stannis Baratheons.
The assessment has not been positive, which shouldn’t be very surprising since Biden is basically a slow-motion version of Bernie Sanders.
Today, we’re going to look at Biden’s record on jobs…and that’s not going to improve the assessment.
The problem is employment rather than unemployment.
In a column for the Wall Street Journal, Nicholas Eberstadt writes about the millions of Americans who have disappeared from the labor force.
Never has work been so readily available in modern America; never have so many been uninterested in taking it.
…For every unemployed person in the U.S. today, there are nearly two open jobs, and the labor shortage affects every region of the country.
…Why the bizarre imbalance between the demand for work and the supply of it?
One critical piece of the puzzle was the policy response to the pandemic. …Washington pulled out all the monetary and fiscal stops….created disincentives for work as never before.
…In 2020 and 2021, a windfall of more than $2.5 trillion in extra savings was bestowed by Washington on private households through borrowed public funds.
…With pre-Covid rates of workforce participation, almost three million more men and women would be in our labor force today.
The signs that growing numbers of citizens are ambivalent about working shouldn’t be ignored. Success through work, no matter one’s station, is a key to self-esteem, independence and belonging. A can-do, pro-work ethos has served our nation well. America’s future will depend in no small part on how—and whether—her people choose to work.
Thanks to a stronger work ethic and spirit of self reliance, the United States historically has had an advantage over other nations.
Gun control groups are reviving their effort to not just get inside America’s gun safes but meddle in credit card purchases.
Giffords, the gun control group founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), and GunsDownAmerica, an activist gun control group with links to far-left Washington, D.C., think tanks, are supporting aneffort to have credit card companies create special purchasing codes for firearms and ammunition.
The idea is that credit card companies would monitor individual purchases by law-abiding citizens and if they seem to out of the norm, those purchases would be reported to law enforcement for investigation.
GunsDownAmerica wants credit card companies to stop categorizing firearm and ammunition purchases as “sporting goods” and create a new code.
That’s also a position that’s being pushed by several New York state lawmakers and Amalgamated Bank, a union-owned bank that’s also helped finance the Democratic National Committee and Political Action Committees including Biden-Harris Democrats, Ready for Hillary (which is Hillary Clinton’s Super PAC), U.S. Sen Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Ma.) Warren Democrats and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif) PAC.
Corporate Big Brother
Amalgamated Bank bills itself as a “socially-responsible” bank that’s got over $7.7 billion in assets and nearly $59 billion under management, much of which is tied to union pension funds.
When the bank isn’t financing left-wing causes including Occupy Wall Street, it uses the market capital to muscle through liberal policies including climate activism, labor practices and fighting excessive executive salaries, despite the fact that the President and CEO Priscilla Sims Brown rakes in $3.8 million in income.
Sims Brown is the same person who took to the airwaves to push the idea of tracking credit card-based gun and ammunition purchases.
Amalgamated Bank senta request to create the special Merchant Category Codes (MCC) to the International Organization for Standardization in 2021.
That request and an appeal were rejected. Another request was made this year and a decision is pending.
This idea is coming from a bank that refuses business with any in the firearm industry.
Amalgamated Bank’s idea is that bureaucratic businesses would not just monitor who exercises their Constitutionally-protected Second Amendment rights, but also how much and how often an individual chooses to do so.
They bill it as a way to help law enforcement identify individuals who might commit horrific atrocities and intervene before they do.
Beyond the Law
What it really is is privatized gun control that runs roughshod over rights and the law. The 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act forbids the federal government from maintaining a gun registry.
Banks are already required to report suspicious activity under the 1970 Banking Secrecy Act and expanded with the Patriot Act. This idea, though, would put that into private hands, building a registry one purchase at a time.
The basis for suspicious activity would simply be exercising the pre-existing right to keep and bear arms, which is expressly protected by the Constitution.
New York state lawmakers are interested in the idea. Over four dozen anti gun lawmakers signed a letter to credit card companies MasterCard and American Express urging them to adopt unique MCCs for firearms and ammunition.
Currently, they are listed as “specialty retailers” or “sporting goods.” The problem is that guns are purchased for sporting use. Some are purchased for self-defense.
Many firearms are used for multiple purposes – including self-defense, recreational shooting sports and hunting.
Rejected Before
This idea isn’t new. A public pressure campaign was attempted in 2018. New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin floated the same notion in February and December of 2018.
Visa and MasterCard both rejected the proposals then, adding that monitoring and arbitrating the private purchases of their customers “sets a dangerous precedent.”
Visa told Breitbart in 2018, “We do not believe Visa should be in the position of setting restrictions on the sale of lawful goods and services.”
The idea that capturing credit card purchase data to assist law enforcement isn’t the answer. Dumping data on law enforcement of law-abiding citizens only creates an information morass.
It is garbage data when law enforcement has already missed bona fide tips that would have prevented these tragedies. The FBI admitted it missed taking action on two tips before the tragedy in Parkland, Fla.
The murderer in Buffalo, N.Y., was brought in by state police after making threats, yet authorities there took no action even after his own family took away his firearms. The murderer in Uvalde, Texas, posted threats against schools and fellow classmates, yet none were reported to police.
And, the murderer in Highland Park was on the radar of law enforcement, yet the local police did not share the information with the Illinois State Police.
This idea isn’t about improving public safety. This proposal is about freezing gun purchases and getting corporate entities to skirt federal laws. This is nothing short of swiping the ability to legally buy guns.
President Biden reminds me of Zombie Nazi’s
No shit. Look at what he (et al) created in Ukraine.
President Biden reminds me of Zombie Nazi’s.
Reyes: We’re facing the collapse of law enforcement in America. It will lead to the end of our country as we know it.
Editor’s note: In what has become something of an annual tradition (sadly), Law Enforcement Today writes about the challenges facing not only law enforcement, but our country in general.
These articles have proven to be among the most popular we post. When we started this series, we thought things were pretty bad. However, since January 20, 2021 – things have gotten much, much worse.
In 2020 during the run up to the November election, we tried to warn people what our country was up against, and what the Democrats had in mind. Sadly, but not surprisingly, we have found ourselves to be right.
Law Enforcement Today is written primarily for law enforcement officers and those who support law enforcement. However, our audience has expanded to include those who support our military, our Constitution and all the liberty and freedom it guarantees and are God-fearing patriotic Americans.
A lot of our readers ask how you can get involved. With that in mind, we invite you to prayerfully consider our membership program—LET Unity. The proceeds raised from that program are used to reinvest into capturing more stories about the heroes who protect us at home on our law enforcement agencies, and those who protect us abroad in the United States military.
The majority of our content producers for Law Enforcement Today are active, retired or wounded law enforcement officers. The revenue we make helps provide for their families and helps bring a TRUE voice about what’s happening in America.
For the rest of you… simply keep following, keep reading, and keep sharing. Especially sharing…the more people who read these stories, the better it is for our law enforcement and military brethren.
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I, [name], do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So, help me God.
On July 4, 1776, a group of patriots decided they had suffered enough at the hands of the British monarchy. On that date, at tremendous risk of their own personal safety and more so their very lives, they put quill to paper and signed the greatest document ever forged. A document that gave birth to the greatest country ever to grace the face of the earth—the United States of America.
Yet here we are, 245 years nearly to the day that document was signed, and we find our country at a crossroads. When you look at all the great dynasties in the history of the world, all of them eventually collapsed. The Roman Empire…the British Empire…they number many.
Mortality.
It’s something that you don’t really consider when you’re young. You can do anything. You’re invincible.
But as we grow older, we start considering that mortality.
With all of that in mind, it’s time we start considering the mortality of America.
I spend a substantial amount of time working in two different arenas – the world of law enforcement and the business world.
By day, I run a marketing agency. Among the areas we work in, we do extensive work in the firearms industry. My travels take me across the country – often to some of the most rural parts of America.
By night, I am the Executive Director for Law Enforcement Today. I’m not a police officer. I was tapped because I can do one thing cops can’t do. I can give them a voice. I can run my mouth and no agency can fire me.
That travel that I referenced – both in the business world and supporting the LE world – has afforded me countless opportunities to work side by side with some of the greatest patriots in America.
My closest friends are either in law enforcement or either active or retired members of some of the most elite military forces in America. And from our greatest warriors to our everyday citizens… I can tell you the underlying fear that so many are thinking about – and that’s the seemingly inevitable collapse of society if we don’t make some monumental changes.
As a Christian, I believe we are in the middle of some serious spiritual warfare. But you don’t have to be a Christian to understand that the very soul of America is under attack right now. And the rapid erosion of the Thin Blue Line has us sitting on a powder keg.
Historically, if you look at the collapse of some of the greatest empires in the world, it happened from within. Simply put, it raises the distinct danger that America won’t be conquered by foreign enemies … but rather from domestic ones.
President Ronald Reagan probably put it best when he said, “ Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.” Prophetic words indeed.
When historians say that an empire fell, it means that the central state no longer exercised its broad power. That happens either because the state itself ceased to exist or because the state’s power was reduced as parts of the empire became independent of its control.
It typically doesn’t happen because of a single cause, but rather a long process. The main factors that historically lead to imperial collapse are:
Economic issues
Social and cultural issues
Environmental issues
Political issues
Now none of these factors are causes in and of themselves, but rather are ways to categorize causes.
What that means is you wouldn’t decide that Rome fell because of politics, but rather you’d explore political factors to understand the collapse. And in those issues are warning signs for us as Americans.
That brings me to the threat we face today.
Have you ever heard of something called the Cloward-Piven strategy? It’s not exactly something the mainstream media talks about… but it’s something you need to be aware of, because it’s what we’re facing in America today.
American sociologists and political activists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven created the political strategy in 1966. The idea behind it is to overload the U.S. public welfare system to create a crisis that would lead to a replacement of the welfare system with a socialist system of “a guaranteed annual income and thus an end to poverty”.
If that doesn’t describe what we’re seeing from Democrats who are running Congress and the White House right now, I don’t know what does. But it’s a much bigger threat than you might realize. That’s because it’s so incredibly pervasive. It’s poisoning the very roots of America.
And it calls to mind the words of Jefferson:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”
We are seeing groups here in America demanding open borders. Demanding the decriminalization of crossing into our country illegally. Since Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, we have seen our southern border over-run, not only from Mexican citizens but by people from all around the world, including some on terrorist watch lists.
Joe Biden assigned his vice president, Kamala Harris to oversee the border crisis, but in nearly three months since being given that assignment, Harris has not visited the border first-hand to see exactly what is going on—not once.
At the same time, across our great country, we are seeing the CRIMINALIZATION of law enforcement. All across the country, from Minneapolis to Portland, Los Angeles through Chicago to New York, there is a literal war on police. Major cities such as Seattle, Portland, Chicago and New York are seeing officers either retire early or outright leave. Morale in police departments across the country is in the toilet.
We’re seeing agencies desperate for officers, because as more and more retire (or count down the minutes to retirement), we see a deficit in the number of incoming recruits. After all, why would you want to live a life of service when you’re just going to be attacked for that service?
In the aftermath of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis a year ago, we have seen primarily Democrats across the country demanding defunding of police, taking away protections such as qualified immunity from officers, and emasculating police to the point where even when they are completely justified in using deadly physical force, neo-Marxist groups such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa take to the streets to cause death and destruction.
One of the demands from activists was that police officers be required to be issued body cameras, which many jurisdictions have done. Yet, when police are put in the position of having to use deadly physical force, what is shown on the body cameras is not believed, called edited footage. It’s a classic heads I win, tails you lose for law enforcement officers.
We see political activists masquerading as police chiefs. We see them working hand in hand with liberal politicians to not only attack the rights of law-abiding citizens, but also to destroy the morale of their own departments. We watch as they flat out disrespect the oath of office they took and put officers in no-win situations. Last year in the wake of the George Floyd death, we saw police chiefs kneeling on the ground with the very people who want them dead.
If I were to design a road map for how to collapse America, starting with law enforcement, here’s what it would look like.
Step one: Divide the protectors.
The refusal to allow rank and file patrol officers to cooperate with federal law enforcement to uphold the law. It’s a slap in the face to Americans and it’s a dereliction of duty. It’s also a clear and intentional move to create a divide between local, state and federal law enforcement. Divide the protectors… conquer a society.
Step two: Divide the supporters.
Force officers to choose between enforcing unconstitutional legislation like Red Flag laws, which deny citizens of their right to due process… and providing for their own family.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic last year, we’ve seen draconian emergency orders put in place by power-hungry governors, with police officers being put in the position of having to be COVID cops or face discipline. We’ve seen videos of police officers arresting people at high school football games for not wearing a mask, breaking up groups of Hasidic Jews at a funeral in New York City and shutting down a gym in New Jersey for breaking COVID rules.
Make cops the bad guys. Take the people who have historically supported law enforcement and convince them that cops are now the enemy. Divide the supporters… conquer a society.
Step three: Remove their protection
Make cops afraid to be cops. Encourage disrespect on them like water bucket attacks. Don’t go after the criminals who attack them. When officers arrest criminals, let them back out on the street within hours because a liberal judge determined that the violent suspect with a lengthy criminal history isn’t actually a threat.
In city after city across the country, we have seen George Soros-funded district attorneys such as George Gascon in Los Angeles, Kim Foxx in Chicago, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and scores of others go light on criminals while going hard after police officers.
Then threaten law enforcement officers that if they do their job, they’ll be investigated. That if they have to fight for their lives, they’ll end up being charged. Remove both their desire and their ability to police.
Step four: Flood America
By some estimates, one million people will make illegal entry into America this year.
There are fewer than 850,000 law enforcement officers in America. Do the math.
Now let criminals create havoc in society but instead of deporting them or actually cracking down on crime, let Americans know that the real problem is guns owned by law abiding citizens and pass legislation to take away their rights.
Step five: Destroy our homes
Own the media. Own Hollywood. Force feed Anti-American, socialist and communist policies into our homes and our education system. Convince our children that right is wrong and wrong is right. Take God out of society, destroy the family structure and teach everyone that the solution to your problems is in the form of pills, porn and the government.
Step six: Destroy our schools
Keep children out of school for over a year for in-person learning. Feed kids anti-American propaganda such as the 1619 Project which teaches America was founded on racist principles by a bunch of white racist men. Erase history and replace it with critical race theory, which teaches white children to hate themselves and believe they have special privilege because of their race. Go completely against Dr. Martin Luther King’s edict that skin color is more important than the content of one’s character.
Step seven: Destroy our military and intelligence agencies
Turn our military and intelligence agencies into indoctrination mills where sexual preference or sexual identity is considered to be of primary importance while the more important mission of looking at what those who seek to destroy us are doing and making sure that the primary focus of the military is on killing people and breaking things, now the sexual identity of a soldier’s parents.
Step eight: Bypass Congress for gun control
Have “private businesses” like Dicks and Walmart determine what you can and can’t buy. Let the White House determine by executive order what is and what is not an “assault rifle.”
Step nine: Lose control of the truth to tech tyrants and mainstream media
Allow Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Snapchat determine what you can see and what you can say… because it’s not a violation of the Constitution if it’s done by private enterprise. Allow social media to have unfettered ability to censor content that they do not politically agree with or people who have an opinion that goes against the politically desirable narrative.
Step ten: Use “social justice” to vilify love of country
Take every patriotic American who wants to see a better country for their children and call them a racist, etc. if you don’t agree with them. Then mass report them on social media to make sure their accounts are cancelled, and their voices are shut down.
Then say you think they’re a threat and have a judge determine that combat veterans and our nation’s greatest warriors need to be disarmed because of post-traumatic stress. Then force officers to go to war with their own brothers and sisters.
Take people who had legitimate concerns about last November’s election and who raised serious questions about events which made no sense and put them in the category of conspiracy theorists or worse yet, insurrectionists hell-bent on the destruction of the American way of life, which is absurd.
The Collapse
It’s happening right in front of our eyes. And it’s starting with a full onslaught against our law enforcement officers in every way, shape and form.
Want to save America? We need to start by understanding the enemy. And sometimes the biggest threat that an empire faces is the enemy within.
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We hope you’ll consider getting in the fight with us. Here’s what Law Enforcement Today – the largest police-owned media outlet in America – is doing.
We at Law Enforcement Today want to make our stance very clear.
We strongly and firmly stand behind the Second Amendment, companies that keep civilians and law enforcement officers safe through products and innovation, and the men and women who serve and protect our communities and our country.
We are launching a new series of options to help our partners and other patriotic businesses to be able to connect with consumers. While we can’t replace Google, Bing or Facebook – we sure can provide options to ensure that these companies and our brothers and sisters have a voice.
We welcome with open arms companies that openly support law enforcement, and we are proud to offer them options to get their products to market.
We started noticing the problems a couple of years ago. Social media was scaling back the reach of content that it didn’t believe people should see. Those problems continue today, with both myself as well as the founder of Law Enforcement Today, Robert Greenberg being kicked off of LinkedIn.
Not that there was anything offensive about it. We’re talking about pro-police videos, stories about patriotic Americans and more.
And from our perspective, that created a huge problem. We have some of the greatest warriors in the world. Yet their voices and their stories were being buried.
The mainstream media, on the rare occasion that it would tell some of these stories, would give you only a piece of them. They’d cram as much as they could into a 90 second segment, slap their bias on it and that was it.
We needed to fix it. And so we are.
Law Enforcement Today (LET) is proud to announce the launch of LET Unity – a new home focused on bridging the gap between civilians and civil servants. We’ve merged with The Whiskey Patriots to massively expand content, rolling out hundreds of videos to members.
Many of those in our focus groups dubbed it the “Netflix of the law enforcement community”. But the truth is, it’s so much more.
The first officer in the door at the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Emergency responders from the Parkland shooting.
The bomb squad that responded to the Aurora movie theater massacre.
Survivors of the Dallas five killings.
The first Marine Guard hostage in the Iran crisis.
The CIA agent who started a counter human trafficking company.
SWAT teams.
Sniper schools.
World War II veterans.
And so, so much more.
The membership is less than the cost of two coffees a month, and those who sign up for an annual membership will get some surprise bonuses in the mail. We decided to charge a nominal fee so we could take all of the proceeds and reinvest them into capturing more of these stories. The majority of our content producers for Law Enforcement Today are active, retired or wounded law enforcement officers. The revenue we make helps provide for their families and helps bring a TRUE voice about what’s happening in America.
On top of that, we’re opening up the platform to some well-known podcasters who are going to be joining the team with some incredible content soon.
We have a problem in society. Censorship has created an existential threat to democracy. But even worse is the risk we run that some of these incredible stories of patriotism, hope, faith and our Sheepdogs would be lost.
We’ve launched a series of content with Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) to share the stories of survivors. We will also be dropping a weekly law enforcement focused newscast that addresses some of the most important topics in the country… and helps bridge the gap between those who serve and those whom they serve.
On top of that, we’ll soon be rolling out a series of private discounts and special promotions to members only as a “thank you” for being a part of the family.
You can also download the app to watch the content right from your iPhone.
We hope you’ll join us in this journey, knowing that your membership is going to give a voice to those who have been silenced for so long.
Our country is currently at a crossroads, and with that, so are our brothers and sisters in law enforcement. Today more than ever, that thin blue line that protects the sheep from the wolves is more tenuous that at almost any time in our country’s history. We need to protect and endorse the sheepdogs—our police—who hold the wolves at bay. There has never been a more important time in our nation’s still young history when we need patriots to stand up and support our men and women on the front lines of this fight.
If you are one of the many companies out there that’s being censored – or you’re worried about what’s to come – don’t hesitate to reach out today. We are all in this fight together. I can be reached at media@lawenforcementtoday.com.
We will not be silenced. You shouldn’t be either.
God bless you all, and God Bless America.
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The United States society is collapsing. Don't get too caught up in the details. Just know that every indicator is flashing RED. -MM
What actually happens to citizens of China who do not support the CCP?
I am a Chinese citizen, 53 years old this year. I have been extremely anti-CCP since I was 15 years old, and until 2010, I was still a radical anti-communist.
After 2010, my anti-communist stance began to falter. I became a mild anti-communist.
By 2015, I was neither against the CCP nor for them, when I was neutral.
By 2017, I started to support the CCP a little bit.
By 2019, I had become a staunch supporter of the CCP.
When I was in college, my classmates were 100% anti-communist, we all participated in the protests that swept the country in 1989, and one of my classmates and I went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to participate in the protests.
Throughout the 1990s, my classmates and I also adhered to an anti-communist stance. One of my classmates and I tried to form a secret political party to overthrow the CCP.
In the 2000s, some of my classmates began to change their views, and I was one of the last to change their views.
In China, many of my peers have gone through a spiritual journey similar to mine, from opposing the CCP to supporting the CCP.
So, when you ask “What actually happens to citizens of China who do not support the CCP?” I will tell you a fact: Most of the people who were once against the CCP have now become supporters of the CCP.
Based on my observations, my remarks probably represent the vast majority of those who have ever opposed the CCP.
In response to a request from some in the comments:
Many people ask me the reason for the change of opinion, but this question is difficult to answer completely, because so much has happened in 30 years, my change of opinion is the result of all the things that have happened in 30 years, a highly educated Mature-minded adults usually do not change their beliefs quickly because of a few events.
While I can’t list all the reasons that influence my opinion, there are two main reasons that led me to go from a radical anti-communist to a staunch CCP supporter:
1. I have seen with my own eyes the various changes that have taken place in China in the past 30 years;
2. I have visited Western countries many times and browsed a lot of Western media, so I have a more direct and in-depth understanding of Western countries.
I myself have been a news reporter for a few years, and I am very aware of the various methods used by the media to manipulate public opinion. Therefore, I will not unconditionally trust any media, nor will I be brainwashed by the media. I have my own means of checking the facts and all my opinions come from the facts and not any media reports.
It’s also not true that someone commented that I became less radical as I got older, from being an anti-communist to accepting and conforming to reality. In fact, the 50-60-year-old Chinese are still the group with the highest proportion of anti-communists among all Chinese people. People of this age are more supportive of the CCP than us. They did not become anti-communists because of their youth.
Most of the fact-checking organizations Facebook has partnered with to monitor and regulate information about Ukraine are directly funded by the U.S. government, either through the U.S. Embassy or via the notorious National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an information war as bitter as the ground fighting has erupted, and Meta (Facebook’s official name) announced it had partnered with nine organizations to help it sort fact from fiction for Ukrainian, Russian and other Eastern European users. These nine organizations are: StopFake, VoxCheck, Fact Check Georgia, Demagog, Myth Detector, Lead Stories, Patikrinta 15min, Re:Baltica and Delfi.
“To reduce the spread of misinformation and provide more reliable information to users, we partner with independent third-party fact-checkers globally,” the Silicon Valley giant wrote, adding, “Facebook’s independent third-party fact-checkers are all certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). The IFCN, a subsidiary of the journalism research organization Poynter Institute, is dedicated to bringing together fact-checkers worldwide.”
The problem with this? At least five of the nine organizations are directly in the pay of the United States government, a major belligerent in the conflict. The Poynter Institute is also funded by the NED. Furthermore, many of the other fact-checking organizations also have deep connections with other NATO powers, including direct funding.
StopFake
Perhaps the most well-known and notorious of the nine groups is StopFake. Established in 2014, StopFake is fundedby NATO’s Atlantic Council, by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Embassy in Ukraine and the Czech Foreign Ministry. It has also received money from the U.S. via the National Endowment for Democracy, although that fact is far from trumpeted by either party.
One potential reason for this was alluded to in a 2016 article reprinted by StopFake itself. As the article notes, “in the case of StopFake.org when opponents want to insult the project, they immediately invoke National Endowment for Democracy donor support as evidence of U.S. government and CIA involvement.”
In the wake of the Russian invasion, the NED pulled all public records of their Ukraine projects from the internet. Nevertheless, incomplete archived copies of those records confirm a financial relationship between the groups.
StopFake was explicitly set up as a partisan organization. As a glowing report on them from the International Journalists’ Network notes, the majority of StopFake’s fact-checks are on stories from Russian media, and the motivation for its creation was “Russia’s 2014 occupation of Crimea and a campaign to portray Ukraine as a fascist state where anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia and xenophobia thrived.”
While it is indeed incorrect to label Ukraine a fascist state, the country clearly has one of the strongest far-right movements anywhere in Europe. And unfortunately, StopFake itself is far from an apolitical bystander in that rise. Multiple established Western media outlets, including The New York Times, have reported on StopFake’s ties to white power or Nazi groups. When local journalist Ekaterina Sergatskova exposed these links, death threats from far-right figures forced her to flee her home.
Indeed, according to some, one of StopFake’s primary functions appears to be to promote the far-right. A long exposé by Lev Golinkin in The Nation cataloged what it called StopFake’s history of “aggressively whitewashing two Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups with a long track record of violence, including war crimes.”
Surely StopFake’s most famous former host is Nina Jankowicz. Jankowicz was briefly head of President Biden’s newly formed Disinformation Governance Board before public uproar caused her to resign. Dubbed the “Ministry of Truth”, both the board and Jankowicz generated strong opposition. Yet few mentioned the fact that, while at StopFake, Jankowicz herself had, on camera, enthusiastically extolled the virtues of multiple fascist paramilitaries.
In a 2017 TV segment about the Aidar, Dnipro-1 and Azov Battalions, Jankowicz presented the groups as heroic volunteers deafening Ukraine from “further Russian separatist encroachment.” As she stated,
The volunteer movement in Ukraine extends far beyond military service. Volunteer groups are active in supporting Ukraine’s military with food, clothing, medicine, and post-battle rehabilitation, as well as working actively with the nearly two million internal refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine,”
This framing jars with multiple reports from human rights groups such as Amnesty International, who claim that the Aidar Battalion is guilty of a litany of abuses, “including abductions, unlawful detention, ill-treatment, theft, extortion, and possible executions.” Amnesty also accuses Aidar and Dnipro-1 of “Using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.”
Azov, meanwhile, is the most infamous organization of the lot. The group’s insignia is directly lifted from the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division, a unit responsible for carrying out some of the worst crimes of Hitler’s holocaust. The Azov Battalion also dip their bullets in pig fat before battle as a calculated hate crime, attempting to block Jewish or Muslim enemies from a better afterlife. Andriy Biletsky, the group’s founder, said in 2010 that he believes Ukraine’s mission is to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen” – the word Hitler used to describe Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and other peoples he designated for extermination.
In February, Facebook announced that it was changing its rules on hate speech to allow praise and promotion of the Azov Battalion. Was this on StopFake’s recommendation? MintPress asked Meta/Facebook for comment on their fact checking partner’s ties to far right groups and if StopFake had influenced their decision to allow pro-Nazi content on their platform, but did not receive a reply.
As Golinkin noted in his article for The Nation, StopFake has also defended C14, another fascist paramilitary, describing it merely as a “community organization”, citing C14’s own denial of its pogroms against Roma people as “evidence” of its innocence. This designation clashes even with the U.S. State Department, which classifies C14 as a “nationalist hate group.” The “14” in its name refers to the “14 words” white supremacist slogan.
StopFake has made a number of controversial claims, including that the rise in anti-semitism in Ukraine is “fake” – even going so far as to brand well-established outlets like NBC News and Al-Jazeera as printing fake news about the Azov Battalion’s role in this. In an article entitled “Russia as Evil: False Historical Parallels. Some peculiarities of Russian Political Culture,” it also insisted that Hitler’s concentration camps were modeled on Russian ones set up by Vladimir Lenin. In reality, the German government pioneered the use of concentration camps during their genocide of the Herero and Namaqua peoples between 1904 and 1908 in Namibia. The British and Spanish were also early adopters.
In addition, StopFake has close links with The Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian outlet directly funded and trained by the National Endowment for Democracy. Since 2016, the Post has published 191 StopFake reports.
Who is the NED?
Why receiving funding from the National Endowment for Democracy should immediately raise suspicions of any organization is because the NED was explicitly established by the Reagan administration as a front group for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Although it is funded by Washington and staffed by state officials, it is technically a private company and therefore not subject to the same legal regulations and public scrutiny as state institutions.
The CIA has used the NED to carry out many of its more controversial operations. In recent years, it has trained and funneled money to the leaders of the Hong Kong protesters to keep the insurrection alive, fomented a nationwide campaign of demonstrations in Cuba, and helped attempts to topple the government of Venezuela. Perhaps most importantly for this story, however, the NED was also involved in the 2014 coup that removed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from power. Regime change is, in short, one of its primary functions.
The NED does this by establishing, funding, supporting and training all manner of political, economic and social groups in target countries. According to its 2019 annual report, Ukraine is the NED’s “top priority”. The agency has (officially) spent over $22 million in Ukraine since 2014.
In their more candid moments, NED leaders are explicit about the organization’s role. “It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA,” Carl Gershman, NED president from 1984 to 2021 said, explaining why his organization was set up. NED co-founder Allen Weinstein agreed: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” he toldThe Washington Post.
VoxCheck
VoxCheck receives substantial monetary assistance from the U.S. government through both the NED and the U.S. Embassy. It is also funded by the Dutch and German governments. Incomplete NED records show VoxCheck receives substantial yearly grants and has accepted around $250,000 in total.
That sort of money goes an extremely long way in Ukraine, which is by quite some way the poorest nation in Europe. The country’s GNI per capita of $3,500 per year is well below that of even Russia, which stands at $10,700. One $15,000 NED grant given to a Ukrainian media foundation, for instance, was enough to pay for over 100 articles to be written.
Despite its funding, Western media portray VoxCheck extremely positively. The Washington Post, for example, describes them as “a small group of independent fact-checkers.” In common parlance, the word “independent” is usually reserved for any media group not owned or funded by governments (as if that is the only type of dependence). But even at this extremely low bar, VoxCheck falls.
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An NED document shows a 2020 grant given to VoxUkraine
In the article, the Washington Post describes VoxCheck’s fact-checking process, which largely consists of “sourcing credible news sources – such as a BBC article,” and then labeling Russian claims as false on this basis. In other words, the official state mouthpiece of the British government – one that was instrumental in promoting the lies which led to the invasions of Iraq and Libya – is considered sacrosanct.
What comes across in the Post’s glowing exposé is that VoxCheck staff have few pretensions about being neutral and see themselves as digital foot soldiers in a crusade against Russia. As one employee said, the mission is to “prevent someone from falling into Russian lies and manipulation.” Indeed, one of the staff quit his job to volunteer for the Ukrainian Army. Other VoxCheck employees revealed that they felt guilty for not doing so themselves and only contributing virtually to the fight.
Of course, Russia has lied constantly during this war; the entire invasion was based on a lie. Throughout the winter, Russian officials consistently repeated that they had no intention of invading Ukraine. Russian media, meanwhile, claimed that President Zelensky had fled the country in the wake of the invasion. But in war, all sides lie. And when a fact-checking operation constantly critiques only one side and stays largely quiet about the other, it has clearly taken a side in the conflict and is therefore acting in a partisan fashion. People interested in thinking critically should be scrutinizing claims made by all sides.
Fact Check Georgia
Fact Check Georgia describes itself as “an independent and non-partisan website which offers readers researched, verified and evidence-based information.” Yet it is bankrolled by a litany of dubious organizations, including the NED and the U.S. Embassy, the German Marshall Fund, the Dutch government and the European Endowment for Democracy, a European government-funded “private” organization explicitly modeled on the NED.
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Fact Check Georgia’s “About Us” section reveals just how independent the fact checking organization really is
Fact Check Georgia’s independence is potentially undermined by the fact that at the bottom of every page of its website, it displays the crests of both the NED and the U.S. Embassy in Georgia. This is accompanied by the disclaimer, “The views and opinions expressed on this website belong to Factcheck.ge and are not the views and opinions of project support organizations” – a sentence that would not be necessary to attach if an organization was truly independent.
Furthermore, some of its staff have notable backgrounds. The first person listed on Fact Check Georgia’s “our team” section was formerly the Deputy Minister of Defense for Georgia – a country that fought a war against Russia in 2008.
Myth Detector
Another Georgia-based company, Myth Detector, was funded by the U.S. Embassy to the tune of €42,000 in financial year 2021. German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle contributed €41,000. Also donating €41,000 last year, according to Myth Detector’s financial report, is a group called “Zinc.” This is quite possibly the Zinc Network, a shadowy intelligence firm that conducts information warfare operations on behalf of the U.K. and U.S. governments.
Demagog
Not only is the U.S. Embassy in Poland funding Demagog, it is also carrying out training in how to think. Demagog’s website notes that the embassy established a “fact-checking academy” on “how to deal with false information.” “Thanks to the [embassy] cooperation,” it notes, “classes were conducted for students and teachers on fake news, reliable sources of information and fact-checking.”
Alongside the U.S. government, Demagog also receives money from Polish government, European Union and European Economic Area organizations.
Together, these five organizations’ operations are all directly bankrolled by Washington. However, many of the other fact-checking groups Facebook pays to serve as content police on their platform have similarly close connections to Western state power. Indeed, the only one of the nine that appears relatively free from direct government collaboration is self-funded outlet Lead Stories.
Patikrinta 15min
Lithuanian outlet Patikrinta 15min insist that they are an independent, non-partisan group. As their “About” section states: “Sponsors of Patikrinta 15min cannot be political parties, politicians, state organizations or companies or organizations related to politicians.” They do, however, accept funding from the Poynter Institute, the journalism group that owns U.S. fact-checking organization Politifact. Since 2016, the Poynter Institute has sought for and received at least seven grants from the National Endowment for Democracy, totaling well over half a million dollars.
Notably, some of these grants are clearly a way of funneling cash to Eastern European fact-checking groups. As one NED grant summary for $78,000 notes, the goal of the money is to “promote the use of fact-checking websites as an effective accountability tool in Central and Eastern Europe, and strengthen the global fact-checking community.” The NED goes on to note that Poynter will bring over 70 journalists to a training summit and afterward continue to “train” “mentor,” “support,” and help them and their organizations with “capacity building.”
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One of several grants given to the ostensibly neutral Poynter Institute by the US State Dept’s NED
A cynic might conclude that the NED was simply trying to launder its money through Poynter. MintPress asked Patikrinta 15min to confirm or deny whether they were one of the Eastern European groups mentioned in the NED filings but has not received a response.
Like other groups, Patikrinta 15min’s non-partisan veneer frequently slips. This can be seen in headlines such as “Russian cynicism knows no bounds” and the fact that they frequently defend Nazi groups like the Azov Battalion.
Like StopFake, n 15min has argued that Azov’s use of the Waffen SS symbol is coincidental. It also presented Azov as an apolitical organization and has used quotes from Azov founder Andriy Biletsky – possibly the world’s most infamous living neo-Nazi – as “proof” that charges against it are Russian disinformation.
Re:Baltica
While there is no evidence that Re:Baltica has a financial relationship with the United States government, the lion’s share of its funding still comes from the West. As they note on their website, around two-thirds of their funding comes “from the institutions based in EU/NATO countries.” They also list “the Kingdom of the Netherlands” as one of their “friends” – i.e., donors.
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Re:Baltica is generously funded by western govt’s and NGOs, including George Soro’s Open Society Foundation
Delfi
Delfi is a major web portal in Eastern Europe and the Baltic. The company does not disclose if it receives foreign funding. It does, undeniably, however, have a close relationship with the NED. In 2015, Delfi interviewed Christopher Walker, a senior NED manager about the best way they could counter Russian propaganda. Two years later, NED President Gershman addressed the Lithuanian parliament, revealing that his organization had,
[W]orked with Lithuania in countering Russian efforts to subvert and destroy democracy in Lithuania, in Europe, and in Russia itself. We have supported the work of the Lithuania-based Delfi and the East European Studies Center in monitoring, documenting, and combatting Russian disinformation in Lithuania and the Baltic states.”
Later that year, Delfi teamed up with the NED to hold the 1st Vilnius Young Leaders Meeting, whereby handpicked young activists were invited to rub shoulders with journalists and spooks from across Europe and the United States, in the hope of building up a Western-friendly force in civil society.
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A chart showing the leadership structure of the EXPOSE network published as part of the Integrity Initiative Leak 7
Delfi, Re:Baltica and StopFake were all identified as proposed members of a “counter”-propaganda network hoping to be established by the EXPOSE Network. EXPOSE was allegedly a secret U.K.-government funded initiative that would have brought together journalists and state operatives in an alliance to shape public discourse in a manner more conducive to the priorities of Western governments.
As EXPOSE wrote, “An opportunity exists to upskill civil society organizations around Europe, enhancing their existing activities and unleashing their potential” to be the next generation of activists in the fight against Kremlin disinformation.”
“Coordinat[ing] their activities,” wrote EXPOSE, “represents a unique opportunity” for the British government in their fight against Russia. Unfortunately, they lamented, StopFake’s “monomaniacal fixation” on Russia had hurt its credibility.
Remarkably, EXPOSE also wrote that, “Another barrier to combating disinformation is the fact that certain Kremlin-backed narratives are factually true” – an admission that underlines that, to many governments and media outlets, “disinformation” is rapidly coming to simply mean “information we disagree with.”
The names of those individuals listed as potential employees of this network are a who’s who of state-linked operatives, including the Zinc Network, multiple individuals from NED-funded investigative journalism website Bellingcat and Ben Nimmo, a former NATO spokesperson who is now head of global intelligence for Facebook.
Facebook’s Cyber War
Nimmo is only one of a great many former state agents now working in the higher echelons of Facebook, however. Last month, MintPress published a study revealing that the Silicon Valley giant has hired dozens of ex-CIA personnel into influential positions within the company, especially in security, content moderation and trust and safety.
Given how influential Facebook is as a media and communications giant, this sort of relationship constitutes a national security issue to every other country in the world. And this is not a hypothetical threat either. In November, Nimmo led a team that effectively attempted to swing the Nicaraguan elections away from the ruling Sandinista party and towards the U.S.-backed candidate. In the days leading up to the election, Facebook deleted hundreds of accounts and pages of pro-Sandinista media.
This action underlines the fact that Facebook is not an international company existing only in the ether, but an American operation bound by American laws. And increasingly, it is moving closer to the U.S. government itself.
Who will guard the guardians?
Fake news abounds online, and we as a society are wholly unprepared to counter it. A study conducted by Stanford University found that the vast majority of people – even the digitally savvy youth – were unable to tell factual reporting from obvious falsehoods online. Many will fall for Russian propaganda. Russian media is indeed pumping out misleading information constantly. But so are NATO countries. And if the fact-checkers who have volunteered to sort truth from fiction for us relentlessly attack Russia but are quiet on their own side’s spin, many more will fall for Western propaganda.
The implicit outlook of many of these fact-checking groups is that “only Russia lies.” This is the position of a partisan organization, one that cares little about truth and more about imposing control over the means of communication. And this is all being done in the name of keeping us safe.
Who is fact-checking the fact-checkers? Unfortunately, it is up to small, independent media outlets to do so. However, MintPress has faced constant suppression for doing so, being blocked from communicating with our 400,000+ Facebook followers, suppressed algorithmically by the Silicon Valley giants, and being removed from financial transaction services like PayPal.
The solution is to teach and develop critical media literacy. All media outlets have biases and agendas. It is up to the individual to learn these and constantly scrutinize and evaluate everything they read. However, governments do not want their populations thinking critically; they want their message to be dominant, one reason why the NED has been quietly bankrolling so many fact-checking organizations to do its work for it.
Brides in the Chechen Republic often wear embroidered shawls in the same style as their dresses, instead of a veil. Sometimes, the bride may also wear a jeweled tiara over the headscarf.
As a rule, the dresses themselves are not only white, but in any pastel color: cream, light pink, golden, decorated with lace and gems. They can be both straight or very fluffy, with long plumes.
A Saturday Night In Starbucks
Several years ago, an unusual set of events found me at Starbucks on a Saturday night. It had been a reasonably decent day, but there are, as we all know, plenty of things in this world to be depressed about. And those things, as we also know, are massively amplified by the attention-seeking class. Somehow, the parade of negativity had its effect on me.
Sitting in the Starbucks cured me.
What I Saw
It was a very average Starbucks in a very average location. And the very average people sitting with me were a nearly perfect cross-section of the American demographic.
To my left was a middle-aged black man, doing something on his laptop. Just past him was a middle-aged white woman doing the same. Past her, in the corner, were three teenage girls – one black, one white, one Latin – studying together.
Behind me was another black man with a laptop and piles of papers, and past him a young couple falling in love over lattes.
At the big, center table was a 25ish woman, with multiple piles of paper upon which she was working very hard. After a while, her boyfriend showed up. She hugged him, laid her head on his shoulder, and they kissed. It was sweet. Then he got to work with her.
There were also people coming and going. They were more of the same: A cross-sectional American parade of people behaving quietly and well.
Watching these people, I decided that it would be far better to spend time helping them than to obsess over all the bad things in the world. These are the people who deserve our efforts.
What Would Help the Bright Side of Humanity?
That, of course, brought me to the question of how to help the bright side of humanity, and I decided that a great start would be to make one point very clearly:
Fear is a brain hack; a malicious and effective one.
When people want to get their hands on your time and money – and don’t want to be bothered with that pesky ‘reason’ thing – fear is how they do it… over and over and over. Fear works.
So, if we want to move the brighter side of humanity forward, the first thing we need to do is to inform them that fear is their greatest enemy. They need to understand – and remember – that when someone tries to make them afraid, they are being hacked.
Secondly, we need to assure the brighter side of humanity that their way is right… that they have every right to live their way; that they should not abandon their values to screaming political hucksters.
Power-seekers have always been with us, and they can succeed only by getting frightened people to line up behind them. They need us to adopt their slogans, respond to their fears, and run their stories through our minds.
Those story lines, of course, service dominance, power, and archaic models of lordship. They do not serve human advancement.
The people I saw in the Starbucks held a different and better set of ideals. They believed that everyone should be treated with respect; that coercion and fraud are wrong; that everyone should be left alone to do as they please, so long as they don’t intrude upon others.
This decent side of humanity needs to know that their ideals should never be abandoned for a political cause, no matter how Earth-shakingly urgent it seems.
The people I saw in the Starbucks, to be blunt about it, were morally superior to the powerful and the fear-peddlers.
Such people should hold to their values, stay with their own lines of reason, and believe in their own virtues.
And When They Do?
Once the people I saw at Starbucks start believing in themselves, the world will change, and massively.
These people – and there are untold millions of them – are productive and cooperative. Their problem is that they’ve been laying aside their virtues at the insistence of fear-peddlers.
The people in the Starbucks didn’t need edicts from potentates.
Once the “Starbucks people” decide that fear and subservience were contrary to life itself, they will move into a better age. Such transitions are difficult, of course, but once these people truly believe in their own ways, the ways of the fear-peddlers will pass away.
May it be soon.
**
Paul Rosenberg
freemansperspective.com
Not War, But Murder: The Clash at Cold Harbor
Now for some American Civil War History. -MM
After crossing the North Anna River, Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces headed toward Cold Harbor.
By William E. Welsh
Private Augustus Du Bois marched forward at daybreak on June 3, 1864, along with hundreds of other members of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery regiment to a thin belt of timber a mile south of the key road junction of Cold Harbor. On the near side of the woods, the 1,700-man strong regiment halted to await the firing of a cannon that would signal the beginning of the charge. The regiment’s objective was a line of field fortifications that crowned a low ridge. Behind the breastworks, battle-tested Confederate soldiers were packed tightly together, waiting calmly for the attack to begin. If the Federals could punch through General Robert E. Lee’s line, it would enable the Army of the Potomac to march into Richmond and end the war. The Confederates did not expect them to succeed.
The lone gun boomed and the bluecoats advanced through the woods toward shoulder-high breastworks that jutted defiantly into no-man’s-land between the two armies. Once clear of the woods, Union officers gave the order to advance at the double quick, and the attackers swept forward, shouting, “Huzzah! Huzzah!”
Their opponents fired down into the advancing sea of blue soldiers. As the Federals struggled across the open ground, enemy cannon blasted deadly canister into the charging men, tearing huge holes in their ranks. Members of the 7th New York swarmed up the incline toward their objective. At the base of the fortifications, Colonel Lewis Morris and other officers reformed the regiment for a final assault over the barricades. The Confederates did not make it easy for them. “The enemy bravely stood their ground, not waiting for us to come over the works, but meeting us on the parapet,” recalled Du Bois. “They contested every inch.”
Du Bois and those around him fought their way onto the parapet, eager for a close-hand brawl. The top of the barricade was too narrow to accommodate all of the defenders, and some fought in the trenches while their comrades grappled above with the enemy. “As I reached the top of the works a brave fellow confronted us,” Du Bois wrote. “Standing below he thrust his bayonet into the comrade by my side, and was about to give me the same dose, but a charge from my gun changed his mind. It was a hand-to-hand fight to the finish. Clubbed muskets, bayonets, and swords got in their deadly work.”
The fighting spilled over to the defenders’ side of the fortifications. The contest was a grim one, but the Federals retained the advantage. Hundreds of graybacks were forced to surrender or lose their lives. The 7th New York of Brig. Gen. Francis Barlow’s 1st Division appeared to have pulled off a significant victory. The regiment had captured a portion of the first line of the enemy’s works belonging to Brig. Gen. John Echols’s brigade of Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge’s division. If the breach could be widened, two entire Confederate divisions, Breckinridge’s and that of Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox, would be cut off from the rest of Lee’s army situated to the north.
Reinforcing For the Upcoming Battle
It was a promising beginning to the Union attack. Federal generals at all levels of command had been instructed by Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George Meade to heavily reinforce any local success, no matter how small, with fresh troops. If Meade’s generals heeded his advice, victory might be achieved under the hot summer sun. For nearly a month, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had held off Meade’s army, under the watchful eye of overall Union commander Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. With luck and determination, the Federals might end Lee’s unblemished record of tactical victories over the Federals in Grant’s ongoing Overland Campaign.
The Army of the Potomac had tried several times in the preceding month to slip around Lee’s right flank following the massive Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-6. Unlike his predecessors, Grant was determined to continue his drive south despite suffering heavy losses. Lee’s army, which had the advantage of shorter routes of march that enabled it to entrench before the Federals could get set for a fresh assault, fought its opponent to a standstill at Spotsylvania Courthouse and again at the North Anna River before the armies shifted southeast to Cold Harbor in late May.
As yet another major battle brewed, both sides sought to reinforce their depleted ranks. Grant had to deal not only with 40,000 battlefield losses, but also with the expiration of three-year terms of enlistment by many of the veteran regiments mustered into service during the first year of the war. Grant’s solution, supported by President Abraham Lincoln, was to pull entire regiments of heavy artillery units from Washington and Fort Monroe, Virginia, and convert them into infantry. These full-strength regiments, known as “Heavies,” received orders in mid-May to join the Army of the Potomac in the field. Once they arrived in camp, the regiments were inserted into veteran brigades as a way to offset their lack of experience. Altogether, the Army of the Potomac had received 33,000 replacement troops by the time it reached Cold Harbor.
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The dilapidated tavern at Cold Harbor was used by General Winfield Scott Hancock for his headquarters. The somewhat confusing place name was an old English term referring to a tavern that did not offer hot meals with its overnight accommodations.
When Lee learned that Grant had transferred Maj. Gen. William Smith’s 16,000-strong XVIII Corps from Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James to Meade’s army, he appealed to Confederate President Jefferson Davis for additional forces of his own. After nearly a week of wrangling between Lee and General P.G.T. Beauregard over the former’s desperate need for reinforcements, Beauregard finally relinquished Maj. Gen. Robert F. Hoke’s division on the night of May 30. Lee rushed them to Cold Harbor.
R0bert E. Lee’s Seven-Mile Battle Line
The crossroads at Cold Harbor was a dilapidated wayside tavern of no particular distinction. The somewhat confusing name was an English term that referred to the lack of a hot meal at an overnight accommodation. The value of Cold Harbor lay in its significance as a strategic crossroads midway between Totopotomoy Creek and the Chickahominy River. Lee prized it as a way to prevent Smith’s XVIII Corps from having an unobstructed path to Richmond, while Grant and Meade sought to deny it to the Confederates for use as a base from which to disrupt Federal supply lines.
On the afternoon of May 31, cavalry from both armies clashed at the crossroads. By the end of the day, the Federal cavalry had secured the crossroads and waited for infantry to relieve it. For the next two days, Lee and Grant steadily built up their infantry forces in a line that stretched several miles above and below Cold Harbor between the two waterways. By the morning of June 2, Lee’s line stretched for seven miles from Totopotomoy Creek in the north to the Chickahominy in the south. With each flank anchored on a riverbank, the only way for the Federals to reach Richmond was to fight their way through Lee’s army.
Lee shifted his forces as needed during the preliminary fighting at Cold Harbor, splitting Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill’s III Corps with one of its divisions placed on the left flank and two on the right. By the morning of June 3, the Confederates were deployed as follows: Maj. Gen. Jubal Early’s II Corps and Maj. Gen. Henry Heth’s division of Hill’s corps were on the left flank; Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson’s I Corps was in the center; and Hoke’s and Breckinridge’s divisions and two divisions of Hill’s corps were on the right.
Grant’s mistaken decision to postpone a major attack on the entire Confederate line gave newly arriving Confederate divisions ample time to improve their entrenchments. The Southerners labored tirelessly to build earthworks that were tall enough to stand behind and also were configured to provide interlocking fields of fire to catch any attacking units in a deadly crossfire.
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The 7th New York Heavy Artillery of Brigadier General Francis Barlow’s 1st Division made a spirited attack on the Confederate works at Cold Harbor. They overran the first line of Lee’s defense, capturing prisoners and turning captured guns on the Confederates before being pushed back when their success went unsupported.
The nearly manic effort the Confederates put into the construction of their defenses was readily apparent to the Federals opposite them. “We pass within apparently two hundred yards of the enemy’s lines, near which are a large busy corps of Rebel gray men cutting down trees; swinging their axes as if dear life depended upon their taking down a half a dozen trees at every stroke,” recounted a soldier from Smith’s XVIII Corps.
The Assault at Daybreak
Grant finally issued orders for a major assault on June 3 in the mistaken belief that the Confederates could not withstand a full-scale attack. Meade, who knew the Confederates were well entrenched, believed that such an attack was suicidal, but did not share those thoughts with Grant and instead passed along the order for the attack. Upon learning that a major assault was imminent, many Federal veterans wrote their names and addresses on slips of paper and pinned them on the backs of their coats the night before the assault to ensure that their bodies might be accurately identified and their next of kin informed of the time and place of their deaths. It was an ominous sign.
The main attack, scheduled for daybreak on June 3, was to be made by the three corps on the Federal left flank. Left to right, they were Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps, Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright’s VI Corps, Smith’s XVIII Corps, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren’s V Corps, and Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s IX Corps. The three corps on the left were to make the main assault, while the two corps on the right were to make a diversionary attack designed to prevent Lee from stripping units from his left flank to reinforce his right.
Hancock’s corps had a reputation for hard fighting, and his officers fully intended to live up to that reputation. Hancock ordered two of his divisions to attack in strength, with the third held in reserve. Barlow’s division, on the extreme left of the Federal line, and Brig. Gen. John Gibbon’s on the right were to assail the Confederate right; Maj. Gen. David Birney’s division was behind Barlow’s. The two divisions on the front line stacked their brigades two-deep, with four brigades in front and four brigades directly behind.
The Federal attack in the southern sector of the battlefield was scheduled to begin at 4:30 am. Fifteen minutes before that, Gibbon and Barlow each sent a regiment forward with orders to push back the Confederate pickets. At the arranged time, signal guns fired on Hancock’s front, indicating the beginning of the assault. Rain, which had been falling throughout the night, stopped as the assault began, but the damp ground gave rise to a thick mist that hugged the ground and made it difficult to discern distant objects. Any hope for the Federals to make a last-second observation of enemy positions was dashed by the foggy conditions.
At the far left of the Union line, Barlow’s men exited the woods and marched in crisp lines through fields of tall, damp grass. As they entered the field, they moved at the double-quick in hopes of surprising the enemy. Colonel Nelson Miles’s brigade on the left was advancing against two brigades of Wilcox’s division, while Colonel John Brooke’s brigade was heading for two brigades of Breckinridge’s division. On the far right of Brooke’s 4th Brigade was the oversized 7th New York Heavy Artillery. Eager to ensure that his attack was made with as much élan as possible, Brooke rode into battle on horseback at the front of his brigade.
Fighting For the Flag
Barlow’s brigades had the misfortune to attack entrenched enemy forces on slightly elevated ground. If properly led, these troops would be able to halt Barlow’s attack before it reached their breastworks. The downside for the defenders was that in many places the trenches behind their fortifications had flooded due to the heavy rains. The trenches occupied by Lt. Col. George Edgar’s 26th Virginia Battalion had filled with water during the night, and Edgar had given his men permission to sleep on drier ground to the rear, leaving only pickets to man the flooded battlements.
Rushing forward without firing their guns, Morris’s New Yorkers were able to reach the breastworks and engage Edgar’s pickets in hand-to-hand fighting. While some of the New Yorkers grappled with the pickets, others hurled themselves over the parapet and rushed into the lightly held fortifications. Realizing his blunder, Edgar rushed forward with the balance of his battalion to reinforce his pickets. In the ensuing melee, he was bayoneted in the shoulder and taken prisoner.
The soldiers of the 7th New York fought desperately to seize the flag of the 26th Virginia. Their own color bearer had fallen during the charge, and five of his fellow soldiers were killed trying to advance the colors amid the hailstorm of canister and bullets sweeping the landscape. The bluecoats shot the color bearer of the 26th Virginia, but before he died he managed to strip the colors from the staff and throw them to his fellow Virginians. A scrum ensued in which soldiers from both sides tugged at the prize. The New Yorkers won the tug of war and passed the prize back through their ranks to ensure that it stayed in their possession.
Believing wrongly that the Confederates could not withstand an all-out assault at Cold Harbor, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant attacked at daybreak on June 3, 1864. Three Union corps made the attack. All failed.
To the left of Brooke’s brigade, Miles’s soldiers quickly lost heart after they suffered heavy casualties trying to advance across open ground west of the Dispatch Station Road. They came under the well-placed batteries of Lt. Col. William Pegram of Hill’s corps, whose guns atop high ground stopped Miles’s attack cold. The survivors of the first line retreated to the safety of the road, where they took cover in its sunken roadbed.
One regiment on the far right of Miles’s brigade performed good service. Colonel Charles Hapgood, commanding the veteran 5th New Hampshire Regiment, saw the success of the 7th New York and ordered his troops to execute a half-wheel right and attack the salient where Morris’s soldiers had broken through the enemy line. The combined weight of the Federal attack finally routed the 26th Virginia.
“We Fought Like Hell and Got Licked Like Damnation”
The Confederate regiments formed a second line to plug the breach. The 8th Florida Regiment of Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan’s brigade charged toward the right flank of the 7th New York, screaming the high-pitched Rebel yell. They halted to fire two volleys into the New Yorkers and then charged, swinging their rifle butts and stabbing with their bayonets in an effort to retake the trenches. To the Floridians’ immediate south, 400 reinforcements of the 2nd Maryland Regiment counterattacked the 5th New Hampshire. Many of the Granite State boys tried to hide underneath or inside the main house and outbuildings of a nearby farm, but the Marylanders hunted them down and killed them where they hid.
When Brooke rode back to lead forward his second line, he was wounded by shrapnel. At that point, the attack began to fall apart. The 7th New York was driven out of the enemy’s trenches and forced to retreat 300 yards. The attack was costly for the New Yorkers, who lost about 25 percent casualties of the 1,700 men who had participated in the assault. The 5th New Hampshire suffered an even higher loss rate, with about 40 percent of its 550 men killed or wounded. “We fought like hell and got licked like damnation,” wrote Lieutenant Frederick Mather of the 7th New York. Despite the repulse, Barlow’s division captured 425 prisoners and six guns.
Robert Tyler’s Attack
Gibbon’s four brigades were arrayed in similar formation to Barlow’s brigades, with two forward and two directly behind. The right wing consisted of Brig. Gen. Robert Tyler’s 4th Brigade, with Colonel Boyd McKeen’s 1st Brigade behind it. On the left wing, Colonel Thomas Smyth’s brigade was in the front, supported by Brig. Gen. Joshua Owen’s 2nd Brigade.
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Soldiers of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps dig frantically with bayonets, tin plates, and bare hands to create earthworks before a Confederate countercharge.
Tyler’s brigade was composed of five regiments from New York bolstered by the 1,600-strong 8th New York Heavy Artillery led by Colonel Peter Porter. The brigade’s right flank rested on the Cold Harbor Road. The New Yorkers faced five Georgia regiments belonging to Brig. Gen. Alfred Colquitt’s brigade. To reach the Georgians’ fortified position, Tyler’s brigade had the unsavory task of traversing the muck of Boatswain’s Swamp. To the left of Tyler’s brigade, Smyth’s brigade faced Brig. Gen. James Martin’s North Carolina brigade. Forming a second line behind Hoke’s division were the five brigades of Maj. Gen. William Mahone’s division. All that could be reasonably expected of Gibbon’s men was that they capture the first line of enemy trenches in front of them.
Gibbon’s men went forward 15 minutes after Barlow’s soldiers began their attack. With bayonets fixed, the soldiers of Tyler’s brigade surged forward, making their way as best as they could through the swampy muck. Colquitt’s Georgians, formed in two lines, delivered a pair of strong volleys—one from each rank—when the New Yorkers were within range, then began firing at will. The Union attack was shattered before it reached its objective. “Balls commenced to literally mow us down,” recalled Lieutenant John Russell Winterbotham of the 155th New York. Tyler left the field after shrapnel mangled his ankle. Porter fell mortally wounded with a half dozen bullet wounds in his crumpled body.
The only success enjoyed by Tyler’s brigade occurred on the left flank. Because Tyler’s battle line was so long, Colonel James McMahon’s 164th New York overlapped the extreme left, which was held by the 17th North Carolina. The Tarheels were armed with older muskets that fired buck-and-ball and caused heavy casualties at close range. McMahon’s soldiers overran an advanced position held by the North Carolinians, netting 45 prisoners, and continued toward the main line. Despite heavy enemy fire, they reached the line and began fighting hand-to-hand before being driven back. McMahon was reluctant to break off the attack, even though he was outnumbered. When the Tarheels called on McMahon to surrender, he refused, and they shot him down at point-blank range. The 164th New York paid a heavy price for its bravery, losing 11 officers and 143 enlisted men.
Entrenching the Advance
After Tyler’s attack was repulsed, McKeen led his men forward against Colquitt’s steady line. The 29-year-old Princeton graduate accompanied his first line in its advance and was instantly killed. The lead elements of the brigade took cover in a depression 75 yards from the Georgians’ position. Command of the brigade fell to its senior regimental commander, Colonel Frank Haskell of the 36th Wisconsin. When the advance resumed, Haskell was shot in the head. At that point, the survivors of McKeen’s failed attack began to entrench.
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Sword-waving Major Christopher Crossman leads the doomed charge of his 1st Maine Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor. Painting by Don Troiani.
On Gibbon’s left, the regiments of Smyth’s brigade encountered such galling fire that they halted and began digging in 50 to 100 yards from the enemy main line. Gibbon, sensing that different tactics were called for, ordered Owen to attack with his regiments in columns to provide depth to the attack. But seeing that Smyth’s troops had broken off their attack and were entrenching, Owen chose to do the same.
Hancock had established his quarters at Burnett’s Tavern in Cold Harbor. He was close enough to the battle that enemy artillery shells crashed around the crossroads and into the artillery park located nearby. Two of his staff were wounded by shrapnel. The battle-hardened corps commander was shaken to learn that he had lost eight of his colonels and 3,000 other soldiers in the failed attack.
Wright’s VI Corps, which was adjacent to Hancock’s right flank on the north side of the Cold Harbor Road, occupied a narrow front. Wright’s three divisions were almost on top of one another, and they were closer to the Confederate line than to other Federal units. Opposite Wright’s corps were six Confederate brigades, two of which belonged to Hoke’s division and four that belonged to Anderson’s I Corps.
The Confederates enjoyed an excellent defensive position. With Wright’s tacit approval, his division commanders—Brig. Gens. David Russell, Thomas Neill, and James Ricketts—ordered a limited assault in which their troops were to advance within 80 yards of the enemy line and establish a new position. When they reached their stated objective, half the men in each forward regiment dug in while the other half returned the enemy’s fire. Although losses were light compared to those suffered by the frontline units of Hancock’s corps, Wright’s regiments still suffered significant casualties as a result of their exposure to artillery fire and enemy sharpshooters, the latter of whom enjoyed nearly complete protection behind log barricades.
Caught in a Deadly Crossfire
Smith’s well-rested XVIII Corps prepared to launch a major assault of its own. Whereas Hancock and Wright had launched their attacks on a wide front, Smith ordered his two divisions to advance in columns of massed brigades. Brig. Gen. John Martindale deployed his two brigades in column formation on the right, one on each side of a wooded swale. To his left, Brig. Gen. William Brooks deployed one of his four brigades in a single column. The attacking brigades were to advance through a belt of woods that Smith believed would furnish some measure of protection from fire.
Unknown to Smith and his division commanders, the Confederate line in that sector was configured to trap whatever Union troops charged into it. Generals Joseph Kershaw and Charles Field had deployed their troops in a horseshoe configuration that would allow them to catch assaulting forces in a crossfire. Behind the breastworks, the Confederates were arrayed shoulder to shoulder in two ranks.
Leading the Union attack on the north side of the swale was dashing 26-year-old Colonel Griffin Stedman, who waved his sword as he rode at the front of his brigade. Before the attack, his regimental commanders had requested permission to deploy into line of battle once they came under heavy fire, but Stedman had forbidden it. The woods along the swale furnished protective cover for only about 50 yards. After that, the enemy fire grew to a deafening roar and the landscape was quickly blanketed with dead or dying Federals.
Because of heavy battle smoke, the men in Stedman’s lead regiments could not see the faces of Brig. Gen. Evander Law’s Alabamians, who were firing steadily into their ranks. “To those exposed to the full force and fury of the dreadful storm of lead and iron that met the charging columns, it seemed more like a volcanic blast than a battle,” wrote Captain Asa Bartlett of the 12th New Hampshire, the lead regiment in Stedman’s attack. Stedman’s attack was easily shattered. The 12th New Hampshire alone lost 50 percent of its soldiers in the attack. When the other regiments behind it saw the fate of the 12th New Hampshire, they withdrew to the tree line and began to entrench.
“It Was Not War, it Was Murder”
On the south side of the swale, Martindale’s left column, led by Brig. Gen. George Stannard, fared no better. Twice Stannard sent his men against the Confederate breastworks, but they were easily repulsed. Once it became apparent to Kershaw that a major assault was under way, he ordered Brig. Gen. Goode Bryan to move his Georgians forward to reinforce Law’s men. There wasn’t enough room at the packed breastworks for the Georgians, and they passed forward loaded rifles to the Alabamians so the front-line troops would not have to reload. Law, in the thick of the fighting, shared the sentiments of many of his fellow veterans. “It was not war, it was murder,” he wrote.
On Stannard’s left flank, the lead regiments braved a storm of lead and iron in an effort to reach the enemy barricades. Lending firepower to the Confederate infantry were cannon belching forth double loads of canister that stopped the blue-clad infantry in their tracks. “There was a helpless mob, a swarming multitude of confused men,” wrote a Confederate artillerist who witnessed the assault. “They were falling by scores, hundreds. The mass was simply melting away under the fury of our fire.” Smith, on hand to witness the repulse, told the brigadier to reform his survivors at the tree line and entrench along the same line as Martindale’s two shattered brigades. Between them, Smith and Wright lost about 1,800 men.
“A Wanton Waste of Life”
From his headquarters in the rear of Wright’s corps three quarters of a mile north of Cold Harbor, Meade received regular updates from each of the three corps in the main assault. As soon as he received the dispatches, he forwarded them to Grant, whose headquarters was a mile behind the front line near VI Corps’ field hospital.
An initial report from Hancock at 5 am indicated that Barlow had seized the enemy works opposite him, but 15 minutes later he informed Meade that the attack had failed. From then on, the news was all bad. Two hours after the main assault had begun, it was over. All three corps commanders on the left wing of the Federal line reported to Meade that although their troops fought heroically, they had not been able to penetrate the Confederates’ first line of defense. At 6:35 am, Hancock requested permission to break off the attack. Meade fired back a stern reply: “You will make the attack and support it well, so that in the event of being successful, the advantage gained can be held. If unsuccessful report at once.”
Meade contacted Grant by telegraph at 7 am to determine whether the assault should continue. “The moment it becomes certain that an assault cannot succeed, suspend the offensive, but when one does succeed push it vigorously, and if necessary pile in troops at the successful point from wherever they can be taken,” Grant replied vaguely. Meade continued to press his corps commanders so as not to appear weak to Grant.
When the three corps commanders received Meade’s orders, they passed them along to their division commanders but simply looked the other way to avoid what Smith deemed “a wanton waste of life.” The division commanders had seen enough slaughter for one day, and they found a way to circumvent any further assaults. “To move that army farther, except by regular approaches, was a simple and absolute impossibility, known to be such by every officer and man of the three corps engaged,” wrote Colonel Martin McMahon, VI Corps’ chief of staff. “The order was obeyed by simply renewing the fire from the men as they lay in position.” Griffin Stedman was less restrained. “I will not take my regiment in another charge if Jesus Christ himself should order it!” he shouted.
Lee’s Last Great Victory
At 11 am, Grant arrived at the front to discuss with Meade whether to continue the attack. After hearing the discouraging reports, Grant issued orders to refrain from further attacks. Meanwhile, Robert E. Lee reported to President Jefferson Davis in Richmond that the Army of Northern Virginia had “repulsed without difficulty” an enemy vastly superior in numbers. In contrast to the more than 6,000 Federal casualties, the Confederates had lost at most 1,500 men. Said Lee: “Our loss today has been small, and our success, under the blessing of God, all that we could expect.”
Although the Federals remained in position for more than a week, the frontal assault on June 3 was the last organized fighting at Cold Harbor. For the next three days, the two sides clung to the ground within easy shooting distance of each other. Anyone foolish enough to climb to his feet was quickly shot down. “Thousands of men were cramped up in a narrow trench,” one Confederate officer recalled, “unable to go out, or to get up, or to stretch or to stand, without danger to life and limb; unable to lie down, or to sleep, for lack of room and pressure of peril; night alarms, day attacks, hunger, thirst, supreme weariness, squalor, vermin, filth, disgusting odors everywhere.” Neither Grant nor Lee was willing to allow a flag of truce for the removal of the rotting dead who lay between the two lines. One grievously wounded Union soldier ended his suffering by cutting his own throat with a pocket knife.
When the commanders finally agreed to a truce on June 7, there were few wounded men left alive to be rescued.
It remained only to bury the dead, which work parties from both sides accomplished by shoveling the bodies into shallow, maggot-filled graves. On June 12, the Federals began another march around Lee’s left flank across the James River to the railroad hub at Petersburg, where they dug new trenches and resumed static warfare.
Cold Harbor was Lee’s last major victory over a Federal army.
As for Grant, it was a sobering experience that steeled him to more hard fighting in the months ahead. Following the war, however, Grant had ample time to revisit the June 3 repulse. When he penned his memoirs two decades after the war, he expressed regret—the only one he admitted to having about the entire war—that his grand assault at Cold Harbor had cost so many lives for so little gain.
It was, he said, “the only battle I ever fought that I would not fight over again under the circumstances.” The men he had commanded at Cold Harbor no doubt shared that sentiment.
An Italian Tries Chicago DEEP DISH PIZZA
A fun video. Please check it out.
The name’s Pee-wee. Pee-wee Herman.
KCRW is making my dream of being a radio DJ come true!…
I had a very memorable and thought-provoking passenger a while back that I never wrote about because while I found him fascinating, he seemed a little too political for what was always intended to be a fun blog to read and some cheap therapy for your humble driver and writer. But in light of all the scandals that have erupted lately and the EpicClusterSharknadoFuck that is ObamaCare, I have been thinking about a few things he said to me, so I’m going to commit them to paper (or pixels), if only for my own reading. So if you just want to read about moron drunks and belligerent whores, skip this post…
But if you are interested in catching up on current events that just might personally affect you soon, please read on…
It was June of 2012, when I got a call to pick up a gentleman at a resort hotel at around 4 AM going to the airport. I was a little surprised to see “Mr. Wheeler” waiting for me in front of the lobby, five minutes early, standing by his suitcase. Generally, people keep me waiting on these calls, still half asleep, late coming down, trying to get checked out, dicking around with their luggage and what not.
He was in his late 50’s or early 60’s, fit, wearing a navy blazer and was obviously a business traveler, but he also had a certain posture and demeanor that made me think he was ex-military.
We load up his luggage and hit the road, and I am chatting with him as we are heading to the airport. I ask what kind of work he does, and he says he is in “executive security”. I said, “Oooh, that sounds interesting… you mean like bodyguard work?”
He says, “Something like that… executive protection, security systems, personnel screening, entry/egress control, things like that. It sounds much more interesting than it really is… I spend a lot of time shuffling paper around and reading emails.”
I said, “You have the bearing of a military man… am I correct?”
“Yes, Sir… 22 years in the Marine Corps.” I thanked him for his service, something I always do when I encounter a member of our armed services. My standard line is, “Thank you for your service. I think you should hear that every damned day for the rest of your life, and your first beer should be free anywhere you go.”
So we are chatting on the drive, and the story on the radio is Eric Holder being held in contempt of Congress over the Fast and Furious fiasco.
I said, “Can you believe that shit? This asshole intentionally sends guns to Mexican drug gangs that will no doubt end up killing thousands of people, and then he lies and stonewalls the Congress? How is this deceitful douchebag not in shackles and an orange jumpsuit? And more to the point, how does someone like this ever ascend to the office of Attorney General?”
“He’s part of the Clinton machine… he knows low people in high places. He came up under Janet Reno… you know who that is, right?”
“Oh, yes, I know… the crazy dyke that gave the order to burn down the Branch Davidians in Waco. But what I don’t get is how they ever thought they could pull this shit off… people aren’t THAT stupid. If you say you are tracking guns, although you have no actual means of tracking the guns, that makes you look both dishonest AND moronic, and your cover story doesn’t make any sense. This didn’t have anything to do with illegal gun sales… any idiot can see that. So what was the REAL plan here?”
Mr. Wheeler says, “Have you ever heard of Occam’s Razor?”
I said, “Yeah, I know it… the most obvious answer is almost always correct… but I don’t think we need an instrument that sharp. I think Occam’s Rubber Spatula would seem to indicate that this is a push to vilify guns and gun owners here in America, as a pretense to drive stricter gun control.
Obama was just on TV not too long ago with the President of Mexico, saying that American guns were responsible for the violence in Mexico, and now American weapons are showing up at crime scenes.
It seems to me that an organization with the money and resources of an international drug cartel certainly knows where to pick up weapons, even if all American sources dried up completely. I assume they could go south of the border to Central America and get all the M4’s and AK’s they want… most likely full-auto… am I correct?”
Mr Wheeler replied, “There is certainly no shortage of guns and corruption in Central America. If you have the means to smuggle a ton of cocaine, you can probably smuggle a ton of guns, too. But this was easier… the Justice Department and the ATF made the contacts and set up the networks, told the gun shops to cooperate, so all the Mexicans had to do was send in a straw buyer, make the purchase, and move the weapons south of the border.”
I said, “These people aren’t very smart… there are something like 300 million guns in America, and they have a robust shelf life. Even if all gun manufacturing stopped tomorrow, there would still be an abundance of guns in America for decades. The only way to disarm Americans is mass confiscation, and I feel pretty certain that would spark a civil war. I know several gun owners that would rather fight than give up their guns.”
Mr. Wheeler said, “Oh, I know dozens… perhaps hundreds that feel the same way. I really don’t think confiscation is something you need to worry about, because it will never work. There are simply too many of them, and too many people have guns that there is no record of. A confiscation program would only piss off the most dangerous people in America… the people who would shoot back. You are correct, a mass confiscation would provoke a civil war.”
I said, “Well, you are a military man… what would that look like?”
Wheeler said, “Well, it wouldn’t look like the first Civil War… no lines of men standing in ranks and shooting across a field at each other, no “North and South” or sharply defined state lines for friendly and enemy territories, at least, not in the beginning. No, it would look more like Iraq or Afghanistan, with house to house fighting, IED’s, snipers, small factions and independent militias operating on their own, refugees streaming away from battle zones in all directions…”
“But the first question to ask is who would the combatants be? I mean, the Army isn’t going to just roll out onto the street in tanks on day one, so my guess is that it would start out as a police action, with Federal agencies like ATF and FBI taking the lead, supported by local law enforcement. But once people start shooting back, they would have to ratchet things up, do things like institute curfews and roadblocks, and they would eventually try to press the various state Guard units into service. That’s where it all goes squirrelly, because both local law enforcement and the Guard will be riddled with people who support gun rights, regardless of what laws the politicians pass, and they won’t be crazy about having to police, and maybe even fight against, their own people. The Governors may well object to the state Guard units being activated and may not wish to cooperate…”
“And it is not clear to me how many LEO and Guardsmen would remain loyal to the government and how many would join the “rebellion”. My guess is that both sides would be riddled with defections, informants, and spies. But what if, say, the Gulf states like Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida secede, and they take control of all military bases and equipment, and you suddenly have gone from an insurgency with rifles to a breakaway nation, or maybe several breakaway nations, armed with fighter jets, drones, tanks, and a navy? Whoo, buddy… now all bets are off… kiss posse comitatus goodbye. This would be the ugliest thing this country has ever seen…”
I asked him several “what if” questions and let him riff on them… I just let him talk and wargame out the Second Civil War, there in the back seat of my car as we drove to the airport, and he painted a picture of horrific death and destruction. Once this conflict started, even the best-case scenarios he described sounded truly grim. He seemed to believe that civilian casualties would be extremely high, given how much fighting would centered in and around large cities, and that food would be used as a weapon, causing famine and starvation on a terrifying scale. Booby traps, IED’s, rampant bombings, drone strikes, snipers, local-level assassinations, mortars and shelling, death squads (both government and rebel), reprisal killings, torture… it sounded more like the Middle East than middle America.
Wheeler got quiet for a few moments, and then he said something that I will never, ever forget.
“These people are playing with matches… I don’t think they understand the scope and scale of the wildfire they are flirting with. They are fucking around with a civil war that could last a decade and cause millions of deaths… and the sad truth is that 95% of the problems we have in this country could be solved tomorrow, bynoon… simply by dragging 100 people out in the street and shooting them in the fucking head.”
And lemme tell ya, he had the list… he rattled off 25 or 30 names of well-known, prominent politicians, mostly Democrats, but a few Republicans, several members of the current Cabinet, a couple of Obama’s “czars”, a couple of figures from the Bush administration and the Republican establishment, several media company executives and on-camera newscasters, reporters, and pundits, a couple of people who are active in leftist politics but not in elected office… he had obviously thought about this to some degree already.
I was struck by his cold, detached, matter-of-fact tone. I said, “Dude… that’s more French Revolution than American Revolution. Do you really think that is the way to go?”
Wheeler said, “I believe in efficiency and economy of action. You wouldn’t trade one hundred of those criminal bastards for ten million of your fellow Americans?”
I don’t remember if I actually answered out loud, but in my my head, the answer was, “Yeah, I probably would…”
NOTE: Most of what follows was written on Saturday, February 22 (2020). I lost several days while trying to find acknowledged cases of a pathogen ‘accidentally released’ from a Level 3 or 4 bio-lab. I was unable to find even one. This is vital, as you will see. (I realize that Lyme Disease, AIDS, Ebola, and others originated in biowarfare labs, but they were not accidentally released.)
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In thinking about Corvid 19 (‘The Bug’) I would urge you all to keep in mind the context of the situation, of current history. By that I mean, simply, that given the magnitude of the lies we’ve constantly been bombarded with — aside from the acts of horrendous violence inextricably tied to these lies — by what we have come to call ‘the PTB’… given the magnitude, we had better accept the fact that there is no limit, no line in the sand, no boundary of human decency, that will not be crossed in those powers getting what they want.
Sometimes, in the midst of a situation like that of the The Bug, we might actively recall some of the events we for sure know were perpetrated by those currently controlling the world’s science and technology, and the source of the official stories (the lies) about such, i.e., the mainstream media, plus most of the ‘alt’ or ‘independent’ media.
Before I get to the real point of this post, let’s just think for a moment about a couple (relatively) recent Biggies, and their immediate repercussions. I’m going to pick the obvious two, and please don’t sigh and mutter that you already know that stuff… I’m trying to force you to not only know but to remember, so you will understand the present-day implications.
JFK… once past the false histories, this coup (the violent overthrow of a legitimate government) directly resulted in 2 – 4 million deaths (that the known number is so vague is a great example of how unimportant are individual human lives), via the Viet Nam war. The branching repercussions (in terms of lives devastated or ended) are impossible to calculate. But the aggregate evil behind the event and the lies tied to it are in arguable.
Point being that we know that the powers behind the loosing of The Bug have no problem telling gargantuan lies and killing millions of humans. (And I could add that for sheer chutzpah-rife balls in the lying department, nothing tops the moon hoax. But, again, there were only four known deaths as a direct result, so we’ll let it slide…)
Addendum: the four deaths were the burnt-to-death astronauts of Apollo 1 (murdered), plus the NASA researcher, Thomas Baron, who was trying to spill the beans on cause of death. His car was hit by a train.
(If you have serious issues with what I’ve said so far, best you click some goddamn button on your keypad and move the fuck on.)
What I’m saying is that it’s very likely that The Chinese Bug is that Biggie. (Who knows if it’s actually a ‘virus’ or if viruses are actually pathogens). It has all the earmarks, but I’ll start with the matter always seen as paramount: The matter of Who did it? Whether it’s a Lee Oswald or an Osama bin Laden, what comes first is the fingering of the patsy, and The Bug is no different.
And as with the cited past examples (Lee and Osama) we recall that their names were all over the media within hours if not minutes of the events. In the case of a pandemic, the immediacy of the fingering is not as urgent; it takes a few weeks to even know something godawful is amiss.
But when the time came, the bastards were prepared: The Weird Animal Market!
The bat soup-slurping Chinese!
And hey, if that didn’t work: ‘The Wuhan Level 4 Biolab!’, which was conveniently minutes away from the designated ground (or patient) zero, at the Market. (Talk about convenient! As is the coincidence that the outbreak occurred in the midst of the ultimate Chinese travel week, the Lunar New Year. Yes, the better to spread not only The Bug, but the panic; and to make sure both spread world-wide, via air travel.)
But blaming the bio-lab would be a fall-back position; ever the optimists, the real perps were hoping mother nature as patsy would hold water, at least for a few months. (The PTB science contingent no doubt warned the top dogs that bat shit-as-culprit would not work in the long run, not with their useless eater brethren-scientists, i.e., those few who could not be intimidated into silence.)
Thing is, as with my other two examples of Biggies, to those few ‘honest’ scientists, the truth of the matter, the identity of the real culprit was… if not obvious, directly implied — assuming one, simple logical connection. Given the corruption (and fear) in the West, the first whistle was blown way far away, over in India, although the paper was quickly taken down (before it was reviewed); not before it had made its way onto the good old Net, though, and was archived for all to see:
Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag
Prashant Pradhan , Ashutosh Kumar Pandey , Akhilesh Mishra , Parul Gupta , Praveen, Kumar Tripathi , Manoj Balakrishnan Menon , James Gomes , Perumal Vivekanandan* and Bishwajit Kundu, Kusuma School of biological sciences, Indian institute of technology, New Delhi-110016, India. 2Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, New Delhi-110019, India
We are currently witnessing a major epidemic caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV). The evolution of 2019-nCoV remains elusive. We found 4 insertions in the spike glycoprotein (S) which are unique to the 2019-nCoV and are not present in other coronaviruses.
Importantly, amino acid residues in all the 4 inserts have identity or similarity to those in the HIV- 1 gp120 or HIV-1 Gag.
Interestingly, despite the inserts being discontinuous on the primary amino acid sequence, 3D-modelling of the 2019-nCoV suggests that they converge to constitute the receptor binding site.
The finding of 4 unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV, all of which have identity /similarity to amino acid residues in key structural proteins of HIV-1 is unlikely to be fortuitous in nature.
This work provides yet unknown insights on 2019-nCoV and sheds light on the evolution and pathogenicity of this virus with important implications for diagnosis of this virus. [my emphasis]
A question: Why didn’t Western scientists notice this?
Anyone who claims the above is not clear or hey you don’t know who these Indian scientists are, or some bull shit, be advised that these are legit scientists with Ph.Ds, yet the media has refused to deal with the findings, let alone debunk them. Think about that.
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A formal study saying that The Bug is a pedigreed bio-weapon — which is what the HIV gene means … and the media not only covers it up, but ridicules any theory that does not involve bat soup.
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Monday, Febraury 24 (two days later): It was at about this point in the writing of this post that I took a break and did some online searches to see if the media was still evading the issue of the HIV gene and what it means. As far as I could see, they were — they were still blabbing that any theory but the ‘bat soup’ version is a ‘conspiracy theory’ — but in my search I stumbled upon the name ‘Francis Boyle’, an esteemed bio-weapons expert, who has written definitive books on the subject, plus authored the International Bio-terrorism Act of 1989, which the U.S. (along with everyone else) had signed. His cv is as impressive as it gets in the field of biowarfare.
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Three weeks previous to this writing, Professor Boyle had fingered the The Bug as a bio-weapon, based upon the Indian study I cite above, and which he said was inarguable.
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A further search told me that Boyle had done another interview just two days ago, (unfortunately) with Alex Jones. (‘Unfortunately’ because Jones is a buffoon and an embarrassment to serious people.) Turned out Jones hit the jackpot this time, although his constant dumb-ass interruptions drove me to distraction.
I urge you to put up with Jones and listen to the whole interview, but to sum it up: A 2015 document Boyle unearthed fingers the Level 4 bio-lab (BSL 3) at the University of North Carolina as the U.S. participant in the engineering of the ‘COVID 19’ virus. Names are named, including the Chinese scientist from the Wuhan lab who bought and then transported the pathogen back to China. The deal was sponsored by the NIH (National Institute of Health) and the FDA (Federal Drug Administration), aside from the university bureaucrats. As Professor Boyle says, all involved should be prosecuted under the Bio-terrorism Act of 1989, which, again, Professor Boyle wrote.
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Smoking guns don’t come any hotter than this.
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An interesting observation was Boyle’s assurance that the official claim that bats were involved in the transmission to humans is ‘balderdash’, and that, given The Bug’s HIV gene envelope, animals of any sort are ruled out as spreaders. That the mainstream is outed on this provenance-related prevarication is extremely significant, for its implications. We obviously cannot trust them on any Bug-related matter.
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My only bone to pick with Professor Boyle is his theory that the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab accidentally. I spent half the weekend looking into the protocols used by Level 3 and 4 labs and can assure you that an accident is no more likely here than in the Baxter scandal from 2009, which I described in a recent post. (For those who want to check my facts on this, see the quotes and links in the end notes to this post. It is quite important!)
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Although Boyle is an exceptional man, one of the few amongst top level scientists, he doesn’t understand the long range plans of those in power, nor does he realize the lengths they have and will go to. Boyle has shown courage in airing his views before: From his position as professor of international law he spoke out against the war in Afghanistan, a risk to his job and maybe his safety after 9/11, so I tend to doubt he (in effect) would false-champion the official story on the outbreak. It could be that — like most of us — he just cannot imagine ‘colleagues’ letting loose such devastation upon the world. As I say, he has some smartening up to do.
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See, the official story is slowly becoming ‘an accidental release’ from the Wuhan lab…
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This was inevitable, given the robustness of the evidence that it is a bio-weapon. (Listen to the goddamn link!)
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Professor Boyle’s theory that one of the scientists ‘somehow got infected’ while working on the virus and spread the virus after leaving the lab via ‘his normal life activities’ doesn’t stand up to minimal scrutiny, if one takes into account the story we’ve been fed since the outbreak was made public back in December.
You would think that China going DEFCON ONE, staying at DEFCON, and agreeing with Russia that the United States has been launching bioweapons against them would be a de facto RED FLAG, but you know, most of the Western bloggers only have American news to base their thoughts and opinions on. -MM
He continues on…
Read the link if you wanna deep dive.
Modern wedding dresses in the Republic of Tatarstan
Modern wedding dresses in the Republic of Tatarstan
Modern wedding dresses in the Republic of Tatarstan are similar to European ones, but with some interesting ethnic details and, as a rule, they don’t have to be white. They can be purple, green or even blue, which are the national colors. On the head of the bride can be a scarf or a hijab or a veil with a diadem and a traditional Tatar cap – a fez. Before the civil registration of marriage, Muslims hold a wedding ceremony in a mosque and the bride must have her head covered. It is not rare that the bride chooses different dresses for the wedding and for the registration, for example, a strict white dress with a scarf in the same style and a colorful national dress.
Men, meanwhile, wear the most usual formal suits, but they put on a fez in the mosque.
Is it true that many anti-CCP Chinese became pro-CCP after having learnt how Western media are biased against China?
I’d say that at least It’s true for me in some extent, but I don’t see myself as “very pro-CCP”, I’ve just learned to view things as more nuanced.
This was me years ago when I was traveling in India, notice the “save Tibet” shirt with snow lion flag?
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I got it in Bylakuppe which is the second largest Tibetan settlement in India. Yeah, I used to be an anti-CCP liberal who stood up against CCP’s “oppression” in Tibet.
In short, I was brainwashed by anti-China media and “overseas Chinese democracy activists”. I had exposed to tons of videos, articles about Tiananmen square protests and “human rights abuses in Tibet”. I had also read Dalai Lama’s biographies and firmly believed that Tibet should’ve been freed from the CCP. Although I had been to Tibet, I had seen people’s living conditions were relatively well and I had seen the extraordinary Qinghai-Tibet railway. That said, another voice in mind constantly reminded me that “they need freedom and democracy”.
It was so powerful and I had a firm belief of it. I would badmouth our GOV with every foreigner I met just like those China haters who can’t stop trolling me right now. I felt like I was both a “freedom fighter” and a “China expert”. How naive and ignorant I was back then. LOL
So when did I start to realize that I was brainwashed?
When western MSM began to lie about my hometown, Xinjiang in 2018. At first, I was still a little bit skeptical. I wasn’t sure it was true or not. In another word, I didn’t know I should trust my own eyes, my family, my friends, my common sense or their propaganda. Looking back, It was very hilarious but that was me in 2018. Fortunately, my rational thought overwhelmed anti-China propaganda. So why I’m telling you this story? I reckon some of you might be in the middle of my journey.
Sometimes, maybe you are confused that who are telling you the “truth”? Well, in today’s internet environment, don’t expect to HEAR the “truth”, because it’s not important in the eyes of media and online influencers. They just wanna get their content massive exposure in a very short period of time. That’s how they make money from you. So you need to FIND out the “truth” by yourself if you are really interested in it.
Biden’s Nuremberg Rally: He Is Literally Hitler Now
Back on March 23, 1933, before he became the world’s universal symbol for the embodiment of evil, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler spoke before the Reichstag, urging it to pass an Enabling Act that would give him dictatorial powers. He said that this was urgently needed in light of an imminent threat to the nation. Hitler claimed that in 1918, Marxist organizations had seized power in Germany, leading to “a time of boundless misfortune for Germany, that is to say the working German Volk [people].” But he assured the Reichstag deputies that “the German Volk itself has increasingly turned away from concepts, parties, and associations which, in its eyes, are responsible for these conditions.” Does this sound familiar? It should. These are the same rhetorical notes Old Joe Biden sounded during his ominous Thursday night speech branding Donald Trump and his supporters as enemies of the state.
Probably more out of historical illiteracy than historical awareness, Biden’s handlers chose September 1 for Biden’s profoundly disturbing and un-American speech. That’s right, it was the 83rd anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of Poland when Old Joe stood before an ominous red and black backdrop and recalled Hitler’s demonization of his opposition, declaring that “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
Of course, Joe hastened to assure us that he didn’t want to pitch every Republican into the gulag just yet: “Now, I want to be very clear — very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans. But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.”
That suggests what the next step will be. Will Biden and his henchmen try to force Republicans to join up with the uniparty pseudo-Republicans who allow the Democrats to implement their full hard-Left agenda, Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney and Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and Adam Kinzinger and all the rest, and to denounce and repudiate Trump and any idea of making America great again? If so, what will happen to those who do not? Will they’ll be prevented from taking any Congressional seats to which they’re elected, and even arrested as enemies of “our democracy”?
That’s what Hitler did with the Communists he blamed for Germany’s woes. In his Enabling Act speech, Hitler accused the Communists of “pillaging, arson, raids on the railway, assassination attempts, and so on–all these things are morally sanctioned by Communist theory.” He also declared that the German people were already in the process of defeating these great enemies. He spoke of “the necessity of thoroughly rejecting the ideas, organizations, and men in which one gradually and rightly began to recognize the underlying causes of our decay.” He added: “Filled with the conviction that the causes of this collapse lie in internal damage to the body of our Volk, the Government of the National Revolution aims to eliminate the afflictions from our völkisch life which would, in future, continue to foil any real recovery.”
Biden sounded the same notes here again, declaring that the nation was bouncing back despite the best efforts of these internal enemies to destroy it: “American manufacturing has come alive across the Heartland, and the future will be made in America — no matter what the white supremacists and the extremists say,” as if America-First patriots, whom Biden was busy smearing as white supremacists and extremists, were against American manufacturing. “I made a bet on you, the American people,” Biden continued, “and that bet is paying off. Proving that from darkness — the darkness of Charlottesville, of COVID, of gun violence, of insurrection — we can see the light. Light is now visible.”
These resonances are real and ominous. For the first time ever in over two hundred years of American history, a president has declared that his primary political opposition stands outside the bounds of acceptable political discourse. The logical next step is the one Hitler took: he blamed one of his strongest adversaries, the Communist Party, for the Reichstag Fire, and outlawed it accordingly. With the Communist deputies barred from being present, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, and Germany’s unfortunate fourteen-year experiment with a representative republic was over.
But that couldn’t possibly happen here, could it? It would be as outlandish and frankly inconceivable as the prospect of a president of the United States standing in front of a couple of Marines and a strongly Naziesque backdrop and denouncing his legitimate political opposition as enemies of the state. Simply could not happen! Not in “our democracy”!
Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza
What is Chicago-style pizza? It’s a lofty yeast dough topped lightly with tomato and generous portions of sausage and cheese.
1 lb bulk Italian pork sausage, cooked and drained, or 2 packages (3 1/2 oz each) sliced pepperoni
Vegetable toppings such as sliced fresh mushrooms, chopped green bell pepper or chopped onion, sliced green onions, sliced ripe olives, sliced pimiento-stuffed olives, if desired
2 cans (28 oz each) Muir Glen™ organic whole peeled tomatoes with basil, well drained
2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves or Italian seasoning
The most remarkable thing about American civil unrest is that there hasn’t been more of it.
Politicians are making a hash of this country and much of the rest of the civilized world. We know it. They know it. They know we know it. But we don’t feel we can do anything much to stop them.
That right there is the pre-condition for civil unrest when people are frustrated and politicians are nervous.
Worse, that was how things stood before last fall’s crash.
Before pols on both left and right launched the biggest mass transfer of wealth in history transferring our wealth (what we had left of it!) to their friends on Wall Street and in the banking industry. In other words, that’s how things were before things got bad!
Now everybody’s talking about the ongoing catastrophe (even if we are in a momentarily sunny mood). But almost nobody is talking about the logical maybe even inevitable consequences of cynical or desperate politicians abusing an already fed-up populace: civil unrest.
I mean people taking to the streets. Or mass resistance. Or crackdowns because the government fears we might do something to upset its apple cart. It’s going to happen. Somewhere. At some time. It’s going to.
One of the few VIPs to mention the matter openly was Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor and the ultimate insider’s insider. He commented on the millions of unemployed or soon-to-be-unemployed and the “…public awareness of this extraordinary wealth that was transferred to a few individuals at levels without historical precedent in America.” He told “Morning Joe” Scarborough, “Hell, there could be even riots.” I’d say that’s an understatement.
Although few in power are talking about it, rumors abound that governments at many levels are planning for civil unrest. One rumor is about a document supposedly being circulated right now among top federal officials. It’s called the “C&R Document” with C&R standing for “conflict & revolution.” The much-storied paper is said to be a plan for controlling the American people when we get out of hand. True? Who knows. But the very rumor tells us a lot about these times.
Other things are not mere rumor. When the federal government established a North American Army command in 2002, its purpose wasn’t to repel foreign invaders. It was domestic operations something long and rightly forbidden by the Posse Comitatus Act. In February of 2009, when military commanders in Canada and the U.S. signed a pact allowing their armies to operate inside each other’s country they didn’t even bother to get authorization from Congress an illegal and unprecedented move. And once again, the purpose was handling “domestic civil emergencies.”
For several years, the Centers for Disease Control tried to get states to adopt something called the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA). This act would allow state governments to become police-state dictatorships in event of any ill-defined health emergency vaccinating people by force, destroying or seizing property without compensation, and rationing medical supplies, food, and fuel. To their credit, most state governments rejected the act. A few adopted portions of it before a fervent opposition campaign caused the CDC to back off. However, the concept of a health dictatorship hasn’t gone away. Not hardly. Within days of the news that a new strain of swine flu had arisen in Mexico in April 2009, states were again considering legislation to give themselves martial-law powers in event of an epidemic.
And what of the dozens and dozens of federal agencies that now have SWAT teams? Seriously, what justifies the Bureau of Land Management or the Department of Housing and Urban Development having paramilitary units?
Now maybe you like the idea of an Army that watches over its own citizens. Maybe it makes sense to have a government seize total dictatorial power in event of a health emergency. Maybe you believe SWAT teams will never be used except against bad guys. But do you really trust these people?
After all, these are the same folks, and this is the same mentality, that not only spent $325,000 to produce a souvenir photo of a presidential 747 zooming low over the Statue of Liberty, but ordered the New York Police Department, the FBI, the Secret Service, and the New York mayor’s office not to tell the public. Never mind that they realized full well that passenger jets and military planes plunging low over Manhattan would evoke panic.
Still, peace reigns. Mostly. At least here in North America. But not everywhere. Not long ago, France was brought to its knees by night after night of rioting. In that country it’s become almost common for workers to hold their bosses hostage in hopes of winning economic concessions. Greece, too, saw its normal life and business shut down by days of rioting. So did Iceland a country that’s normally the picture of civility.
Can the U.S. be forever immune?
It might not take much and it could be something out of the blue, something impossible to anticipate to set us against each other and against the “Trust us; we’ll fix it” political crowd.
In a way, this national silence on a matter so many people are afraid of is similar to the silence about general preparedness issues before 9-11 or Hurricane Katrina. Only Mormons and us wingnuts spoke of preparedness way back when. Since then, of course, advice on preparedness is mainstream and common.
In another sense, this silence is different. Because when unrest finally erupts, it’s not going to be us merely taking care of ourselves. It’s going to be “us against them.” It might be workers against bosses. Or the poor against bankers. Or blacks against Hispanics. Or little folk against Big Men in public office. Or farmers against the USDA. Or xenophobes against xenophiles. But however it happens, the implications aren’t as Boy-Scoutish as just taking care of ourselves in an emergency.
Defining civil unrest
Look up “preparations for civil unrest” on Google and…What’s that echo I hear?you’ll find nothing that’s going to help you. In fact, you won’t even easily turn up a good definition of what civil unrest is.
Like “indecency,” the definition seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
I wouldn’t consider a peaceful anti-war march to be civil unrest, for instance, but a police chief might. Similarly, I wouldn’t consider acts of localized non-violent lawbreaking (like environmental activists chaining themselves to a tree) to be civil unrest; but a timber company official probably believes otherwise.
Civil unrest occurs when anger, frustration, or fear turn disruptive on a mass scale. Or when government officials crack down because they anticipate such disruptions. Crackdowns can lead to further frustration, leading to further crackdowns and so on especially when the crackdowns look unwarranted and tyrannical.
In other words, civil unrest can arise from the anger of people or the folly of government or both together.
Anger over an unpopular policy, a new war, a collapse of the currency, panic over a pandemic, a food shortage, a bank run anything like that could cause civil unrest, especially in a population that’s already on edge and no longer trusts its authority figures.
Another thing you won’t find via Google is how various types or levels of unrest are likely to affect us and how we should respond, if we’re affected. Again, although the men and women at the top are quite concerned for their own sakes, they (and their media mouthpieces) would rather not talk about what we should do in event of civil panic.
But that’s not good enough for we independent-minded people, is it?
Here are my definitions of levels of civil unrest and a little bit about how they might affect us:
LEVEL ONE: The lowest level of civil unrest is when people turn on their own neighborhoods as happened during the race riots of the 1960s and the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. Level One civil unrest can be deadly and destructive, but primarily to people who live, work, or must travel in the immediate area. Level One unrest is spontaneous, Dionysian, is confined to a narrow geographical zone where the protestors live. Police response may be harsh, but it’s localized. Unless you’re in the middle of it, you’re unaffected.
LEVEL TWO: Level Two civil unrest may also be focused on a single area. But in this case, rioters or protesters have deliberately targeted a business district, a facility, a transportation system, or an organization to impose maximum disruption. One example: the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle in 1999; young people with violence in mind and rage in their hearts attacked an entire downtown, affecting hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of workers who hardly knew what hit them. Another example: This spring, protesters in Thailand shut down the Bangkok airport, affecting who knows how many individuals and businesses. Level Two unrest is usually planned or semi-planned. The target is chosen deliberately. Although still focused in one area, Level Two can disrupt normal life and business in a whole region or country.
LEVEL THREE: Level Three comes when mass unrest or authoritarian crackdown causes disruption at state or regional level. Then, no matter what the original cause or location of the trouble, everyone in the region is affected. Effects might include travel restrictions, random ID checks, mass arrests, food and fuel rationing, controls on money and banking, roadblocks, and other harsh “emergency” restrictions.
LEVEL FOUR: Level Four is Level Three but on a national or even international scale. It’s martial law. If things ever get this bad, it’s likely that the government itself will be a far bigger threat to everyone’s well being than whatever the original cause of the clampdown was.
And of course, any level of civil unrest can lead to laws, regulations, and harsher police policies that end up affecting everybody in the long run.
Yes, it can involve us
We make a mistake if we think civil unrest is strictly an urban phenomena. It can happen anywhere.
When 400 government agents and soldiers descended on one isolated family in the Idaho mountains, the roadblocks, helicopters, Humvees, media presence, and furious protestors surrounded the Randy Weaver family and brought the normal life of Boundary County, Idaho, to a halt. The siege against the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas, wasn’t conducted in the inner-city, either. Yet both of these were large scale catastrophes with all the hallmarks of civil unrest individuals or groups resisting, government insisting.
I can easily envision strictly rural-based unrest that urban dwellers will never even hear about (except perhaps in highly distorted reports). What happens, for instance, if farmers, 4H families, owners of saddle horses, and holders of small chicken flocks decide to resist en masse the National Animal Identification System (NAIS)? It’s easy to imagine, in these crazy days, USDA SWAT teams descending on the countryside to make arrests, forcibly register or destroy non-compliant animals, and burn down non-registered facilities.
The future could see rural resistance to invasive census-taking, forced vaccination programs, land takings, water-rights policies, or the destruction of herds for real or bogus health reasons. As country people increasingly see governments as foreign organizations driven by the interests of city dwellers, pharmaceutical companies, and mega-agri-business, it wouldn’t surprise me.
If we ever have serious food shortages, expect rural areas to be besieged.
Even when civil unrest confines itself to the cities, airports, or highways it can affect us in crazy ways. Here’s a funny example of unpredictable (in this case mild) consequences. A friend was due to have her first book published in Canada. She was very excited then disappointed when weeks dragged by and the book didn’t appear. Turns out that a band of Indians was blocking a highway bridge the printer’s truck had to cross. The union truckers, in solidarity, refused to route around the protest. Just one small consequence. But you can see the unpredictability.
The simple truth is that we don’t know what kinds of unrest to anticipate. We don’t know when, or if, we’ll see civil unrest. But thinking about the problem and preparing ourselves mentally and physically to deal with it should be just another aspect of our personal preparedness.
What we can do
1. Keep standard emergency preps up to date. First thing to do is make sure all our typical household preparedness supplies and plans are current. As BHM readers know, backup food, water, and other supplies are our mainstay for everything from bad storms to long-term unemployment, from power outages to social breakdowns. During civil unrest, especially at Level Three or Four, we might not be able to get out to buy things we need or we might consider it more prudent to stay at home. On the other hand, if we ourselves are part of the unrest, we may need those supplies to sit out a siege.
2. Don’t fall into foolish complacency. We who live in the country tend to have an “it can’t happen here” attitude toward political violence or social upheaval. We see those things as urban pheonomena. And mostly, they are. But there’s no ironclad rule that says they have to be. If anything disrupts the supply chain, for instance, rural areas could be the first to be cut off from food, medicines, fuel, or other necessities. If government breaks down to the point where it can’t deliver food stamps, housing vouchers, social security, or bureaucrats’ pay, the rural poor and unemployed could become just as restive as their urban counterparts.
3. Watch your health. As I write this, the airwaves are shrilling about swine flu. This outbreak may fizzle; after all, perfectly normal flu kills many every year without causing panic, martial law, or incessant media coverage. On the other hand, it’s certain that one day some illness will rampage across the globe. Few things inspire public panic more quickly than contagious disease, and once again rural areas are not immune. Take all the standard recommended precautions like frequent handwashing. Make sure your preparedness kit includes surgical masks and disposable gloves as well as a selection of frequently updated medications. And be ready to lay low at home for a long time in the event a serious plague gets loose.
4. Make common cause with your neighbors. I’ve said it before, but establishing a strong bond with people in your community right now is vital to every sort of emergency preparedness. In event of a Level One or Two emergency, these are the folks who could come to your house to make sure you’re okay. They might give you a ride out or a place to sleep if you accidentally end up in a “hot zone” of riot or protest. In a deeper or more long-term emergency, they could pool resources with you to make supply runs. They can advise you if they’ve spotted a roadblock. They might let you cross their land to avoid a route that has become dangerous.
5. If you grow crops or raise food animals and the unrest is due to a food shortage (or something has driven city people out into the countryside), prepare to protect your resources day and night. Here again neighbors can do each other valuable services, like taking shifts guarding fields, barns, private roads, and gardens. Yes, this is an apocalyptic scenario. Not a likely one. But if it happens, it’s a Level Three or Level Four emergency delivered to your own front yard.
6. Get advance word on local conditions when traveling. We’re used to hopping into our vehicles or onto airplanes and going wherever we want to go. But as the worldwide economy deteriorates, it’s wise to keep an eye on our destination. Right now, this warning pertains more to overseas travel than jaunts within the U.S. If you plan to go abroad, visit online sites like Travelfish.org. They’ll have bulletins about adverse conditions in areas you plan to visit; you may even be able to receive alerts via email that will warn you about anything from political protests to disease outbreaks in places you plan to go.
7. Watch for signs of trouble when in an unfamiliar area. Sometimes the only advance notice you get is the notice your own senses give you. When walking, driving, biking, or otherwise traveling in unfamiliar places, stay in what gunfolk call “condition yellow.” This is different than the meaningless colored threat levels the Department of Homeland Security puts out. It just means “be alert!” Never simply allow yourself to slouch along obliviously. Always be aware of who’s nearby and what’s going on around you. If you spot trouble developing, turn. Avoid it if at all possible.
8. If you stumble into a “hot zone” of unrest, be prepared to think on your feet. Not many people are qualified to give you advice about how to behave if you unavoidably find yourself in the midst of trouble a riot, a mass protest that suddenly engulfs your familiar downtown, a spot where police are bashing heads or hurling tear gas seemingly at random. That’s because not many people have ever been there and every catastrophe is different. If street-level chaos surrounds you, do your best to keep a cool head, move away from the worst of it if you get the chance, and get inside if possible.
9. If you’re swept up in mass arrests during a riot or demonstration, the officers probably aren’t going to be listening to your protestations of being an innocent bystander. You’ll only tick them off and possibly get a charge of resisting arrest. The best advice I’ve received from my friends who’ve been busted during out-of-hand protests: Go along as best you can. Usually, all charges in such cases are either dropped or reduced once calm is restored. Only if we’ve reached the extreme point where police are rounding people up and throwing them into detention camps or “disappearing” them is fighting cops on the street likely to be worth it; then…fight like a demon.
10. Have a good lawyer and carry his or her card with you. Once again, in the heat of chaos it may not do you much good. But that card will come in handy later. Besides, if you and a police officer have an encounter in calmer circumstances, a lawyer’s card, along with your calm assertion of your legal rights, will help you to be taken seriously. Police officers are like anybody else; they’re more likely to go after easy targets than ones who are obviously knowledgeable and prepared. My lawyer has a helpful little list on the back of his card of the things you should do and not do when accosted by a police officer.1 I’d trust that more than my own nerves in a tight situation.
11. Be careful of roadblocks. This is a hard one. If we reach Level Three or Four of unrest, we may not only see the obnoxious police “checkpoints” we’re burdened with today. We might also see two other things. One would be expanded police roadblocks, with warrantless searches, harsh questioning, and possibly mass arrests. Another could be “freelance” roadblocksroadblocks set up by anybody from political protesters to highwaymen. (Just as gangs of home invaders now masquerade as SWAT teams, highwaymen might masquerade as government officials to rob the unwary.) If it’s humanly possible, avoid roadblocks. It’s not illegal to turn away from them, as long as you don’t disobey any traffic laws. Police do consider it suspicious behavior and may come after you, even if you’ve done nothing wrong; but in a time of civil unrest, avoiding a roadblock could save your skin. Of course, both police and freelancers will set up their blockades to make them as hard as possible to avoidall the more reason to be alert, know where roadblocks are likely to be, and have a mental map of alternate routes. If, in a time and place of unrest, you’re in a line approaching a roadblock, watch what happens to the people ahead of you. If you see any sign that the motorists ahead are being abused, get out of there.
So far, we’ve talked mostly as if civil unrest is something apart from us something we might have to be wary of, something we might stumble accidentally into. But the fact is that as our country becomes less free, we might of course be the civil unrest.
We might resist having our premises tagged for NAIS or having our herds slaughtered for real or bogus health reasons. We might end up fighting evictions (as farmers and many rural dwellers have for centuries during hard times). We might be the ones who say, “Hell no, we won’t go!” when the mobile vaccination van comes to town, or the ones who try to keep our neighbors from being rounded up and sent to camps. Times are uncertain. We simply don’t know.
But in every case, preparedness, foreknowledge, and a cool head will come in handy.
Some of us already have lines in the sand that would inspire us to resist abuses of authority. And that, right there, is something our would-be masters fearour disobedience. What will happen? And when? Nobody has a crystal ball. But the combination of public frustration and governmental apprehension is an explosive one. Someday, somebody will light the match.
1 Here’s the copy on the lawyer’s card (capitalization his):
IF YOU ARE ARRESTED OR CONFRONTED BY THE POLICE:
1. FIRST, ask to call your lawyer.
2. Be courteous; do not resist.
3. Do not consent to search or entry.
4. Do not talk about anything; do not admit OR DENY anything.
5. Ask if you are free to go. If you are, GO.
I’ve had several different lawyer’s cards over the years that say similar, but slightly different things. Another great source of information on how to handle yourself when confronted by police is the DVD Busted: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters. It’s great because it shows very realistic scenarios and coaches you vividly on how to navigate them. Clips from “Busted” are online at the link above.
It’s late Summer. It’s a time for pork chops, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, skillet fried corn on the cob, and some frosty cold beer.
It’s a time to enjoy the moments of life.
Sorry that things are sparse lately.
Yah, the USA is bat-shit crazy. What’s new? Oh yeah If declaring war on Russia and China isn’t bad enough, not President Biden wants to create a Civil War against the MAGA Republican base. Sheech!
Can things get any crazier?
Well, again, my top daily running article is this…
You can use it as a barometer of the level of insanity in the USA. And that means that things are getting “hot” in the ol’ USA.
Man, I just cannot believe that I have been able to squeeze out these videos and these articles this week. Ugh. yeah, I’m still in the middle of a move, buying a house, some massive work projects, and all the rest. Not to mention a personal life and all…
But…
It’s early September. Hot but not sweltering. Humid but not sticky. Nice warm breeze and pristine blue skies with lush green trees. just absolutely stunning. I’m loving this weather.
If you knew for certain that we were about to plunge into another massive economic downturn like we experienced during the “Great Recession”, how would you respond? The events of the second half of 2008 took almost everyone by surprise, and the vast majority of the population was completely unprepared for what happened next. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, and that meant that they were suddenly unable to pay their bills. Countless households got behind on their mortgages and rent payments, and we witnessed a dramatic spike in foreclosures and evictions. I wish that we would never have to see such suffering again, but unfortunately it is already starting to happen right in front of our eyes.
The Biden administration keeps insisting that the U.S. economy is in good condition, but if that is the case why are so many large companies now laying off workers?
On Wednesday, we learned that Snap Inc. will be laying off approximately 20 percent of their entire global workforce…
Snap Inc., the parent company of the popular app Snapchat, announced plans to lay off some 20% of its more than 6,400 global employees.The news will impact the jobs of more than 1,200 staffers at the tech giant, and comes as broader economic conditions have deteriorated in recent months amid rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s interest rates hikes. The recent market downturn has especially pummeled the tech sector, where news of hiring freezes, layoffs, and other cost-cutting measures have dominated headlines for months.
Of course it isn’t just the tech industry that is getting monkey-hammered these days.
It was also just announced that Bed Bath & Beyond will be permanently closing 150 stories and will be getting rid of about 20 percent of their corporate employees…
Bed Bath & Beyond is in deep turmoil. The company is trying to rescue itself and stay out of bankruptcy by shrinking.The chain said Wednesday that it will lay off approximately 20% of corporate employees, close around 150 stores and slash several of its in-house home goods’ brands.Crucially, the company also said it secured more than $500 million in financing to shore up its ailing financial straits.
Normally, retailers wait until after the lucrative holiday season before announcing store closings.
So this move seems highly unusual.
Sadly, this is all part of a “layoff tsunami” that has now started. As I discussed the other day, approximately half of all U.S. companies anticipate that they will be eliminating jobs over the next 12 months.
Needless to say, a “tsunami of layoffs” is only going to accelerate the new housing crash that we are now witnessing.
Last week, total mortgage application volume was 63 percent lower than it was during the same week in 2021…
After falling back earlier this month, mortgage rates began rising sharply again to the highest level since mid-July. That caused mortgage demand to pull back even further.Total mortgage application volume fell 3.7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 63% lower than the same week one year ago.
63 percent!
What a catastrophe.
And many other recent numbers confirm the fact that we are now past the peak of the housing bubble and are now on the way down…
They could potentially go down a lot further, because soaring mortgage rates have put home ownership out of reach for a huge chunk of the population at this point.
What we really need is for the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates.
But Fed officials have already told us that they aren’t going to do that.
So the housing crash that we are currently experiencing is only going to get worse.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of renters are getting behind on their rent payments. In fact, it is being reported that 3.8 million renters believe that it is likely that they will be evicted within the next two months…
For the first time ever, the median rent in the U.S. topped $2,000 a month in June — and the increases show no sign of stopping.Those rising rents mean that households representing a total of 8.5 million people were behind on their rent at the end of August, according to Census Bureau figures. And 3.8 million of those renters say they’re somewhat or very likely to be evicted in the next two months.
If things are this bad already, what will conditions look like once millions more Americans have lost their jobs?
Just like we saw in 2008, huge numbers of evictions and foreclosures are on the horizon, and the middle class is going to be absolutely eviscerated by this crisis.
Last time around, the Fed was able to reduce the severity of the crisis by pushing interest rates to the floor and by pumping trillions of fresh dollars into the financial system.
This time around they are unlikely to implement such measures because they are deathly afraid of causing even more inflation.
We are about to experience the consequences of literally decades of exceedingly foolish decisions.
Enjoy the rest of the summer while you still can, because the U.S. economy is only going to go downhill from here.
Be careful on what you donate
In November, I offered my treasured 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK 430 convertible to “Kars4Kids”, a charity that ostensibly raises money to help needy youngsters.
Treasured car.
The car was fully operable with a well-maintained power train, power convertible top, new tires and mag wheels. It was, however, increasingly costly to maintain and had some electrical issues that randomly affected the A/C, seat and window controls. The paint and bodywork were in virtually mint condition and the car had never been driven in winter.
I’ve seen restored versions of the same model sell for as much as $20,0000. Someone with the time and energy to maintain the vehicle would have loved it.
A few weeks after the car was picked up, I received a message that the car had been ‘scrapped’ and I was given a tax receipt for $500.
Any organization stupid enough to “scrap” a functioning, high-end automobile, rather than sending it to auction, or selling it on the open market, doesn’t deserve anyone’s support.
As we approach the 21st anniversary of the false flag atrocities of September 11, 2001, the 9/11 truth movement, like the JFK truth movement before it, seems to be slowly fading into history. Has it been a total failure? That is what the mainstream media propaganda machine would like us to believe. And it is what many disappointed 9/11 truth supporters, like Dr. Alan Sabrosky, think.
“Doc” Sabrosky, a former Marine who headed Strategic Studies at the US Army War College, has argued on my radio show and elsewhere that the truth movement was “Out-Thought Out-Bought Out-Fought” by the 9/11 perpetrators and their cover-up team. Sabrosky admits that this was a nearly-inevitable outcome of the balance of forces: “Countering the official narrative on the 9/11 attacks and exposing the real culprits was admittedly a daunting task from the beginning. The real perpetrators—not the handful of hapless named Arabs including pilots who could not fly the type of aircraft hijacked, but the ones who wired three buildings at the World Trade Center for controlled demolition, arranged for the attack on the Pentagon which conveniently wiped out the team auditing the missing \$2.3 trillion in Pentagon funds, and orchestrated the US Government support and protection apparatus for them—held all the aces.”
The truth movement obviously didn’t win a quick, decisive victory. We didn’t restore the Republic and the rule of law by convicting the 9/11 perps in an American courtroom. But who expected that? When a ragtag band of underarmed, underfunded guerrillas takes on the world’s mightiest empire, “not losing” is itself a victory—as when Vietnam and Afghanistan defeated the US despite losing most military engagements, or when Hezbollah defeated Israel in 2006 despite being on the wrong end of a lopsided body count. The 9/11 truth movement, by dint of its refusal to disappear, succeeded in planting a seed of doubt in the hearts and minds of most Americans, not just about 9/11, but about the truthfulness, decency, and legitimacy of American political leaders and the system they represent. That seed has germinated, doubts continue to grow, and the system and its managers look more vulnerable than ever.
Today, a year into the third decade of the pursuit of 9/11 truth, another monumental issue looms before us, practically begging for a new truth movement to rise up and finish the old one’s job. I am speaking, of course, of the crying need for a COVID origins truth movement.
In a sane country with an actual news media, the following words of Jeffrey Sachs, who led the official COVID origin inquiry for the world’s leading medical journal, would have made front page headlines: “I chaired the commission for the Lancet for 2 years on Covid. I’m pretty convinced it came out of a US lab of biotechnology […] We don’t know for sure but there is enough evidence. [However] it’s not being investigated, not in the US, not anywhere.”
If we had real media, or even the merely half-infiltrated media we had four or five decades ago, The New York Times and Washington Post and their myriad followers would have grabbed Sachs’ words and beat the government over the head with them and not let up until Congress established a COVID Origins Commission chaired by Sachs or someone like him. Instead, in the wake of 9/11—the final nail in the coffin of American republican democracy—the only talk of a COVID Commission we hear involves the risible plan to put Philip Zelikow, 9/11 Coverup Commission Czar, in charge of one!
There are many COVID scandals that cry out for investigation: inept, contradictory messaging from public health authorities; a one-sided obsession with experimental vaccines rather than treatment; big pharma profiteering; the controlled demolition of the Main Street economy and small business and the transfer of trillions of dollars to the richest individuals and corporations; seemingly coordinated assaults on civil liberties in service to a Great Reset; the unprecedented draconian censorship of dissenting voices; and so much more. But the question that cuts to the heart of all these issues, the question that is most dangerous and most censored and most threatening to the powers-that-shouldn’t-be, is the brief and simple one: Where did COVID come from?
There is overwhelming evidence that COVID-19 is a bioweapon and that the “natural origin” fable was spread by biowar criminals—as Meryl Nass has explained in detail, and Jeffrey Sachs has largely corroborated. And there is surprisingly strong evidence supporting the claim that COVID emerged from a deliberate biological attack on China and Iran, as Ron Unz has persuasively argued in his new book.
These are explosive allegations. Like the 9/11 scandal circa 2001-2008, the COVID origin scandal could rock the world. It might even finish the 9/11 truth movement’s job.
Why would the Uyghurs be seen as outsiders in China?
They are not. -MM
Depending on where I’m at, If I’m in Shanghai or Beijing, at first appearance, they do think I’m a foreigner, but the second I tell them I’m Uyghur from Xinjiang. they don’t treat me like an “outsider” anymore.
In fact, when other foreigners don’t treat me like I’m Chinese, other Chinese people (regardless of ethnicity) will immediately come to my defense and explain to them that Uyghurs are also Chinese and that people from Xinjiang will look a bit different.
Han Chinese have always been incredibly inclusive regardless of race or ethnicity, it is how it got expanded that big.
If I’m in Xinjiang, no one treats me like an outsider even at first glance. everyone there “looks different”. We’re all used to it.
Here’s my dad and me… He looks pretty typical of an Uyghur + Han Chinese mix, I somehow came out looking a bit more on the Caucasian side.
2022: An Australian spy submarine dived into the East China Sea and wanted to spy on intelligence, but was caught by fishermen using fishing nets
China’s land is what she inherited from the Qing Dynasty according to the law of succession of states. It has fallen below but never exceeded this.
Chinese land from the Qing Dynasty.
(Cooked Hot) Banana-Blueberry Muffins
This one is for the Banana-Blueberry Muffin lovers. Ready in 30 minutes–these perfect-for-anytime muffins will not disappoint. When whipping up a batch of blueberry and banana muffins, don’t overstir or overthink these simple muffins. Overstirring can cause little “mountain peaks” to form on your delightfully delicious Banana-Blueberry Muffins. Add these to your next at-home brunch menu for a surefire hit. Nothing beats muffins from scratch!
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Ingredients
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup mashed very ripe banana (1 medium)
1 egg
2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed and well drained) blueberries
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2006: Secret Australian spy missions forced to the surface
AUSTRALIAN submarines carried out top secret Cold War spying missions on Russia and China that came to an abrupt end when a submarine was forced to surface in view of the foreign fleet after becoming entangled in fishing nets.
News of the inglorious end to 14 years of high-risk secret missions in 1992, and the fact that they even occurred, has emerged because the sailors involved want their missions officially designated "warlike operations"
Warlike or not, the missions carried out between 1978 and 1992 were certainly dangerous, with the Royal Australian Navy submarines occasionally sliding under or alongside potentially hostile ships. On one occasion, less than three metres separated the top of the periscope housing from the target ship's keel.
An RSL congress this year carried a motion calling on the Federal Government to recognise RAN submarine covert intelligence gathering missions conducted between March 1978 and December 1992 as prescribed warlike operations. That would increase the benefits available to the sailors and their dependants... Read more:
What privileges do members of the Chinese Communist Party get that Chinese non-members do not?
Yes. Chinese Communist Party do have privileges, they have priority. Not the priority to enjoy benefits, but the priority to endure hardships.
During the Revolutionary War, a party branch had an unwritten rule that all tasks of charging and fighting should be given priority to party members. The reason is that this is a special treatment for party members.
Citizen.
Citizens.
During the SARS period, priority was given to Party doctors whenever there was a first-aid task. In their pledge to join the Party, they have sworn that when the country and the people need it, they will be the first to step forward.
Citizens.
Sacrifice.
In the flood rescue, rushed at the forefront of the town cadres, veterans, public security cadres, the People’s Liberation Army, they have a common name that is “Communist Party members.” They have the privilege of standing in front of people in times of danger.
Communist Party.
Citizens are not spectators. They participate.
After the Wenchuan earthquake, Party members and cadres at all levels in Sichuan Province stepped forward to lead the masses to rescue themselves in the first time, becoming the backbone of the disaster fight. Many party members who came to help broke through landslides and mudslides, braving flying rocks and aftershocks to walk for hours or even tens of hours to reach the worst-hit areas.
Participation.
Citizens.
In the case of COVID-19, Party members are often at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic. For example, most of the workers who register in communities and guard at intersections are Communist Party members. A considerable part of the medical workers on the front line of epidemic prevention are also Communist Party members. When selecting a group of people to go to Wuhan for support, it is common to hear the voice of self-recommendation, “I am a Party member, I will go first.”
I will go first.
I lead by doing.
For ordinary people, such dangers and difficulties are hard to accept, but for Party members, it is their honor to be able to contribute to the country and the people.
Because it is their duty and their only “privilege”.
Another example of moving production out of China.
AirPods 3 have made it out of storage and are finally reaching buyers who have been waiting for them excitedly for days. But the excitement quickly turned into shock upon unboxing thanks to outrageously bad build quality in some cases.
The owner of a small coffee shop in Westmeath, Ireland, posted his one-month electricity bill online for all to see: € 9,836.92
He asks, rhetorically in his public posting “in the name of God, how is this possible?”
Well, it’s possible because YOUR GOVERNMENT imposed economic sanctions upon Russia, and refuses to allow the purchase of Russian natural gas.
So that caused gas and electric companies in YOUR country, to have to find somewhere else to buy natural gas.
Trouble is, all the other places that sell the gas, also sell it to other countries in the world, and with the new demand to supply YOUR country, the laws of supply-and-demand kicked in, making it that much more expensive for YOUR country to get any gas.
The electric companies need gas to generate steam, to turn the turbines that make your electricity. So THEY have to now pay extreme prices to get that gas, and YOU now have to pay extreme prices for electric.
This trouble is caused directly – and exclusively — by YOUR government.
The people YOU elected, are to blame. Personally!
Maybe this business owner should head over to the offices of his elected officials and tell them to stop minding Ukraine’s business, and remove the sanctions against Russia?
Because if they do not remove those sanctions, YOUR electric bill is going to keep going up until YOU are out of business.
Is THAT what you elected you government to do to you?
A Republic in name only
The only thing crazier than Ukraine is the Republic In Name Only Amerika! I’ve given up trying to figure out what is going on let alone trying to imagine what might happen later. Why anyone in that country bothers to vote is beyond me. But then why anyone believed the silly stories they trotted out to explain the JFK hit is also beyond me, and of course so much more.
Salvador Dali is reported to have said on leaving Mexico after his first visit that he never planned to return because he disliked any country more surrealistic than himself! A great remark worthy of the great artist. Amerika, though, has gone beyond surrealist to the Realm of Nightmare one peopled by endless parades of smiling villains broadcasting their latest feel-good narratives whilst their hidden lower bodies wade through pus, blood, gore and excrement, the true ground of their current cultures. A real shit show …
A friend just reported from Puerto Vallarta that many apartment buildings are going up to handle the influx of Americans moving in. Similar stories in various choice neighbourhoods in Mexico City. The locals aren’t happy since rents are being driven up and small businesses pushed out to be replaced by rental units for estraneros. In PV, along with well-heeled retirees who presumably just cashed out some of their high-priced US real estate are also poorer senior citizens on their pensions, now in Mexico presumably because their income isn’t enough for living in CA and so they are wandering around PV looking to our friend like abandoned lunatics. Many Americans do not travel well.
Amerika is falling apart. Food factories being burned down, gas refineries too. 4,900,000 broke immigrants since Biden’s inauguration except most are not broke: they are given debit cards with $800 USD a month income. Who is paying this? What for? Very strange. Brown-skinned criminals, many of them illegal immigrants, released after theft or violence without bail. White political dissidents are labelled ‘domestic terrorists’ and fired or jailed. Several states allow theft if under $1000.00 so of course many small stores are closing. Tens of thousands of small businesses closed during covid never to reopen. Nobody cares about these people. Nobody tells their story. They are now unwelcome in the country their ancestors founded and passed onto them. They are regarded as the inheritors of criminal theft and violence, people who deserve only to suffer and be rejected from the human race. Yes, Amerika is falling apart. And this is being done deliberately, but nobody is allowed to talk about it, nobody is even sure if this is true or not.
The media, even conservative media, keeps pretending that everything is going to be alright as soon as the November elections roll around and then corrupt officials from Biden on down will get impeached (though not convicted). But after 2020 election, I doubt that anything will ever be settled by elections again and even if the Republicans do win and do run a few committees and impeachments it will end up being no more than empty drama which doesn’t change a thing. It’s a Republic In Name Only after all….
1 cup Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
1/2 cup red pepper jelly
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China is beating the US
President Biden has said the United States won’t stand by and let China “win the 21st century,” and his first trip to Asia was meant to match words with action.
Mr. Biden huddled last week with leaders of the four-nation “Quad” group formed to counter Beijing, vowed to defend Taiwan against China and introduced a new economic pact involving a dozen nations to shore up U.S. economic influence in the region.
Yet China is already winning throughout much of Asia on both the economic and diplomatic fronts, and nothing the United States is doing seems likely to change that.
The Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index, which tracks economic data to assess regional power dynamics, shows that U.S. leverage has declined precipitously since as recently as 2018, while China has surged ahead.
One night I was in bed with the cat sleeping around my feet. Around 2:00 am, she woke me up with the strangest sound she had ever heard her make. It was a cross between a scream, howl, and shriek. I woke up and turned around and as she did, I saw a man standing next to my dresser. The moment I woke up the cat stopped her strange scream. He had his back to me poaching my jewelry and when the cat made the strange cry for him, he froze. When he turned to see if she was awake, the eye farthest from the pillow was closed and the one closest to the pillow was open to a slit, staring at him. She thought she was asleep and quietly slipped out of the apartment. He may have thought that she was still asleep, but the cat knew that she was awake. The moment I heard the front door close, I jumped out of bed and called the police. It turned out that the apartment building was being robbed by a gang of thieves. Thanks to my cat, they were all caught.
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Egypt turns to the Chinese Yuan
Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, announced during a press conference on 29 August that Egypt is planning to issue international bonds denominated in the Chinese yuan worth more than USD 500 million (EGP 9 billion).
The Joe Biden administration is concerned about Indian involvement in Russia’s massive war games, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.
Roughly 50,000 troops from several countries will participate in the “Vostok” military games held in far eastern Russia.
Responding to a question about Indian involvement in the Russian-hosted exercises, Jean-Pierre said,
"So, the United States has concerns about any country exercising with Russia while Russia wages a unprovoked, brutal war against Ukraine."
She continued,
“But, of course, every participating country will make its own decisions. And I’ll leave it at that.”
New Delhi is participating in the Vostok 2022 war games hosted by Moscow from September 1-7.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 50,000 troops and 5,000 weapons units, including 140 aircraft and 60 warships partake in the drills.
Soldiers from China, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Syria, and Tajikistan are also joining the exercises that will stretch into the Sea of Japan.
At the same time, India is involved in the Pitch Black 2022 war games.
Hosted by Australia, the military exercises include 17 nations, over 100 aircraft and 2,500 soldiers.
All four members of the anti-China The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or ‘The Quad’ are engaging in the drills, alongside United States military.
While Jean-Pierre expressed concern, the White House stopped short of saying it would take action against New Delhi.
President Joe Biden pledged to isolate the Russian economy in February when Russia prevented the Ukraine invasion of the Donbas.
Washington’s economic war against Moscow has failed.
The fate of the poor Dodo Bird is slightly misrepresented by history. It seems “common knowledge” that all dodos were hunted down by European visitors, because they were slow and had no innate fear of humans. This is only partially true. It wasn’t the main reason for their extinction. The truth is more tragic. So here’s the rest of the story, of how we got to the very last Dodo Bird.
Yes, the sailors hunted down many of the trusting birds simply by walking up to them and picking them up or using a machete on them. This in itself is a very sad story, since there was nothing “stupid” about the dodo (as they are infamously but wrongly known). They were just trusting of humans because they’d never seen any other animal that was able to hurt them in any way. Fearless curiosity, rather than stupidity, is a more fitting description of their behavior. One can only imagine what they were thinking when the tall two-legged visitors began massacring them.
But back to the point… yes, many were collected by the Dutch sailors and settlers, but there was something else that had a larger impact on their eventual extinction… invasive animals that the sailors brought with them on their ships; namely, rats, cats and pigs that went feral. There were never any rats on the island until they came with the ships and came ashore. And sailors always had a way of letting pigs or goats escape on various islands they visited. And cats were brought as working “pets”. So pigs and rats flourished in the wild, as they also had no natural enemies there. And they actually sealed the fate of the dodo by eating all the dodo eggs they could find, that were all on the ground in the simple unprotected dodo nests. The mother dodo would only lay one egg per season. It didn’t take long for the production of new baby dodo chicks to take a very steep decline. None of the nests were safe from foraging wild pigs and a multitude of newly introduced rats. The dodo as a species didn’t have a chance at that point, and they were doomed. Even those that had nested in remote places, soon had their young chicks or eggs consumed by the invaders.
If it weren’t for these marauding animals, the dodo may have been able to survive the onslaught of just the sailors and settlers hunting them on the 800 sq. miles of Mauritius. Many even became more cautious of human hunters, and adapted their behavior. It’s small consolation, but it is known that many of their hunters were bloodied by the dodo’s enormous hooked beak, in perhaps what was their last act of defiance. So yes… they did fight back. But there was no way to hide the nests and chicks from the pigs and the rats. And the gentle trusting dodos paid the ultimate price. “The Last Dodo” may very well have been a single lonely chick or egg somewhere in the jungle, that a scurrying rat came upon and decided to feast… unaware that he or she, after a million years’ journey, was the last… the very last, of them all.
And this happened a mere 80 years after the first dodo to see a human come upon its peaceful shores, fearlessly and with simple, innocent curiosity waddled up to observe the new visitors… and was slaughtered where he stood.
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If dodos had never gone extinct, the word “dodo” would probably not have entered our lexicon as a derogatory word. “Dodo” probably would not have taken on the meaning of “dumb”. In a world with dodo birds, I suspect the word dodo would have meant peaceful, or curious. Perhaps it would have meant friendly, as in “Thanks, mate! That’s right dodo of you!”
You will answer for Taiwan
A great video in Russian. Read the subtitles for the excellent appraisal of the Taiwan situation.
300 living harvester ants smuggled from Europe busted by Shanghai customs – Global Times
This is the latest attempt by the United States to smuggle biological weapons to China to destroy China agricultural industry.
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Chinese custom already uncovered more than half a dozen times in the past 2 years this kind of biological weapon including fruit flies in tubes.
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If these nasty crusaders could focus their energy on doing the right thing for their own people, their economy will not deteriorate to the stage that it is in right now.
With the passage of the 2022 Defense Authorization Act giving the executive branch sweeping powers over the use of the military in all domestic affairs…
And with the obvious obsession by a supranational deep state technocracy intent on imposing a final endgame scenario onto the United States…
It is important to recognize the historical precedent of the attempted Bankers’ Coup of 1934.
This coup sought to impose a fascist puppet dictator into the White House.
Unfortunately for the JP Morgan network managing this coup, the puppet they selected for their “American Mussolini” was a patriotic retired General named Smedley Darlington Butler.
When my husband and I got married, my cousin gave us what I perceived to be a very bizarre gift. He bought us a red toolbox filled with many tools. I have to admit that I just looked at it and thought to myself “What a weird gift for a wedding!”
Well, my husband and I have been married for over 34 years and I have to say that this turned out to be one of the best gifts that anybody ever gave us! We still use it regularly and if you think about it, it’s very expensive to buy a lot of tools. This ages well, it doesn’t go out of style, it doesn’t break and you don’t have to worry about if it matches your decor! How many wedding gifts can anyone say they still use regularly after 34 years?
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Foreign businesses want out of China. But breaking up may be tougher than ever
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Fabien Gaussorgues, right, chief executive of Agilian Technology, a manufacturer of electronics and other goods in China, says he’s been exploring alternative manufacturing bases as the risks of doing business in China have climbed.
In 2018, Fabien Gaussorgues realized that what had once been an asset for his manufacturing firm — producing 100% of its electronics and consumer goods in China — was fast becoming a headache.
Then-President Trump had begun levying tariffs on Chinese products, kicking off further measures between the U.S. and Chinese counterparts as businesses scrambled to offset the financial impact. Though other options seemed plentiful on paper — Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines — Gaussorgues found that relocating production would not prove easy.
Four years later, his company, Agilian Technology, which designs, produces and distributes goods for overseas clients,remains wholly reliant on its factory in southern China. Yet the impetus for departing what has long been considered the bedrock of global manufacturing has only escalated.
Multinational companiesare facing a slew of fresh challenges doing business in China because of the ever-deteriorating U.S.-China relationship, enduring pandemic restrictions and the specter of war with Taiwan.
“It was not necessarily a strong strategy before but more like, let’s see how it goes,” said Gaussorgues, 51, who founded Agilian, whose parent company is based in Hong Kong, five years ago. “Now it’s something like, we have to do it. That’s a big difference.”
President Xi Jinping’s tough zero-COVID policy has had a particularly strong effect, keeping foreign workers out of China for the last two years and locking down entire cities and industrial hubs for months at a time. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, meanwhile, has underscored the financial risks to war and sanctions, should China pursue its territorial claim over Taiwan with a similar attack on the democratically ruled island.
As more foreign companies eye the exits, China stands to lose an integral part of its domestic economy and booming export market. At the same time, the lessons of the last few years have made clear that there’s no silver bullet to curtailing the world’s dependency on China.
“Companies don’t want to do this,” said Michael Walsh, a partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner and a former Commerce Department chief of staff. “It is truly challenging, and I think that the push may have fallen by the wayside if it were not for the Russian invasion.”
Given the obstacles against going cold turkey, many companies have sought to supplement Chinese production rather than leave the country altogether. Tech giants Samsung and Apple are among the firms that have shifted portions of their production out of China in recent years, seeking cost savings in places like Vietnam and India.
Though Gaussorgues doesn’t have plans to shut down his 200-employee operation in China, geopolitical jitters hastened his search for alternative manufacturing bases as customers have fretted over the potential effects of military conflict with Taiwan. “They are very, very worried,” he said.
In 2019, he began assessing the possibility of moving some manufacturing capabilities to Vietnam. The company hired freelancers, visited factories, initiated marketing and proceeded to staff a full-time team. But he abandoned the plan eight months later after price increases for about half of the company’s projects upset his customers. Product development also took longer — one prototype that would have been completed in three weeks in China required six months in Vietnam.
A review of other countries in Southeast Asia proved even less fruitful, he said. Though Thailand offered relocation incentives and a promising quality of life for foreigners, he worried about local corruption and the availability of components. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia were too close for comfort to the South China Sea, another geopolitical hot spot, he decided.
By late 2020, Gaussorgues turned farther afield — to India. The local electronics and automotive ecosystem offered lower manufacturing costs and easy access to parts. It shares a border with China but is not likely to be the center of any major conflict. In December, he started hiring personnel in Chennai and Hubbali. With five employees so far, he aims to start assembly work next year, and hopes to host the majority of manufacturing there after five years.
“For risk management, this is probably the safest,” he said. “It will take a lot of work to make it grow.”
Consultants and lawyers said the path out of China is rife with hurdles and can often take years, though companies are rarely willing to discuss it publicly because of political sensitivities. The task has become even trickier as alternatives such as Vietnam have struggled to keep up with demand and the war in Ukraine has ruled out possibilities in Eastern Europe.
“Every single one of our clients would like to stop manufacturing in China, and people say, ‘Why don’t they?’” said Dan Harris, a founder of the law firm Harris Bricken, which advises American companies on doing business overseas. “There’s a million reasons why it’s just not that easy.”
Though most crucial supplies are readily available in China, including semiconductors, zippers and shoelace rings, importing such materials to facilities outside China can drive up costs. Labor shortages and strained resources have also put upward pressure on prices, as the turn away from China has driven demand elsewhere. Even more worrisome than the bottom line for some companies is the possibility that supply-chain snarls in untested new facilitieswill keep them from delivering the final products.
Daniel Karlsson, founder of Asia Perspective, a consulting firm for European businesses in China, said a handful of clients had given up plans to diversify operations after running into complications.
“We have seen a lot of clients that have the business plan, and when they start the implementation they see the difficulties and cost increases, especially for consumer goods,” Karlsson said. “On the high level, people have made a decision. But on the low level, there’s a lot of chaos.”
For companies catering to Chinese consumers, there’s still no better option than to be based in the country. Those that rely on low-cost, high-volume manufacturing have also benefited greatly from China’s logistics and infrastructure and are loath to give that up even in the face of rising uncertainty.
Looking back, Gaussorgues reckons his arrival in China 12 years ago came during a “golden age,” the country emerging as the world’s second-largest economy with business opportunities too good to pass up. Foreigners received a warm welcome at the time, he said, and new hires were enthusiastic about China as well.
Now, the country’s economic growth has plateaued, faltering even more drastically this year under Xi’s zero-COVID policy. Many expatriates have departed, while in China fervent nationalism and suspicion over foreign influences have grown.
In a June survey, the American Chamber of Commerce in China reported that 44% of respondents said they decreased or delayed investment in China as a result of the COVID strictures. One in 10 said if the restrictions continued for another year, it would prompt them to move operations out of China. Another survey released that month by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China showed nearly 1 in 4 companies thinking of shifting current or planned investments elsewhere because of the lockdowns.
Though there’s little indication that Xi will abandon zero-COVID in the near term, officials are cognizant of the need to reinstill faith. In a conference call this month, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua emphasized the development of foreign investment and support of foreign businesses, according to a release from China’s Ministry of Commerce. Government bureaus are also courting foreign workers with added perks and tax exemptions.
“China will still be very interested in remaining the world’s factory floor because it is very competitive,” said Eric Zheng, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. “Many local governments are very proactively going after multinational companies to see what they can do to help.”
Even as Agilian has committed to investing more in India, Gaussorgues knows that it won’t be a perfect substitution. Hiring stable workers has been difficult, and delivery timelines from suppliers have been tougher to pin down. Though locally sourced products have the potential to be made cheaper than in China, the facilities will still need to import many electronic parts.
“We don’t know how to fix that yet,” Gaussorgues said. “I don’t know if that’s something where we don’t use any components from China, but some of that is impossible.”
An Absolutely Gigantic Sunspot That Is Pointed Directly At Earth Right Now Could Potentially Produce Another “Carrington Event”
How would you feel if someone pointed a loaded gun at you? Well, that is essentially what our entire planet is facing at this moment. An absolutely enormous sunspot is currently pointing directly at Earth, and it has just developed a delta-class magnetic field. We are being warned that this sunspot has the potential to release an X-class flare, and that would be really bad news, because such flares are often associated with coronal mass ejections. If a large enough coronal mass ejection came directly toward our planet, we could see another “Carrington Event”. In such a scenario, our power grids would be fried, trillions of dollars worth of damage would be caused, and society would instantly go completely and utterly haywire.
So let us hope that such a thing does not take place any time soon.
It is being reported that a sunspot known as AR3089 that is pointing right at us has just developed a “delta-class magnetic field”, and that means that it now has the potential to produce X-class flares…
A giant sunspot may be about to erupt, sending out the most powerful form of solar flares growing for days.Sunspot AR3089, which is facing towards the Earth, has now developed a delta-class magnetic field, meaning that it has built up enough energy that it may release X-class solar flares.
But that doesn’t mean that we will actually see any X-class flares.
At this point, the NOAA is insisting that there is still only a 5 percent chance that this will actually happen…
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there is around a five percent chance that the sunspot will release an X-class flare. If it does, the flare may trigger a powerful geomagnetic storm in the Earth’s atmosphere, possibly resulting in damage to infrastructure and electromagnetic communication systems.
A one out of 20 chance may not seem like a lot, but if we get unlucky the consequences could be absolutely catastrophic.
Solar flares are classified as either C-class, M-class or X-class.
C-class flares are not strong enough to cause problems for us.
M-class flares can cause minor geomagnetic storms, but most of the time they are not really noteworthy.
But X-class flares are an entirely different matter.
Of course not all X-class flares are created equal either. According to NASA, some X-class flares are many times more powerful than others…
And then come the X-class flares. Although X is the last letter, there are flares more than 10 times the power of an X1, so X-class flares can go higher than 9. The most powerful flare measured with modern methods was in 2003, during the last solar maximum, and it was so powerful that it overloaded the sensors measuring it. The sensors cut out at X28.
Very strong X-class flares are often associated with coronal mass ejections.
And it is interesting to note that the coronal mass ejection that caused “the Carrington Event” actually happened on this exact day in 1859…
Solar flares are relatively common events, but the flare that set off the ‘Carrington Event’ on Sept. 1, 1859 was anything but common.It was then that an English astronomer, Richard Carrington, noticed a bright spot on the sun.This particular flare was more impactful because it was joined by what’s called a coronal mass ejection or CME. This is when a large concentration of plasma shoots out and, in this case, it was in Earth’s direction.
Scientists have warned us over and over again that it is just a matter of time before another Carrington Event takes place.
In fact, there was a near miss that we “barely escaped” in 2012…
Scientists think we barely escaped getting hit by one such huge storm that erupted from the sun in July 2012 that was at least as strong as the Carrington Event and could have cost over $2 trillion in damage. “The only difference is, it missed,” Daniel Baker, a space weather researcher at the University of Colorado, said a couple of years later.
Insurance company Lloyds of London investigated this very question and produced a report on the matter in 2013.“In the more extreme end of the spectrum, a major space weather event on the scale of the Carrington Event could lead to power loss for a period of weeks or more,” one section reads.“This would cause major disruption to transport, food supplies, emergency and hospital services amongst other things. For example, if pumping operations needed to be suspended that would quickly affect water and fuel supplies, sewage systems and flood defences. The absence of such fundamental services could lead to major and widespread social unrest, riots and theft with ramifications for the insurance industry and society in general.”
Others have warned that a large enough event could result in power grids being down all over the globe for many months.
And without power for an extended period of time, normal activity all over the world would come to a screeching halt.
In such a scenario, we wouldn’t just be dealing with an “economic collapse” of unprecedented scope. The truth is that we would be facing a full-blown societal meltdown as law and order disappeared across the globe.
Without power, there would be a breakdown of even the most essential services. Even if some stores decided to remain open and were selling things for cash, their shelves would go empty almost immediately.
Just think about what your community would look like if there was suddenly no power, no functioning computers and no Internet for the next several months.
And as I noted earlier, scientists have assured us that such a scenario will happen someday.
Hopefully we can avoid such a nightmare here in 2022. But the fact that this colossal sunspot is currently pointing right at our planet should deeply alarm all of us.
I have repeatedly warned my readers that we need to be watching the sun, because the sun has been behaving rather oddly in recent years.
We have all become deeply dependent on the high tech control grid that has been constructed all around us, but the sun could potentially take that away from us in a single moment.
So let us keep a very close eye on this sunspot, because it certainly has the potential to turn all of our lives completely upside down.
Story of a found kitty
In the fall of 2009, I noticed that a stray cat In my neighborhood appeared to be expecting. She disappeared around the 1st of November and I did not see her again until I was saddened to see her dead by the side of the road, apparently having been hit by a car. Early in the morning a couple of days later as I was heading out to teach the sunrise yoga class, I heard a noise like a car alarm. I looked around and this huge noise was emanating from a tiny kitten who was running right at me! I figured it must have been the offspring of the late mama cat and scooped it up. The kitten was small enough to fit not just in my hand, but in my palm and spent the yoga class curled up there.
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When we went to the vet that morning I discovered that she was a female and about 10 days old. She grew up like a fairly normal cat (well, she’s quite prickly around humans other than me, I think she has a long lineage of feralness in her), but she didn’t learn to use a catbox until she met other cats in my family a year or so later. I got her a little catbox, but she just tried to eat the litter. She saw mommy using the toilet, and started using the toilet too! There was one glorious day when I came home to a perfect kitty poop in the toilet! Then she caught mommy peeing in the shower and decided that was a much more convenient place to go. She would pee down the drain, and she would wait until I was home to poop right next to it then call me over so I could dispose of it in the toilet and clean up the shower floor. In retrospect, I suppose if I’d peed in the catbox she might’ve gotten the idea, but it wasn’t until she saw other kitties using one that she quickly adapted.
White House Says “MAGA Republicans . . . are an extreme threat to our country . . .”
This afternoon, August 31, 2022, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “. . .MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican party – that extreme, this is an extreme threat to our democracy, to our freedom, to our rights,”
She just reported that the President of the United States sees half the nation as a threat to the nation itself!
Is this how Civil Wars get started?
Kindness from Down Under
In Bendigo, Australia, David Love went into a McDonald’s for his regular morning coffee, and was at the counter preparing to order when he spotted an older gentleman next to him. The elderly man was fumbling through his change trying to put together enough money to pay for his breakfast.
When it looked like the older man was having trouble, David stopped him and paid for it himself. Then, David gave the man $20. David’s girlfriend, Melanie, captured the endearing moment on video and posted it online. For his kind gesture, the older man gave David his change and said, “That’s for your next morning coffee… put it in your pocket.”
David did not know Melanie was videotaping, but his girlfriend made a very valid point: “Your true character is revealed when nobody’s watching.”
A short time after the video was posted, the 88-year-old man’s grandson contacted Melanie to thank her for posting it and David for his generosity. He also said that his grandfather had dementia and had recently lost his wife and daughter and very much appreciated the stranger’s kindness.
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Easy Beef Stew
This was one of the best recipes that I have ever made, and it turned out wonderful! I was short on time, so instead of cutting the onions up and adding them, I just added a package of dry onion soup mix, and it set all of the flavors off. I will definitely be making this again soon!
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Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 jar (18 ounces) brown gravy
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
1 bag (8 ounces) baby-cut carrots (about 30)
1 package (8 ounces) whole mushrooms
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Undeniable Evidence: Covid19 from Fort Detrick CIA lab, released in Wuhan to blame it on China!
I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot to provide direct links to some of the videos on You-Tube. Uh oh. Bummer! Even though, of course, those who subscribe to the You-tube videos might be able to catch them. Here’s a couple of videos for your pleasure.
How Template Terminology can be used in affirmation campaigns
This is an Patreon video that I have made public for MM followers.
Time marches on. Do you think you can handle all the changes? Most say that they can. But, judging from what I see of all the rats a scurrying on the Deck of the United States, I’d have to disagree.
Sure there is a band playing on the deck, and the lights are still on. There’s some wealthy gentlemen playing cards in the lounge, and a calmness with the passengers as they slowly debate whether or not to board the lifeboats, but below… in the deep bosom of the ship, there’s discomfort and turmoil.
The wealthy gentlemen are placing bets on what will happen next, and more than a few crew and passengers are playing with and fondling chunks of ice that they found on the deck. No one seems in a hurry to do anything.
Oh, there’s a Captain at the helm and he’s standing resolute. He continues to order “full steam ahead”, and the vast bulk of the vessel is a moving forward into the icy darkness with great haste. Under the decks the boilers are running red-hot as more and more coal, energy, paper, money is thrown into the furnaces.
But the vessel is listing. It’s shaking. A few stewards are quietly alerting key select passengers who are toying with the idea or wearing that “uncomfortable” life vest.
Full speed into the darkness.
A radio operator and the chief engineer approach the Captain on the bridge. They try to reason with the Captain. In hushed tones they whisper words that they dare not voice loudly. But the Captain will hear none of that!
This ship is unsinkable! he roars.
It’s exceptional. We have democracy, freedom, and are the beacon for all to admire!
The others slink away and try to hide into the shadows.
Here Are 5 Examples That Show Why There Is A Mass Exodus Out Of Major U.S. Cities Right Now
Once upon a time, our major cities were highly civilized places that were filled with highly civilized people.
In fact, there was a time when even our largest cities were sparkling clean and people dressed up in their best clothes would leisurely stroll through downtown areas without being concerned that they might be suddenly attacked.
But now everything has changed.
Crime rates are surging all over the United States, open air drug markets have become commonplace in many communities, an epidemic of homelessness is rapidly growing from coast to coast, and there are countless predators that fearlessly roam the streets searching for their next victims.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why so many Americans have been fleeing our urban areas in recent years. Our once great cities are degenerating into crime-infested hellholes, and it is getting worse with each passing day.
Let me give you an example. In New York City, armed moped thieves are now brazenly terrorizing random citizens and robbing them in broad daylight…
New York City has been hit by spate of recent thefts by armed moped thieves who aggressively drive up onto city sidewalks and attack unsuspecting victims.Three of the most recent attacks happened over the weekend where thieves ripped a $12,000 Rolex watch from a man’s arm while he was walking in Chelsea and the very next day, two women walking near the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side fought off thieves on a moped who tried to snatch their jewelry.A third attack happened in Inwood. In all three, the thieves on bikes jump the sidewalks, reach out at their unsuspecting victims and attempt to rob them.
This is the sort of thing that normally happens in third world countries.
Now it is happening here.
On the west coast, things are getting really crazy too.
“You’ll have a victim walking back to their car, maybe from a night out, and a suspect will come up behind them with a gun and say, ‘Give me all your money.’ Those are the ones that concern me the most and those are what I believe we had a spike in,” Capt. Valois said.Capt. Valois says it’s important for Angelenos and visitors to be aware of street lighting, especially at night.
Actually, I don’t think that is very wise advice.
If you choose to go out in the Hollywood area at night in 2022, you are literally putting your life on the line.
Farther north, one of the biggest problems in San Francisco these days is the hordes of homeless people that seem to grow with each passing month.
Rows of tents were pictured lined up outside businesses with people’s belongings strewn across the sidewalk.Homeless individuals, some of whom were struggling with clear physical ailments as well as drug and alcohol addiction, sat in the street right outside entrances to residential properties and small businesses struggling to bounce back after highly restrictive COVID laws forced them to close, destroying revenues.Some images depicted addicts openly smoking illegal drugs on the sidewalk and passing out on the asphalt in the middle of the day.
All the way up in Portland, being at the wrong place at the wrong time can literally get you killed.
It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, Portland was one of the most beautiful and most peaceful cities in the entire country.
But now there are times when the streets of Portland literally resemble a war zone. The following example happened just this past Sunday night…
At one of the street racing takeovers on Sunday night near the Expo Center attended by hundreds, an elderly man in a van appeared to be caught in the road before being violently attacked by an armed mob.
Video posted on social media shows that as he desperately attempted to reverse and drive away while being attacked, he backed into a car.A man in the crowd then fires at least 18 rounds at his fleeing van.
A follow-up video shows the crowd catching up with the elderly man who had stopped on a patch of grass. He appeared to be in shock and was bleeding heavily.
Lastly, let me talk about Baltimore a bit.
In the old days, I would visit Baltimore quite often.
It was scary in those times, and things have gotten significantly worse since then.
When I read about what just happened to an Apple TV+ show that features Natalie Portman in a leading role, I just had to smile…
The Apple TV+ show “Lady in the Lake” was filming in downtown Baltimore when two local hoodlums claimed that the Hollywood crew were on their turf and needed to pay up.
The drug dealers forced the production to shut down around 4 pm but said they could resume working for a fee of $50,000.The pair brandished a firearm and reportedly pointed it at members of the crew. After they delivered their ultimatum, the two left and said they would return a few hours later for the production’s response.Baltimore police confirmed to The Baltimore Banner that the two men who made the threats were local drug dealers and were serious.
The moral of the story is that you should never, ever film a television show in Baltimore.
In fact, unless you are a drug dealer, a crime lord or an extremely corrupt politician that is in league with the first two groups you should probably avoid the city completely.
Of course the entire country is going downhill really fast. Our culture is systematically degenerating right in front of our eyes, and a society with a degenerate culture will inevitably collapse.
If we do not rescue our culture, there is no future for America.
I wish that more people would realize this, because time to turn things around is rapidly slipping away.
Place the onions and garlic on the bottom of your pan. Add roast.
Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over roast in pan.
Bake 3-4 hours, covered.
Russian, Chinese navies to hold Vostok 2022 strategic drills in Sea of Japan — top brass
Source
tass.com
Editor
Chen Zhuo
Time
2022-08-31 10:10:21
MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The Russian and Chinese navies will operate in the Sea of Japan in the upcoming Vostok 2022 strategic drills, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told a briefing for foreign military attaches on Monday.
“The [Russian] Pacific Fleet jointly with the Navy of the People’s Liberation Army of China will practice interoperability in the northern and central parts of the Sea of Japan in the Far Eastern maritime zone with the aim of assisting ground forces in the Primorye direction and defending sea lanes and areas of maritime economic activity,” Fomin said.
General-purpose naval forces will practice operations in the waters and in the coastline areas of the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, he added.
The Vostok 2022 strategic command and staff drills will run on September 1-7 under the command of Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov on the territory of Russia’s Eastern Military District and will be the final stage of the training of the Russian Armed Forces this year.
The strategic exercise will bring together over 50,000 troops and more than 5,000 items of armaments and military hardware, in particular, 140 aircraft, 60 combat ships, gunboats and support vessels.
Not a small force at all. This is a LARGE exercise. -MM
A girl smoking at a cattle show in Appenzell, Switzerland.
“Appenzell is a beautiful and very odd place. It’s a tiny rural town in the east of Switzerland, built in the 16th century.
Here, all the cliches are true: the fondue and the yodelling, the pink cows and the magnificent ski slopes.
It’s also a place with very local habits.
They still celebrate the new year according to the Julian calendar. And every October, they hold the Viehschau cattle show – a beauty show, but for cows.
I first visited it in 2013. As soon as I started taking photographs, I noticed that many of the younger kids were passing around cigarettes, smoking one after another.
They weren’t misbehaving; their parents were around and they all seemed comfortable with it.
Letting your children smoke at the cattle show is a long-standing custom, I learnt. Kids as young as six do it.
Appenzeller people are quite strong-minded.
I have tried to ask why they let their children smoke, but no one has ever given me a clear explanation. I think most of the parents hope their kids will find it disgusting and won’t do it when they’re older.
Or maybe they feel they should treat their children as equals on this special occasion. As far as I know, it only happens here, and only at that particular time of year. The adults grew up with the custom and now no one questions it”. (Photo by Jiří Makovec)
A girl smoking at a cattle show in Appenzell, Switzerland.
Another Dead American
It’s not just Ukraine losing people, the United States is losing citizens as well.
In the area of the settlement of Yegorovka, Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) troops found a body of a mercenary from the USA, Alan Joshua Jones, who lived in Tennessee before arriving in Ukraine. The dead body was mined. According to reports, he was shot by Ukraine troops after he tried to retreat . .
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The Only Thing Keeping US and China from War Is Running Dangerously Thin
American relations with China in regards to Taiwan have been dictated by years of ambiguous statements and commitments. Now this rhetoric is breaking down and armed conflict seems closer than ever – but is Washington ready to fight over Taiwan, or capable of winning?
Assurances and commitments
Officially, US policy toward Taiwan is guided by three US-China Joint Communiques issued between 1972 and 1982, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, and the so-called “Six Assurances” issued in 1982. In the Shanghai Communique of 1972, China asserted that
“the Taiwan question is the crucial question obstructing the normalization of relations between China and the United States,” declaring that “the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government of China,” that Taiwan is a province of China, and that “the liberation of Taiwan is China’s internal affair in which no other country has the right to interfere.”
The US responded by acknowledging that
“all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China,”
something the US government did not challenge. The US also reaffirmed its interest
“in a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question by the Chinese themselves.”
“the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China,”
noting that, within the context of that commitment,
“the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.”
President Jimmy Carter, in announcing the communique, went out of his way to ensure the people of Taiwan
“that normalization of relations between our country and the People’s Republic will not jeopardize the well-being of the people of Taiwan,”
adding that
“the people of our country will maintain our current commercial, cultural, trade, and other relations with Taiwan through nongovernmental means.”
Beijing reacts to ‘ambitious’ US plan for Taiwan
Carter’s move to establish diplomatic relations with China did not sit well with many members of Congress, who responded by passing the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, in which it was declared that it is US policy
“to preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China mainland,” and “to make clear that the United States decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.”
In this regard, the Taiwan Relations Act underscored that the US would
“consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States,”
and
“to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character.”
Finally, the Act declared that the US would maintain the capacity
“to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
The emphasis on arms sales contained in the Taiwan Relations Act led to the third joint communiqué between the US and China, released on August 17, 1982, which sought to settle differences between the two nations regarding US arms sales to Taiwan.
The communique was basically a quid-pro-quo agreement where China underscored that it maintained
“a fundamental policy of striving for a peaceful reunification”
with Taiwan, over which it claimed sovereignty. For its part, the US declared that it
“understands and appreciates the Chinese policy of striving for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question,”
and, with that in mind, the US declared that it did not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, and that it would gradually reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan while working for a final resolution to reunification.
To mollify Taiwanese concerns about the third communique, the US agreed to what have become known as “the Six Assurances” between the US and Taiwan.
These are
1) the US has not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan,
2) the US has not agreed to prior consultations with China about arms sales to Taiwan,
3) the US has not agreed to any mediation role between China and Taiwan,
4) the US has not agreed to revise the Taiwan Relations Act,
5) the US has not taken a position regarding the sovereignty of Taiwan, and
6) that the US would never put pressure on Taiwan to negotiate with China.
There was an unwritten corollary to the third communique—an internal memorandum signed by President Ronald Reagan in which he declared that
“the US willingness to reduce its arms sales to Taiwan is conditioned absolutely upon the continued commitment of China to the peaceful solution of the Taiwan-PRC [People’s Republic of China] differences,”
adding that
“it is essential that the quantity and quality of the arms provided Taiwan be conditioned entirely on the threat posed by the PRC.”
A US policy at war with itself
What emerges from this amalgam of policy statements and positions is a US policy that is inherently at war with itself, unable to fully commit either to the finality of a “one China” policy or walk away from the sale of weapons to Taiwan.
The US disguises this inherent inconsistency by referring to it as “strategic ambiguity.” The problem is this policy stew is neither strategic in vision, nor ambiguous.
From the moment President Reagan issued the “Six Assurances,” US-China policy was strained over the issue of weapons sales, with China making the case that the US was not serious about either the peaceful reunification of Taiwan with China, or the elimination of arms sales to Taiwan.
Arms sales increased exponentially from the Reagan administration to that of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, with the US providing Taipei F-16 fighters, Patriot surface-to-air missiles, and other advanced weapons.
In 1997, House Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan as part of a Pacific tour that included China.
Gingrich claims he told his Chinese hosts that, if China were to attack Taiwan, the US “will defend Taiwan. Period.”
In 2005, in response to US backsliding when it came to arms sales and Taiwan, China adopted legislation known as the “Anti-Secession Law” which stated firmly that Taiwan “is part of China.”
In the law, China declared that it
“shall never allow the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces to make Taiwan secede from China under any name or by any means.”
China reiterated its official stance that reunification through “peaceful means” best serves the fundamental interests of China.
However, the law made it clear that China would not stand idle in the face of any effort to
“cause the fact of Taiwan’s secession from China.”
If this were to occur, China would use
“non-peaceful means and other necessary measures”
to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwan’s independence means war – China
Fast forward to 2021. The Biden administration, in policy guidance issued soon after the president was sworn in, undertook to deter Chinese aggression and counter threats to the
“collective security, prosperity and democratic way of life”
of the US and its allies, while publicly committing to a Taiwan policy which would be
“in line with long-standing American commitments,”
including the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which limited US military support for Taiwan to weapons of a defensive character.
The brink of war
This, it turned out, was a lie.
In his October 2021 confirmation hearing before the US Senate, the current US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns declared that, from the perspective of the Biden administration, the policy of “strategic ambiguity” provided the US with “enormous latitude” under the Taiwan Relations Act to deepen US security assistance to Taiwan.
“Our responsibility,”
Burns said,
“is to make Taiwan a tough nut to crack.”
This was a stark departure from past practice, and served as the justification for Biden himself, on two occasions, to articulate as policy an American commitment to come to the defense of Taiwan if China were to attack.
This radical departure from stated US policy by the Biden administration helped launch a Congressional trifecta of hubris-laced ignorance, which saw the dispatch of three consecutive delegations that threaten to propel China down the path toward a war with Taiwan it doesn’t want to wage, and which the world (including the US) is not prepared to suffer the consequences of.
The first delegation, in May, was led by Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois).
Prior to her departure from the US, Duckworth helped push through the “Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act” which, among other things, sought to improve US-Taiwan intelligence sharing, develop plans to continue the provision of military aid in the case of a Chinese attack, and explore the possibility of deploying pre-positioned stocks of weapons for US troopsin Taiwan that would be dispatched to Taiwan in the event of a war with China.
Let that last point sink in for a moment —Duckworth was proposing to implement measures that would guarantee US troops would confront Chinese troops in the case of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The final act in this tragicomedy is the visit of Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), which took place earlier this week.
According to a press release issued by Markey’s office prior to his visit, his delegation would
“meet with elected leaders and members of the private sector to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investments in semiconductors.”
US must ‘challenge’ Chinese missile launch – admiral
Left unspoken is the environment in which all three of these visits took place. Even before Duckworth’s initial visit, Chinese authorities had taken the unprecedented step of issuing a stark warning regarding Taiwan.
On May 18, China’s senior diplomat Yang Jiechi warned Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that
“if the US continues to play the Taiwan card and head further on the wrong path, this will certainly lead to dangerous situations.”
Today China, the US, Taiwan, and the rest of the world are left to face such a “dangerous situation.”
There is no doubt that any undertaking by Taiwan to formally declare its independence from China will result in a Chinese invasion of that island.
Moreover, it is unlikely that Taiwan would ever undertake such an action void of guarantees of US military support backed up by actions designed to breath reality into rhetoric.
This is where the trio of Congressional delegations comes into play.
Legislation such as that proposed by Duckworth, and seemingly supported by Pelosi and Markey, would be required if the US was to formally break with its past policy undertakings regarding China and Taiwan.
The more Congress continues to interface with Taiwan, the more China must fear legislative action by the US Congress which would officially put the US and China on a path toward war.
If China were to invade Taiwan today, there is little the US military could do to put teeth to the verbal commitments made by Newt Gingrich and Joe Biden about coming to the defense of Taipei.
China has, through large-scale military maneuvers undertaken following Pelosi’s precipitous visit, demonstrated its ability to invade Taiwan at any moment.
Such an invasion, if it occurs, would be overwhelming in scope and destructive on a scale like that being experienced by Ukraine today in the face of Russia’s ongoing military operations.
And yet China continues to hold back.
Some armchair generals assess the reluctance to go to war on China’s part as a sign of weakness, proof that Beijing is all bark and no bite.
Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
Unlike the United States, China seeks to strictly adhere to its stated policy, which is to exhaust every peaceful option possible in securing the unification of China and Taiwan.
Despite the clear evidence of a marked departure from past policy regarding Taiwan and weapons sales, China continues to believe that there is a non-violent solution to the one China problem.
If only America would give peace a chance.
Justice Served
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He was 18 years old when he hit a 24-year-old mother who was just trying to cross the street with her 22-month-old baby killing two innocent people while street racing with his friends.
3 years later, He was given a 24-year sentence in jail. But people are still defending him why?
Majority because of his “good looks”. I’m pretty sure if he was average-looking it wouldn’t even have been a topic.
And for the people who are saying it wasn’t intentional, He was driving at the speed of 160km per hr, The mother whom he crashed into hit 40 ft far away, the baby daughter hit 70 ft away. He has already been warned 4 times of the speed limit.
He was also recorded to have multiple speeding incidents just days before the accident proving his complete disregard for the consequences of his actions.
He clearly deserves to be in jail and there’s absolutely no way anybody can have even an ounce of sympathy for him, right?
Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth because people all over social media have been defending him for no other reason than because he is attractive.
These people obsessing with him aren’t taking into account how the family of the mother and daughter feel or how devastating is that a young mother and her baby were killed due to his recklessness.
Sure, He lost the best years of his life but the man lost the best part of his life.
If someone that is conventionally unattractive did this exact same thing I know with every bone in my body that people would be treating him very differently.
Society has came to a point where we value looks above anything and that needs to change.
Nobody deserves to get away with something and not have to deal with their careless actions just because they fit the societal standards of beauty.
It’s time we treat people based on their character and not their appearance because criminals like him don’t deserve good treatment for inexcusable actions.
Being attractive is a privilege and it can be dangerous to only care about how someone looks rather than how they act.
Beauty is not really as subjective as we like to say it is.
Well, This is a prime example of pretty privilege and how damaging it can be.
A doughnut story
I am feeling very low. Can you say something which can instantly uplift me?
Ask for a donut, get a house.
Sixteen-year old Chauncy Jones was desperate. There was no food in the house. Not a single penny either. Mom’s disability check had already been spent on utilities, rent and groceries. But they were specially hungry that week and all the food in the house was in their bellies days before the next welfare check was due to arrive.
Begging was out of the question. But Chauncy did have a plan. He grabbed his monthly bus pass and headed for the upscale side of Memphis.
Standing in front of the local Kroger grocer store, Chauncy asked, “May I carry your groceries in exchange for a box of donuts?”
“Go away kid.”
Chauncy asked another patron.
Just an icy cold stare came back from the respondent. No words were necessary. Chauncy was scared, out of his neighborhood and way out of his comfort zone.
Hours passed. Vulgarities were shouted at him. But he still had no donuts to take home to his mom.
“Please sir, may I carry your groceries for a box of donuts?”
“Yeah, dude. I’ll get you some donuts.”
Success! The hours of effort had paid off. His mom would be thrilled!
Matt White went inside with Chauncy and got his glazed donuts. They were less expensive than the jelly filled, but Chauncy wasn’t greedy. His mom would not complain.
There was something tragic about Chauncy. Perhaps it was his desperation. Perhaps it was the sadness in his eyes as life kicked him in the teeth, day after day. But there was something magical, too, a perseverance that would not die. A selfless need to help his mother. Matt was touched.
“Get something healthy kid. Buy whatever you want.”
Ecstatic and grateful, Chauncy grabbed a cart and got enough food to last the rest of the week.
The Rufus.
Matt gave Chauncy a ride home. The scene sickened him. Chauncy’s gracious, but scared, mother had body tremors. There was no furniture, just pads on the floor for sleeping. The house was a dilapidated structure, patched together by unskilled, uncaring contractors.
Matt placed a request for 250 dollars on the GoFundMe website. That was the price of a lawnmower and the industrious Chauncy could finally start his own business.
There are lots of heroes in this story – Chauncy for having the drive and ambition; mom for raising a noble child and sharing her love; Matt for caring and putting in the extra effort to help strangers; and the thousands of donors who sent more than $340,000.00 to help two people in need.
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China remains attractive for US firms
By ZHONG NAN | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2022-08-31 07:48
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Eighty-nine percent of firms say their operations in the nation are strong and profitable
China’s attraction as a huge, lucrative market for US companies has remained unchanged this year, despite the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and disruptions to trade, analysts and government officials said on Tuesday.
They made the remark after the US-China Business Council released a survey on Monday in which US companies continued to report their strong performance in the country last year, with 89 percent saying their operations were profitable.
The report, compiled by the Washington DC-based organization in June, interviewed 117 member companies on issues related to their business outlook, investment climate and market conditions in the nation.
The study found that most respondents are NOT moving segments of their supply chains out of China. This speaks to the country’s competitiveness in speed, quantity, quality and cost of manufacturing, despite tariffs and other factors.
“China remains a critical market for the US companies, disproving the notion of economic decoupling,” said Bai Ming, deputy director of the international market research department at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing.
Even though there have been some investment outflows to Southeast Asia due to lower labor costs, it does not conflict with the investment plans of US firms in China, which are more about collaboration in high-tech and service industries and in line with China’s high quality growth strategy, he said.
The US-China Business Council survey also found that 63 percent of respondents indicated that their profitability increased last year — a level and proportion unseen in more than a decade.
The performance figures show the potential that the China market holds for US companies. If they are not able to participate in the China market and reap these benefits, they are at a global disadvantage compared with competitors who are able to do so, the study said.
The growth of US investment in China will maintain its sound pace this year, thanks to the country’s moves to upgrade its industries and huge market demand for goods and services, said Huo Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies.
China-US trade grew by 11.8 percent year-on-year to 2.93 trillion yuan ($423.64 billion) in the first seven months of the year, while China’s actual use of the US capital surged 36.3 percent on a yearly basis, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Together with the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement coming into force in January, this enhances the expectations of many US companies for freer trade, Huo added.
Guo Tingting, assistant minister of commerce, stressed in a news conference in Beijing that the government will accelerate the pace of introducing the new edition of the industry catalog of sectors encouraging foreign investment, further expanding the scope of foreign investment in advanced manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation and modern services.
US companies continue to see business opportunities in China not only in established fields such as in the domestic consumption and manufacturing sector, but also in new areas like the country’s leading-edge adoption of new digital technologies, said Sun Fuquan, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development in Beijing.
Nakul Duggal, senior vice-president and general manager of automotives for Qualcomm Technologies Inc, the California-based chip manufacturer, said the Chinese market will be a major revenue source for the group’s automotive business, as its massive vehicle sector has a faster adoption of autonomous driving technologies than many others.
Intuitive Surgical Inc, a US-based robotic surgical system manufacturer, announced earlier this month it will invest over 700 million yuan to build a manufacturing and innovation base in Shanghai. The base will help expand access to robot-assisted surgery to more patients in China.
Gary Guthart, the company’s CEO, said the firm’s new facilities are expected to be operational in Shanghai in 2025 and will produce surgery robots for the Chinese market.
Why do Africans dislike Chinese?
I’m an African and I do not find a single reason why I should hate the Chinese but I do have hundreds others to express gratefulness to them.
First the Chinese have built infrastructure in Africa that has spurred development in many parts of the continent. The Chinese input is the other untold line of the “Africa rising” story.
Second the Chinese do not tell us what to do, they do not benchmark our institutions against theirs or polarize our people. They come for business and do it rather well.
Unlike the Western companies, they do not wage war or threaten us to access our resources.
Unlike the west, the Chinese never stole our gold, copper, silver! They pay a fair price for it.
Our coffee is not priced in Beijing and our cocoa not priced in Shanghai, but those commodities that our hard working farmers produce are priced in the west against any commercial logic.
I produce my goods and the customer imposes on me the price he will pay for it…the same people talking about human rights and social justice!
Unlike the West, the chinese never took our brothers and sisters and enslaved them to generate selfish wealth.
Unlike the west, the Chinese never hired mercenaries to overthrow legitimate governments to install chaos or dictatorship.
And for the Chinese/african babies…this continent is your home too. Hope those “funny eyed babies” will be the bridge that will strengthen China-African relationship and promote co-development and co-prosperity.
Did I hear anyone say long live China?
Biden Warns ‘Brave Right-Wing’ Americans—’If You Want to Fight Against the Country, You Need an F-15′
Speaking from Pennsylvania on Tuesday, President Joe Biden issued a message for “brave right-wing Americans,” saying that they “need something a little more than a gun” to fight against the United States, giving the example of an F-15 fighter jet as something to use instead.
“And for those brave right-wing Americans who say it’s all about keeping Americans independent and safe, you want to fight against the country? You need an F-15, you need something a little more than a gun,” Biden told the crowd, referring to the second amendment.
Biden issued the comment during a speech he gave in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania regarding his “Safer America Plan” to reduce gun crimes nationwide.
Announced earlier this month, the Safer America Plan looks fund police departments, invest in services that “address the causes of crime and reduce the burdens on police so they can focus on violent crime,” and calls on Congress to pass additional gun restrictions.
The plan looks to hire 100,000 police officers, calling on Congress to appropriate $10.77 billion in funding over five years for the COPS Hiring Program.
HAL TURNER EDITORIAL OPINION
Nice that the President threatens half the country! I guess he means he would actually USE fighter jets against his own citizens! That’s interesting to know.
Well, it seems to me, and this is only my opinion, the “brave right-wingers” already have F-15’s.
Someone ought to tell the illegitimate President, our “Commander-in-Thief” whose political party stole the presidency in November, 2020 through brazen election fraud, that a whole slew of those military pilots . . . are conservatives. Those pilots . . . it seems to me . . . they’re conservatives. They ARE some of the “brave right-wingers.”
Stick that in your son’s crack pipe and smoke it, you dementia-addled lame brain.
Foreigners (inside China) are not above and beyond the law
By Zhang Zhouxiang | China Daily | Updated: 2022-08-29 07:49
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Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg appears in court in Dalian, Liaoning province in Jan, 2019. [File photo provided to China Daily]Zhejiang Provincial High People’s Court has upheld the death sentence of a United States citizen found guilty of intentional homicide.Shadeed Abdulmateen was convicted of the murder of a woman surnamed Chen. Lying that he was divorced and single, Abdulmateen began a relationship with Chen in 2019. After Chen said she wanted to end their relationship, Abdulmateen arranged to meet her. On July 14 last year, he killed her by stabbing her in the neck and face. At his trial, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to death.That sentence has been upheld by the court of the second instance.When Abdulmateen committed his crime, he was a teacher at Ningbo University of Technology in Ningbo, Zhejiang. His case should sound an alarm to all schools to check the credentials of foreign job applicants.Those on Western social media networks claiming that the case shows China is “anti-foreigner” are talking nonsense. Soon after Abdulmateen received the verdict of the court, Francis Stonier, an associate professor at Southwest University in Chongqing, received wide applause on Chinese social media networks for his active participation in the fight against forest fires in Chongqing. Being able to use and mend a chain saw, Stonier volunteered to stand together with locals in cutting down trees to make isolation belts. To foreigners who live here law abidingly and in friendship, the Chinese people are willing to show their friendliness in return.That a foreign citizen has received a death sentence should put an end to any illusion some foreigners in China may have that their foreign nationality means they won’t face punishment if they commit a crime.
Neil Oliver: ‘Don’t be fooled into thinking this disaster movie is coming to an end’
From Scotland. Applies to all nations of the West.
Wonderful Photos Capture Everyday Life of Florida in the 1980s
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Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba; it is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
Spanning 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), Florida ranks 22nd in area among the 50 states, and with a population of over 21 million, is the third-most populous. The state capital is Tallahassee and the most populous city is Jacksonville. The Miami metropolitan area, with a population of almost 6.2 million, is the most populous urban area in Florida and the ninth-most populous in the United States; other urban conurbations with over one million people are Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Jacksonville.
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Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts, amusement parks, warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands, and has 4,510 islands that are ten acres (4 ha) or larger in area, the second highest number after Alaska.
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Florida has several unique ecosystems, most notably Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas. Unique wildlife include the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, and manatee. The Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, and the third-largest coral barrier reef system in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef).
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Golden Girls Elvis Wedding
This is such a great clip. Put a big old smile on your face. Please enjoy!
A Russian Blue
A couple months after our guinea pig had passed away, my mother asked my brother and I if we wanted another guinea pig. My brother refused and I suggested as I had been for months that we should get a cat.
My mother and father took this as a joke as I was allergic to cats.
I didn’t give up.
I researched for months about hypoallergenic cat breeds that would cause less of a reaction.
I used a website called Petfinder that showed thousands of cats and told you their breed, personality and which shelter they were at.
I found a Russian Blue at a nearby shelter and convinced my mother to drive me there on a Saturday so I could visit him.
When we got there I spotted him immediately and asked a volunteer if I could hold him.
The volunteer went to pick him up (He was enormous and I knew from the shelter’s website that he weighed about 12 pounds) but he jumped out of her arms and smacked her hands away.
The volunteer apologized and told me that he didn’t want to be held right now.
I told her it was alright and turned to look at the other cats.
While looking I saw a cat staring at me nearby.
I read her information sheet that was hung on her crate that she was a Siamese cat named Josie.
I knew Siamese cat were considered by some to be hypoallergenic because of their low shedding and asked the volunteer if I could hold her.
Josie came out of her crate willingly and the second she was in my arms, she began to purr.
The volunteer said that Josie was usually unfriendly to visitors.
In fact she had been a adopted before and returned after three days because she had not been friendly enough.
I cuddled her and turned to my mom with a big smile.
Even my mom had to admit it was perfect.
We applied for adoption that very night.
Two weeks later, after much shopping, we brought Josie home with us.
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“Anyone who is a Republican has a spiritual problem” … The Raft of George W. Bush, NM, 2006.
“This was based on Théodore Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa, which recorded a great tragedy in French history. Géricault depicted the aftermath of a terrible act of cowardice by the Medusa’s captain and his officers. They ran the ship aground off the coast of what is now Mauritania in 1816. When they couldn’t set the frigate free, they took all of the small boats and left more than 140 passengers to fend for themselves on a raft.
Only 15 survived, having resorted to cannibalism.
When I saw the painting in the Louvre, I noticed a correlation between that tragedy and the eight years of George W. Bush’s administration. I think Bush would have been a wonderful president of the Baseball Association. But he had no talent for the job of president of my country.
I spent a long time looking at the original painting, but decided to add something: a crown of lights on Bush’s head, to represent his little thoughts. And I had his hand fondling the breast of someone who I thought might be Condoleezza Rice, his secretary of state”. (Photo by Joel-Peter Witkin)
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This is where “Asians” come from…
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The haunted face of Sicily.
“I’d just come back from shooting in a poor district of Palermo. I was waiting for the bus and I saw this guy. His face was a battlefield. The dark energy was all there.
He’s not a mafioso.
Mafiosi have a totally different body language. They stand tall, they are aggressive. I just saw this battered, haunted face of Sicily. I work with a Hasselblad 500cm so I hold the camera at waist level and look down into the viewfinder. I composed, judged the focus, aperture and shutter speed, then I shot – two or three frames.
He looked straight at me. He was frozen somehow.
He didn’t realise I was taking his picture. Immediately after, I approached him and asked if I could take a closer one. He said: “No, no, no, no, no!” I asked why. His voice was anxious. “Because I’m nervous!” Why are you nervous? “Because I’m waiting for the bus!”. (Photo by Mimi Mollica)
The haunted face of Sicily.
What’s the most inaccurate thing your child has ever been taught in school?
I was at work. The phone at my desk rang.
It was the school office calling me.
“Mr. Phillips, this is Mrs. Smith (not her real name), I am calling you to tell you that your daughter had an accident, today.”
My heart immediately sank. The tension rose in my heart like I had just jumped into Lake Superior while there were still ice blocks washing up on shore.
“What’s happened? Is she okay?” Waiting anxiously for each word.
“Yes, I guess, Mr. Phillips. Your (11 years old, mind you) daughter urinated on herself in class and we need you to bring her a new set of clothing.”
—-Long pause—-
Internally, I was overjoyed that it wasn’t a physical injury of some kind; but then my mind started to insert a few questions into my consciousness.
Me: “Wait, what did you say?” (Mrs. Smith repeated her statement.)
Me: “Where was she?”
Smith: “She was in class.”
Me: “Where is she now?”
Smith: “Well, she’s in the lobby of the school office.”
Me: “When did this happen?” (Her reply was muddled a bit. I found out later that it was more like an hour.)
Me: “Is she still in her wet clothing?”
Smith: “Yes”
At this point, I am an hour away from the school and my wife was unavailable. I reminded them of those facts…
Apparently, my daughter was taught by the teacher that girls (a lie just because the teacher didn’t like kids getting up and disrupting her class), could hold their bladder longer than class, so no girl should have to get up and go to the bathroom, during class.
As she explained that my daughter deliberately peed herself to get out of class, I stopped Mrs. Smith and demanded to speak to the vice principal.
Mr. Jones (not his real name) picked up the phone. “Mr. Jones. Hi, Mr. Phillips, your daughter is sitting on a towel here in the main office. How soon can you get here? It’s starting to smell.”
My eyes are starting to bleed, at this point. With all my military bearing now completely gone, my words came fast and full of “pappa bear”.
ME: “Mr. Jones, I am about an hour away from school. I can’t leave work. However, I will be picking my daughter up from school today. When I do pick her up, here’s what I expect. I expect my daughter will be clean, dressed in fresh clothing, and full of stories about how she was apologized to by you, your teacher and the principal of the school for not allowing her to go to the restroom when she politely asked. IF I find she’s anything other than what I just described, then I will drive my daughter in her urine-soaked smelly clothing to the emergency room at the local hospital, to make sure her bladder isn’t ruptured, then to my attorney’s office, so that he can participate in teaching you all accurate information about the illegality of physically keeping a child from going to the restroom! On top of that, I will be speaking at great length to the school board about how irresponsible and cruel it was for you to do this to someone’s child! Do I make myself clear?”
That situation still grieves me terribly, every time I think of it. It’s not just information that comes to our kids, all mixed up and twisted. They are being manipulated by school staff, as a commodity. When you see stuff like this, it makes you so angry!
Epilogue: I picked up my daughter, and her clothes were nicer than the ones I sent her to school with. She was clean and gave me a big hug. She was sitting some distance away from the vice principal while he was on the phone with me, but she heard me quite clearly explain their error to them.
I told her, “If you hear anything in school that you doubt for one second, come to me. Call your mom. Don’t ever be disrespectful; but if you ever have to go to the restroom, you excuse yourself politely, and you get up and go. I will back you!”
Another hug.
The Decline And Fall Of The Western Empire
Almost everyone sees it, and almost no one wants to discuss it: America and Western Europe are spiraling out of control. And the speed of the descent is crescendoing rapidly.
Almost everyone sees it, and almost no one wants to discuss it: America and Western Europe are spiraling out of control. And the speed of the descent is crescendoing rapidly.
It took a long time for the old Roman Empire to collapse. The seeds of its demise blossomed slowly, but the historically astute among the Romans saw the destructive nation-eating plants growing when they first began to appear, but no one would believe them. And when the end came, it came quickly—almost overnight.
The Roman Empire was so rich and prosperous and so militarily mighty that no one within the empire could even imagine that a collapse was possible. I’m sure that what I’ve heard hundreds of Americans say, “It can’t happen here,” also echoed throughout the old Roman Empire for generations.
Sometime in the future a learned academic will be writing a weighty tome with the title The Decline and Fall of the Western Empire. Perhaps the Contents Page will include, among others, twelve chapters with titles something like this: World War One. World War Two. Korea. Vietnam. Palestine. Iran. Nicaragua. Afghanistan. Iraq. Syria. Ukraine. Taiwan.
Indeed, Karin Kneissel, the former Austrian Foreign Minister, is at present writing a book with the working title A Requiem for Europe. In an interview with Asia Times on 31 July she declared that ‘European countries are growing ever weaker on the international stage and their places are being taken by Asian countries’. She said that the Europe ‘where she was born and grew up and to which she was devoted no longer exists’. ‘European leaders, through ignorance and arrogance, are neglecting the existing geopolitical realities and basic principles of diplomacy and this has created a dangerous situation’.
She added: ‘This is connected with Eurocentrism. We believe that we are so great that nobody can do without us…It seems to me that Europe needs Russia more than Russia needs Europe. If I am right, then is it really in the interests of the Old World to treat Moscow as an enemy, inclining Moscow to Beijing? Today Europeans are more and more disillusioned and desperate and this may cause mass disorder and anti-government violence’.
Kneissel, who is from Central Europe, makes it sound as if Europe is living in the past, before 1914, when it was politically central to the world, instead of being a more or less irrelevant political backwater as it is in 2022. What is certain is that the physical fall of an empire is always preceded by its spiritual fall.
Spiritual fall always precedes the fall of the State. In the Ukraine many have noticed the satanic tattoos and pentagrams on the bodies of the Neo-Nazi thugs who formed the elite of the Kiev regime armed forces and many have seen videos showing their satanic rituals.
The extraordinary thing is the self-justification of the Western world for its own suicide and its refusal to admit that anything is wrong with it. On the contrary, only its ‘values’ of ‘freedom, democracy and human rights’ are correct and must therefore be spread throughout the ‘free world’. All who do not accept its ‘values’, which in fact are anti-values because they are destructive, not constructive like real values, must be mocked, slandered and, if necessary, bombed into submission. Today’s Western world is visibly coming to resemble medieval frescoes showing the torments of hell, which are what spiritual death is. The Western world has been demonised, the demons have been called up from the bowels of hell to occupy it and visibly and mockingly inflict its ‘Western values’.
Did you catch what he said? “Spiritual fall always precedes the fall of the State.” I have been saying this for over three decades. How many times have you heard me say that America’s primary problems are spiritual, not political?
My critics often call me a “political” pastor. If those same people had really listened to me for any significant period of time they would know that I am one of the most apolitical preachers in the country. While the pastors who call me “too political” are neck-deep it partisan politics, defining America’s problems in mostly political terms by promoting the Republican Party and refusing to oppose GOP politicians when they engage in destructive and anti-Freedom activities and policies for fear that doing so would “help the Democrats,” I spare no party or politician. I am not interested in what is good for the party; I am only interested in what is good for the country and what is RIGHT.
Party partisanship, compromise, personal agendas, arrogance, willful ignorance of the Constitution and the total void of the fear of God have turned the vast majority of our political leaders in both parties into dangerous demagogues who are facilitating our nation’s destruction. Truly, they are “blind leaders of the blind.”
If America’s primary problems are spiritual (which they certainly are, as The Saker astutely observes), then the solutions are primarily spiritual. And this reality puts the responsibility of providing these spiritual solutions squarely on the shoulders of America’s spiritual shepherds: the pastors.
But as you very well know, on the whole, America’s pastors are totally unmoved and uninterested in providing the courageous spiritual leadership that America so desperately needs.
Very quickly, let me tell you the reasons why this is happening. Being a veteran pastor of over 47 years qualifies me to provide both an educated and experiential analysis. All pastors will not fall under each category below, but taken together, the following categories encompass the vast majority of evangelical pastors, regardless of denomination.
1. Pastors are hirelings.
They serve at the pleasure of a church board or committee. They are not their own men. They are bought and sold by the denomination or the church governing councils.
2. Pastors are success-driven.
Pastors covet “success.” They know they need people to fill their buildings and fund their programs. They also know that if they preach “hard” truth too much, they will lose a significant percentage of their congregations and thus lose a sizable percentage of their income.
In order to “succeed,” therefore, they use gimmicks, music, theatrics, entertainment, recreation and SOFT PREACHING to bring in—and keep—the masses. Accordingly, many pastors are not shepherds and watchmen; they are motivational speakers, comics and entertainers.
In short, they are people-pleasers and not God-pleasers.
At this point, I cannot resist the urge to quote the Apostle Paul:
Do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)
3. Pastors fear the government more than God.
The fear of God is not their uppermost concern; the fear of government occupies that position.
The genesis of this transfer of allegiance began in 1954 when then-Senator Lyndon Johnson spearheaded the law that brought churches under the authority of the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations.
The possibility of violating an IRS “guideline” for non-profit organizations and, therefore, losing the “church’s” precious tax-exempt status is uppermost in their minds every time a pastor stands behind his pulpit.
Over time, this subservient spirit—bolstered by the convenient misinterpretation of Romans 13—has turned pastors into sheepish servants of the state.
4. Pastors are cowards.
They know that in times such as we live in today, taking bold positions on controversial and inconvenient truths WILL cost something—and it might cost a lot. This they are unwilling to do.
My pastoral journey includes being in the inner circles of the so-called Religious Right in the late 1970s through the early 2000s. I knew many of the “big name” evangelical preachers of that era. I knew them in public; I knew them in private.
I saw the “marriage vow” they took to the GOP. I heard their private admissions to how being accepted by the political establishment, aka “having a seat at the table,” was directly linked to their personal fortunes. I saw the spirit of covetousness for power, position, notoriety and money. I saw the jealousies and raw ambitions.
To be sure, the above indictments do not apply to all of them—THANK GOD! But the above applies to far, far too many of them.
It’s easy to “courageously” attack Democrats when your bread is buttered by Republicans. In fact, if you could see the donor lists of the major Republican politicians and the major evangelical leaders, you would learn that those lists match almost perfectly. That pretty much says it all.
5. Pastors are servants and spokesmen for Zionist Israel.
Call me anything you want, but I am telling the truth when I say that Israeli interests and ideologies dominate the vast majority of evangelical pastors. The false prophecy doctrines of Zionist-bought Cyrus Scofield (aka Prophetic Dispensationalism, Prophetic Futurism, Christian Zionism, etc.) dominate the vast majority of major evangelical colleges and seminaries, the vast majority of television evangelists, the vast majority of evangelical radio broadcasts, the vast majority of evangelical publishing companies and the vast majority of evangelical churches.
Commitment to Zionism keeps pastors in bondage. One cannot separate the “global elite,” the “Davos crowd,” the “one-percenters,” the promoters of the “New World Order,” the modern-day cabal of international “moneychangers” and the promoters of all things anti-Christian, anti-America and anti-Liberty from Zionist Israel. They are inseparable.
As long as pastors are held in bondage to Zionism, they are incapable of discerning evil, much less resisting it.
Quoting The Saker again: “Spiritual fall always precedes the fall of the State.”
When The Decline And Fall Of The Western Empire is eventually written, it will not be kind to the evangelical pastors and Protestant leaders of this generation. And that’s putting it mildly.
What is an experience you had at a crime scene you’ll never forget?
As a crime scene technician, I have plenty. The first one that comes to mind is the woman who took PCP, then shot and killed her 4 young children, a neighbor, and herself.
I’ll give y’all the general idea, but out of respect & confidentiality, I won’t be posting any photos or information that could identify any of the persons involved.
My team and I arrived on scene. The local PD cleared us to enter the premises. Upon entry, there was blood everywhere. The mother killed herself at the doorway. To the right on the couch, the 5yr old was shot. Bloody, child sized footprints led down the hallway. The closet door was open in the hall, revealing the 6 month old baby she shot. To the right, a bedroom with 2 twin mattresses. The center of the mattress was the 8 or 9yr old. More bloody footprints in the room led to the closet. The 3yr old passed away there, cowering in fear.
My team did not access the neighbor who was killed.
We found a lot of evidence that the local PD had missed. Half of it was in plain sight. We discovered the killers cell phone, spent bullets, casings, I.D.s, etc. It seemed like the responding officers didn’t really look for any of it.
I believe that they were overwhelmed by such a gruesome scene. It was a very small country area & they probably hadn’t seen anything like it before. It was pretty intense.
To me, what made it unforgettable, was the fact a drug could completely change a person and cause them to run rampant, killing your own children.
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I found this letter in a laundry basket.
The neighbors all knew this lady was getting messed up on PCP.
If you know of anyone with children in their home & are using hard drugs, please report them to CPS or the police. This whole situation could’ve been avoided if her neighbors & family had taken action.
Community. We need to be part of our community. - MM
How To Make Iced Vietnamese Coffee
Brewed in a traditional Vietnamese coffee maker
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This is a step-by-step recipe for preparing delcious Vietnamese Coffee using a traditional Vietnamese coffee maker known in Vietnam as a phin (or French press). The phin most likely originated in Cambodia in the 1800’s and is essentially a single-serving coffee brewer and filter that sits atop the coffee cup or glass.
Vietnamese coffee prepared in this way ensures the grounds of the coffee are steeped for longer than some other brewing techniques and results in a richer and more intense flavor that is delcious served either hot or iced.
You can watch the Trung Nguyen Iced Coffee Video below, demonstrating this Vietnamese coffee brewing technique for making delicious iced Vietnamese coffee.
The West is run by idiots. They aren’t stopping, and the rest of the world is terrified. However, the pragmatic ones: China and Russia, have made plans and have taken steps. This ain’t gonna be another Vietnam, Syria, or Ukraine you all…
Yes, things are wilding up nicely in Western Civ as we bid farewell to summer and the elites return from their sacrosanct vacations to the task of crashing our world. You can feel it in every quarter of public and private life. Funny, especially, is the Party of Chaos trying to label their opponents as “fascists” — by which they mean anyone opposed to chaos, the “Joe Biden” regime’s preferred mode of existence.
The West’s biggest project these days, the war it provoked over Ukraine, turned out to be a giant Acme land-mine under the West’s collective Wile E. Coyote ass. As Russia advances implacably there and financial sanctions fizzle, behold the scramble in Europe now among citizens desperate to not freeze to death in the months ahead. This is the third time in a hundred-odd years that Germany has attempted suicide, and this time it looks like it’s going to work. Farewell nice German cars, machine tools, and other symbols of industrial might. In feckless Poland, the folks are out gathering lumps of coal and scouring the forest floor for firewood — they’re forbidden by law from cutting standing timber. Mr. Macron tells France she must accept “reduced living standards.” Looks like Brexit did not go far enough as the UK holds hands with the rest of NATO tromping into economic oblivion.
Think the USA is doing better? The summer rally in financial markets was just another frame in the Loony Tunes festival that American life has become. The Fed Chair, Mr. Powell, said all the parts out loud at the annual Jackson Hole banker meet-up last week: look out below, we’ve decided to take this sucker down (in the immortal words of George W. Bush), since pretending to stoke prosperity via Modern Monetary Theory only results in, duh, ruinous inflation. This raises the question, though, as to which is more politically damaging: inflation or depression? It is really only the difference between having plenty of worthless money or having no money at all.
The institutional rot eating away at our national underpinnings got more exposed last week when Mark Zuckerberg stupidly blurted to Joe Rogan that, yes, in the fall of 2020 the FBI warned Facebook — “came to the folks on our team,” he said — about a Russian disinformation campaign underway, wink wink. And so, Facebook turned the volume down to zero on certain news about a laptop belonging to one Hunter Biden stuffed with selfie porn (prostitutes included), video evidence of narcotics use, and deal memos about worldwide influence peddling involving the whole dang Biden family. FBI chief Chris Wray quickly jumped in to clarify that the FBI “routinely notifies U.S. private sector entities, including social media providers, of potential threat information, so that they can decide how to better defend against threats.”
Roger that. The part Mr. Wray left out was that he and everybody else on the fabled seventh floor of the J. Edgar Hoover building knew darn well that the Biden laptop story was not Russian Disinfo, raising the question: who do they now think is supposed to believe the FBI’s obvious bullshit? And why is Chris Wray still running the FBI? And, of course, Mr. Zuckerberg surely knew the truth of the matter as well — though at the time he was busy shoveling more than $300-million into election swing districts for the express purpose of changing-out local officials with his own crew to queer the balloting in favor of international grifter “Joe Biden.”
The inventory of lies retailed by the FBI is so vast and gross that the agency had to resort to raiding Mar-a-Lago three weeks ago in defiance of all known precedent and settled law regarding presidential records. The reason: Mr. Trump, the former president, had exactly such a cataloged inventory of the FBI lies used during his term in office to overthrow him with the Crossfire Hurricane nonsense, and was prepared to introduce said evidence in the lawsuit he has initiated in a Florida federal court against Hillary Clinton and a rogue’s gallery of campaign aides and allied federal officials who assisted in concocting the RussiaGate operation. The aim of the Mar-a-Lago raid: to un-declassify all that material — via a probably illegal order by “Joe Biden” — so as to prevent it from being introduced as evidence in the lawsuit. Somehow, the news media failed to report that part of the story, and even the alt media has missed that last detail.
And now, despite walking back their guideline Covid-19 policies this month, the CDC and its sister public health agencies are ready to push a new edition of Big Pharma’s Covid (so-called) “vaccines,” despite visibly rising all-causes death numbers across Western Civ that appear, more and more, attributable only to the “vaccines.” The vaxx-happy bureaucracy will not be stopped by the captive federal justice system but the attorneys general of fifty states could each act against the program, which has violated every module of the Nuremberg Code against human medical experimentation, as well as US law. It may be too late for the medical profession to redeem its lost sacred honor.
The catch here is that, at this point in the disgraceful story, only Woked-up liberals vying for the Darwin Award will fall for the new vaxxes. Everybody else is onto the scam and hip to the danger, and mandates have worn out their welcome. Liberal Wokery has turned out to be a form of stupidly booby-trapped, self-limiting neo-Nazism. There is your Party of Chaos in a nutshell.
It remains for Mr. Trump to renounce his support for the evil fruits of the Warp Speed operation he presided over. He must face the fact that he was played, and he may be forgiven, considering all the evidence coming recently from the likes of Deborah Birx and others that he was lied to and manipulated. But he doesn’t have much more time to get it right, or else his political career will be over well before the 2024 election. That may be all for the better.
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America probably needs a clean sweep of our desecrated political landscape. All in all, Mr. Trump was a good soldier, brave and resolute under tremendous adversity, but he’s not the only one who can lead our country back to itself.
Friends
My.husband struggles with PTSD
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Ps from serving in Iraq. HE is recovering alcoholic without Daisy as his companion he be hurting.
Yes he spoils her and she is very devoted to him. He rewards her with her favorite treats Temptations. She loves water with ice in it. He only gives her bottle water and every six months she sees the vet.
My husband loves her and she loves him ❤
Plan A, Plan B and Plan C
Space programmer, Margaret Hamilton was one of the reasons why the astronauts came home safely!
One day, her 4-year-old daughter, Lauren, was playing with the simulator’s display and keyboard until an error message appeared. Lauren crashed the system by launching a program called P01 while the simulator was in midflight.
There was no reason as to why an astronaut would do this, but regardless, Hamilton wanted to add code to prevent this crash from happening in space.
NASA disagreed with this idea, believing that the astronauts would not make any mistakes for they were trained to be perfect. So instead of adding code, she created a program-note that said:
“Do not select P01 during the flight!”
…
…
Ironically, this is the opposite of what happened!
Five days into the flight, astronaut Jim Lovell selected P01 mid-space. This wiped out all the navigation data! Without the data, the Apollo computer wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get the astronauts home.
Hamilton knew this was a possibility so she had a plan devised.
Ready to go.
Back then, programming meant punching holes in stacks of cards. This would have been processed overnight in batches.
But she did it! In 9 hours she uploaded new navigational data and thanks to her, the astronauts came home safely!
Moral of the story?
A mistake may seem like a tragedy, but often, they’re one step towards your success. You mess up, you learn and you grow.
Never should you have one single plan; make a plan B, make a plan C.
Don’t dwell on the negatives but be prepared for the worst situation so that disappointments hurt less.
Think out of the box, be one step ahead. You are not perfect and you will make errors, but know that mistakes were never made to destroy you, but to lift you.
Hamilton implemented all four points and turned an event that could have been a historical disaster into a huge achievement.
Last winter, Europeans were looking forward to yet another year of peace and prosperity. This winter, Europeans will find themselves right in the middle of an economic collapse. It is often said that energy is the economy, and energy is going to be in very short supply in the months ahead. Thanks to the war in Ukraine and a number of other factors, energy prices in Europe have shot up to levels that would have once been unthinkable, and several European governments are already preparing to ration energy. This is going to have a tremendous impact on economic activity, and it is going to mean that this winter is going to be extremely cold and extremely bitter for millions upon millions of Europeans.
In Poland, many households usually use coal that is imported from Russia to heat their homes, but that won’t happen this year because of the war.
As a result, some desperate people are now standing in line for days just to have the opportunity to buy some coal…
According to Reuters, with Poland still basking in the late summer heat, hundreds of cars and trucks have already lined up at the Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka coal mine, as householders fearful of winter shortages wait for days and nights to stock up on heating fuel ahead of the coming cold winter in queues reminiscent of communist times.Artur, 57, a pensioner, drove up from Swidnik, some 30 km (18 miles) from the mine in eastern Poland on Tuesday, hoping to buy several tonnes of coal for himself and his family.“Toilets were put up today, but there’s no running water,” he said, after three nights of sleeping in his small red hatchback in a crawling queue of trucks, tractors towing trailers and private cars. “This is beyond imagination, people are sleeping in their cars. I remember the communist times but it didn’t cross my mind that we could return to something even worse.”
Would you wait in a line for several days just to get some coal for your family?
I suppose if you were desperate enough, perhaps you would.
Video footage of Polish citizens lined up for coal is so bizarre that it is difficult to believe that it is actually real.
Unfortunately, this is not a bad dream.
This is the world that we live in now.
In the UK, countless consumers will be facing financial hardship this winter as energy bills soar into the stratosphere…
Millions of households will see their energy bills rocket as the price cap is hiked to £3,549 a year, plunging many into financial hardship.The record 80% October increase, announced by the regulator Ofgem, will see a typical default tariff customer paying an extra £1,578, laying bare the deepening cost of living crisis.The rise follows a 54% increase in April, which saw average bills surge to £1,971 a year.
A third of all UK citizens are already having trouble paying their energy bills, and this new increase won’t even be implemented until October.
So how high will that figure be six months from now?
Will half the country be struggling to pay their energy bills at that point?
And as energy bills go higher and higher, even more people will be pushed out of the middle class.
Right now, poverty is on the rise all over Europe.
For example, just check out this video footage of people lined up for food in Italy’s wealthiest city.
This sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen in Milan.
But it is happening.
And things are going to get a whole lot worse for western Europe if Russia decides to totally cut off the gas.
Already, Russia has reduced the amount of natural gas that it is supplying through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to just 20 percent, and one German official is entirely convinced that it will soon go to zero…
Germany faces the “bitter reality” that Russia will not restore gas supplies to the country, the German economy minister said on Monday, ahead of planned halt by state energy giant Gazprom of exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.“It won’t come back … It is the bitter reality,” Robert Habeck said in a panel with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
If that actually happens, western Europe will suffer tremendously.
The Europeans never should have allowed themselves to become so dependent on Russian gas, and now “worst case scenarios” are staring them right in the face.
The country’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo, told reporters on Monday that fellow citizens can expect that “the next five to 10 winters will be difficult” due to the country’s worsening energy crisis exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.“The development of the situation is very difficult throughout Europe,” De Croo told Belgium broadcaster VRT.“In a number of sectors, it is really difficult to deal with those high energy prices. We are monitoring this closely, but we must be transparent: The coming months will be difficult, the coming winters will be difficult,” he added.
Yes, this is really happening.
And don’t think that you are going to get a free pass just because you are living here in the United States.
Energy bills are skyrocketing here too, and it is being reported that one out of every six homes is already behind on their utility bills…
According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, roughly 20 million households in the U.S. — one out of six homes — are behind on their utility bills.The consequences could be dire.“I expect a tsunami of shutoffs,” Jean Su, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, tells Bloomberg.
The worst energy crisis in modern history is here, and it is going to get a lot worse.
This is just one of the reasons why I have been so adamant about becoming more independent of the system.
Many people believed that they would always be able to depend on the power grid to bring endless cheap energy to their homes.
But now energy bills are surging to ridiculous heights, and energy use will be severely restricted all over Europe this winter.
And even top European officials are admitting that things are going to be tough for many years to come.
The writing is on the wall, and I hope that everyone can see it.
The “tipping point” that so many of us have warned about has arrived, and the months ahead are going to be exceedingly painful.
Loki
After my dad passed away I was desperate for a companion so I went to my local animal rescue center to find a cat to help me combat my grief and loneliness. I hated coming home to a now empty house since Dad and I lived together.
There happened to be a bunch of kittens there and a few older kittens also like five months or six months and some four month old ones too.
At first I was going to take a young kitten and then I walked by the cage where a young brown and white tabby with green eyes was.
He was a recent arrival and had only been cleared to be adopted three days ago.
I paused to look inside the cage and he put his paw out and tapped me on the arm and meowed.
I asked to see him and the minute his door was open he jumped into my arms and began purring and kneading me.
The staff said they had never seen any cat respond like that to someone and when I set him down on the cat tree he meowed and rolled over to let me pet his belly.
It was quite clear he had chosen me and I didn’t dare not bring him home.
So home he went and here he stayed. I named him Loki for he is the prince among mischievous cats and it was the best decision I ever made.
Loki
Cheddar Meatball and Pasta Skillet
This meatball and bacon skillet dinner will be an instant hit at the dinner table.
1/2 teaspoon Frank’s™ RedHot™ Original cayenne pepper sauce
1 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese (4 oz)
Steps
1
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon; place on paper towel. Add onion to bacon drippings in skillet; cook over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
2
Add milk, hot water and sauce mix (from Hamburger Helper™ box); stir to combine. Stir in uncooked Pasta (from Hamburger Helper™ box), frozen meatballs, black pepper and hot pepper sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender and sauce is thick. Remove from heat.
3
Top with cheese and bacon; cover and let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Marcel Felix Petiot
Marcel Felix Petiot was a French serial killer who got his victims by offering to help them escape France through a non-existent secret route. They were majorly wanted people.
Once the victims agreed, he convinced them that they needed to be vaccinated.
Instead of giving them vaccine, he would inject them with cyanide and then rob them of their belongings.
On 11 March 1944, Petiot’s neighbors called the attention of the police to a foul stench in the area and large amounts of smoke billowing from a chimney of the house.
Fearing a chimney fire, the police summoned firemen, who entered the house and found a roaring fire in a coal stove in the basement. In the fire, and scattered in the basement, were human remains. It is believed he killed not less than 60 people this way.
He disappeared for a while, grew his beard and changed his name to Henri Valeri. He joined the military and was among those drafted to look for Marcel Félix Petiot. He was subsequently captured after someone recognized him.
Marcel Felix Petiot
Quora Question: Why do Chinese want to immigrate out of China?
Top Answer:
The CCP propaganda constantly says that China is a communist paradise and that everyone is very happy with the CCP! They say that the US is a dying nation, with lots of poverty, crime, racism and violence!
CCP propaganda is full of lies, slanders of the US, half-truths and fake statistics.
An analysis and observation of history indicates that the USA hegemony has provided substantial benefit to humanity.
As even though the USA led hegemony is not perfect, it has regardless given the world the greatest economic, health, education, trade advancement in the history of humanity.
The US government and institutions have protected, managed and supported institutions, agreements that make up the framework of the international system.
These international institutions include the Bretton Woods system, International Monetary Fund, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, world bank, UN, International bank for Reconstruction and Development, United Nations Security Council, UN universal declaration and countless more.
The US uses their military to protect and maintain a safe and open flow of maritime and land trade routes while promoting positive concepts and ideas such as multi-ethnic societies and mass immigration.
There is a reason why the entire world including China gravitated towards the USA, instead of to the alternative word order promoted by the USSR.
It’s important to realise however, that the USA is not perfect. It has engaged in substantial atrocities such as the heavy bombings in Iraq, and Vietnam.
Yet, it’s achievements outweigh it’s poor actions.
China would have conquered the whole of Asia, and Russia would have conquered the whole of Europe if the US and NATO did not exist!
Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany tried to do this during WW2.
The whole quality of life in China is much worse than in the US!
That’s why people like Xi Jinping’s daughter live in the US and has a Green Card! She cannot get these human rights and freedoms in China despite her wealth and political connections!
In the US, she alike all Americans, have the Constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression which includes the right to burn the US flag, to burn or to trample and spit on the Quran or any religious book! That’s the amount of freedom we have! She certainly does not have this level of freedom in her China!
That’s why all the rich citizens of China are trying to emigrate to the West! They are not stupid! They know the truth about life in both China and in the US!
Personally, I think that he forgot to add “‘Merica! Merica! Merica!” at the end.
MM Answer:
Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want your ignorance to be reinforced? Take you pick.
[1] When China was very poor, yes, many Chinese fled China and moved to other nations for opportunities. They searched for a “middle class” lifestyle, and opportunity. They moved to places that had factories where they could work, and schools where their children could be educated, and where food was available in abundance. Great waves of Chinese left China for the West. They went where opportunities were.
[2] As China grew, became the manufacturing powerhouse, and it shook off the cloak of despair that the West had shackled it to, the flow of Chinese to the West decreased. Eventually, it reached a point, say 2008 - 2013, where there were more Chinese (who emigrated) returning back to China. This is because in the balance of things, China had more to offer than what the West had.
[3] Today, those that leave China for the West do so for functional purposes (to get an education, experience at a occupation, or to buy land) the majority return back to China.
So you can see that over the last forty years there has been different reasons for global migration of ethnic Chinese. This migration might, one day, change it’s vector again. Say, when manufacturing and cultural opportunities open up in Africa, or South America, or Russia for instance.
You see, we have to see things as they are. Not as we want them to be.
Remember, boys and girls, migration from one’s homeland is driven not by ideology, but rather by economic considerations. As China's economic situation evolved, so did it’s immigration profile.
Opinions of others
The novelist Michael Crichton, author of dozens of bestsellers such as Congo, Jurassic Park and The Lost World, tried an experiment as a Harvard undergrad back in the 1960s.
Tired of receiving C’s on his English assignments and having his writing style severely criticized by Harvard professors, he decided to submit an essay for an assignment on Gulliver’s Travels that had been published years earlier by the famed author George Orwell.
It was a risky experiment as the punishment for plagiarism was expulsion. But Crichton figured his professor was not only wrong about writing styles, but was probably poorly read as well.
Crichton received a B- for Orwell’s work.
At that point the young undergrad assumed that the Harvard English department was too difficult for him, so he switched to premed, eventually earning his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Although he never practiced medicine, he used his medical training to create the TV series ER in 1994.
Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University stands as a pillar of America’s academic establishment, and even as far back as three decades ago, the New York Timeshad already hailed him as one of the world’s most important figures in his field. He currently serves as director of his university’s Center for Sustainable Development, and over the years he has published a multitude of articles and columns on a very wide range of public policy issues.
Given that background, it was hardly surprising that the Lancet, a top medical journal, named him chairman of the Covid Commission, established to investigate all aspects of the massive disease epidemic that has devastated the world since early 2020 and killed well over a million Americans.
Yet over the last few months, Prof. Sachs has broken ranks with America’s ruling political and media elites, and courageously begun to speak his mind on the origins of the outbreak.
In May he co-authored a major paper in the prestigious PNAS journal, pointing to the very strong evidence that the Covid virus had been bioengineered, being the product of a laboratory instead of nature, and he called for an independent investigation into its true source.
The following month, he was even more forthright in his statements at a small think-tank gathering in Spain, and at the beginning of July a short clip of those remarks went super-viral, retweeted out more than 11,000 times and accumulating over than a million views.
As chairman of the Covid Commission, Sachs had the greatest possible credibility on the issue, but his controversial claims were ignored by nearly every Western media outlet, with Britain’s muckraking Daily Mail being the only publication willing to break the embargo and report his statements.
Other countries certainly took notice of Sachs’ information, and a top Russian general cited him as an authority at a recent Defense Ministry briefing.
But although nearly all the Western journalists have continued to avert their eyes, Sachs has redoubled his efforts to publicly expose what he regards as an ongoing Covid cover-up, offering a long and remarkably candid interview to the Current Affairs webzine.
When I brought Sachs’ interview to the attention of an eminent academic scholar with whom I’ve been friendly for many years, he was stunned:
An amazing article.Sachs is not only remarkably candid; he’s also remarkably knowledgable about the issue.
Another prominent academic had a similar reaction:
That’s one hell of an interview, no doubt about it.
Most recently, Sachs spent an hour discussing the Covid issue on the popular podcast of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., another prominent dissenter who had once been close to the heart of the establishment. Sachs described the enormous dishonesty he had encountered in his role of chairman, until he finally concluded that the true nature of the virus and its origins were the subject of a massive cover-up.
Everyone who has listened to that interview has been very impressed, and a leading figure in the Covid origins debate sent me the following note after I brought it to his attention:
This is an amazingly good interview on Sachs’s part – clear, forceful, humorous and all the more compelling because he started off on the other side of the issue. Interesting what a deep perspective he has now developed, tracing the train of events back to Fauci’s acquisition of the biodefense portfolio.
Sachs has demonstrated his political courage in other areas as well, strongly dissenting from the near-total uniformity of public opinion on the Ukraine war and our relations with China.
Individuals so highly-placed in the American establishment only rarely break so sharply with the officially-endorsed narrative on a major issue. As I have written, the typical reaction of the media has been to blacklist and ignore such potentially-dangerous defectors.
However, the Internet now sometimes allows those media gatekeepers to be circumvented if the public demand for the other side of the story is sufficiently strong.
Although Prof. John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago ranks as one of our most distinguished political scientists, his longstanding views on the simmering Ukraine conflict had been completely excluded from public discussion. His past lectures on the subject were available on Youtube, but had attracted little notice.
However, after the war broke out, one of those videos began drawing an unprecedented worldwide audience, and its viewership of over 27 million is now quite possibly greater than any academic presentation in the entire history of the Internet. His other lectures have accumulated an additional 10 or 15 million views.
As a direct consequence of such enormous global attention, some of our most elite media outlets felt forced to respond. The Economist soon invited him to write a guest column on the subject and most recently the ultra-establishmentarian Foreign Affairs opened its pages to his long contrarian essay on the Ukraine war.
Playing With Fire in Ukraine The Underappreciated Risks of Catastrophic Escalation
John Mearsheimer • Foreign Affairs • August 17, 2022 • 3,200 Words
Although the mainstream media has almost totally ignored Prof. Sachs’ important views on Covid issues, that boycott may also eventually be broken if he continues to gain attention elsewhere. The many alternative podcasters and websites provide an effective channel for disseminating such controversial ideas, especially when the advocate is a public figure with such strong credibility on the subject.
My entire knowledge of Sachs’ views is based upon his public statements, and he has never suggested the deliberate biowarfare attack hypothesis that I have been publicly proposing for more than two years. But I do find it quite intriguing that nowhere in any of his lengthy, extended discussions does he ever direct any blame towards China for creating the virus nor does he even mention the Wuhan lab, the alleged site of the supposed Covid lab-leak.
Instead, he focuses like a laser upon America’s very extensive bioengineering efforts aimed at producing such modified Covid-like coronaviruses and also upon the concentrated effort by scientists in the orbit of the American government to disguise Covid’s obviously artificial characteristics. He discusses our heavily-funded biowarfare efforts, and how these programs were shifted a couple of decades ago from direct military authority over to Anthony Fauci’s NIH. And he mentions the apparent intelligence-gathering role of Peter Daszak’s Pentagon-funded EcoHealth Alliance, which had worked with the Wuhan lab and many other biolabs worldwide.
Sachs is a public figure of the highest establishment reputation and it would be grossly irresponsible of him to even hint at an explosive hypothesis such as my own unless and until far more solid evidence became available. Moreover, he is currently playing an absolutely crucial role in using his reputation to draw attention to the bioengineered nature of the Covid virus and the massive ongoing attempt by the media and scientific communities to conceal that reality, so provoking any additional controversies might be a fatal distraction.
However, as chairman of the Covid Commission, he has been a crucial insider on all of these matters, and I do find his important information entirely consistent with my own analysis, as presented in my series of articles over the last couple of years. All this information is easily available on this website, as an eBook, or in a print edition paperback now available on Amazon, while my video interviews have now easily surpassed a million views on Rumble:
A couple of years ago, I did have the honor of adopting a wonderful cat, Captain Timothy (Starfleet), my first cat ever.
He was the perfect cat, in every sense.
Considerate, gentle, playful.
Every single time I came home from my shift at the hospital, he was there to greet me, standing on a couch, in an attentive position, as soon as the door was open.
Until one day, he didn’t and I knew something was wrong.
5 am, and he was crying on the hallway.
He had a renal lymphoma, and passed away 15 days after he was diagnosed.
Sometimes when I get home, I’m still wating for him to be there, waiting.
Waiting.
Rest in peace, Captain.
x
Dan Bongino: We are going bankrupt
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Europe’s Economic And Social Suicide – Provoked by The U.S. And Helped Along By Europe’s Leaders
Due to the stupidity of Europe’s political leadership the U.S. has managed to push it towards committing economic and social suicide.
On February 8 Michael Hudson, a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, wrote about the then upcoming conflict in Ukraine which the U.S. was intentionally provoking.
The sanctions that U.S. diplomats are insisting that their allies impose against trade with Russia and China are aimed ostensibly at deterring a military buildup. But such a buildup cannot really be the main Russian and Chinese concern. They have much more to gain by offering mutual economic benefits to the West. So the underlying question is whether Europe will find its advantage in replacing U.S. exports with Russian and Chinese supplies and the associated mutual economic linkages.
What worries American diplomats is that Germany, other NATO nations and countries along the Belt and Road route understand the gains that can be made by opening up peaceful trade and investment. If there is no Russian or Chinese plan to invade or bomb them, what is the need for NATO? And if there is no inherently adversarial relationship, why do foreign countries need to sacrifice their own trade and financial interests by relying exclusively on U.S. exporters and investors? ...Instead of a real military threat from Russia and China, the problem for American strategists is the absence of such a threat. ... ...The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” The problem is to create a suitably offensive incident and depict Russia as the aggressor.
To provoke a war in Ukraine was easy as the movie production team ruling Ukraine was willing to sacrifice its people and country in a unwinnable war against Russia. The Ukrainian actor and president Vladimir Zelensky had already announced that the Ukraine would, by force, take back Crimea and the Donbas republics that were in the hand of a Russia aligned Ukrainian resistance.
On February 15 Professor John Mearsheimer gave a talk (vid) in which he documented how the U.S. had caused, and is responsible for, the whole Ukraine crisis.
Since last year about half of the Ukrainian army was positioned in the county’s southeast at the ceasefire line with the Donbas republics. On February 17 it opened preparatory artillery fire against the resistance positions. Over the next days the barrage steadily increased.
The observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE), positioned at the frontline, counted and documented each artillery strike and published daily summaries on its website. From 80 artillery impacts on February 16 the attacks increased each day to over 2,000 per day on February 22.
The OSCE observers also provided maps of where the grenades exploded (here of February 21):
x
biggerThe vast majority of impacts were on three areas east of the ceasefire line on resistance held positions. Anyone with a bit of military knowledge will recognize such intense artillery campaigns along distinct axes as the preparation action for an all out attack.
The leaders of the Donbas republics as well as of Russia had to react to this upcoming attack. On February 19 the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic asked the Russia government for help. Left alone they would have had no chance to resist against the Ukrainian army the U.S. and its allies, since 2015, had financed and built.
Up to this point Russia had insisted that the DPR and LNR were part of Ukraine but should receive some kind of autonomy as provided by the Minsk agreements. But it now had to take steps that would legalize Russian support for the Donbas. On February 21 Russia recognized the republics as independent states. The three parties signed cooperation agreements which included clauses for mutual military support:
Russia’s treaty with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) stipulates granting the right to build military bases on their territory and provide mutual military assistance, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told a plenary session of the lower house of parliament on Tuesday."An important aspect: the treaty stipulates the intentions by the parties to interact in the field of foreign policy, the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity and security provision, in particular, by way of rendering each other required assistance, including military aid, and granting the right to build, use and improve military infrastructure and military bases on their territory," the high-ranking Russian diplomat pointed out.
With the agreements in place Russian military help against the Ukrainian attack became (at least arguably) legal under Article 51 (collective self-defense) of the UN Charter.
On February 22, no Russia soldier had yet stepped onto Ukrainian ground, the U.S. and its allies imposed extreme economic sanctions against Russia. President Biden acknowledged that the U.S. had long prepared for this.
Over the last few months, we have coordinated closely with our NATO Allies and partners in Europe and around the world to prepare that response. We’ve said all along and I’ve told Putin to his face a mon- — a month a- — more than a month ago that we would act together and the moment Russia moved against Ukraine.Russia has now undeniably moved against Ukraine by declaring these independent states.So, today, I’m announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday. These have been closely coordinated with our Allies and partners, and we’ll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates.
On February 24 Russian forces entered the Ukraine to preempt the coming attack on the Donbas republics. (The Russian plan A was to press on Kiev to agree to a fast settlement of the crisis. That failed in early April after Boris Johnson’s intervention in Kiev. Russia switched to plan B, the de-militarization of Ukraine.)
The German government announced that the Nord Stream II pipeline, which is technically ready to deliver Russian gas to Germany, would not be launched.
On February 27 the German chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a hysteric and moralizing speech in front of the Germany parliament. It accused Russia of breaking peace in Europe.
The Minsk agreement, under which the Ukraine had committed to federalize and give some autonomy to Donbas, was not mentioned once. Germany and France were both guarantee powers who in 2015 had cosigned the Minsk agreement but had, over seven long years, done little to press for its implementation.
Instead of working for a fast ceasefire and a renewal of economic relations with Russia Scholz committed Germany to economic suicide.
On February 28 Professor Hudson published another deep analysis of the crisis:
Michael Hudson expands on his theme on how the conflict in Ukraine is the result of much bigger forces at work, and not necessarily the ones you have top of mind. He argues that preventing European countries, particularly Germany, from developing deeper economic ties with China and Russia is what’s really at stake.Here, Hudson describes the hold key US interests have on foreign policy and how they see conflict as a way to hold off a possible fall in their status and power.
The Hudson piece is quite long and deep. I recommend to read it in full.
The U.S. idea is to isolate Europe from its Eurasian hinterland, to move Europe’s industries to the U.S. and to buy up the rest for cheap.
To take Nord Stream II out and to get European countries to boycott Russian energy the U.S. had promised that it would ‘help’ by selling its (quite expensive) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Europe. But when natural gas prices started to rise in Europe free market forces set in and they also started to increase in the United States. High energy prices threatened to damage Biden and to tank the Democrats in the midterm elections.
An explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Texas has left nearby residents rattled and is taking a substantial amount of the fuel off the market at a time when global demand is soaring.Freeport LNG will be offline for at least three weeks, the company said Thursday, following a fire in its export facility. ...Most of Freeport LNG's exports were going to Europe, according to Rystad Energy. Europe may be able to offset the lost volume with increases from other facilities, said Emily McClain, vice president at Rystad. Europe gets about 45% of its LNG from the U.S., and the rest comes from Russia, Qatar and other sources, she said.
Three weeks was too short to lower U.S. natural gas prices. The U.S. regulator for such plants, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), stepped in and prolonged the restart process:
The second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas export facility hit by fire earlier this month will not be allowed to repair or restart operations until it addresses risks to public safety, a pipeline regulator said on Thursday. ...U.S. natural gas futures tumbled 15% on Thursday due to the report and on a continued inventory build, contributing to a 33% price drop in June, the biggest monthly drop since 2018...."The actual process (of reviews, repairs and approvals) will take longer than three months, and potentially take six to 12 months," said Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG at consultants Rapidan Energy Group.
There was also some news of sudden ‘problems’ at other LNG facilities.
It is not only natural gas but also petroleum products that the U.S. is withholding while Europe is in need:
The Biden administration is warning refiners that it may take “emergency measures” to address fuel exports as stockpiles of gasoline and diesel fuel remain near historically low levels in the Northeast.
We will be so bold as to posit that not only has the sanctions war against Russia backfired spectacularly, but the damage to the West, most of all Europe, is accelerating rapidly. And this is not the result of Russia taking active measures but the costs of the loss or reduction of key Russian resources compounding over time.So due to the intensity of the energy shock, the economic timetable is moving faster than the military. Unless Europe engages in a major course correction, and we don’t see how this can happen, the European economic crisis looks set to become devastating before Ukraine is formally defeated....As we’ll explain, this shock will be so severe if nothing is done (and as we’ll explain, it’s hard to see anything meaningful enough being done), that the result will be not a recession, but a depression in Europe. ...In theory, the EU could try to make up to Russia. But the time for that has passed. It isn’t just that too many key European players like Ursula von der Leyen and Robert Habeck are too deeply invested in Russia-hatred to retreat. Even if there were blood in the street come December, they wouldn’t be turfed out quickly enough.It is also that Europe has burned its bridges with Russia beyond just the sanctions. Putin has repeatedly offered the EU the option of using Nord Stream 2. Even with Russia now using half its capacity, it could still fully substitute for former Nord Stream 1 deliveries. Putin did warn that option would not stay open for all that long, that Russia would start using the rest of the volume. ...So the outcome seems inevitable: many Europeans businesses will fail, leading to job losses, business loan defaults, loss of government revenues, foreclosures. And with governments thinking they’d maybe spent a bit too freely with Covid relief, their emergency energy fillups will be too little to make all that much difference.At some point, the economic contraction will lead to a financial crisis. If the downdraft is rapid enough, it could be the result as much of (well warranted) loss of confidence as actual losses and defaults to date.
The U.S. has, out of purely egoistic reasons, dragged Europe, and especially Germany, into a trap that will lead to its economic and social destruction. Instead of recognizing the danger, and taking the necessary countermeasure, the European and the German ‘leaders’ committed themselves to help with the process.
The best thing for Europe and Germany would of course have been to avoid the crisis. That failed because of a lack of insight and effort. But now, as Europe is deep down in a hole, the politicians should at least stop digging. It is in Europe’s and especially Germany’s obvious interest to keep the crisis as short as possible.
Germany will keep up its support for Kyiv "for as long as it takes", Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, calling for an enlargement of the European Union to eventually include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. ...Germany had undergone a "fundamental change of heart" in recent months on its military support for Ukraine, he said."We will keep up this support, reliably and, above all, for as long as it takes," he told the packed university audience.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed the "as long as it takes" promise to Kyiv in a speech in Slovenia, calling for "a new strategic thinking" to uphold European values.
As those ‘leaders’ seem to see it, affordable energy, warm homes, sufficient food, jobs and pensions of Europe citizens are not part of the ‘European values’ they intend to uphold.
The economic and financial breakdown of Europe will be much faster than the obviously necessary political change of its third rate leadership.
The only political sector that will not be damaged by all this, at least in France and Germany, is the far right. That in itself is also a danger.
Posted by b on August 29, 2022 at 17:38 UTC | Permalink
A mega project/plan to move 500,000 Japanese elderly to retire in China.
Uh oh!
Now that such plan is uncovered, I don’t think so the CCP will allow.
These people will eventually become a social burden to china hospital system.
The other question is , once this project is successfully, will there be the second, third such project?
Earlier, China uncovered Japanese schools in China, with a secret plan to train Japanese children with parents working in China as future agents merging into all sectors of the Chinese society. These Japanese schools exclusive to Japanese students only. No one know what they taught, everything in secret.
In 100% won’t trust Japan; this is Asia's most warmongering nation.
50万日本老人将赴中国养老！首批接收城市曝光！|养老院_网易订阅
Article HERE in Chinese
Clayton Morris: We are watching the West collapse right before our eyes, and it’s all their fault
Pretty good.
The announcement of a New Taiwan reunification organization in the name of China revolution army
The leaders with a title “commanding general” and “deputy commanding general”. Very interesting. Open and aggressive anti CPP (America) and Pro-reunification with China.
Important speech from China about the Nancy Polaski visit
Speech by Professor Zhang Weiwei 张维为 and professor jin chanrong 金灿荣 re pelosi Taiwan visit and China strategic response within minutes of pelosi landing in Taiwan includes
1) announcement of large scale military exercise surrounding Taiwan and
2）a 6000 words official statement
These moves showing the CCP has planned long time ago how they will take back Taiwan, and only waiting for the (stupid) American to provide the right opportunity and atmosphere.
I added the (stupid).
Unfortunately, it is in Chinese, for those who understand Chinese , the speech by this two CCP members, former Deng xiaopeng translator 张维为 and senior advisor to the CCP 金灿荣 are very informative.
Worth your 42 minutes time to listen the full content.
Still remember how former Singapore minister George Yao describes China as a panda bear with claws.
If the coalition of crusaders led by the US; and defeated by a backward China in the Korean war in the 1950s is of any lesson to learn...
(military might no match for brain power plus strong will),
Any Nations that dare to start another war over Taiwan in the 21st century will not have a "chance in Hell" (to win).
China is formidable. (advanced Chinese military, training, quality and quantity, plus brain power and will power.)
U.S. Business Leaders Not Ready for the Next U.S.-China Crisis
It is no exaggeration to conclude that U.S.-China ties have deteriorated to depths not seen since the late 1960s, when the two had no diplomatic ties and were actually shooting at each other in Vietnam. China has long since stopped fomenting revolutionary wars, but from Washington’s perspective (which is increasingly shared by others in Europe and Asia) Beijing’s promotion of state capitalism, disregard for human rights, irredentist claims, and support for Putin collectively represent a deeply dangerous challenge to the existing world order. To Beijing, a declining United States is trying to use every tool in its toolkit to undermine and isolate Beijing and keep China from achieving its rightful resumption as a world power, which is driving China’s approach increasingly in a zero-sum direction.
While the Biden administration has expressed a desire to manage competition, the two governments are barely on speaking terms and when they do talk, it is usually an exercise in frustration. President Biden’s phone call with Xi Jinping in early March was most noted for the warnings the U.S. side issued against Chinese support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai has said her conversations with Beijing have yielded no progress on commercial differences. And when the United States recently announced the departure of nonessential personnel from the Shanghai consulate, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the United States of not trying to protect lives but of politicizing the pandemic.
There will be no easy exit from this new chapter of Sino-American strategic competition—a chapter that arguably started with Xi’s moves against the South China Sea and neighboring states seven years ago, as the Obama administration was still exploring modalities for a productive bilateral relationship. No political leader in Washington will now argue for returning to that earlier hopeful period in bilateral relations and the thrust of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy is properly to strengthening alliances and partnership to deal with a more coercive and ambitious China. Yet at the same time, the current trajectory in the bilateral relationship bodes ill for the ability of Washington and Beijing to manage crises that might emerge in the coming years. Both sides regularly assume the worst intentions of the other: Beijing’s anti-Western social mobilization campaign continues unabated, the quiet dialogue mechanisms that once allowed strategic exchanges between the White House and Zhongnanhai have been replaced by lecturing megaphones.
In the wake of the global financial crisis, natural disasters, Covid-19, and extensive supply chain challenges, corporate leaders have become adept at preparing for “black swans” and the continuity of business contingencies, embracing “just in case” over “just in time” and learning to prepare redundancies and protect key technologies. But the current dynamics in U.S.-China relations suggest that there may be a need to prepare for a new bevy of potential black swans from technology competition to major military contingencies.
Thinking the Increasingly Probable and No Longer Unthinkable
The impediments to war between the United States and China—from the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons to the trillions of dollars in possible economic damage—remain robust. But the escalation ladder from current “gray zone” coercion and diplomatic jostling up towards cyber, technology decoupling, and even military threats is also closer at hand for Beijing, and therefore Washington. In the Taiwan Strait, Chinese military overflights that cross the midline or circle the island are now a regular occurrence. Although there is reason to doubt that Xi Jinping has set a firm deadline for reunification, Beijing may increasingly believe that force is their only option. An accidental collision between ships or jets in the South China Sea is not only possible—it has also occurred. The nuclear submarine USS Connecticut’scollision with an unknown underwater object in October 2021 is a case in point. This incident did not spiral into a larger conflict, but it easily could have. There is now greater commercial and military traffic in the South China Sea than ever, but the United States and China have very few crisis management mechanisms, with insufficient ways to communicate at an operational level in real time.
The U.S. and Chinese economies have become so intertwined over the last 40 years that when Trump first launched his trade war, the idea of decoupling seemed absolutely impossible. Even the restrictions on Huawei looked like a pebble of decoupling in an ocean of connectivity.
Not so anymore. The woven threads of commercial ties have already started to fray. Total merchandise trade has held steady, but processing trading, which highlights movement of goods within supply chains, is down. Equity investment from the United States to China has only dropped a little and U.S. companies still report being profitable, but their angst at their treatment is on the rise. Venture capital deals have steadily fallen. Meanwhile, all manner of Chinese investment to the United States has plummeted. Overall financial flows are still quite high (and perhaps larger than ever), but the storm clouds are gathering, with the 250 Chinese companies on U.S. markets poised to be delisted, and growing concerns in the United States about the downsides of U.S. institutional capital in Chinese markets. Travel is down to a trickle of businesspeople willing to endure lengthy quarantines. The growth of sudden lockdowns, represented most shockingly by Shanghai, is certainly another deterrent to travel.
It is now entirely conceivable that commercial ties could substantially unravel. One route is through the expansion of defensive regulatory measures that would raise the costs of doing business. Both sides have instituted a range of restrictions and are pursuing analogous programs to achieve supply chain resiliency and reduce their dependency on the other. There are now nearly 1,000 Chinese companies penalized in one way or another by the United States for national security or human rights reasons. The final China bill that emerges out of the Senate-House conference may very well start to require U.S. investments to China to undergo national security reviews the same way the U.S. screens inward investment. And China could start to use, among other tools, its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and its own Unreliable Entities List to punish U.S. companies that do not toe Beijing’s line.
The other pathway to reduce ties would be an unintentional escalation of penalties. For example, imagine how Washington might react if Beijing suddenly shut down the cloud computing services of Microsoft or Amazon Web Services (AWS) on the excuse that some customers were inappropriately transferring data abroad in contravention of their data localization rules. The Biden administration would likely have no choice but to retaliate, leading to a potential spiral of ever-growing restrictions that would reduce existing activities and ward off future business.
The possibility of a security crisis and economic decoupling have only been magnified by the war in Ukraine. While U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine may in some ways strengthen deterrence against an attack by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Taiwan in the near term, it may also eliminate any hope Beijing had of achieving unification peacefully and further reduce the likelihood of some sort of negotiated settlement. And the radical expansion of Western commercial restrictions against Russia may be a test run for greater limits on ties with China, particularly if Beijing does not further distance itself from Putin and the invasion.
Everyone should take notice when U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen, not known as an über-hawk, highlighting this possibility, recently warned: “The world’s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China’s reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia.”
Business Is Not Ready
This transition has occurred so fast that global companies that have thrived on doing business with China are not well prepared to adapt to this new normal or to try and stem the tide. Extended interviews and in-depth crisis scenario exercises with dozens of companies and investors, including to an elite group of participants in the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, about these issues over the past few months, have revealed an unexpected combination of overconfidence and resignation in their views.
When faced with the prospect of a military crisis, some companies believe that they could use their connections to be fully informed and potentially even shape the thinking of decisionmakers so that they avoid the worst outcomes. The cold reality is that once a crisis erupts, the economic policymakers get tossed out of the room and the circle of decisionmakers narrow to those who prosecute war. Companies will be forced to operate largely in the dark, or at least be no better informed than Joe Q. Public, and hence, will have to focus on short-term issues such as protecting their most directly affected employees, bank accounts and other assets, and then just hang on.
When it comes to decoupling, we found both rosy optimists and deflated pessimists. Some assert that commercial decoupling is simply not possible because of the continued extent of ties and the obvious economic harm the West would inflict on itself—lost markets, access to resources and opportunities to innovate—that would come from such steps. In contrast to this view that business needs to do little more than remind Washington the benefits of ties, the alternative view—that there is no use in making this argument because no one will listen—is equally if not more prominent. At the end of the day, most companies are highly risk-averse and want to avoid getting on the wrong side of officialdom.
Although some business associations have taken up the challenge, it is hard to find individual companies that are willing to strongly advocate in Washington for continued engagement or push hard on Beijing to liberalize and constrain state capitalism (let alone push on its actions in Xinjiang and Hong Kong). The result is that global businesses are for the most part keeping their heads down, hoping their China opportunities do not dry up, and aiming for greater home government support to relocate some of their supply chains. The war in Ukraine and the concomitant shift in thinking about China in Washington and like-minded capitals in Europe and Asia only reinforces this posture.
What Is to Be Done?
The good news is that almost all business leaders the authors have engaged on these scenarios were already used to thinking about black swans. Few fought the scenarios even if they had not considered them. The bad news is that very few corporations engaged in China have contingency plans or long-term strategies to hedge against the downside risks of growing geopolitical competition. However, there are few good places to start.
First, corporations should not assume that their immediate corporate, regulatory, or political counterparts in China will necessarily be able to protect them against a national-level crisis. Those relationships might help, but they are no guarantee that business operations will survive.
Second, corporations which tend to keep their head down on geopolitics for obvious reasons will now need to engage both governments more actively on the consequences of our inability to manage crises. This will be far more effective if done collectively through business associations. And the effort will only be effective in Washington if the premise is that there will be geopolitical friction and U.S. national interests matter—but that management of that competition is critical. Fighting the premise will mean that corporations do not get a hearing in the Biden administration or Congress on either side of the aisle right now.
Third, corporations need to think about their operating environment the way geostrategists now are—which is to say that there are multiple players shaping relations with China that have weight in Washington and Beijing. U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific and Europe are increasingly aligning with Washington on the necessity of pushing back against Chinese coercion and mercantilism However, all these allies from Japan to Germany also seek careful management of U.S.-China relations. U.S. corporations and business associations rarely align their efforts with counterparts in Tokyo or Brussels, but they need to do so now.
Fourth, corporations need to press for a regional economic strategy that stabilizes U.S.-China relations. Before the Trump administration withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, the strategy of the United States and its allies was to build a rules-based order in the region that would increase all their leverage vis-à-vis Beijing and offer strong incentives for China to play by the rules. The unilateralist U.S. approach to economic statecraft since then has alienated close allies and left room for Beijing to expand its ambitions for regional hegemony—thus adding to geopolitical friction and uncertainty. The administration’s new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is a well-intentioned effort to fill that vacuum, but it still falls short of what is needed to substantially restore faith in U.S. economic policy leadership and curb China’s own ambitions to replace the United States as the primary rule-maker in the region.
Finally, corporate leaders need to engage in the kind of scenario exercises that the U.S. military regularly employs. These scenario games are not meant to be predictive, but rather to stress-test current assumptions and point to measures that might be useful in a crisis (for example, who would CEOs need to know in the event of a major technology or military contingency that threatened their operations). No plan survives first contact with the enemy, but no leader succeeds in a crisis if they have not been forced to consider how exogenous shocks would impact their plans.
What is the USA thinking?
A disturbing video. Please check it out. It concerns mRNA injections that are touted as “vaccines”. This is NOT the same thing as a “dead host” vaccine such as used in Russia and China.
The cats in Beijing’s Forbidden City aren’t strays — they have official jobs!
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As we all know, the Forbidden City is made of wood, although it is of good quality wood, it can not resist the bite of mice. In addition, rats are the natural enemies of cultural relics, and if you are not careful, cultural relics can be destroyed by their mouths.
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However, it is surprising that there is no damage caused by rats in the Forbidden City. And all thanks to the hundreds of cats adopted by the museum. They are a special patrol indispensable to the Forbidden City.
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These cats all have their own names and are registered. Cats are fed food every day, and their health is monitored. Age-appropriate neutering and regular vaccinations are provided. There are also friends from all over the country to visit the Palace Museum, if you are lucky, take a photo with them, if you are not, please come again next time!
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This is just the number one guardian of Jingren Palace. Because it is very domineering, called “Oboi”.（鳌拜）
This is “Little Boy”, the bodyguard of Yi He Xuan, who has retired from the Palace Museum after working there for more than ten years.
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This one is called “Orange”, is a lookout soldier of the Forbidden City, daily reconnaissance is on the roof. The work requires a high degree of concentration, so it often sits motionless on the roof.
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When did the US get involved in Taiwan?
This is MM's comment to the Quora question as posited. -MM
The United States has the dubious honor of being the first nation to attack Taiwan. This happened in 1867. The United States then supported and Armed Japan in invading China, via Taiwan, in 1874. This happened during the Mudan incident.
China has NEVER forgotten the “Rape of Nanjing”, and the “One Hundred years of humiliation” that resulted DIRECTLY from the United States actions, efforts, funding and military actions.
To think that China has forgotten simply because you are unaware of history is a dangerous mistake.
China is a peaceful nation, but they are ready, have been ready, and are fully willing to slap the United States back to the stone age if it persists in trying to repeat the last American induced “suppression”.
US Sub That Hit Undersea Mountain Previously Hit Pier: Investigation
So we are supposed to believe that the USN is full of klutz's. And nothing else. Just an article in supportive of the bullshit narrative of hitting an undersea mountain. -MM
The US Navy submarine USS Connecticut ran into an underwater mountain in the South China Sea last October. Months earlier, in April 2021, the submarine hit a pier in San Diego. The command investigation said the submarine’s leadership failed to learn from the first incident.
With China trying to boost its presence in South America, Argentina has emerged as a valuable partner for Beijing. In a recent development, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez laid a wreath on the mausoleum of former Chairman of the Communist Party, Mao Zedong.
In America’s Backyard, China To Set Up A Massive Nuclear Power Plant Using Its Indigenous ‘Hualong One’ Tech
The deepening association between China and Argentina, which is participating in the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics, is not free of controversy though.
In a move that has angered London, the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom stated that Beijing’s position on the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands problem is consistent and that it strongly supports Argentina’s rightful claim to complete sovereignty over the islands, Global Times reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez on the sidelines of Beijing Olympics (via Twitter)
Malvinas Islands is the Spanish name of the Falkland Islands that are controlled and administered by the British.
The Chinese embassy’s spokesperson made the remarks, which were published on the embassy’s website on February 8. The remarks came after UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Twitter that China must respect the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, which she considers to be “part of the British Family.”
After Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández met China’s President Xi on the fringes of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the foreign secretary stated that “China must respect the sovereignty of the Falklands”.
According to a statement on the Chinese embassy, the two leaders spoke of their “deep friendship,” and Argentina joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a state-backed effort for global influence, stated The Guardian.
They did, however, also sign an agreement in which China reaffirmed its support for Argentina’s Falkland Islands claim, while Fernández endorsed Xi’s one-China policy, which claims Taiwan as a part of the mainland. The statement said Argentina should be able to “fully exercise its sovereignty over the Malvinas (Falklands) Islands issue”.
But Truss said: “We completely reject any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands. The Falklands are part of the British family and we will defend their right to self-determination. China must respect the Falklands’ sovereignty.”
Even though this has triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries that already remain embroiled in tensions on various issues, this is not the first time when China has backed Argentina’s claim over the islands.
In June of last year, a Chinese envoy had called for worldwide efforts to abolish colonialism and outlined China’s position on the Malvinas Islands.
Beijing-London relations have deteriorated considerably in recent years, with the two nations battling over trade, Hong Kong, and human rights. It is ironic though that China which asserts its sovereignty over the self-governing island of Taiwan does not endorse UK’s control over the Falkland Islands.
Beijing’s stand could be seen as a message to the West. Several western countries support Taiwan’s democracy and independence and oppose the Chinese belligerence and pressure tactics over Taipei.
What Is The Falkland Issue?
Hundreds of Argentine troops landed in the Falkland Islands, also known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina, on April 2, 1982.
The islands were a British overseas territory located 400 miles east of Argentina and 8,000 miles south of the United Kingdom. The islands were the subject of a long-running dispute between Britain and Argentina, despite their modest size and limited population.
After numerous heavy firefights, the small British garrison surrendered on April 2 in the afternoon. It was a much-needed success for Argentina’s military junta, which intended to divert attention away from its brutal rule and other domestic concerns.
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Image via-Wikipedia
The junta assumed that Britain, which was dealing with its own domestic difficulties, would not strike back from afar. However, Britain dispatched 15,000 men to retake the islands over the next 74 days, aboard warships, logistical ships, and even cruise liners.
After failed discussions over control of the islands, the conflict began in earnest on May 1, 1982. Argentine planes fired the first shots in the air, seeking to intercept a Royal Navy task force dispatched to prepare the area for the invasion force.
However, the British military was able to steadily advance and gain an advantage with each passing day with its superior air and naval power. Finally, on June 14, the Argentines, surrounded by all sides, surrendered.
Although China’s military was not involved in the Falklands conflict in any manner, its analysts have studied it extensively, owing to the many parallels that may be found in a conflict over Taiwan, according to a previous article of Business Insider.
Why China Cares About Falklands
Argentine President Fernández has improved his country’s ties with China, which surpassed Brazil as Argentina’s top trading partner in 2020. Bilateral trade increased by 56 percent from 2007 to 2019, reaching $15 billion. Argentina joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in March 2021, and now finally, it has formally joined China’s BRI.
As China aims to expand beyond its immediate region of influence and forge economic relations with South American countries, its support to their stated territorial position is expected to deepen the partnership between them to China’s benefit. It has been interpreted as a plan to occupy space in a region that the United States has traditionally treated as its own backyard.
Further, Beijing has repeatedly chastised Britain’s “colonial mindset” in relation to the Falkland Islands, which overwhelmingly opted to remain a British overseas territory in a plebiscite in 2013.
Last June, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, spoke on decolonization and advocated for the abolition of all forms of colonialism. Argentina attempted to begin negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding the sovereignty of the islands during the same session.
“But it’s OK for the UK to question China’s sovereignty in the South China Sea by sending navy vessels?” Chen Weihua, a journalist for China Daily, an English-language publication owned by the Chinese Communist Party, said in response to Britain’s outrage against the Chinese-Argentine statement. “At the very least, China has not sent its navy to the Malvinas, or the Falkland Islands.”
Recently, China also reaffirmed its support and friendship with Russia. In a joint statement with Russia, it called on the West to “abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold War” as the Russian build-up on the Ukrainian border remains at an all-time high.
The modus operandi has been the same. In the joint statement with Russia, China rebuked the US for encouraging protests in Hong Kong and indirectly supporting independence for Taiwan while Russia expressed its discomfort with NATO expansion.
With the Falkland issue, Beijing is probably doing a tit-for-tat with the West.
Tucker Carlson: Things are falling apart every quickly
Very, very interesting. Worth a watch.
Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Bread
This easy pumpkin and cake mix bread gets an eye-catching swirl when it’s stuffed with a creamy, cheesecake filling.
The Taiwanese are getting pretty darn upset with the current Taiwan government
A famous Taiwanese (indigenous) actress, and a long time law maker 高金素梅 did the unthinkable! She read the full content of an article (written by a former high ranking government officer 杨志良) titled “to survive, people will need to need with a revolution! ” (求生存最後必革命)
The content is directed squarely against the DPP government in Taiwan.
It criticized the current regime as dictatorial, and corrupt. It outlined in great detail of their endless scandals, corruptions, and the hardship and risk created by them to the people of Taiwan.
The article also criticized the current political system keep electing low quality corrupt politicians, and criticized the nationalist party as uselessly incompetent as well.
So The conclusion is to survive, people will NEED to have a revolution to toss out the current DPP government.
US pushing war on China: Malaysia’s ex PM explains imperialism’s roots in capitalism
Malaysia. Listen what is being stated here.
The party and the ox
A man killed a big ox, lit the grill, and said to his daughter: “Daughter, call our friends, family and neighbors to eat with us… Let’s feast!”
His daughter went out into the street and started screaming, “Please help us put out a fire in my father’s house!”
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After a few moments, a small group of people came out; and the rest acted as if they hadn’t heard the cries for help.
Whoever came ate and drank until they swelled up.
The stunned father turned to his daughter and said, “I don’t know any of the people who came, I’ve never seen them before. Where are our friends and family?”
The daughter said, “These people came out of their homes to help us put out fires in our house, not for the party. These are the ones who deserve our generosity and hospitality.”
Conclusion – “those who don’t help you during your fight, shouldn’t eat with you at the victory party”.
Let’s begin with this screenshot to keep us grounded.
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Ignorance abounds in the West.
Hey, do I LOOK fucking Chinese, you dumb fuck, piece of shit, asshole, jack-off, idiot.
The anti-China propaganda is so complete that it appears that [1] A war is imminent, and [2] A dumbed down American population will be unable to innovate at any appreciable level.
Fuck this shit. Let’s go through today’s mix of stuff.
Why did China’s authority ban Christmas gathering in 2017?
That depends on where you got your information from.
SKP mall, Beijing
SKP mall, Beijing
Xin Tiandi, Shanghai
Xin Tiandi, Shanghai
XuJiaHui, Shanghai
XuJiaHui, Shanghai
Apparently real-world Chinese are living in an alternative reality where they are having normal Christmas as usual.
While the Chinese from known anti-China medias are suffering under ‘Chinese authority’s Christmas ban’. LOL. You have to be an IDIOT to believe the bullshit that flows out of American “news”.
Photo from Epochtimes supposedly depicting authority’s repression of the public.
Photo from Epochtimes supposedly depicting authority’s repression of the public.
Next time when you want to get news, avoid American and Western media. News reporting isn’t on their agenda.
Political attacks and information manipulation are.
What do Africans think of the Chinese?
I’m Algerian so I think I’m qualified to answer this. Short answer: I love them and many other Algerians do too.
What I like the most about Chinese people is the way they do business with us. They come, they build whatever they were told to build ,and when they finish, they leave. You might be wondering what’s so special about that? Well, this is not what we are used to. France has been our biggest “partner” for a long period and it has been tough for us. Let me explain – when France decides to do business with us we always lose.
France: Oh you want to produce cars – Renault can help you .
Algeria: Oh cool.
France: Oh – by the way, no other car manufacturer is allowed to produce cars in Algeria for 3 years.
Algeria: Ok cool.
France: …and while we are at, if we don’t sell all our bullshit cars, that no other country accepts, the Algerian government should buy them.
Algeria: Sure mom – it’s people’s money anyway.
France: by the way I don’t like how religious your country is. Change that – now.
Algeria: Sure mom – anything else?
France: I heard you are expanding your train network. Here’s a bankrupted train company that can sell you train wagons three or four times their actual price.
I know I shouldn’t be blaming France for everything since France is just exploiting our corrupt government. But France helped them become our leaders and France is always trying to tell us what to and what not to do.
Sorry for the long answer.
Time to go
For our beloved cat, it was terribly hard to decide what was best. Aside from a bit of arthritis, for 18 years old, she was physically in good shape.
But we started to notice that she was acting rather oddly. She would go behind doors, then seem to get “stuck”, and not know how to get out. She would forget where her cat box was, or where her food was.
And then later, she would sleep all day, but when the sun went down, she would pace, and howl frantically. Nothing we did would calm her.
We had the mobile vet in several times. The vet said that our cat probably had senile dementia. We tried everything the vet recommended, but our poor cat was either frantic and agitated, or so drugged and groggy that we had to carry her to the cat box. We knew it wasn’t a good life for her.
So the vet made a last visit. We sang to our cat, and told her how much we loved her. We gave her poached shrimp, her favorite food. We said good-by, trying not to upset her by crying. The vet gave her a shot, which sent her into a deep sleep. We stroked her, and said that very soon, everything would be OK. Then the vet gave her a last shot, and she went to her eternal sleep.
I often imagine her in the cat version of Valhalla. She is young and healthy again, running over green hills. She plays forever, without ever getting winded. And when she sleeps, she dreams of catching dragons. And maybe of us, the humans who loved her so much.
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Simple Lox & Bagel Recipe
There’s lox & bagels and then there lox and bagels. And a couple, simple changes make this one outstanding.
Serves 2
The food of my people doesn’t get much better – unless you change it up a bit and go with an inspired yogurt/dill/caper thing instead of the usual cream cheese.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 tablespoon dill (dried or fresh)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Pinch of Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
2 whole wheat bagels
Red onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces lox
1 large, beautifully ripe tomato, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
Directions
Put yogurt, capers, dill, lemon juice, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine
Slice bagels in half and either toast, then butter – or butter first then grill on a non-stick surface until golden brown (grilling is better)
Spread yogurt mix on 2 of the bagels, then add tomato, some onion, season with a little more pepper, lots of lox and finish with bagel top
Slice and eat
Why Are So Many Bad Things Happening To America In 2022?
Have you ever wondered why we just keep getting hit by one thing after another? I grew up during a time when it seemed like America was endlessly blessed, but now everything around us seems the opposite of blessed.
Our economy is imploding, inflation is out of control, the housing market is starting to crash, our weather patterns have gone completely nuts, the western half of the nation is enduring the worst drought in 1,200 years, we are dealing with three major pandemics simultaneously, we are losing our proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and it looks like war with China is just around the corner, and on top of everything else our political system is failing because liberals and conservatives deeply, deeply hate one another.
And if you think that there is hope on the horizon, you are going to be severely disappointed.
The current crop of politicians in Washington is the worst that we have had in our entire history, and all of the “solutions” they give us just seem to make matters even worse.
It was authored by a prominent businessman named Sherwin Pomerantz, and it really got me thinking.
Could it be possible that there is a common thread that connects all of the bad things that are constantly happening to us?
In his article, one of the points that Pomerantz makes is that America’s political system is coming apart at the seams right in front of our eyes…
Politically, whether people want to admit it or not, the country is in the midst of a civil war, though for the moment, not one where both sides have taken up arms, one against the other (although that, too, could eventuate).
Sadly, he is right on target.
There is so much politically-motivated hatred in our country today. Liberals deeply hate conservatives and conservatives deeply hate liberals. It would seem that it is only a matter of time before the entire system shatters.
On another note, Pomerantz believes that it is no coincidence that our weather patterns have gone totally haywire and that our nation is being constantly hit by natural disaster after natural disaster…
Then there is the weather. On average, the US experiences fewer than 1,500 tornadoes a year. Through June, there have already been 940 reported tornadoes there, which means the country is on track to see 2,000 or more, a 33% increase year-on-year.The nightly news out of the US for the past few months shows tens of millions of people under extreme weather risk every day, often in three different areas of the country simultaneously (upper Midwest, East coast and the Southeast region). In the west, a long period of drought has been drying up reservoirs and spawning massive forest fires. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) statistics show that as of July 5, 34,478 fires have already burned 4,582,301 acres. This is above the 10-year average of 27,346 fires, and twice the average of 2,026,917 acres burned. The odd thing is that very little of this occurs just north of the US in Canada, or just south in Mexico. It all seems to be centered in the US.
I did find it odd that Pomerantz only briefly mentioned the drought, because it is actually a really big deal.
At this moment, the western half of the nation is in the midst of the worst multi-year megadrought that the region has experienced in 1,200 years, and this is having an absolutely devastating impact on agricultural production.
For example, we are now being warned that a very serious shortage of tomatoes could soon be coming…
As endless supply chain-related food shortages force people to adjust their grocery lists, another essential ingredient is becoming scarce. Along with avocados, cream cheese, chickpeas, and olive oil, the supply of tomatoes has started to dwindle. But this time it’s California’s catastrophic drought conditions denying farmers the water needed to grow the versatile vegetable that’s to blame. Due to the shortage, the price of byproducts like ketchup, salsa, and spaghetti sauce has started to surge.Speaking about the tomato shortage, Head of the California Tomato Growers Association Mike Montana said the golden state desperately needs rain. “We are getting to a point where we don’t have inventory left to keep fulfilling the market demand,” he told Bloomberg News. California, which grows a quarter of the world’s tomatoes, is in the middle of a historic drought that has stoked massive wildfires while drying up reservoirs. It has also become a major threat to the agriculture industry.
When I was growing up, I never once imagined that there could ever be a shortage of tomatoes in this country.
But things have changed, and life in the U.S. will never again be like it was when I was a little boy.
Although to be honest I am having flashbacks to the 1970s with all of the inflation we are witnessing right now.
In fact, if the inflation rate was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, it would be higher than anything that we experienced during the Jimmy Carter era.
Over the past couple of years, our politicians in Washington have gone on the most dramatic borrowing and spending binge in human history, and the “experts” at the Federal Reserve pumped trillions of fresh dollars into the financial system.
Of course that was going to cause inflation, and now we have a colossal mess on our hands.
Every time you get a paycheck you’re falling behind because of inflation.
Your real wages, sixteen months in a row (now let me think, how long has the Biden Administration been around here – about 18 months). Every month since they’ve been here real wages are down.Ok so you’re losing, your treadmill, you’re losing every day in your wages and now the little bit of equity you have in the world, the little bit of net worth you’ve got in the world, the bottom’s fallen out on that.Ok. You are screwed.
Let me be blunt.
Let me do some Harvard Business School math for you – You’re screwed.
The Federal Reserve is recklessly hiking interest rates in a desperate attempt to battle inflation, but everyone knew that this would inevitably cause a housing crash.
And as I pointed out last week, a housing crash has already begun.
The plunge in home sales is just stunning. Sales of new single-family houses collapsed by 12.6% in July from the already beaten-down levels in June, and by nearly 30% from July last year, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511,000 houses, the lowest since January 2016, and well below the lockdown lows, according to data from the Census Bureau today.
Sadly, this is just the beginning.
If the Fed keeps raising rates, things will get far worse.
Meanwhile, we find ourselves battling three major pandemics all at once.
Despite everything that our health authorities have done, COVID is still with us and will be with us for many years to come.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a bird flu pandemic has erupted this year which has resulted in tens of millions of our chickens and turkeys being wiped out.
On top of that, a new monkeypox outbreak continues to spread at an exponential rate all over the planet.
Is it just some sort of a bizarre coincidence that we are now facing three major pestilences simultaneously?
Of course this article would not be complete unless I talked about the war.
We are now deeply involved in a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, and it is not going very well.
And if both sides continue to escalate matters, we could eventually find ourselves in a nuclear conflict with Russia which would have the potential to ultimately kill billions of people.
In addition, the warmongers in the Biden administration have also brought us to the brink of a war with China. More U.S. politicians keep flying over to Taiwan, and at some point the Chinese are going to decide that they simply cannot take any more provocations.
Also, it is just a matter of time before Iran and Israel go to war. And once that happens, the U.S. will inevitably decide to intervene.
In this article, I have covered war, plagues, economic collapse and natural disasters among other things.
Could it be possible that all of these things are happening at this specific moment in human history for a reason?
My hope is that this article will get people thinking.
All of human history has been building up to a grand crescendo, and we get to be here for it.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of the population has no idea what is ahead, and so most of them are going to be absolutely blind-sided by the cataclysmic events that are rapidly coming our way.
Cats know more than you think
Q:What was the biggest warning that your cat was able to give you?
A:That I was pregnant.
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5 years ago now my old man my DLH tuxedo was just acting so odd. He was obsessed with my stomach; would sleep on top on it every chance he got. The final straw was when I put down wet food and he chose to go lay on my stomach instead. That was weird he loved his wet food.
I dragged him to the vet for a check up; everything checked out fine he was completely healthy. A few days later it clicked for me. I called my best friend told her about the cat and thinking maybe he was right; so she got me a pregnancy test and what do you know that cat WAS right.
He knew our twin daughters were coming well before we did. After they were born he chose to be their guard cat. He would sleep outside their bedroom door every night. He would lay in between the two cribs on the floor for naps just to make sure his babies didn’t need anything. He never once tried to get in with them but always made sure he was watching them.
Our girls are 4 now and my old man is a much older man but he absolutely lives for them. He still sleeps in the hallway every night in between their rooms. Just in case they need anything.
I know now when he’s trying to communicate with me I need to listen and I do.
BP Refinery in Whiting Burns – ENERGY EMERGENCY DECLARED
The U.S. Department of Transportation has declared a regional emergency for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin after a fire shut down the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., the largest in the Midwest, though there hasn’t been an impact on gas prices so far.
I believe 25% of the fuel for Michigan comes from that facility, this could really make things interesting.
The fire took place in the refinery’s power house and led to a loss of cooling water that could potentially damage equipment, according to Bloomberg, but the extent of the problems are reportedly limited to a small area of the facility, and no injuries were reported.
The shutdown comes at an inopportune time, just ahead of the harvest in much of the Midwest, and U.S. gasoline supplies are at their lowest August levels since 2015, according to the Energy Information Agency.
The Whiting refinery is a major storage place for crude oil used to make gasoline, and its supplies could be moved to Cushing, Oklahoma, in the event of a long-term closure, according to Bloomberg.
BP PLC shut two crude units at its 435,000 barrel-a-day Whiting, Indiana, refinery after a fire.
Are Tibetans the most persecuted group in China?
When a group is persecuted, what will happen to them?
genocide
Verbal violence, physical threats
Forced to renounce his religious beliefs
Forced to accept other beliefs and customs.
Be evicted, scattered, tost their homes.
Can’t own land, can’t accumulate wealth,
Images are perpetuated in a negative way, just like Jews were once seen as the embodiment of greed.
Am I right? If you agree with that, then let’s see whether Tibetans are being persecuted in China.
First, let’s look at a set of data comparison.
Population: in the first national census in 1953, the local government of Tibet reported a population of 1 million. In the second national census in 1964, the population of Tibet was 1.251 million, including 1.209 million Tibetans; In 2018, the statistical population of Tibet was 3.4382 million, with a net increase of more than 2million.
Education: There was no modern school in old Tibet, and the illiteracy rate of young and middle-aged adults was over 95%. There are now 2,995 schools of various types in Tibet, including 7 ordinary colleges and universities with 841,500 students, forming a complete modern education system. In the past 10 years alone, China has invested more than 165.6 billion yuan in education funds in Tibet.
Education in Tibet.
Political participation: In 2016, in the general election of deputies to the county-level people’s congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region, more than 1.81 million voters participated in the voter registration, and more than 1.72 million voters participated in the voting elections, with a turnout rate of over 95%. Currently, the Tibet Autonomous Region has 35,963 deputies to people’s congresses at all levels, of which Tibetans and other ethnic minorities account for 92.8%.
Participation in government.
Medical and health care: There were only 3 Tibetan medical institutions in old Tibet and no hospital bed. At present, Tibet has formed a four-level modern medical and health service system of autonomous regions, cities, counties, and townships, with 1,661 medical and health institutions of various levels and 18,942 beds.
Medical care in Tibet.
Transportation: There was no regular highway in old Tibet. At present, Tibet’s highway mileage has reached 118,800 kilometers. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Sichuan-Tibet Railway (part of it), and Lhasa-Japan Railway have been opened to traffic. There are 5 navigable airports, 130 domestic and international air routes, and 61 navigable cities. Tibet has formed an extensive network. A comprehensive transportation network with roads, railways and aviation as the main body.
Life expectancy per capita: 35.5 years in 1951 and 71.1 years in 2020.
GDP: 129 million yuan in 1965 and 190.2 billion yuan in 2020.
The above data are extracted from the "general introduction to the local history of Tibet", the national white paper and the Tibet Daily, etc.
In addition to that, the Tibetan people also enjoy full freedom in terms of culture and belief. For example, there are 1787 temples and other places for religious activities in Tibet, with 46000 monks living in temples. Major traditional festivals and religious activities, such as the Tibetan new year, the sheaton Festival, the wangguo Festival, the Sagadawa Festival, and the summoning of the Dafa society, are normally carried out.
In Tibet, both Tibetan and Chinese characters are used in education, public places and social activities. There are 55 national key cultural relics protection units and 616 district level cultural relics protection units in Tibet. The Potala Palace, loprinka and Jokhang Temple are listed in the world heritage list. Tibetan opera, Gesar Epic rap and Tibetan medicine bath method are included in the world intangible cultural heritage list.
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Therefore, ethnic massacres, verbal violence, personal threats and religious oppression have never occurred to the Tibetan people. On the contrary, Tibet is developing vigorously. How can you think that China is persecuting Tibetans? How can you think that China is persecuting Tibetans？
Let me tell a story. I have a Tibetan friend. One day I made a video call with her. I found her background was like a palace, very magnificent. I was really shocked when she said that this was her home. I was completely fascinated by the unique cultural symbols and decorative styles of Tibetans. I can’t help but sigh, will anyone not love this shocking and fascinating culture? We should protect this precious minority culture! Fortunately, this is exactly what China does.
I also have a few friends who have traveled by car in Tibet for half a month. They would share with us pictures of the beautiful scenery and food in Tibet every day. I found that Tibet’s infrastructure is perfect, the streets are lively and beautiful, and the people are at ease with smiles on their faces.
After my friend came back, he said to me, “This land is really magical. Faith seems to be rooted in their bones. It is romantic and touching.” So those who have really been to Tibet have seen the true face and essence of Tibet. The people who demonize Tibet on the Internet are based on imagination and stereotypes.
In short, persecution does not exist at all. No matter which ethnic group it is, it is equal and taken care of in China. Let me put some more pictures about Tibet. Language is not as powerful as real photos. You are welcome to fall in love with this pure land, and you can come here one day to travel.
Tibetans are a happy minority.
So I have a question. Why is it that every time I take a shower my cat gets in and demands that I hold him and wash him I only allow him in once every one or two weeks but im not sure why he has this behavior?
Because some cats love sharing the shower with their parents. And only cats know why they do what they do. We humans are only guessing the reasons and pretending that there are some logical explanations.
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The Futility of Dialogue With Idiots & Liars
The entire crisis could have been avoided with much less loss of life if the NATO powers had responded to Russia’s long-held security concerns.
Two weeks ago, the Strategic Culture Foundation proposed an urgent, simple test: stop the artillery shelling on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. The ZNPP – Europe’s largest nuclear power station – continues to come under military attack thereby risking a nuclear catastrophe.
It is an incredible siege situation. And one that illustrates – for anyone willing to see it, that is – the profound criminality of the NATO-backed war in Ukraine against Russia. There is nothing that the NATO powers and their lying media will stoop to. In a related illustration, the British would-be next Prime Minister Liz Truss this week said she was willing to use nuclear weapons even if it caused global annihilation. This is the same psychopathic mentality that the world has to endure from such Western regimes.
This week, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations presented photographic evidence to the Security Council that showed irrefutably that the ZNPP is being shelled by the NATO-backed Kiev regime. The trajectory of fire is from the territory held by the Ukrainian military and the weaponry includes M777 howitzers supplied by the United States.
The Kiev regime’s claims are patently absurd. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claims that Russian forces are attacking the ZNPP despite the obvious fact that the Russian military took over the station in early March, days after it launched its security operation on February 24 to neutralize mounting NATO threats from Ukraine. The Western governments and news media continue to indulge Zelensky’s blatant lie by amplifying the perverse accusations of “self-sabotage” by Russia. The United Nations’ chief António Guterres has also shamefully indulged the nonsense by pretending to “not know the truth” about “conflicting claims”.
There are no “conflicting claims”. It is starkly evident that the NATO-backed Kiev regime is engaging in nuclear terrorism by willfully attacking the ZNPP. NATO and its Ukrainian proxy are using the threat of nuclear catastrophe to demand that Russian forces withdraw from the ZNPP. It is entirely fortunate that Russia’s military secured the ZNPP at an early stage. Otherwise, the Kiev regime and its NATO handlers would have had a free hand to use nuclear blackmail.
Not for the first time, this week the Western powers abused the Security Council by allowing the Ukrainian leader to address the forum. The Council’s rules stipulate that addresses can only be made by in-person attendees. Yet, for the second time, Zelensky was permitted to speak to the Council via video link. His speech was a travesty of lies, accusing Russia of nuclear terrorism among other hysterical claims of causing world hunger and global inflation.
When Russia’s ambassador Vassily Nebenzia took his turn to set the record straight at the Security Council hearing, the Ukrainian leader refused to listen, his video link conveniently cut off.
Nevertheless, the Russian envoy presented the evidence of NATO-backed military strikes on the ZNPP and went on to cogently state that the crisis in Ukraine has been systematically instigated by the NATO powers and its Kiev proxy over the past eight years since the CIA-backed coup in 2014. Nebenzia remarked on how Western powers and the Kiev regime are living in a “parallel reality”.
It is common to hear these days how the world is subjected to a post-truth condition. In plainer language that means a world of lies, falsehoods, distortions, misinformation and disinformation. The crisis in Ukraine, the NATO powers and the Kiev regime are an embodiment of this fiendish reality.
Western regimes accuse Russia of unprovoked aggression in Ukraine. (The same regimes that have slaughtered their way through Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and continue to illegally bomb Syria, to name but a few victim nations.) They declare they are defending sovereignty and democracy. This is a preposterous charade that flies in the face of facts that the Western powers weaponized a Nazi regime in Ukraine to destabilize Russia. (An echo of how they weaponized Hitler’s Third Reich for the same purpose more than eight decades ago.) The Kiev regime has been killing its own people for eight years and committed countless war crimes. The relentless attacks on the ZNPP are totally consistent with the depraved conduct. Elsewhere, the NATO-backed regime has shelled chemical and oil plants in the Donbass territory. The Western media decline to report on these violations because that would reveal the criminal mentality and practice of the Kiev regime and its NATO sponsors.
Russia’s military operation to neutralize the growing NATO threat in Ukraine has been effective. The poisonous boil has been lanced and NATO’s decades-long aggressive expansionism against Russia has been checked. Yet Western media – the propaganda ministry that it is – claim that Russia’s intervention has been a failure. The United States and its NATO allies continue to flood Ukraine with offensive weapons even while the Kiev regime is using nuclear terrorism with these weapons and while Russian forces are destroying the Ukrainian military. That’s not a contradiction; it is a green light for more war and profits for the American military-industrial complex that underpins U.S. capitalism.
The entire crisis could have been avoided with much less loss of life if the NATO powers had responded to Russia’s long-held security concerns. But that assumes the NATO powers would have been interested in avoiding war. The damning conclusion is that the United States and its imperialist allies have always wanted the present war in order to pursue a geopolitical ambition of confronting Russia. In the same way that the U.S.-led axis wants to precipitate a war with China over Taiwan and other bogus issues.
American-led Western capitalism is addicted to war for its own ghoulish survival. A world of peaceful relations is fundamentally anathema to Washington and its vassals. But the ruling regimes can’t very well admit that pernicious motive, so they have to cover up their criminal agenda with deceptions about democracy, rules-based order, human rights and other laughable pretensions. Western media provide the necessary cosmetics for the ghoulish reality. The fact is wars and destruction are the oxygen for U.S. global power and its imperial lackeys. Dozens of wars since World War II waged by the U.S. and its international crime syndicate of NATO accomplices, especially its British henchman, attest to that naked, ugly truth.
The Ukrainian comedian-turned-president Zelensky is a liar and idiot. But he is only a bit-player in a bigger circus of imperial kabuki. His regime has used human shields and civilian centers as cover for its despicable ends. It has committed false-flag massacres in a vile attempt to blame Russia. It has diverted Russian gas from European markets while refusing to pay its energy debts. And it continues to extort Western taxpayers to foot the bill for its depredations – all too willingly obliged by Western regimes. To pay for the global-scale extortion racket, the Western public is being told to take cold showers and get used to “the end of abundance”, as France’s President (and former bankster) Emmanuel Macron haughtily advised this week.
The farce this week at the UN Security Council in which Western powers brazenly snubbed the evidence of their own criminality while giving a platform to Zelensky to peddle his ridiculous lies demonstrates a profound dilemma. Any attempt to engage idiots and liars through reasoned dialogue is doomed to fail. When dialogue and diplomacy are made futile then conflict is made all but inevitable. That dilemma has been a constant hallmark of relations with Western powers for many years. The present crisis in Ukraine is the tragic outcome. Lamentably, more such crises can be expected because the idiots and liars never stop.
Western regimes are collapsing from their own inherent loss of legitimacy. That loss is entirely due to their lies becoming more manifest despite their servile media facade. Collapse can be good. It is incontestably good in the case of ending endemic corruption. The ineffable danger, however, is what Western elites will do to avoid historic collapse. As the NATO-backed Kiev regime is demonstrating through its nuclear terrorism and as Britain’s idiotic politician Liz Truss revealed by her demonic embrace of global annihilation.
How To Make Perfect Pot Roast (From the Stovetop To the Oven) | A Roast Beef Dutch Oven Recipe
Savory, fork-tender PotRoast smothered in a rich brown gravy just might be the most wanted comfortfood dish of all.
Delicious Pot Roast.
This one, in particular, shines far above the rest thanks to a few simple steps other recipes are leaving behind.
This is everything you need to know to make a killer Pot Roast every single time.
Today, in addition to a must-have recipe, we’ll cover the simple formula for a foolproof, perfectly tender pot roast, how to know if you’ve been searing all wrong, easy steps to add more flavor to your roast, and lastly, how to take your gravy from good to great without a reduction!
Start with a chuckroast and pat it dry so you can get a really good sear!
Then, add the seasoning.
Rub it all over and make sure you get all around the sides too, allowing for flavor in every single bite.
Sprinkle the roast with flour next — this will help to develop a nice crust on the roast.
Dice up your pot roast veggies — carrots, onions, and garlic is all you need.
We’re keeping it simple for this braise! Braising means that you are cooking something under low heat, for an extended period of time, partially submerged in liquid.
This method of cooking can be used for all different sorts of proteins and even vegetables, but it also happens to result in the most tender, most flavorful roastbeef ever!
We’ll be braising the beef in a Dutchoven, a great cooking vessel that goes from the stovetop to the oven in one fail swoop.
After the beef is seared, the vegetables go in the pot, and then it’s time for the gravy to come together.
Look out — this one is fairly incredible!
It’s loaded with red wine, beef broth, and fresh herbs. No need to reduce it later; the flour will take care of that right off the bat! Transfer the roast to the oven to finish cooking.
Once you try this roast beef recipe, you will never go back! Enjoy!
THE SECRET TO PERFECTLY TENDER POT ROAST
When it comes to making a perfect, fork-tender pot roast, it’s all about cooking the right cut of meat low and slow, at the right temperature, in the right amount of liquid…for the right amount of time. When all of these factors come together perfectly, you are guaranteed a fork-tender pot roast every single time. The best cut of beef for a fork-tender pot roast is beef chuck shoulder roast, and a three-hour braise is perfect for a 4-5 pound chuck shoulder.
Braising sounds technical, but all it means is that you are cooking something partially in liquid (not necessarily submerged), in a covered dish. Dutch ovens are going to be your best friend for this cooking process.
COOKING ROAST BEEF IN A DUTCH OVEN
Dutch ovens are by far the best product out there for braising meats, which is exactly how we are going to be cooking our pot roast. Using the Dutch oven for cooking your roast beef allows you to build an incredible amount of flavor in just one vessel. It is also an excellent even-heat distributor because of its thick cast iron makeup. Here is a simple overview of how we will cook out roast beef in the Dutch oven:
Season and sear the meat.
Sauté the vegetables.
Add in the braising liquid and the roast.
Cook low and slow for 3 hours.
ARE YOU SEARING THE WRONG WAY?
The perfect pot roast recipe is all about building flavor, and the sear is where the flavor begins. After the roast is seared, it leaves behind a plethora of savory fats and juices on the Dutch oven floor. Then, the vegetables take a turn in all that beefy goodness, picking up on all those left-behind flavors. Once the vegetables have softened slightly, a bold braising liquid goes in, picking up on everything both the beef and the vegetables had to offer.
But, before we can get to the end, we must start at the beginning, and as I said before, it all begins with a proper sear.
2 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR SEARING MEAT
To prepare the roast, you should first pat it dry with a paper towel to remove any excess water from the cut of beef. This step is essential to getting a good sear on the roast before braising, which in turn, equals flavor.
When searing a roast, you want to be sure that your meat is not going into the Dutch oven ice-cold. For the best sear, allow your roast to sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
DON’T FORGET TO SEASON LIBERALLY
Once the excess water has been removed, season the beef liberally with your favorite seasoning. Adding the seasoning directly to meat will help to build flavor. I use my personal favorite, TAK House Seasoning. It’s a mix of Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, and it’s perfect for beef.
In addition to a fair amount of seasoning, we’ll also coat the roast in flour before searing.
THE OIL MATTERS AND THIS IS WHY
The type of oil you use for the process of searing is important. To get a good sear on the meat you must work with medium-high to high heat. Canola oil has a high smoke point, which means that it does not quickly burn, or quite literally begin to smoke as fast as let’s say, butter, which has a low smoke point. You can use an oil other than Canola, just make certain it has a smoke point of 400° or higher.
KEEPING THE VEGETABLES SIMPLE
After a nice crust has been developed from searing, the beef goes out, and the vegetables go in for a quick sauté. This is an elegant, yet simple pot roast, and calls for only onions and carrots from the vegetable department. The carrots add a subtle sweetness to an otherwise savory dish, and they’re absolutely perfect coated in a thick and luscious pot roast gravy.
A GRAVY THAT REQUIRES NO REDUCTION
To achieve a thicker consistency for your pot roast gravy, adding just a little flour to the vegetables before adding in your braising liquid is key. This approach also eliminates the need for any sort of stovetop reduction after the pot roast has finished its stint in the oven.
OMG! Pot Roast.
WHY YOU SHOULD USE WINE IN YOUR BRAISING LIQUID
Earlier, we touched upon a couple of things throughout the searing process that would help us to build flavor in our pot roast. Now, we’ll bring that flavor full circle with a perfect ending of red wine, beef broth, and fresh herbs. A bold red wine like merlot or cabernet sauvignon will enhance the flavor of your pot roast and take it from good to spectacular.
After you’ve added your braising liquid to the mix, your roast goes back in, the Dutch oven is sealed, and it will need to cook for three hours total. Half-way through the cooking process, you’ll turn your roast, ensuring both sides are picking up on all of those amazing flavors.
Remember, the braise is quite likely the most important part of the whole recipe, and allowing your pot roast to cook low and slow for the right amount of time will ensure a perfectly tender pot roast every single time.
As soon as the cold winds finally start to drift into Texas, we gladly welcome them with open arms. And naturally, I begin to yearn for those hearty and warming dishes we love so much, and I don’t know that there is another meal in existence that speaks more loudly to this craving than this here very pot roast.
Braised low and slow until fork-tender, smothered in a rich and savory gravy, and variegated with soft, sweet carrots. It is the epitome of comfort food. It’s a recipe that requires only simple preparation, time, and a hearty appetite.
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Is The 1008 Point Stock Market Crash A Sign That Another 2008 Is Coming?
In 2008, we experienced a nightmarish financial crisis that was felt in every corner of the globe.
Is such an event about to happen again?
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,008 points as panic swept through Wall Street in the aftermath of Jerome Powell’s dramatic speech in Wyoming.
Powell made it exceedingly clear that interest rates are going to continue to go up, and that deeply alarmed investors.
Some very vocal influencers in the financial community had been anticipating that the interest rate hikes would be ending soon, but now Powell has completely dashed those hopes.
Wall Street is going to have to finally face reality in the weeks ahead, and it isn’t going to be pretty.
When I heard that the Dow had fallen 1,008 points on Friday, the last two digits immediately stood out to me.
We all remember what happened the last time a year ended in “08”.
Could this be a sign that another 2008 is coming?
Before you dismiss such a notion, there are other times when a stock market crash has seemed to have been a sign of things to come.
For example, on September 29th, 2008 the entire world was stunned when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 777 points. That was a new all-time record, and fear swept through Wall Street like wildfire. The following comes from a CBS News report that was published in the immediate aftermath of that market crash…
Wall Street watched Washington with shock and fear as the bailout package flamed out on Capital Hill.And as that $700 billion financial rescue plan went down, the Dow went down like a sub, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points in its largest one-day point drop ever, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason.“Nobody could believe it,” said Ted Weisberg of Seaport Securities. “The fact that it did not get done is just mind-boggling.” The result on Wall Street was a history-making 777-point nosedive. The Nasdaq plunged almost 10 percent.
Many thought that it was rather odd that the stock market would fall 777 points just as a 7 year Shemitah cycle was ending and a new 7 year Shemitah cycle was beginning.
Rosh Hashanah started on the evening of September 29th, 2008, and all throughout history we have seen really big things happen on or around the times of major Biblical festivals.
Ultimately, the weeks following September 29th, 2008 were some of the most difficult that we have ever seen for Wall Street. A great financial crisis shook the entire planet, and the U.S. economy plunged into what would become known as “the Great Recession”.
7 years later, there was another stock market crash in 2015. It was immensely painful at the time, but not a lot of people remember it today.
Now another 7 years have passed, and it appears that we are on the verge of yet another major panic on Wall Street.
Interestingly, another cycle seems to be repeating as well.
As I discussed the other day, this is the 14th anniversary of the housing crash of 2008.
But what most people don’t remember is that there was another housing crash 14 years before that in 1994.
And if you go back 14 years before that, you will find that the U.S. housing market was crashing in 1980.
Now the U.S. housing market is crashing again, and this one could turn out to be the most painful of them all.
If the Federal Reserve would just stop raising interest rates, we may have had a shot at avoiding a complete collapse of the housing bubble.
But that isn’t going to happen, and Jerome Powell made that exceptionally clear on Friday morning…
In a keynote speech at the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium Friday morning, Powell said that the path to reducing inflation would not be quick or easy, adding that the task, “requires using our tools forcefully to bring demand and supply into better balance.”
“Using our tools forcefully”?
That doesn’t sound good at all.
And during his speech he actually seemed to promise that “some pain” would be coming for U.S. households and U.S. businesses…
“While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” he said. “These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”Even with four consecutive interest rate hikes, including two back-to-back 75-basis-point increases, Powell stressed that the Fed is not in a place to “stop or pause” — an unwelcome sign for investors who were predicting a rate cut next year.
So more interest rate hikes are coming.
Will it be a half a percentage point next month or will it be three-quarters of a point once again?
Only time will tell, but either choice will accelerate the collapse of the housing market and will bring even more pain for Wall Street.
Something that I will be watching very closely is the derivatives market. As Alasdair Macleod recently explained, the derivatives bubble has expanded to a size that is almost unimaginable…
By far the largest problem in a period of credit contraction is to be found in over-the-counter derivatives. These are unlisted contractual agreements between counterparties, including commodity contracts, credit default swaps, equity linked contracts, foreign exchange derivatives, and interest rate derivatives. According to the BIS’s database, in December 2021 the notional amounts outstanding of all contracts was $610 trillion. These positions are the total of seventy dealers’ returns in twelve jurisdictions, capturing an estimated 94% of the total covered in the BIS’s triannual survey, suggesting that the true total outstanding is closer to $650 trillion.
Once this derivatives bubble finally bursts, it will be an event that will be absolutely cataclysmic for the global financial system.
I have been specifically warning about the dangers posed by the derivatives bubble for many years, and it is only a matter of time before it comes crashing down.
Unfortunately, what Jerome Powell and his minions at the Fed are doing threatens to greatly destabilize financial markets.
Wall Street is not prepared for an interest rate shock, and I believe that Fed officials are making a tragic policy error.
Sad discovery
My uncle Don was an odd guy. It wasn’t until my teen years that I really understood that. When I was younger, he was friendly to me, so that was enough. He was a loner, particular, moody, intense, especially after he divorced and separated from his wife.
No kids.
My uncle’s mother, (my grandmother), was tough by many standards both flattering and not. She was Catholic, with a big crush on the priest of the local church, Father Kramis.
During Don’s growing up, she was, as my dad called it, “a barmaid”. A title chosen specifically for its implications. Clients became husbands. Husbands chosen from the Petri dish of a low-end bar. She was married three times. It was something she was bad at, and her choices in men got worse over time. My uncle’s father was the second, after my father’s. A violent drunk, I heard. Life for Don growing up held a lot of misery.
At maybe 15 years old, Don was sent to the seminary in Kenmore Washington. For his mother, ”priest” was the highest honor and greatest social standing one could attain. No doubt, a play on her part to both make him a better child than his birth order or genetics established but also to get out of the burden of his care. She was no cook, no housekeeper, he probably felt lucky if she gave him any positive attention at all.
So jump forward a few decades to my uncle, a trucking mechanic, living alone in the Industrial District, South of Downtown Seattle. An area a little like a truck stop, although more sprawling, with a house or two sprinkled in as legacies. It was an oddly promiscuous area. Eerily quiet late, yet with random singular people as if aliens on a poignantly desolate background. Devoid of trees, cars, open businesses, with wide open streets for long haul trucks to easily navigate. At one point, the Green River killer had his heyday with prostitutes near here.
Don had been an alcoholic for years, but AA helped him find sobriety. He was a private guy, with a lot of idiosyncrasies. He was passionate about music and keeping his tools in order, but a wreck of a guy in many indescribable ways, looking back on it now.
When I was young, I never really gave all this a second thought, just accepted it as his nature, less curious to explore the whys and why-nots. My father and uncle, step brothers, were at turns friendly and estranged, year to year. My father would occasionally stop by to visit, but Don would never let my dad in. One time dad got a peek into the interior and it was a hoarders glory, piled high to the ceiling, so he knew it wasn’t personal.
Years pass. My uncle, when he was maybe in his late 50’s, was swindled out of his life’s savings. He loaned his long-term, “like-family” boss and his wife $20K to help them float heir truck repair shop. Come to find the money was more like a nest egg for their future. Soon after, they ran off, leaving him broken and unemployed.
It was a lousy life filled with sadness, failure, misplaced loyalty, an inability to nurture relationships. Eventually it became obvious he was sick with something terminal, we didn’t know what because he never saw a doctor in his adult life. So with much sadness, and no way to reach him physically or emotionally, he died facedown in the dirty shag carpet hallway of his apartment. My dad received a call from someone we didn’t know two or three days after the fact.
This story has two punch lines.
When my parents went to clean out his home, among the heaps and mounds of a rotten life were dozens and dozens of high heeled shoes, both well- and never-worn, women’s clothing, size XL, and a sturdy noose. It was a revelation that brought clarity to a lot of things: the solitude, the neighborhood, the sadness. I recall my parents both deeply rattled from the experience. Like someone might feel after watching a dog being hit by a car, traumatized, yet removed and either unable or unwilling to describe it in greater detail.
Something that had occurred to me at various points in my adult understanding of people, was that Don had been in the seminary at the height of its pedophilia reign, when it ran wild and unchecked. Soon after Don died, I researched online with some odd stake in what I might find.
Sure enough, Don was a student at St. Edward’s Seminary. I found Father William Queenan’s name in a database of abusive clergy with multiple accusers. The more I searched, the more certain and sad I became that this was the culminating experience that robbed Don of his ability for successful self determination. It was one of those moments of total clarity. Everything crashed into place.
When my parents had cleaned out his home, they collected a couple of small boxes of his life, things some unknown bystander might judge as valuable, stored now in the cold basement of their house. For who, and why, I have no idea. Inside one box was Don’s high school yearbook from the seminary. On a visit soon after my new-found knowledge I discovered the book, the page with Don’s photo, a few scattered dispassionate autographs, and on the page where Father William Queenan‘s name had been, a slightly jagged yet precise, almost cross-like hole where the picture of him as well as Rev. John Sproule and the Rev. Adrian Mercier had been. Surgically removed by my uncle.
I thought of all the junctures in what I knew of Don’s life, every disconnect and question fell one to the next with bizarre clarity. He died at about 60, finally free from a world that showed him little mercy.
Even though I wasn’t born when I believe he was being preyed upon or was too young to have understood his pain at the time, I feel I failed my uncle. I have such admiration for the victims of priests who have been able to move past abuse in those formative years to regain some sense of happiness and success in life. Because that would be no easy thing. That much I really understand now in a way I hadn’t before,
I’m sorry Don, I hope you’re in a better place. You are an inspiration to me now as I raise my children with as much love as I can give them, and I do my best to protect them from what can be a cruel world.
x
Accidental Porsche Customer
This happened in a suburb of Detroit, MI circa 2014. I was in the market for a SUV, as my 2007 Civic was recently totalled in an accident (not my fault). The insurance gave me a car for one month for free and I had to get a new vehicle by the month’s end.
A little personal background about me. I am an Indian citizen from Tamil Nadu but living here in the US for 12 years. I am economically stable and only 2 years back I had bought a brand new house in a nice neighborhood. I think twice before I spend and check the pros/cons of the purchase. I had no intention of indulging in luxury cars. But, the accident changed everything. Since the Civic was a daily driver, I needed to make up my mind fast and get a new one. Since this is Michigan, I opted for a new 4WD SUV for the harsh winters. Now that I am flush with cash from the insurance for the totalled Civic, I contemplated a mid-level luxury SUV.
I wanted a Porsche Macan since it was touted as a sports car/CUV in ads, but it had a wait list of 6 months.
So, I had the BMW X3 -M package or Audi SQ5 as my best alternatives.
I called the local BMW dealer and asked for an appointment at 12 PM on a Saturday. This was totally unnecessary because you can just walk-in and see the cars in any dealership. But, I just did this.
Yes, I do have the Indian accent and yes, my surname is long.
So, the dealership knows whom they are expecting. In the call, I made myself very clear that I am looking for a brand new BMW X3. No used models or old versions.
Dealership-1
I went to the dealership the following Saturday, 5 minutes early. Yes, I was decently dressed. I was greeted by the employee at the desk and was politely asked to wait for my sales representative who it seems was dealing with a customer. There was a couple of customers just looking around and 3 sales reps ALONE in their offices. I waited for 15 minutes and became restless. Once again I approached the desk and asked for my rep. I was told it will take approximately 30 more minutes for him to come see me. I did not show my impatience and asked if any other employee can talk to me. They said everybody else was busy. I told them that I was highly disappointed with them and I will take my business next door to Audi. They said good luck sir and bade me goodbye.
The Audi dealership
The Audi dealership was very professional, but I didn’t like the model. So, I came back home contemplating what to do next?
The next day, I got a call from the BMW dealership (not the same Sales rep) who apologized and invited me back.
Although I was upset and did not want to go back, the draw of BMW was too great, and I desperately need a car to my work. So, I got appointment for the following Saturday.
This time Ms. X greeted me and the customer experience was pleasant. She had recently joined BMW from a different brand, and I can see that she doesn’t have any airs associated with her. I took the X3 for a test drive, and I liked it. We came back to her office and crunched the numbers for payment.
She took me through their online website, specced up the X3 to my liking with accessories and came up with a number. I had done this many times before through their website, same webpage, and I know what the number is going to be. I have not started my negotiation yet.
At that instant, her Manager butted in. He introduced himself and started talking. He told me point blank that whatever the numbers offered by Ms. X were final and only for this day. Take it or leave it. Ms. X was horrified. I asked politely, saying that I need more time to think over the number. He reiterated that the deal stands for only today. I said that I am not going to commit to anything right now, and after that he bade me goodbye.
Ms. X apologized a lot on the way out and asked me to think it over. But, I made up my mind to go to another BMW dealer in another neighborhood.
Dealer -2
This was the worst experience ever.
Now that I already have a number in my hand, I thought that it would be easy.
The second dealership was bigger than the first. I was dressed in a suit. The Sales rep went through all the initial hoops, and I told him that I had done this before in Dealership-1 and asked him to give me a fair deal.
He went to talk to his Manager, who literally stormed into my room where I was sitting. He asked what my profession is, and what I do for living. I said that I work for X company in top management and live in X affluent neighborhood.
Since he was blunt and had no qualms asking questions to gauge my financial conditions, I put away all my pretensions and did what I came to do. Point blank, I asked how much deal he can give me. He got agitated and pointed that they won’t undercut another dealership and asked me to take my business elsewhere.
It was totally ridiculous. Right on his wall, there was a big poster proclaiming, “Whatever deals Audi give, We give Better!!”
I came out frustrated and thought of taking the Audi.
As a last resort, I contemplated Porsche, even though I knew I couldn’t get it immediately.
Fortunately, there was a Porsche dealer in the same building with Audi (as both are VW subsidiaries) in another suburb.
Immediately, I went there.
Porsche dealer
There were only 2 guys in the dealership that afternoon. One of them took care of me immediately even though I didn’t have any appointment. That was the best experience ever. They confirmed that 4 new Porsche Macans arrived only the previous day from Germany. He enquired whether i would like to have a test drive immediately. I took it. The Sales guy was very calm and answered every question.
Once inside his office after the test drive, he showed the brochures. Once in a while, other employees passing by his office said hi, and told me how lucky I was to get a Porsche and how sporty it is. Of course, I negotiated the price, and they gave me a fair deal. I told them that I would need one more day because I wanted to show it to my wife. He accepted gladly.
The next day my wife test drove it, loved it, and we brought a black Porsche Macan Sport home. It was 20 grand more than BMW but it was worth it. For the next week, I called him many times if I got any queries. He was happy to talk to me. Every time I go for servicing, I see him and talk to him.
x
After all these days, the one thing I remember clearly is the warm welcome I received from Porsche the moment I stepped inside. I felt that I belonged there.
Yes, my next car is going to be a 911.
Has WWIII Started?
The fact that NATO is stepping up its combat support for the Ukrainian military in Britain and on other member states’ territories is clear proof that the U.S.-led axis is at war with Russia. This is no longer a proxy war, but rather a full-scale multi-level war.
“We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine.” So said U.S. President Joe Biden back in March this year while also bragging at the same time about pumping Ukraine with lethal weapons to ensure that the NATO-backed Kiev regime would not be defeated.
Biden’s nationwide speech added with a foreboding intonation: “A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War Three, something that we must strive to prevent.”
We should have expected that appalling, fatuous contradiction to sooner or later become manifestly untenable. Indeed, the American people and the world have been conned by a warmongering puppet in the White House.
In reality, it looks like the Biden administration and its NATO partners have done everything to strive toward making war against Russia happen. This American president’s words (like those of his predecessors) have no credibility. Despite his apparent grave warning about preventing WWIII, the manikin in the White House has facilitated this very outcome in the abject service of U.S. imperialist interests. Biden has been a loyal servant of American warmongering for over 50 years, supporting every criminal war that U.S. imperialism has waged. However, it’s a mistake to blame Biden personally, a so-called Democrat. He is but the figurehead for a system that needs war in order to function. If for talk’s sake, Donald Trump or some other Republican politician happened to be in the White House, we would no doubt see the same despicable dilemma.
There are increasing reports of military attacks on Crimea and other parts of the Russian Federation. The Belgorod Region neighboring Ukraine has been bombed several times with villages being evacuated. A Ukrainian drone also reportedly tried to attack the Kerch Bridge which connects the Russian mainland with Crimea. The 19-km bridge was opened in May 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cost of $3.7 billion.
It is not clear yet what are the exact causes of these explosions. Initially, Russian authorities claimed they were accidental fires, but now they are admitting acts of sabotage being committed. Western media reports claim U.S. and NATO missiles or drones are involved. The United States is increasing its supplies of long-range offensive weapons as well as C-4 explosives for sabotage operations. Up to $40 billion worth of munitions has been pledged by the U.S., Britain, Poland, Germany and other NATO powers to support the Nazi-infested Kiev regime in its war against Russia. Ukraine has descended into an orgy of Western militarism.
The Kiev regime’s military conduct is being overseen by American and British intelligence. Attacks on Crimea and presumably other parts of the Russian Federation are approved by Washington and London.
In addition to an unprecedented flood of NATO weapons into Ukraine, it is increasingly apparent that the U.S.-led axis is training Ukrainian forces.
This week it was reported that Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in Britain to go fight. At a Copenhagen conference last week, British recruitment and training programs for Ukraine were supported by other NATO members including Denmark, Canada, Poland and the Baltic states. The U.S. and its NATO allies have been running combat training in Ukraine for years. That was partly the reason why Russian forces went into Ukraine in February this year to neutralize a growing national security threat.
The fact that NATO is stepping up its combat support for the Ukrainian military in Britain and on other member states’ territories is clear proof that the U.S.-led axis is at war with Russia. This is no longer a proxy war, but rather a full-scale multi-level war.
Another ominous development was the deployment of American B-52 long-range bombers to Sweden this week. The Nordic country is a soon-to-be new member of NATO along with Finland. The combined move is intended as a calculated threat to Russia’s Arctic region. The Arctic has long seen increasing NATO forces menacing Russia, but the first-ever deployment of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to Sweden is an “important signal”, as Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist gloated.
All of this shows a heinous, relentless logic for war. Biden’s public misgivings about World War Three were just contemptible piffle. The United States has been gearing up for hostilities against Russia since at least the CIA coup d’état in Kiev in 2014. It really doesn’t matter who sits in the White House. Obama, Trump, Biden, like others before them, are all just message boys for U.S. imperialism. The American ruling regime has a desperate addiction to war to revive its diminishing global power and failing capitalist economy. That’s why Washington is hellbent on recklessly stoking dangerous tensions with Russia and China, as Russia’s Putin pointed out this week.
The sheer array of military involvement in Ukraine and the new, dangerous phase of striking Russian territory means that the U.S.-led NATO axis is de facto at war against Russia. The axis consists of 30 nations (not including Sweden and Finland) plus other non-NATO allies such as Australia and New Zealand. Weapons of increasing long-range offensive capability, as well as training of military forces, are flowing to Ukraine from all of these U.S.-led nations.
Last December, Russia appealed for a diplomatic resolution of long-held strategic security concerns regarding NATO and Ukraine. Those appeals were arrogantly shunted away by Washington and its vassals. Earlier apparent reservations among NATO members about sending lethal weapons to Ukraine have been jettisoned too. Evidently, so too abandoned are erstwhile reservations about starting an international conflict.
The United States, Britain and other imperialist powers are callously turning on the taps to make a bloodbath in Ukraine. The fascist regime they are backing in Kiev is wantonly using nuclear terrorism by attacking the largest nuclear power station in Europe at Zaporozhye. And yet the Western sponsors continue to double down on the provocations to Russia, provocations that now appear to include military strikes on Russian sovereign territory.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that “decision-making centers” will be targeted if its territory is attacked. That warning implies Western capitals are vulnerable. Russia has also warned that if its national security is threatened then it reserves the right to use nuclear weapons for defense. The unthinkable is becoming thinkable. Western states are in thrall to a warmongering agenda and media system that acts like a propaganda ministry for war. Shamefully, there are scarcely any political voices in the West calling for diplomatic negotiations for peace.
The madcap U.S.-led Western powers do not seem to recognize any boundaries. The whole conflict over Ukraine demonstrates the relentless logic of belligerence towards Russia that the Western ruling regimes are addicted to, in the same way as they are towards any other nation that is perceived as an obstacle to global power ambitions. The Western regimes are helplessly, hopelessly charted for war regardless of the democratic interests and wishes of their populations or the constraints of international law. So much for rules-based order! Western rulers and their puppets in office are leading their people and the rest of the world over the abyss.
Incredibly, it seems, the same vile political and economic forces that created two previous world wars are salivating again. And they are unleashing their apocalyptic desires with the same lies and self-righteous deceptions.
Nigeria is just like the United States
In Nigeria, there is a local means of transport called Okada. Essentially, it is a motorcycle functioning as a taxi. It gets around fast. Lagos has some insane traffic and whenever encountered, I park the car and take an Okada to my destination. Gets there fast and saves hours of time. Last Wednesday, I took one to make it to a 12 o’clock meeting. And we got hit by a car. My arm split into two but I wasn’t the most injured. My Okada driver had his tummy ruptured by the bike’s handle bars, his foot got stuck in the bike’s wheels so it got chewed and he hit his head on the asphalt. There was blood every where. He was in bad shape.
The car that hit us belonged to an Uber guy. He had a passenger in the back. A young lady that had a birthday present to deliver. I got into the car and asked him to drive us to the nearest hospital. The lady insisted we drive her to her destination first so she can deliver her present or she will lose money, the uber guy obliged. Well, because she was paying for the trip and we weren’t. So we burnt an extra 30 minutes with a guy bleeding out and me, with a broken hand. Basically running errands.
When we got to the hospital, they blatantly refused to attend to us unless if we fill in a form and make a down payment of the equivalent of $150. I had the money on my card, so I paid. The Okada driver didn’t. And they refused to touch him. With blood everywhere and the guy passed out, I begged them to, amidst the pain and confusion, I offered to pay for him and before the payment and form filling was complete, he died. Most probably from bleeding out.
I managed to get some first Aid and then proceed to a different hospital where I had the surgery. I was more angry than in physical pain. As I witnessed total decay of all humanity. Even from a hospital. Simply because of….
MONEY.
What is wrong with our society today is how much power we have given money.
Money is the new God. And we are all its relentless worshipers.
Smashed arm.
A Rufus Santa
I am a professional Santa; I do TV commercials and movies.
It was Christmas morning, and I was just leaving a local hospital where I delivered presents to people that were confined in the hospital. As I was leaving, a young girl approached me with tears in her eyes and said, “Santa I think you forgot my family.” I asked the child, “Have you been here all night?” She told me yes. Her mother was very sick. I walked over to the father and asked him what was going on. His wife was terminally ill and he was working two jobs to try to make ends meet. I asked if he was going home any time soon. He was just leaving to go feed his four children.
I watched as he left, and his car was leaking water. I went to a local store where I purchased $1000.00 worth of presents to deliver to two local hospitals. I talked to the manager. Her name was Fatima; she said, “I thought you were done shopping already this year.” When I told her what was going on, she chipped in $250.00 for presents and got me a discount on everything I bought. I told her I was off to deliver the presents; she asked if she could tag along. She disappeared to get her coat and came out dressed as an elf.
We delivered the presents and left. The father wanted an address to send a thank-you note. I smiled and said, “The North Pole, of course.” Fatima went to the hospital alone and gave the mother an Android pad. I think Fatima is an awesome, giving, and kind person. She restored my faith in people.
In a recent podcast, Kevin Barrett stated that the rule of law has disappeared in the US. This is so obviously true to outsiders looking in, and is even more true of American official conduct abroad, but I find myself wondering about the extent to which Americans generally are aware of this and how it is perceived.
In days gone by, this lawlessness was usually deeply buried and obfuscated but today it seems there is no longer even a pretense of any rule of law. We see this most recently in the so-called “sanctions” the US so freely applies to countries and individuals, being no more than illegal rampaging and looting.
But there is another category that may not be as visible and yet is indicative of an extreme breakdown of the rule of law, this applying to the category of “diplomatic immunity”, real or imagined, where the US government absolutely treads on a one-way street. This article is only a brief introduction with a few examples of hundreds that could be cited.
Devyani Khobragade
On late 2013 an Indian diplomat, 39-year-old Devyani Khobragade, was the Deputy Consul-General in New York, and by all reports had an excellent reputation and was honorably discharging her consular duties. But then she was suddenly charged with submitting false documents to obtain a work visa for a housekeeper. She was arrested and handcuffed while dropping her daughter off at school, was taken to a police station and strip-searched, given a body cavity search, then put into a cell with drug dealers and held there until she was finally released on $250,000 bail.[1]
The Federal Prosecutor, Preet Bharara, claimed agents had arrested her “in the most discreet way possible”, having doing so in full view of her daughter, her daughter’s friends, and most of the teachers and students. He said “there can be no plausible claim that this case was somehow an injustice”, calling her treatment “standard procedure” even for diplomatic personnel, claiming further that during her strip and cavity searches she had been “accorded courtesies well beyond what other defendantsare accorded, most of whom are American citizens.” He claimed these procedures were “standard practice for every defendant, rich or poor, American or not, in order to make sure that no prisoner keeps anything on his person that could harm anyone, including himself”. He said his office’s sole motivation was to uphold the law, protect victims and hold lawbreakers accountable, “no matter what their societal status and no matter how powerful, rich or connected they are”.[2]
It staggers the imagination and leaves us numb and unable to respond when faced with such incredibly shameful lies.
The mess was later blamed on a “mistake”, a claim that the low-level agent who drew up the charges against Ms. Khobragade had confused two documents – Ms. Khobragade’s US visa application and that of the employment contract with her housekeeper – and “misunderstood” Ms. Khobragade’s salary as the amount she meant to pay her maid. Yet those two documents are in an entirely different format and could not possibly have been confused one with the other. It would appear that no visa fraud actually occurred after all, and it was further discovered Ms. Khobragade was after all attached to the UN as an advisor, which function unquestionably granted her full diplomatic immunity. The US State department repeatedly refused to acknowledge her diplomatic status but let her leave the country.[6]
However, and if all the claims had been true, this really would have been at most a simple issue of a wage mis-statement which is a misdemeanor offense and not a felony, and would normally be investigated by the Department of Labor. In fact, this is a common issue with many foreign household and agricultural workers in the US, and also occurs daily with restaurant workers, but never in the history of America has a restaurant or farm owner been arrested and strip-searched because of a low-level wage or visa dispute. And for such a minor offense the bail is usually around $5,000, not $250,000. So what really happened?
Well, only a few weeks before being abruptly arrested and strip-searched in New York, Ms. Khobragade had managed to make some powerful enemies in the US pharmaceutical industry about India’s treatment of US so-called intellectual property. The Indian government and courts have taken IP actions that angered the Americans, including denial to US firms of pharmaceutical patents that were not a true innovation, and permitting compulsory licensing for production of generic medicines. The US Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) was hysterical at India’s actions, referring to “unprecedented patent revocations and denials” and accusing India of being “an outlier in the global economy”. AmCham’s “Global IP Center” held a public event in New York at which it attacked India’s practices, and at which Ms. Khobragade was “outspoken” in defense of her country’s practices, and where she engaged in “debate” with US industry executives, demanding that in future an Indian representative be given a formal place at these events to present India’s side of the story. Shortly thereafter, US officials were busy cavity-searching, humiliating, and deporting the woman who dared confront the IP kings of AmCham and the US pharma industry.
Preet Bharara later confirmed in an autobiography that Devyani Khobragade was indeed strip-searched and cavity-searched, and acknowledged, “That could have and should have been avoided, given that no one would have sought pretrial detention.”[7]
A bit too little and a bit too late.
The official position of all civilised nations toward a foreign diplomat resident in their countries is that “He is a diplomat and has the privileges of a diplomat. If you’re a diplomat and you commit any crime, the case is investigated and is forwarded to your embassy. That’s what the law says and we work within the law”. However, the official position of the American government toward foreign diplomats in the US is different. A State Department “guidance paper” for American law enforcement officials on how diplomatic immunity works even at the highest levels says that “diplomatic immunity is not intended to serve as a license for persons to flout the law and purposely avoid liability for their actions. The purpose of these privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient and effective performance of their official missions on behalf of their governments.”
In short, a foreign diplomat in the US has no immunity against prosecution by the US government for offenses real or imagined, but US citizens in other nations, diplomats or not, have full immunity even when clearly engaged in illegal activities that include drunk or reckless driving, espionage, and murder.
There are literally hundreds of cases where US consular officials in all countries regularly flout domestic labor and many other laws. American employment contracts in other countries are regularly violated with impunity, and typically specify that all staff issues including compensation will be decided exclusively by the US consular staff with no recourse to either domestic or US law – contract wording that is itself illegal, since no contract anywhere can eliminate recourse to local courts. But then, these are Americans, and their world is apparently different than ours. Americans in all countries violate both domestic tax laws and their visa status, in all cases being protected by the US government claiming “diplomatic status” for those who are clearly non-diplomats.
Raymond Davis
Here is another incident, this one from the other side of the fence. In January of 2011, CIA agent Raymond Davis was driving down a street in Lahore, Pakistan, when he stopped at a red light. A motorbike carrying two Pakistani Intelligence agents keeping Davis under surveillance due to suspicion of criminal activities, pulled in front of his car. Davis drew an automatic weapon and killed both men, claiming they had attempted to rob him and that he acted in self-defense.[8]
But the documented facts from multiple witnesses clearly proved that Davis initiated the violence. When the motorcycle stopped in front of his car, Davis first fired five shots through the windshield, killing one man and injuring the other, then got out of his vehicle, shot four more rounds into the two men as they lay on the pavement, then four more shots into one man’s back as he was trying to crawl away, killing him as well. Witnesses testified that Davis then walked back to his car, called for backup on a military radio, then took photos of the men he had just killed. One witness who watched from his restaurant across the street, said he was amazed at the American’s manner. “He was very peaceful and confident. I was wondering how he could be like that after killing two people,” he said.
Minutes later, four Americans in a Toyota jeep with fake registration plates left Davis’ home and made a frantic but unsuccessful attempt to reach Davis and rescue him. Finding their vehicle trapped in a traffic jam, they crossed the median and traveled against the oncoming traffic, colliding with a motorcycle and killing the driver. After the accident, they fled the scene and drove at high speed to the US Embassy, jettisoning many bits of evidence along the way including 100 bullets, knives, gloves, a blindfold. Witnesses later told police that one American opened the door to their vehicle, displayed a rifle and threatened to kill anyone who got in their way.
Davis also attempted to escape in his vehicle but was apprehended and charged with double murder, espionage and the illegal possession of a firearm. Although Davis was part of the CIA’s Global Response Staff, he was at the time doing some contract espionage work for Xe Services, the private company formerly known as Blackwater that was involved in a multitude of scandals in Iraq that included mass murders and many other crimes. Items recovered from Davis’s car included a Glock handgun, an infrared light, a portable telescope, GPS equipment, two mobile phones, a satellite phone, 9mm ammunition, multiple ATM and military ID cards, multiple ID cards from several different US consulates, facial disguise and makeup, and a camera. According to Pakistani officials, Davis’ camera contained photos of “prohibited areas such as installations along the border with India”, stating “This is not the work of a diplomat. He was doing espionage and other activities”.[10]
Then-US President Obama demanded that Pakistan free “our diplomat” under the Vienna convention rules, and the State Department exerted fierce and unrelenting pressure on Pakistan to release Davis. US officials insisted Davis was a diplomat doing “technical and administrative work” at the embassy and had to be treated as such, though he was a common criminal in the country on a tourist passport, had no diplomatic credentials and no consular functions. Pakistani officials demanded the US turn over for questioning the men in the Embassy who had attempted to rescue Davis and had killed the motorcyclist, but the Americans refused and spirited the men out of Pakistan. Davis was released after the families of the two killed men were paid $2.4 million in what is called “blood money”.
Joshua Walde
In another incident, in August of 2013 an American diplomat, Joshua Walde, an information management officer at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, was driving his SUV at a high rate of speed when he made an illegal turn, crossed the highway center line, and rammed into a full mini-bus, killing a father of three whose widow was six months pregnant, and seriously injuring eight other people.[14] (15) US Embassy officials in Nairobi took advantage of Walde’s diplomatic immunity and rushed the American and his family out of Kenya the next day, leaving the crash victims with no financial assistance. Officials noted that embassy employees are typically evacuated “for medical evaluations” after traumatic events but also are flown out of a country “to avoid any possible retribution”. Hilary Renner, a State Department spokeswoman in Washington, said the embassy extends “its deepest condolences” to the family of the dead man, and “wishes a speedy recovery” to those injured.
Anne Sacoolas
More recently we had the case of Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an American employed at a UK consulate, who was formally charged in the death of British teenager Harry Dunn. Sacoolas was driving her car on the wrong side of the road, perhaps while impaired, and crashed into Dunn’s motorcycle, killing him. Sacoolas spoke later to the police, but then immediately headed for the airport and left the UK, claiming “diplomatic immunity” when of course she had none. However, the Americans refused to release her to return to the UK to stand trial.[16][17] Once safe at home in the US, Ms. Sacoolas offered to perform some “community service” as penance. Here are some media details if you are interested in more information:[18]
A current case is that of an American soldier in Italy, a young woman named Julia Bravo, who has been charged with vehicular homicide. Prosecutors in Pordenone, in Italy’s Northeast, charged the 20-year-old female soldier stationed at the US Air Force’s Aviano Air Base with vehicular manslaughter in the auto death of a young boy in Italy.
According to witness testimony, Bravo had left a disco in the small hours of the morning, was subsequently seen driving erratically on the road, drove over and through a traffic circle, crossed a median, crashed through a group of road signs at high speed and hit a group of young boys walking on the roadside, killing one of them instantly. According to an eyewitness who had been partying in the same club, Bravo was so drunk “she couldn’t even turn the ignition on”, and at first drove off in the opposite direction of her military base. The police said her blood-alcohol level was four times the legal limit.
The dead boy’s mother said, “We all know that the soldiers on the Aviano base in this area do what they like, that they don’t respect the rules. There have been many incidents in the past that involved American troops. They have the freedom to do whatever they like and not be punished.” The mother told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that she wanted the soldier tried in Italy. “I don’t trust the American justice system.” However, the chance of that appears slight since the US Embassy is apparently exerting enormous pressure on the Italians to have the woman sent to the US for a “prosecution” which will never take place.[24]
However, being American, our sympathies must lie with the perpetrator. Her lawyer told the Italian media that his client was “extremely emotionally exhausted” from expressing her remorse and apologising to the family.
Capt. Richard Ashby
There have been many such occurrences involving US military personnel in countries throughout Europe and Asia, and invariably with the US applying immense diplomatic and military bullying to prevent Americans from being subject to the laws of any country. One notable case occurred some years back where a Capt. Richard Ashby, flying a military jet aircraft in Northern Italy, was displaying what he boasted as a “daredevil stunt” and severed the cables of a cable car line at an Italian ski resort, sending 20 people to their death. The military restrictions prohibited flight below 1,000 feet above ground level and at speeds more than 500 mph. Ashby was flying his aircraft at little over 300 feet and at more than 1,000 Kph when the accident occurred.[29]
Italian prosecutors had wanted four US airmen, including Ashby and his co-pilot, Capt. Joseph Schweitzer, and three officers from the US base at Aviano, to face charges of manslaughter and endangering the safety of transport, but the Americans bullied the Italians into surrendering the prisoners to an American court. Naturally, all were found not guilty of all charges. The Italians were infuriated, but there was nothing to be done. People still ask today why has no one has even been held to account for that tragedy.[32]
One of the distressing features of today’s world is that it is not only the US that has apparently abandoned any pretense of adhering to a rule of law; most other Western nations are as guilty, and some perhaps even more so.
Think of Canada during the recent truckers’ protest in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first had the nation’s law enforcement agencies track down the ownership of the vehicles and extort the insurance companies into canceling the insurance on all the trucks.
When that failed, they used every manner of access to determine the identity of all protesters and forced the banks to freeze the accounts of all participants.
When that still failed to frighten off the protesters, Trudeau had the local governments begin seizing the semi-trailers and selling them ($150,000 to $200,000 each) “to pay the costs of monitoring the protest”.
All actions were openly and reprehensibly illegal, against all manner of law and justice, but seemingly of no concern.
It is incredible, unbelievable, that the government of any civilised country, the so-called democracies and “free nations”, could behave in such a manner, and yet this is where we are.
The few examples in this essay are of rampant criminality and the immunity that comes with uncontrolled power in the hands of the wrong people. It is no longer a matter of law but of power to do.
The US government recently confiscated the entire assets of Afghanistan’s central bank and arbitrarily decided to “donate” the money to American 9-11 victims.
That is not different than seizing the assets of Russia’s central bank, and keeping the money, not different than seizing a $100 million yacht owned by an innocent individual, and selling it and keeping the money – because he’s Russian.
We see articles today warning us of the impending degeneration of the US and the West into totalitarian fascism, but that’s a delusion: we’re already there, but nobody seems to know.
If you are on the wrong side of the political fence today, your life could easily become miserable and short.
Dissidence is no longer a requirement; innocent questioning of the official narrative will be sufficient. By the time everyone wakes up, it will be too late and we will be in the middle of World War Three.
An Amazing Find
The lucky man was Zach Norris. The vintage watch collector went to a local Goodwill in Phoenix one day in search of a push-pull golf cart.
He didn’t find one, so he started looking around the rest of the store. Nothing much caught his eye until he looked into the jewelry case. He rummaged around in a bin full of watches with dead batteries and found one he liked. On the dial were the words, “LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm.” It was priced to sell at $5.99.
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As a watch enthusiast, he had heard of the luxury Swiss watchmaker. This particular LeCoultre was from 1959 and ended up being worth over $35,000. Norris’s find was one of only 1000 of that model ever made. It featured one of the first alarms specifically made for divers.
The watch wasn’t perfect. The original strap was missing, some of the luminous material from the hour hand was gone, and it had a replacement crown. Otherwise, it was in excellent shape. Surprisingly, the dive alarm still worked.
Zack was about to be married, so he decided to sell his find to vintage watch enthusiast Eric Ku (pictured above holding the bag). Ku gave Norris the $35,000 and a vintage Omega Speedmaster (which themselves can be worth thousands of dollars) in exchange for his LeCoultre.
Not a bad deal.
Forky
This is Forky.
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My sister found him in the trash, thus his name. She couldn’t keep him. He didn’t get along with her cat—or I should say her cat did not tolerate baby behavior. She asked if I would take him, and I couldn’t leave him behind.
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Here he is just after I got him home.
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And a more recent picture. He’s almost a year old, but never reached full adult cat size. He’s healthy, but blind in one eye, likely a result of an injury sustained as a baby.
He’s my first cat. Or rather, he’s the first cat that is truly mine. The others I have were either dumped here or left behind by a dead relative.
I didn’t intend to keep him, but after a few days with him I knew. He’s supposed to be here.
Võ Thi Thang
Võ Thi Thang smiling after being sentenced to 20 years hard labor in a prison camp by the South Vietnamese government. After being sentenced she reportedly smiled at the judge and said “20 years? Your government won’t last that long.” – 1968
She was released on 7 March 1974 under the Paris Peace Accords, having served less than six years of her sentence.
Võ Thi Thang
Atlas
When I got my cat Atlas three years ago, she was sick. We probably got ripped off, but we took her to the vet and she eventually got better.
The poor girl was probably sick of being alone in the empty vet, so when we got her home, she quickly warmed up to us, namely, me and my dad.
Since she was my cat, I took care of her food, water, and litter duties. This probably helped her decide her favorite human, but somehow my dad won her over. She would come to him for scratches instead of me, sit on his chest instead of mine, and listen to my dad’s ‘stay’ command. He still jokes about how he’s the alpha.
However, during the following years, she got closer to me. She would nap in my room, follow me around occasionally, and ask me for pets. I heard that blinking slowly meant “I love you” in cat language, so I started doing that while whispering “I love you,” “Good girl,” and other things. She still chooses to ignore my calls to her, but her favorite human is probably a tie between me and my dad.
So, I think if you want to be your cat’s favorite human, you have to: do all her chores consistently, not be pushy when wanting to pet her – just let her come to you – talk to her often, especially when petting her, and just be patient. Sorry if my answer was a bit irrelevant lol. Here’s a pic of Atlas to make up for it
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A Down Under tale
I live in Australia, which is famously full of animals that can kill you. This is of course exaggerated to folk lore status. However..there is one serious danger which should never be underestimated…..do not ever swim in rivers in the Top End. There are warning signs everywhere, They are usually a simple very obvious pictogram, but frequently look like this
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Note the warning is written in English, German and I’ll say Chinese, but I’m not sure. In my travels round Australia I met a lot of German tourists, lovely people every one of them, but if anyone is going to cool off in a river on a hot day, despite warnings, it seems to be a German.
This was the case as we were camped by a river in the Kimberley area, close to a group of German backpackers, and sure enough one went for a swim. He was fine, but I encouraged him to get out, and warned him about crocs.
He was sure they only lived in the Northern Territory, and thought I was a panic merchant. The next morning there was a croc sunning on the opposite bank, and I pointed it out to him, and told him..”it (http://him….it) knows where you swim, and is waiting for you to go in again”. That’s why the signs are in German.
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