We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
"Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."Robert Kennedyfrom a speech at the University of Kansas on March 18, 1968
Hardcore survivalists and preppers cherish the lone-wolf scenario. It goes something like this: The world is crumbling and cities collapse into mayhem. We,the preppers are well equipped for the end of the world. We are the last chance of humanity since we can withstand anything faith throws at us. Our society is no longer built on everyday trust and neighborly reliance, but do you want to be alone in the end?
Do you really want to be alone for the end of the world?
The world around us is full of unfriendly strangers and nobody cares anymore about the person next to him. If the other guy doesn’t take care of himself…well, then to hell with him and his legacy. It’s a dog eat dog world and only the fittest survive. The media keeps bombarding us with nothing but violence, tragedy and sadness. It’s us or them!
And it is true, in any major, long-term disaster, preppers and survivalists could face deadly threats from desperate and unprepared people. The only problem when it comes to “them” is that they are much more numerous than us and a lone-wolf scenario doesn’t work like in the movies. There’s no one to yell “Cut!” when a scene goes wrong and life doesn’t give you do-overs.
The fact is, for most of rural people, one of the biggest things they’re going to face in the event of SHTF is this: a need to join forces with others who are in the same boat and who share similar beliefs.
We need a circle of well-prepared friends more than we need five guns and a ton of ammo. We need to make connections with trust-worthy people for when the world crumbles. And, we need to do this because there is a preparedness truth that some of us chose to ignore: no matter how well prepared we think we are, we will always lack something. It may be something obvious or it may be something obscure, it may be something we had that got lost or damaged, or used up. Don’t fool yourself, we will lack something no matter how good we think we have it.
You can’t wait for FEMA or the National Guard when a disaster strikes and you can’t count on luck when the world becomes a dark place. Luck won’t prevent the grocery store to run out of food and luck won’t keep you safe for the end of the world.
You need to start preparing to count on each other. You need to get together with neighbors and friends and enhance each other’s preparedness. And it’s not something you have to do out of altruism, but out of pure practicality. In the end the goal is the same: we’ll all be better off when SHTF.
“What can I do to connect with my friends and neighbors when it comes to preparedness matters?”, you may ask.
Well, you shouldn’t go running and tell just anybody what do you stock, where do you keep it and what guns and ammo you have stockpiled, and then ask them” Now show me yours”.
You can start with small steps and if some real disaster has recently struck your area, the aftermath gives a perfect opportunity to go to your neighbors and do a mutual check. Find out what they run out of, where they screwed up and what they can do differently next time. You can get this info just by discussing with your neighbors without appearing to organize any sort of preparedness league. You can even make agreements with them: for example you could store some extra gasoline for them if they help you with medical emergencies or anything else that you might need during a disaster.
People are always worried about something because self-preservation is part of our nature. You have an opening to discuss about preparedness and you need to approach the people from your community. Don’t tell them you are preparing for the end of the world as they might think you are crazy. Bring up for debate topics related to disasters/threats that are happening or are most likely to happen.
You can start practicing mutual preparedness:
Instead of selling your farm produce to your neighbors, start seeing what those neighbors might have to barter for them. Barter will be more useful than money in a serious disaster. It gives you a chance to know the people you are bartering with.
Get involved in a food co-op because you can always establish a cooperative network based on the main element: food. They may be open to the idea of organically grown crops, hormone-free meats or bulk food purchases on a budget.
If somebody in your circle of preppers has a pick-up truck and others don’t, the truck owner can offer to transport goods for a small fee or for barter. The same goes with any other type of machines that can be used by the community.
You can find some neighbors and sign up for and commute to skill-building classes together. It doesn’t matter if you learn about first aid, home canning or defensive shotgun use as long as you do it with somebody else. It will help you stay committed and motivated to the activity but also to the people.
Start offering to do things for your neighbors and ask them to do things for you. Do this even if you can actually take care of everything yourself. It’s a good way of bonding and getting to know each other’s skills. It provides a good opportunity to learn whom you can trust and whether you yourself are trustworthy.
If somebody close to you, especially relatives, feels unable to prepare for a disaster, see how you can change that by helpfulness and gentle persuasion. When you talk with certain people about preparedness, they feel overwhelmed, too unskilled or too poor to handle it all. Everybody is vulnerable to something and being prepared doesn’t mean you have to become an expert prepper. You have to make sure you increase your odds of survival and you have a fighting chance. Having a bug-out bag will make a huge difference. Knowing how to fortify your home will keep your family safe. Everyone can start with small steps if the mindset is there.
Garage sales are good occasions to know your neighbors and to stock up on preparedness supplies. You will be able to discuss with people from your community and know more about their prepping plans. If someone sells a camp stove because he never used it and thinks he never will, then that person might not be into prepping. But if someone sells a similar item because he got a better model, you might have some common topics to discuss. It’s all about knowing your neighbors and you can tell a lot about a person based on the stuff he owns.
With those you must trust, talk openly about others in your community who might become a problem in harsh times. Those who are clueless about fending for themselves will get desperate and might become real troublemakers. Thieves or chronic freeloaders will bring down the community. Everyone deserves a chance, but I’m willing to consider it for people who ask for one in the first place and are willing to work for it, rather than for those who “make a mistake” and ask for forgiveness and a second chance. When SHTF, there will be no luxury such as second chances and you must act first in order to survive the fall.
Safety in numbers will save you and the community. Your home could be on a map outlining evacuation routes for your area, the government could make your propriety an assembly area just for the fact that it is situated above the flooding zone. Regardless the scenario, there could be many who will come your way and most of “them” won’t have peaceful intentions. What then? You can’t keep up your fort for long if you are all alone. Joining a militia or having a group of trustworthy friends will help you deal with the masses. If some will try their luck with a just one person, nobody will be foolish enough to go against a number of well-armed individuals.
Another aspect that we need to consider during a crisis is what to do with friends and family that come rushing in, knowing you’ve been prepping for anything and your home is a safe haven. I know a few people that said “if the end of the world comes we’ll just move in with you”. Although it sounds like a joke, I’m pretty sure it isn’t. There will always be someone who knocks at your door during a time of need and you just can’t turn your back on them. They are the “friendly freeloaders” and although you are well intended, odds are you won’t be able to take care of them forever. This is why they need to be integrated in your local community and here is where it gets tricky.
If you are a lone wolf you won’t be supported by your community. Even worse, you will be seen as a threat if you bring in outsiders when things turn bad. However, if you have a good reputation amongst your peers, if you have the same interests. If they know how the skills of someone can help the entire community, it will be much easier to integrate others and give them a job insides the community. It is important to show how the new arrivals can help everyone and it can be done much easier if there is room for debate.
A last word
No man is an island and we should make sure we have someone to spend our time with, when the world around us dies. The government will tell you to wait for their help, to be passive and rely on experts and outsiders. They will ask you to behave like dependent children and wait for big daddy when in reality, you have people you can trust around you. People, who can help us out or, if need be, take us in.
Would you rather wait alone or turn to others, your friends and neighbors, when the world ends?
What’s It Like To Have A Photographic Memory?
I have a semi-photographic memory in that I can remember the content of most anything I’ve read and sometimes visually remember where the information is on the page or how far into the book/article it is. I don’t generally remember the names of the author or possibly the article/book but can usually find it with the specific information I do remember. I have almost no autobiographical/experiential memory ability and that usually feels like an unfair price to pay
What is it like? It’s complicated.
There are certainly positive ramifications:
In college; I’ve never had to study as long as I took notes during lectures and I didn’t have to buy textbooks unless they were going to be used for independent reading and/or were interesting enough for me to want to buy them. I usually get 100% or thereabout on any test and if I miss any questions its usually because I missed a class or got lazy and didn’t take notes one day. I don’t experience any test anxiety because I know I will get an A. I can answer most people’s questions with some degree of certainty and back up my response with a reference to the research or source of my answer. I can write research papers more quickly than most people because I have the info in my head and know which references I need to collect in order to cite/back up my ideas. Professors tend to enjoy me as a student because I am knowledgeable about the topics and can participate in well-informed and interesting conversations about their work/research. I easily generate original ideas for projects and papers because I can remember and connect information from different fields and studies related to the topic.
In regular life; I don’t get lost (photographic navigational memory). I can provide accurate information to friends and family about topics ranging from legal problems, medical problems, psychological problems, investments, business, parenting, nutrition, politics, fashion, etiquette, art, crafts, and anything else I’ve been interested enough to research (I research for fun and relaxation). I know how to fix things. I’m useful to have around and this helps me socially. I can generally come up with a relevant and amusing quote or anecdote from history or current events to amuse people with, I rock at karaoke, and no one can beat me at word games (except my brother whose strategy skills blow me out of the water during scrabble).
It’s not all good though, on a personal and emotional level its quite costly.
In college; I feel guilty about getting As on tests I didn’t study for when really hard workers struggle to pass. I feel guilty about ruining the curve in classes that have one (and sometimes negotiate with the teacher to be removed from the curve equation, even if it might lower my scores). I hate working in groups because I end up doing more work when I have to not only carry more of the burden but also figure out how to make sure everyone looks like they’ve done an equal amount of work on the project. I hate working in groups because it takes me more time to complete projects when I generally have to spend a fair amount of time providing my group-mates with the information I have that they don’t. I am popular as a group member (particularly with average and below average peers) because working with me pretty much guarantees an A on the project– this is a disadvantage to me because I’d rather work alone but am afraid of hurting others’ feelings if I refuse to work with them. I am unpopular as a group member with better students (usually those who actually work hard to earn their grades) because I choose unconventional projects and make them very anxious with my disorganization and procrastination. I have TERRIBLE study skills because I’ve never had to develop them and I fear it will one day bite me in the ass. I am a crazy perfectionist because I know what I am capable of and will punish myself severely for failing to get an A on a test or project. I find it hard to make friends because many people dislike me since I have an “unfair” advantage and don’t have to work to get the grades they struggle to approach. I find it hard to make friends because many people who like me in spite of my “unfair” advantage find it difficult to relate to me on a personal level and seem to feel like I have super-powers or am otherwise alien. I find it hard to make friends because I don’t fit in with most other people and they find it hard to comprehend that I research for fun and would rather spend a Friday night intensely discussing potential solutions to unsolvable problems than going out to drink and socialize with random people.Some professors dislike me because I ask questions that they don’t have the answers to or related to research on the topic that they haven’t yet read. Some professors dislike me because they feel like I am “too big for my britches,” and I often feel guilty for asking questions during class (so many questions) that are related to the topic but beyond the scope of what is being presented and often beyond the ability of others to understand when they haven’t accumulated as much information as I have about the subject.
At work: I get bored easily because I have an insatiable drive for new information and most jobs are repetitive. I piss off my managers because they often feel like I’m making them “look dumb” and I don’t know how to keep my mouth shut if I have pertinent information. I piss off my managers because my coworkers often come to me for information and assistance instead of them. I have trouble working in groups because I usually have too much more information and I can easily dominate the discussion or make people feel like I’m being pushy. I have trouble working with other people because I often have more knowledge about any given topic we’re working on and its not actually a good thing to “always be right” about things because you can’t not remember what you remember. I have trouble making friends at work because many peers find me odd, difficult to understand, and/or feel like I threaten their chances of advancing as much as they’d like.I have a lot of trouble even deciding on a career path because I am “really good at” (and really educated about) too many subjects and in order to choose one path I would have to give up my dreams and passion for the other paths I’m not taking. At 38 I haven’t yet been able to establish a track record or formal evidence of expertise in any particular field because my memory (and number of topics I’m passionate about) makes me have high aptitude for too many things and prevents me from being able to focus on one thing long enough to make tangible progress. Worst of all, I have difficulty following through on projects because my memory is such that thinking through the problem (and figuring it out) seems like having done it completely and I then find it hard to muster motivation to take the time to finish it in real life.
The personal costs are what I hate the most: I have trouble in relationships because I’m “always right” when it comes to facts & information that I’ve accumulated knowledge about (non experiential) and have not yet figured out how to let other people “be right” without compromising my intellectual principles and/or unfairly hoarding information I could have shared. I have trouble finding people who connect with me intellectually because while many people are as or more informed than me in their particular domain of interest it seems impossible to find others who are equally informed in a wide range of domains of knowledge. I have trouble connecting with others because I often end up feeling guilty or becoming aware of the frightening potential of manipulating or unduly influencing others when they unquestioningly accept my input as fact due to my wealth of information about everything that I am compelled to learn about– It’s frightening to feel responsible for being infallible when you know you actually are not.I am disorganized because everything I experience internally or externally triggers a memory and demands that I contemplate the connection /relationship and I am rendered effectively incapable of reliably noticing the organization/cleanliness of my home or office. I lose track of time and days because I am distracted by associative memories triggered by anything; I forget to pay my bills & cannot properly manage money because I am usually stuck in my head and lose track of time or lose the bills in the clutter I’m failing to notice. Other problems associated with being constantly reminded of something that is potentially related to whatever: I can’t keep a schedule, I forget to eat, I forget to shower (or that I forgot to eat or shower), I forget important dates like birthdays and anniversaries, I often have insomnia, I lose everything (If I were a man I’d be very grateful not to have a detachable penis), and I am always anxious that I’ve forgotten some important deadline or other task I usually forget.I can’t remember experiences like my 21st birthday, special times with my daughter (I think its a trade off for my other kind of memory ability), my first kiss or the first time I had sex, friends and lovers I have fallen out of contact with (I somehow completely forget many people which makes me sad), or most any personal accomplishment that would probably look really good on my resume.
I feel really guilty about not being grateful for my “gifts.” I feel really guilty for not using my ability as much as I could or should have. From childhood, people have told me that I am responsible for using my gifts to improve the world, I don’t feel I have honored that responsibility and so feel guilty for letting “the world” down (irrational, I know). I fear I am arrogant; I fear that others think I’m arrogant. I struggle to achieve greater humility but have little success on that count. I sometimes worry that I’m a “bad person” because I have failed to use my abilities or live up to the potential this memory gives me.
The single worst thing for me, though, is that I feel like I’m not quite human. I don’t have many experiences others have, have not developed skills that others have developed because they require repetition or other tools to remember information, and I have many experiences that others do not have due to the differences in how my brain works. If I could feel like I “belong” somewhere or that I am really “connected” to another human being then I might feel like all the other negatives are worth it for the benefits I experience.
I don’t know if this actually answers “what it is like” to have this type of memory because it seems more like I’m simply listing the effects it has on my life. However, I don’t know what its like to NOT have this memory of mine and since this type of question requires a comparison between the two experiences… I think the question could only REALLY be answered by someone who has both had and not had this type of memory ability.
– Juliette Creech
Kartoffelkloese (Potato Dumplings)
Kartoffelklöße or kartoffelknödel are traditional German potato dumplings that are consumed all over the country but are especially popular in Bavaria, Thuringia, and the Rhineland area. Depending on the variation, the dumplings may consist of cooked potatoes, raw potatoes, or a combination of both.
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Ingredients
6 medium potatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 pound butter, melted
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
Instructions
Boil potatoes in their skins; drain, peel, and grate or put through a food mill or ricer.
Beat eggs and add flour, onion and seasonings; beat mixture into the potatoes with a wire whisk to make them as fluffy as possible.
Roll potato dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Drop them into boiling salted water and simmer about 10 minutes. Drain well.
Pour the butter over the dumplings and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Serves 4 to 6.
Air Space Over Havre, Montana Closed for “National Defense” – Fighter Jets Scrambled from Multiple Bases
The Federal Aviation Administration has closed the air space over and around Havre, Montana under the designation “National Defense.” U.S. Fighter Jets have been scrambled from THREE separate military bases.
Flash traffic came in to me stating the following: “Portland based F-15s just scrambled out on a northbound heading”
Those jets were scrambled out of the Portland Air National Guard base.
Additional fighters scrambled out of McChord Field.
Shortly thereafter, the ALERT TANKERS were sent into the air from Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB).
Flights in/around Seattle-area appear to be operating as normal. Overflights appear to be unaffected as well.
RUM-INT (RUMOR) Another unidentified object over Vancouver — UNCONFIRMED
A new NOTAM has been issued by the FAA for an area over Havre, MT. The airspace has been defined as “National Defense Airspace.” Unclear if it is related to another “unknown” object. It appears below:
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NEW: reports of fighters scrambled from Malmstrom AFB in Montana.
USAF KC-135R mid-air refueling craft is on task just outside Great Falls, MT. Took off from Fairchild AFB.
FAA statement: “The FAA closed some airspace in Montana to support Department of Defense activities. Contact NORAD for additional information.”
Aircraft on Billings Approach being notified of closed airports to the north to do “National Security”
The NOTAM issued in northern Montana are about 50 by 50 nautical miles
Rep. Rosendale confirmed an object in the airspace. They will observe and ground the object in the morning…
The NOTAM has been pulled, effective 0112 UTC.
Billings-Logan International Airport and Havre City Airport have reportedly been reopened to incoming and outgoing Commercial Aircraft.
Canada closes air space – fighter jets scrambled again – ANOTHER Unidentified Object – Ontario! ! !
Canada has closed a portion of its air space over Ontario for yet ANOTHER “Unidentified Object.” Fighter jets have been scrambled. . . live updates below . . .
Canada closes airspace near Tobermory in Ontario due to “active air defense operation”.
5:48 PM EST —
Canada has just Closed a section of Airspace over the Great Lakes and near the U.S/Canadian Border due to an “Active Air Defense Operation.”
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The NOTAM over Lake Huron appears to quite large and cover almost 1/4th of the Lake
Just north east of Tobermory, Ontario is Canadian Armed Forces 22 Wing which is their Space surveillance unit which interacts with US Space counterparts
6:03 PM EST —
Air Refueling Tanker now circling over Lake Huron.
Turned around and now heading back north toward the NOTAM
US Military has just “Decommissioned” another object over Lake Huron. The U.S. military has shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron.
An F-16 shot down the object over Lake Huron, according to a congressional aid who says the object was octagon shaped and was at an altitude of 20,000ft, posing a threat to civilian air traffic.
Pentagon used an F-16 fighter jet, armed with a Sidewinder missile, the same missile used on the other three objects.
Four of these incident in eight days.
Three in just the last three days.
PENTAGON SAYS OBJECT SHOT DOWN ON SUNDAY WAS A THREAT “DUE TO ITS POTENTIAL SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITIES” PENTAGON SAYS OBJECT FLEW IN PROXIMITY TO SENSITIVE U.S. MILITARY SITES
Search Engine Sleuthing
How Tightly-Controlled is Your Favourite Media Outlet?
Most of us have a favourite media outlet that we browse from time to time to get a sense of what’s going on in the world.
I’ve found it useful to use a media outlet’s own search engine to determine a) how often that news outlet suppresses important stories, and b) what kind of stories get suppressed.
Some stories are easier to search than others.
To illustrate how this is so, let’s consider four important stories from the past week that often didn’t make it into the mainstream press, and how easy or hard it would be to search for them.
Seymour Hersh accused the United States of destroying the Nordstream pipelines. ‘Seymour Hersh’ is a name that is both unusual and famous. It’s likely that his name will be in any article title – so the search engine will find it. “Nordstream” is an excellent keyword – neither too wide nor too narrow.
Tom Jefferson was the lead researcher of a Cochrane Report meta-analysis of 67 random controlled trials that found that masks were essentially useless in preventing COVID or the flu. ‘Tom Jefferson’ and ‘Cochrane Report’ are both common enough names that the search engines will find a large number of articles completely unrelated to what you want. The key word ‘masks’ may find what you’re looking for, but will likely find a great number of unrelated stories.
Moonofalabama has reported that the ‘unidentified object’ the US shot down over Alaska last Friday with a $400,000 Sidewinder missile was likely a US weather balloon. This story has two strikes against it. It appears in a blog – which mainstream media only rarely use as a source. And the keywords ‘American weather balloon’ will generate a lot of garbage if the site looks separately for ‘American’, ‘weather,’ and ‘balloon’.
A New Pre-print correlation study from lead author Denis G. Rancourt published by ResearchGate has estimated that COVID vaccines have killed 13 million (mostly old and frail) people worldwide. Denis Rancourt has an unusual name, but he’s not famous enough to appear in a title. Notice also that it’s a pre-print – In my experience, the mainstream media won’t touch a finding that controversial with a ten-foot pole before it has been peer-reviewed.
Given the above, I think it is wise to limit your search for censored stories to those stories that search engines will likely find.
I would add the further caveat that I have found the search engines for print media to be more reliable than the search engines for TV networks. A good back-up check for TV networks is to search Youtube using a good keyword and the network’s name, e.g., searching Youtube with keywords ‘Foxnews + Nordstream’ will find a story when Foxnews’ own search engine does not.
Finally, if you can’t believe your favorite news channel has censored an important story, use the advanced search features on your favourite search engine, for example, search for stories which contain all of ‘CBC’ + ‘Hersh’ + ‘Nordstream’. (The caveat on this latter approach is that I’ve found that Google in particular sometimes has trouble finding materials which might embarrass either the CDC or the Biden administration.)
To find out how many stories your favorite media censors, you’ll first need to find some frequently censored stories.
My favourite source for such stories is Moonofalabama.org. Bernard is very careful about vetting carefully any stories he selects. (Today he gave Seymour Hersh hell for using unnamed sources, even though he acknowledges that Hersh’s past track record has been remarkably good) Bernard usually only does one story a day on a wide variety of geopolitical issues, so he won’t overload your inbox.
Dr. Robert Malone is good at covering medical issues jncluding COVID, and he usually only posts once a day. (Twice a week he sends out a post of cartoons – but you can ignore them.)
Some of the sources below will overload your inbox if you subscribe, but will often have important stories suppressed by the mainstream media:
Zerohedge is technically an alternative investment site, but they are probably your single best source of stories the mainstream has censored.
Matt Taibbi at Racket News is always interesting and often covers stories that others censor.
Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism covers a wide range of stories about economics and geopolitics.
Larry Johnson at sonar21.com is an American veteran who covers Ukraine and geopolitics really well.
Caitlin Johnstone has good pieces about narrative control and geopolitics, and usually only does one post a day if you want to subscribe.
My suggestion is you do a quick check of all these sites and bookmark the ones you find most interesting and/or trustworthy. After that, surf your chosen sites from time to time.
Each time you find a story you think is important but didn’t see on your usual news source, use the search engine from your favorite media site to see if they did cover the story. My suggestion is you keep a list of the stories they censored – in case you decide to send them a complaint letter at some point in the future.
It’s also useful to know your particular news outlet’s strengths and weaknesses. Some websites are great on alternative medical stories but lousy on geopolitics, or vice versa.
A second way you can use search engines is to do a survey of a wide selection of major media, either nationally or globally, and keep track of how often, and where, a major story got censored.
Let’s use the Seymour Hersh Nordstream posting as an example. Here’s a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who’s very first Substack post presents very detailed information on how the United States blew up the Nordstream pipelines. I would argue that when a journalist this esteemed makes a charge this important and this detailed, it clearly deserves media coverage, even if we can’t be sure that the charge is true.
In a way, it’s a good example to use to see how tightly a particular media outlet is controlled. If an outlet censors in only limited ways, the outlet will cover the story in a way that is highly skeptical or dismissive, perhaps describing Hersh as a ‘blogger.’ This at least lets the audience know that the story exists. A higher level of censorship is to suppress the story completely.
Looking at various media websites, you can see where, and how tightly this story has been censored by using the media websites’ own search engines. (Many media websites will often let you search their website even when they restrict site access to subscribers.)
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So, if you’re wondering why more people aren’t upset about Seymour Hersh’s charges that the US blew up the Nordstream pipelines, the answer may be as simple as: THEY DON’T KNOW!
Having done a lot of search engine sleuthing, I would offer the feedback that the pattern seen in the table above is fairly typical of most controversial stories.
Countries of the former British Empire typically display a higher level of censorship than the rest of the world. (If one were to infer power relationships from censorship patterns, one could be forgiven for wondering if Canada, England, and Australia are American colonies!)
It’s also not surprising that the English language Indian websites Wion and Hindustan Times covered this story. I find that freedom of the press is an order of magnitude higher in India than it is in North America.
One important caveat on the above table is that many news outlets restrict their coverage of controversial subject to opinion columnists. About half of the news outlets above reported the Hersh story only in a single opinion column. I suspect the large majority of those audiences won’t have seen the story.
Even lousy media websites are not without value. I browse CBC News from time to time to remind myself that a good chunk of the Canadian population relies heavily on a highly-scripted and controlled news source.
Censoring the news impoverishes our map of reality. I suspect we may see some major anti-NATO protests in Europe over the next few weeks. If there’s a snap election in Germany any time soon, we can expect the anti-NATO AfD Party to do extremely well.
This will be surprising and confusing to most Americans, because most Americans will not have heard of Hersh’s charges of American covert military action against the Nordstream pipelines. The actions of Europeans would be much more comprehensible to Americans if Americans knew as much about the charges made against their Government as many Europeans do.
PS: I suspect a lot of readers of this site may find themselves dismissed as ‘conspiracy theorists’ by their more straitlaced friends. If you have friends who refuse to believe that the CBC, or CNN, or the New York Times would ever censor an important story, forward this post to them with a challenge.
Ask them to surf some of the alternate sites listed above, looking for stories that they find shocking but credible. Have them then do the search engine test to see if their preferred media is an trustworthy as they think it is.
Who knows, they might eventually admit to you that it probably is advisable to get your news of the world from more than one source.
NORAD Gives Notice of Air Defense Exercise Around Washington, DC, Set for Tuesday!
The announcement comes after a fourth “unidentified Object” is shot down over North America.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, (NORAD) will conduct an air defense exercise on Tuesday, February 14, between midnight and 2:30 a.m. EST, according to officials, around the Washington, D.C. area.
Officials said some flights may take place at 2,500 feet, making them visible from the ground, and if weather interferes with operations, they will commence the next day at the same time.
The agency said it conducts routine exercises that include a variety of scenarios, whether it is a hijacking, response to unknown aircraft, or airspace restriction violations, and that all exercises are controlled and planned out.
(HT Remark:I don’t recall them ever announcing these exercises around the White House before. Strange.)
U.S. Says Americans “SHOULD LEAVE RUSSIA IMMEDIATELY”
The US State Department has begun telling Americans they should “LEAVE RUSSIA IMMEDIATELY.”
The United States Embassy in Moscow has released a notice saying “US citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately. Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions. Do not travel to Russia” – US embassy in Moscow
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Direct Link to this notice on official US Gov’t We Site HERE
Hal Turner Remark
This is a tripwire. This is what the US does when it knows military action (or Terrorist Attack) is planned against a specific country.
In fact, the notice specifically mentions terrorism by saying “Terrorist groups, both transnational and local terrorist organizations, and individuals inspired by extremist ideology continue plotting possible attacks in Russia. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs and systems, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.”
This has lead Russian Authorities to conclude the US is planning actual Terrorist attacks inside Russia — as was done in Syria.
All-in-all, today’s notice is among the worst developments possible for the situation. War approaches. Prepare.
UPDATE 9:17 AM EST —
“Ukrainian delegation left the negotiations and STOPPED communications [In Turkey] with Russia, at the command from above” – Dmitry Peskov
Confessions Of The Son Of A Billionaire
How much is your father worth?
My father is worth just shy of $2 Billion liquid, and he’s on a rapid trajectory be worth significantly more.
What do you do for a living?
As for my current job, I work a generic IT position with a standard salary – nothing that will produce the kind of fortune my father’s work has.
What kind of car do you drive?
A 2014 Subaru Outback. Prior to that, a very-used ’98 Outback. Probably not the answer you were expecting!
As for my parents, the primary cars at each property are a Mercedes GLS and SL Roadster; they have lots of others, but nothing too fancy. Mostly old Chevy and Ford cars primarily driven by the various employees they have.
What do you do for work and why did you go into that field?
I’m a computer systems adminsitrator for a small company because it’s what I enjoy and it doesn’t require a large amount of non-immediate work. I didn’t inherit my dad’s strong ambition and drive, unfortunately.
Do you think having the trust fund played a role in your lack of ambition and drive?
The truth is that I didn’t know about the trust fund until I got married, so it had little influence over my upbringing. I knew that my parents were well-off and perhaps assumed that that would come to us someday, but nothing was explicitly stated about it as a kid. So if it did affect my ambition and drive, it was more subconscious. It’s certainly possible, though it didn’t affect my siblings. I’m more inclined to think of it being how I’m neurologically wired, just as my dad is wired to be a workaholic but less emotionally engaging. But it’s hard to say. I certainly do blame myself for my lack of sustained ambition, most of the time.
Do your nearest and dearest know your worth, potential or otherwise?
Well obviously my wife knows! We have one pair of friends who at least know my parents are very wealthy, since they’ve stayed with us at one of their properties. Everyone else (hopefully) assumes we have little more than the middle-class lifestyle that we provide for ourselves.
Wait so does your father not share his wealth with you?
We enjoy their material assets, get awesome gifts for Christmas, and each have a trust fund of $28K/year. But to have a comfortable life and income, we have to have our own jobs. For now, at least.
Did your father insist on a prenup for your wife to sign before marriage?
They suggested a prenup, but it didn’t happen. My wife hates their wealth and wants no part in it so I’m not concerned about her trying to run away with it.
How is your relationship with your parents?
My relationship with them is complicated. I appreciate what they’ve provided, but the emotional connection has been poor. I wish I could feel closer to them, but I just don’t think they’re wired for that kind of relationship. Dad’s a workaholic, Mom’s a socialite, I’m the kid who didn’t do everything perfectly and felt like the pariah for a decade. Things are better now, but conversations are rarely more than business and small talk.
What kind of schools did you go to? Were your peers wealthy?
I went to a private school for grade school, a boarding school for high school, and then private university which I eventually dropped out of. Since the familial wealth grew as I did, the peer group evolved over time; but I never understood the extent of their or our worth until recently. My perspective was more than a bit off growing up.
At what point in your life did you realize that your parents are very, very rich?
Far later than I probably should have. I didn’t really realize just how out of touch I was until around 23 or 24. Granted, we were worth significantly less when I was younger, but still, many things that I took for granted were definitely not common.
Do you think you grew up in a bubble, so to speak, unaware of things those of more modest wealth take for granted? Any funny or embarrassing moments?
I think so. Generally I was more naïve than anything. I can’t think of any specifically funny moments, but there are a lot of things that I roll my eyes about where I was much more flippant about the price of things. I was just a kid who was excited by certain things, but I didn’t realize that talking about them so much was likely very awkward for others who were adults and yet had experienced far less. I remember asking the person who maintains some of our land what his favorite place to travel to was, and when he told me that he had never flown on a plane in his life, I suddenly realized that there was a very big difference in how we grew up. I felt quite awkward and guilty about that one.
Do your parents pressure you to want more? Make more money?
Well I do think that my anxiety comes from my dad wanting me to do better, in part. As I mentioned elsewhere, I dropped out of college; I did terribly in school – had high overall intelligence and tested well but just failed to put in the necessary sustained effort. I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD and the difference since starting treatment has been profound, but I wouldn’t dare tell my father that because a) he’s convinced that it’s a fake condition, and b) I doubt the diagnosis myself because it just feels like too convenient of an excuse. I’ve been taught that there’s no excuse for not succeeding other than not working hard enough, and by that metric, I’ve largely been a failure. My dad’s success and his hope for my success has been an enormous burden, but I think at this point he’s generally “given up” on me having the same drive as him.
Do you have other siblings?
I have siblings, and I get the feeling that they’ve been better-supported financially because they’ve lived their life much more in line with how my parents had planned.
What’s that -one thing- you never got as a kid?
A gaming console. Or as my dad affectionately referred to it, the “Super No-friend-o”. Somehow computer games didn’t fall into that purview though, so I had a top-end desktop and laptop anyway. Didn’t stop me from being obsessed with gaming; the PS2 was the first purchase I made when I started getting my own paycheck.
Seems like even though you had connections to wealth, it wasn’t used as a magic wand to get you shiny things all the time. Did you learn the value of money and earning, over just “having” money?
Sort of. We (my siblings and I) certainly didn’t have carte blanche, and I’m self-sufficient currently outside of a growing and accessible trust fund; but they have a “what’s mine is yours” mentality when it comes to enjoying their homes and possessions, which are plentiful. As we speak, my wife and I are staying in one of their massive homes for a stress-free weekend, and everything from the cars to the cook is at our disposal. These days I’ve never asked for something that they’ve said “no” to, but I’ve never tried to push the limits.
Are the other homes always “staffed” even if your family isn’t there, or is it a more “on-call” situation?
Some of the properties are quite large and require constant upkeep. One is on a farm and has a family living on the property – the husband and wife handle the land and home maintenance, respectively. Some of the properties are in city high-rises and have building staff to take care of them. Then they have their main guy (I have no idea what his official title is but he’s effectively a modern butler valet) who almost always travels with them and handles arrangements to keep their flow as uninterrupted as possible. He also lives in a home provided by my family, right next to one of their “hub” properties.
Do you have any “regular” friends now? What’s a Friday night like for you?
My wife and I are shut-ins and will spend most evenings just watching shows and playing video games together. When we meet up with friends, we meet at the pub or go to one of each others’ houses. A couple times we have taken some friends up to one of my parents’ properties, but only after we’ve come to know them quite well.
But generally, unless I’m with my parents at the time, I live a very standard middle-class lifestyle.
Thoughts on economics and/or politics? Libertarian free market, radical socialism, social democracy, liberal welfare state?
I generally lean conservative/libertarian on fiscal issues, which probably isn’t surprising.
Do you travel a lot ?
I did as a kid, less so now that I have my own income and my own job schedule. Starting around 12 or so, each spring break was spent on another Caribbean island and each summer was spent visiting another country or series of countries. My dad would increasingly joke that our hotels were picked by my mom Googling “Most expensive hotel in ____”; and those trips usually consisted of a private tour guide who would take us everywhere, get us behind velvet ropes at various museums, etc.
I didn’t appreciate how special those trips were as a kid, though I certainly did love them.
What games do you play?
We play special billionaire-only games that you wouldn’t have heard about.
Kidding. We just wrapped up Dishonored 2 and are currently replaying the Bioshock trilogy.
What type of hobbies do you have?
Technology, media, games. I have an awesome home theater which is my biggest piece of personal extravagance.
Please elaborate
Well we squeezed it into our relatively normal house, but it’s a 150″ screen with a 4K projector, seating for eight, Atmos 7.2.4 sound, and a whole lot of soundproofing to keep it contained 😉
I was so close to convincing my dad to put an amazing theater into his newest home, but regrettably he decided that a massive wine cellar was the more prudent option. But at least I get to say that I have a better home theater than him 🙂 Not much that I can beat out the billionaire in, so I’ll take what I can get!
What’s your favorite pop tarts flavor?
Nothing beats brown sugar!
Do you actually eat pop tarts? I don’t just mean pop tarts either. Like, when I imagine rich people eating, I always think of private chefs, or at very least having someone else cook for them in some way. Do you ever just open up the panty and grab something like a box of cereal, or pop tarts, or ramen noodles? Or do you always have other people prepare food for you?
Well at the house where I’m staying at right now, there’s a pantry with Tostitos and Skippy peanut butter, a freezer with Eggos, and there are always a half-dozen Oscar Meyer wieners available for cooking. Of course there are other fancy snacks as well and our freezer is actually mostly full of the meat from a cow and pig we won at a rodeo auction last year, but sometimes you need a quick breakfast or midday snack and it’s not worth having a professional always handling it. Depends on the circumstances.
What’s a problem that billionaires have that we plebians do not?
Child-of-a-billionaire problems include rock-bottom self-esteem and endless guilt.
As for my parents, their problems are a lack of time and a loss of perspective. Worst has probably been their focus on maintaining a social appearance which has come at a significant cost in regards to their relationship with me and my siblings. They spend so much time these days trying to make our family seem perfect that they forget to do the actual things that keep a relationship strong.
Is this more keeping up with the Jones’s or just being scheduled too much to make time? Running an empire is hard work, I don’t envy then the drudgery.
My dad lives to work. He knows he doesn’t need any more money, but it’s when he’s working hard that he’s having the most fun. So for him, it’s just keeping busy. My mom, on the other hand, took our class status as an opportunity to become a major socialite. I participated in literally over a half-dozen debutante events. I felt like a trophy being paraded around, the illusion of our familial excellence masking the superficial relationships we had underneath.
Things are a bit better now since I confronted them on all of this a couple years ago, but still, our relationship is so-so at best and I expect the wealth was a catalyst in that.
You mention that you live a middle class life now and work in a normal job. Are you content with this or do you have plans to get independently wealthy?
I’m not a strong worker. There are things that I’d love to excel at, but I lack the patience and focus to accomplish them. There are many causes and industries which I look forward to financially supporting once I am afforded that lifestyle, but I would be content to just live out my life as I currently do (with more perks, of course) and leave the ambitions to those who are cut out for it.
Why do you work, particularly in mid-range IT? You could be doing anything. Does working feel like waste of time?
The trust is only $28,000/year for the time being. That’s the maximum non-taxable amount and is enough to provide a nice boost without letting us get away comfortably with doing nothing. That will change in the future, but for now, my parents strongly encourage a good work ethic and the value of earning your self-sufficiency. Not to scoff at how valuable that $28,000 has been, of course.
Are you any less miserable than we are?
I have emotional problems like everyone else. But I don’t have to worry about my paycheck, I don’t have to worry about my retirement, I don’t have to worry about supporting my child financially, I don’t have to worry about a medical crisis ruining our family… There are so many burdens that I simply won’t know. I wouldn’t dare make a claim to the same sadness and difficulties that many people deal with.
What are your thoughts on whether money can (or can’t) buy happiness?
I once read that money can’t buy happiness but that it’s a good “unhappiness repellant”, and that seemed like a good way to describe it. There are a lot of things that can cause unhappiness that can be prevented with money: financial issues obviously, health-related crises, and lots of little things. Being able to skip the major airports and take a private jet instead bypasses a major headache!
But money can cause problems too. Especially extreme wealth.
Being given such an extreme amount of wealth creates the burden of managing that wealth properly. You don’t want to be the generation that loses what prior ones have worked so hard to provide. But you also want to do as much good as you can for the world while you have the opportunity.
Most importantly, I’m terrified about raising my kids well. I don’t want to raise spoiled brats, but I have no idea how to both acknowledge our extreme privilege and simultaneously impose a modest lifestyle. There are so many bad examples out there, and we only get one chance to raise them right.
What’s the best thing money can buy?
That’s a profound question to answer which can delve into the philosophical, so I’m just going to modify the question to “what’s your favorite thing your parents have bought?” to keep it simple and light. And to that, it’s almost impossible not to say the private jet. Not because of how comfortable it is, but because of the convenience and time-saving.
We don’t need to show up at the airport 90 minutes early, check our bags, wait in the security line, put our liquids in special containers within containers, then sprint to the gate desperately trying to reach it before the door closes. Instead, we literally drive the car onto the tarmac, let a crewmember carry in the luggage while we take a seat, and are in the air within 10 minutes. The crew is employed by us and is ready to go the moment we pull up. And our dog gets to sit in the leather seat next to us. Usually a meal is provided: shrimp caesar salads, a charcuterie board, a glass of wine, even a steak dinner if we request far enough in advance. And when we land, someone pulls our car around and meets us at on the runway, they put our luggage into the car, and we’re on the road – often much closer to the final destination than a larger airport is.
It is absolutely extravagant, but the reduction in stress and time is so significant that it’s one of their expenses that I absolutely think was worth it.
.
Schmarrn (Scrambled Pancakes)
It is generally agreed that Schmarrn was first prepared for the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830–1916).
2023 02 14 18 35
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
Pinch of salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk or cream
2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Cream butter until frothy, then add, one after another, sugar, egg yolks, salt, flour and milk.
Beat egg whites until stiff and carefully fold in.
Melt remaining butter in a cast iron skillet, and pour in batter. Fry on each side until golden brown.
With 2 forks, chop the resulting pancake.
Serve on a hot platter sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and garnished with pieces of apple, cherry, seedless raisins or other fruit, sautéed in butter.
Oh, let’s start a new reality, and I am going to reflect it in MM.
Oh, yes I am. The direction is clear now. The world has peaked during this transition period (oh sure, there’s some months left) but the world has steered though the high risk transitions, and now seems firmly on a vectored course. Don’t give up hope, the “news” will still be playing the pied piper of doom, but yeah, it’s over.
The world is moving on, and the ability for the United States to temper-tantrum out of it is decreasing daily. It’s not gonna happen, no matter how many bombs it threatens with, or the places it deploys.
That phase is over.
And a new one starts.
So I will be phasing out this section. Cleaning it up, and moving on to other things. Stand buy. It might take a while for me to transition…
Aji De Gallina (Chicken Pepper Casserole)
2023 02 13 15 14
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) chicken or 3 chicken breasts
2 cups chicken stock
7 slices white bread, crusts trimmed and discarded
1 1/2 cups canned milk
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
5 tablespoons banana pepper paste*
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese
1 ounce walnuts, chopped
6 – 8 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and cut up
12 black olives
6 eggs, hard boiled, sliced
Parsley to garnish
Instructions
Cook the chicken in the chicken stock. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Save the stock.
When cool, cut the chicken into pieces.
In a separate bowl, soak the bread in the milk. Puree the soaked bread.
In the oil, sauté the garlic, onion and yellow pepper mixture. Add the pureed bread, and season with salt and pepper. Slowly add the chicken stock until the mixture is loose and slightly thickened. Add the olive oil. Continue heating until smooth and medium thick. At the end of cooking, add the chicken pieces, Parmesan cheese and walnuts. Continue cooking until the mixture is thick like a casserole.
Place the potatoes on the bottom of the serving dish. Spread the chicken mixture over the potatoes. Decorate with olives, eggs, and parsley.
Serve immediately.
* Puree peppers with oil to make a paste.
A lesson for the world: This is how China builds a subway line nowadays!
This is what China is like today. This is what I see every day.
7 Soul Crushing Confessions That Will Remind You That Life Isn’t All Sunshine And Rainbows
1. I was diagnosed with cancer a little over two weeks ago, after a regular checkup. Turns out I have a tumour on my colon that has spread to other areas (liver and lungs so far) and will require extensive chemo and surgery for any chance to live longer than 8 months
I’m not having any treatment and I haven’t told my wife because she’ll only pressure me to get the treatment, which result in months of pain and suffering for a relatively small chance
Instead, I’m making sure our last few months together are filled with only happy memories. I’m starting work later and finishing earlier each day, to make her breakfast in bed and take her on dates in the evenings
My landlord I rent my workshop from has agreed to let me run my business rent free for the next 6 months, which means significantly less financial stress and I can save a lot more, so she has something to carry her over afterwards
I hope she’ll forgive me for taking this path
2. My 13 year old died in Peru after getting caught in a whirlpool. We were on vacation. His mom (my ex) blamed me for his death and our other son also blames me so he doesn’t speak to me. He’s now 13 too. I don’t force him to see me. When I drive home from work, I pretend that I am talking to my son about how his day was at school, what kind of music he wants to listen to, what he wants for dinner, etc. That is why I haven’t gotten a new car. There are just too many memories.
3. I was 8 years old and he was 13. By that time, he’d already gotten sex ed classes at his school.
He came to me and for several months showed me pornographic material. I couldn’t escape because my parents would make me stay at home with him whenever they went out.
It ended up happening because I was a little bitch and was more terrified of sleeping alone in the dark than my brother sexually abusing me while convincing me it was just a little game.
I didn’t understand at the time.
I didnt even have a door in my room, so he’d often “accidentally” barge in while I was changing. I was 8 years old.
He fucking groomed me into being okay with him seeing me naked while at the same time saying I was acting “obscenely” for laying on the couch. I didn’t even know what obscene meant.
It was only once our parents caught us that I realised he’d used me for his sick fantasies.
For me it was this little “secret” my brother told me to keep. I didn’t realise the implication and that he’d abused my trust in my only sibling to have sex with me, a fucking CHILD.
Even after being caught he’d still touch himself in front of me (I don’t even understand how my parents could leave me alone with him after what had happened).
By the time I turned 12 I’d have recurring nightmares about it but convinced myself that they were fantasies (I had repressed my memories) and that I was disgusting for thinking my big brother could have done that to me.
I got into the habit of locking my door every night once I finally got one and I didn’t understand why. I slept with a lamp in my room, even more terrified of the dark than when I was a kid.
It was like my mind decided to entirely wipe every memory out of my mind, my own mind was telling me I was disgusting for having nightmares about my brother touching me. But everyday I would wake up and act as if everything was normal. None of my parents ever brought it up. We became the perfect little family once again.
At 18 I had a mental breakdown after realising I had almost no memories of my childhood save for my horrible nightmares. I confessed everything to my mom, having completely forgotten if I’d even told her or if she knew since nobody spoke about it.
She told me she didn’t remember and that it must have been experimentation. Just siblings playing with each other.
She didn’t believe me. She had to ask my brother for confirmation.
And of course he downplayed it. He played the victim, saying he didn’t want it to damage my family once again and that he hadn’t done much anyway. According to him it only happened once. Hahaha
I distinctively remember everything and it hadn’t been once.
Since then I’ve been diagnosed with OCD, Anxiety and depression. I’ve been getting help and have cut all communication with my brother.
4. I’m a gay, closeted, middle-aged man married to a woman for a long time. My secret double life involves occasionally visiting gay night clubs, among other things.
On June 12, 2016 I was at the PULSE night club, enjoying Latino night (I’m not, but I enjoy Latino men for the most part). When the shooting started, I was on the far end of the club, getting a drink. I was nearly herded into the bathroom where a last-stand and breach occurred, but instead went along the wall and was able to exit. (It turns out later a dude I had bought drinks for occasionally was killed in the shooting).
I took a ricochet to the back of my calf which touched bone but didn’t break it. Bled a lot. Once outside, I immediately got clear of the area, made my way to my car which was parked a distance away, and then retreated to my office, about 15 minutes away. I did my best field dressing of the wound, stabilizing it and stopping the seeping bleeding for the most part.
I ended up seeing my regular doctor the next morning as soon as he opened. He freaked the f**k out, told me it was a mandatory reporting situation, and then sent me to the ER. I refused that plan, told him to give my information to the police. The police eventually did contact me, and I referred them to my lawyer. I worked my lawyer to give a statement to the police under confidential terms. They immediately put me in touch with the FBI. Meanwhile, about 24 hours had gone by, and my wound hurt like hell but was no longer weeping blood. The FBI was not playing around, and was very aggressive with my lawyer.
I ended up getting treatment from the hospital, a consult with a surgeon, who removed the shrapnel. I told my wife/kids that I injured my calf during an early morning run, and wore a compression sock to hide the wound. The surgery to remove the fragment followed a few days later, and was uneventful, except the FBI was there to retrieve the fragment. A plastic surgeon did a slight touch up on the wound so it looks like a mole was removed.
No one in the entire world knows what happened and how PULSE affected me. I sometimes have violent and horrible flashbacks of the scene inside PULSE. It is almost beyond words. Many of my asshole “friends” I am forced to socialize with in my “straight life” are horrible bigots, and not a few of them made cracks after the PULSE shooting mocking the victims, expressing glee, etc. It can be very difficult to keep it all inside.
5. Sometimes the most intimate touch isn’t necessarily sexual in nature. Years ago, I was in an abusive relationship. The guy I was with broke into my home, and threw my hair straightener (at full force) into my bathtub (while it was hot) in an attempt to intimidate me. When that didn’t work he proceeded to physically abuse me. He didn’t “want” to punch or slap me, because that would leave black eyes and bruises (he left massive bruises anyway). Instead, he grabbed me by my arms and wrists and drug me through the house calling me every insult known to man while doing it.
He got me into my bedroom.
He locked the door.
He threw me on the bed.
He towered over me, and he proceeded to straddle me. Once he had the full weight of his body securing me in place, he pinned my elbows down with his knees.
Then he hurt my soul.
He squeezed my face by my jaw. He left dents in my cheeks. He brought my face impossibly close to his as I struggled against him, and validated every single one of my insecurities with screams. He suddenly stopped, looked down at my defenseless body, and smiled. His eyes went cold. I could feel his erection on my abdomen.
“I could do anything I want to you right now.”
I still shudder when I think about it. Luckily, my parents chose that particular day to visit me, so when he heard the car doors, he got startled enough to get off of me. I exhaled the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and ran for the door. I later learned he’d fled through the window.
I cannot bear to let anyone touch my face because of this
6. My son, who would have been 21 this month, hanged himself on December 24 2016. Christmas Eve. My baby boy. Gone. There are no words to describe what it did to me, and what it did to the family. I went into his room midday expecting to find him still in bed. I found him hanging in the closet. Two lives were destroyed that day. The neighbors called the police when they heard my screams. I could not leave my house for months and lost my job. My older children had to move back in to support me because I refused to go out or clean the house or even eat food. My life had lost all purpose and for a while it was over. With time and extensive therapy I am just barely functional again, but life has never felt so empty. Not a moment goes by that I don’t think of him. I spend countless hours every day thinking of how I could have changed it. I know I could have.
My son was enrolled in a general health studies program at the local university. He didn’t have an interest in health and didn’t know what career he wanted to pursue, but I pushed him into it thinking it had the most potential for a successful career path and that he could develop an interest over time. He didn’t do very well in his first year but he made it through with a few failed courses. In April 2016 he had finished the winter term of his second year. I asked him about his final grades. He kept telling me that he hadn’t received them yet. I knew he had but I didn’t push. The summer term was starting and we had agreed that he would take summer courses for the courses he had failed in first year. He told me that he had applied to them, and he also told me he had finally received his second term grades and that he had passed them all. I didn’t know at the time that neither of those were true. It was all online so I never checked. If I did, I would have known that he had failed all five of his winter courses because he had stopped showing up to classes due to depression and he never applied to any summer courses. I found this out later in August when he broke down and admitted it all. I did not take it well. I was so upset that he had failed his program, that he lied to me so many times, and that he spent the entire summer pretending to go to class while doing other things. I called the school immediately and arranged an appointment with the faculty. I explained the situation to them and they agreed to let him reapply in the fall as a special student, and that if he did well in his remedial classes he would have a chance to continue his program where he left off. He didn’t want to do it. He wanted to take a break from school and apply to a different program later. I refused. I forced him to go back. I knew he hated it and I made him do it anyway. I didn’t do anything to treat his depression despite knowing about it. Instead I used it as an excuse to get him back in the program he never wanted to be in. I made him feel trapped enough to take his own life and I can never forgive myself for that.
Going back into his room was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. One step inside and I had a breakdown. Months passed. I tried again. Breakdown. We had to keep it locked until we hired a cleaner to pack his things because I could not bare to look at anything that belonged to him. I was only able to enter once the room was completely empty with just a few boxes stacked in the corner. Months later when I was home alone, I mustered the strength to open one of the boxes. Sitting on top was his laptop. I opened it and found it unlocked. I told myself I shouldn’t look through it. It would only ruin me again. But I had to. I had to know. Maybe he saw something that made him want to do it. Maybe he had messaged one of his friends, and maybe they said something to him. I just wanted to understand why. Why he would feel so hopeless that he had to take his own life. I found mostly things that would be normal to find in a young person’s browsing history. People’s Facebook profiles, assorted Youtube videos, a whole world I never knew. There was a file folder compiling images from what I could tell was shows/comics/games that he liked. I’ve never seen any of it before. I never cared. Another folder with images of my son with his friends from his high school. I didn’t recognize any of them. I never bothered to ask. I found a video in his Youtube history showcasing how to tie a noose. I had to stop there and weep until I had a migraine. Then I went back. I found entries on Kijiji. He was trying to sell his game consoles and games, which I later found out he spent his tuition to buy. I found a site called Liveleak, where there were a lot of entries on videos of people dying on camera. I believe he was trying to prepare himself for what he was going to do to himself. Then I found this site, Reddit, and I noticed his account still logged in. This one. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to find. Months of grief counseling undone in an instant. I had the worst breakdown of my life. Reading through everything he wrote in his last days tore my already scarred heart into a million shreds. He had reached out for help so many times. He felt so alone. He wrote that if he died I would only care about the money I wasted raising him. I thought I had felt the worst pain a person could feel until I read that. It was my fault. He felt so alone and hopeless in his last days. And I made him feel that way. I knew he wasn’t happy but I made him go back. I killed him.
If only I could tell him now that it doesn’t matter to me. That no school or degree was worth his life. That no matter what he did, I would love him no matter what. Oh how I miss my sweet boy. My baby is gone and I will never be okay again.
7. I don’t know where to start. But I’m hoping someone else on here can at least understand what I’m feeling without judging me or telling me things like “You don’t know how lucky you are; a lot of people can’t even have kids!” I know. And although I should be completely over the moon about my awesome kid, I’m just…not.
It started with the pregnancy. The second I found out I was pregnant, I had a strange feeling. Not the one of excitement or a bit scared, but that I didn’t want it. Deep in my gut, I knew I made a terrible decision to get pregnant. My husband and I agreed to try, though I was still on the fence. I also didn’t think I could get pregnant because I had horrible problems with ovarian cysts my whole life and doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant past 30 (there were other reasons too but I won’t get into them). I was 34, so I figured, what the hell, we’ll try (he really REALLY wanted kids), and when I can’t have them at least we’ll say we tried. Well, turns out it only took ONE TRY. One. I know. Most people would consider that so incredibly lucky, and trust me I am well aware of the people out there who struggle with infertility.
As the weeks went on I struggled with absolutely terrible morning sickness until about week 22. That’s a long time, especially HOW sick I was. Around week 22/23 I started to feel a little better, especially because I knew I was more than halfway done with that hellish experience. At week 28 I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and was back and forth to doctors every five seconds. I felt like a science experiment.
I was induced at 41 weeks and only pushed for 12 minutes. He came out in 5 pushes. Again, I know. Luckiest person on the planet especially because I had an epidural that worked like a charm. But the second I held him I didn’t want him. I wanted to give him back. I felt no emotional connection. Nothing. And then I hemorrhaged. And then I developed eclampsia, which is high blood pressure after birth. It was the most hellish three days of my life, thinking I was going to have a seizure or stroke and possibly die. Finally when I got released from the hospital on a myriad of medications, I didn’t want to be there at all. It wasn’t the same home.
It wasn’t the home of cooking all-day meals, spontaneous trips to the wineries, sitting and reading a book for hours. I didn’t realize I actually cared about any of these things until they were gone. And that gut feeling of not wanting a baby only got worse.
In the next weeks and months I struggled with what was eventually diagnosed with postpartum depression and postpartum PTSD. It was absolutely terrible and I contemplated suicide many times. The lack of sleep paired with those things made me feel like a complete lunatic. My marriage suffered, and I believe my husband and I will never be the same because of what occurred in those months with my emotions.
Fast forward to today. My husband does SO MUCH to help me. He’s there every second I need him and works right down the road, so he can be home in a second if I truly need something. My parents watch my son one day and my in-laws another day. But it’s not enough. I don’t want to be around him. I’m bored to tears playing toddler games and even going to the playground and stuff with him. I’m looking at my watch every five seconds.
Part of the problem is that I work from home. I was very, very talented and successful in my office job, which eventually converted to a work-at-home position. So by default, I became a stay-at-home mom. Let me make one thing clear: I NEVER EVER EVER wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I made this very clear from the beginning, and I absolutely said I would never do it. I’m not cut out for it. And here I am. Sitting home with him, day after day. We do tons of things. He takes gym classes, art classes, we play outside all the time, go on outings, go to the food store. He’s clean and well-fed and loved and always entertained and happy. He really is a great kid.
But I HATE THIS. Like with every fiber of my being. Hate it. The sleep transitions, the teething, the not wanting to eat the food I make, the tantrums, everything. Like literally everything you can think about having a kid, I hate it. And the noise. OMG the noise. The tantrums, the kid songs that make you go insane…. I just can’t anymore.
I feel like being a mom brings out all of my worst personality traits. I didn’t even KNOW I was impatient, but apparently I am! I get so frustrated with him so quickly, and I have silent little anxiety attacks while I discipline him or deal with whatever is going on.
I just am so surprised – and weighed down – by the responsibility. I am one of the most responsible people on the planet. Always early to things, always organized, always on top of stuff. I have a dog, who I got as a puppy and I take a lot of pride in training her and being her dog mom. I have nieces who I take care of from time to time and I take what I say and do around them very seriously. And my job is extremely integrated with other people and working with teams. I am a director, so a lot of people rely on me. But SHIT. This is too much. Being responsible for a little human being, and every single thing I say is going to affect them in some way??? No thank you. It is a weight that is suffocating me every second of the day. And I wasn’t expecting that. On paper, I should actually be a great mom. But I’m really not.
And I don’t know what to do. I went to therapy, was on medication, everything. But I feel like the only thing that would truly make me happy would be to go back to work full-time in an office job. Right now I piece together my work. When he’s napping – if he naps – at night, early in the morning. I can never concentrate and what was once a bright and lucrative career now leaves me stressed out and awake at 3 a.m. wondering how I’m going to get my work done. I can’t concentrate and its like he needs something every other second. I keep waiting to like it. I keep waiting to feel something. But I don’t.
And don’t get me wrong. When he hurts himself or cries from being sad, my heart breaks. When my parents pull away with him in the car and I see his little face in the back seat I miss him. But then…he gets back and I’m like…when can he go over their house again???? It is truly the strangest feeling. I’m confused. And if anything ever, EVER happened to him I don’t know what I do. He is a sweet, gentle, loving, kooky kid. Always laughing and smiling, and I make sure to give him tons of hugs and kisses every single day and tell him I love him. I don’t ever want him to know these things I’m saying here.
Walking In Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport | Guangdong, China
This is what China is like today. This is what I see every day.
Confessions Of A Dude Addicted To The Dope Game
I’ve been drug dealing for the past 4 years now. I did have a year where I didn’t sell anything but besides that, it’s been pretty steady. The problem is, I just don’t think I can stop. It’s become an addiction. I don’t give a fuck about getting high. I smoke weed and drink alcohol occasionally but, besides that, I haven’t touched another drug.
There’s probably a lot that has lead up to this point, starting from a young age, but 4 years ago I found the markets and Bitcoin. It was at a point in my life where things were low and I found drug dealing. My first package was a package of Xanax bars. I made $1,000 profit in about 4 days because, at the time, pressed bars weren’t very well known so my prices were dirt cheap compared to everyone else’s.
That’s the moment things changed for me. The moment where I fucked everything up for myself.
4 years later, here I am. It’s a fucking addiction. When I stop, it’s for a month, max besides the one year I quit due to personal and OPSEC (Operational Security) related reasons. It’s a craving I can’t make go away. The adrenaline of doing something illegal, the money, the respect, the power you have over your little group of people…I don’t know…it’s impossible for me to explain so I’ll explain the more addicted part now.
The money.
You think drug dealing will ruin your life because of prison or getting robbed, and while true, there’s a sneakier way nobody tells you about; MONEY. I’ve dropped out of college and haven’t held down a job more than 6 months due to it. When you make $55-75K a year WITH NO TAXES, everything else is a blur. College? That takes 4 years of being broke! I can’t do that! Holding down a minimum wage job? That’s like $400 a week, if you’re busting ass. I was making $1,000(PROFIT, not GROSS) a week, making a couple moves. I moved bulk only so I wasn’t meeting people every 30 minutes to make my money.
I was my own boss and money gave me freedom. Freedom. That’s where the addiction comes into play. Drug dealing was 50% of it but the other 50% was the freedom money gave me.
I make about, on average, $4,000 NET profit a month. My monthly bills are only around $1,800 for everything besides food(Love living in a cheap state) so that leaves me a good chunk of change to myself. That leaves me $2,200 a month in my own pocket. This monthly cost includes a maid, once a week, dropping my clothes off at a laundromat to get washed, dried, and folded, and having my groceries delivered to my house.
I have all the time in the world to myself. It’s so addicting.
Want to go play Laser Tag and ride Go-Karts all day? You can! Want to go do 18 holes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday? Grab some cigars and let’s go! Want to take a week long vacation? Easy, all you gotta do is tell your people that you’re leaving and to re-up while they can! Then you’re free to leave! Want to smoke weed and play video games all day? Done! Want to learn a skill like playing piano, programming, or anything? You can practice 8 hours a day!
I’m not even mentioning the material items. I have a PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Gaming PC, MacBook, TaylorMade golf club set, Boosted Board, HTC Vive, 4K TV’s, all the smart home gadgets an apartment can have(Lights, outlets, TV’s, ect), and clothes galore. I also have a pretty decent car. If I don’t have it, I have multiple options to get it. I can either save up and wait, trade product for it, or just up my sales to cover the cost.
Oh, that’s another thing you can’t do with a paycheck, upping your sales. If I need money or just want to thicken the savings account, I can just push my sales a little harder. Offer a slight discount for more bulk, bring in a different product, or seek out new customers. $6,000 months are not crazy uncommon. Drugs sell themselves.
So yeah, you can see where everything becomes an addiction. Life is just…easy. Drugs sell themselves. Money gives you freedom. It’s a bad mix.
The problem is quitting. I could quit today and have a pretty decent savings to hold me over but after that, I’d have nothing. I have no college education and no work experience I’d be willing to put down on a resume. I have no references. I have no legal connections. I have nothing besides the business I’ve. built around myself. Surrounded by people who do the same thing that I do.
I have a couple moves I could make but my motivation is shot. I could go back to college, that’s a great option. I could hone in on my weed growing skills and save up for when legalization comes to my state. I could build a legit business.
For now though, I’ll stick to what I know and what I’m good at. Hoping to find the dragon I’m chasing.
How do you avoid getting caught?
OPSEC, OPSEC, OPSEC, OPSEC!
I’ve had buyers busted before with much, much harder drugs than Xanax. I suspect all of them to have said my name. I doubt they’re going to do a prison sentence when they could just get a buy on me.
They shouldn’t have any trial of communication between the two of you. Never, ever, ever, ever leave a trail! Once asked for proof they should go “uh….” and that’s it.
Cut them off. I don’t care how close you are. I don’t care if the charge has nothing to do with drugs. If they are in handcuffs, they are cut off. Never to be spoken to again.
Keep a tight knit circle. 3 people at most. None of them are to know each other. It’s less people you deal with, the less people you have to keep track of.
House is always, always clean! Never keep ANYTHING drug related in your house.
NO SOCIAL MEDIA!
Your darknet laptop should not have a HDD and should be AWAY from your house. NEVER connect to a darknet site at your home internet.
Packages should never come to your house. Always use a drop.
Don’t use a bank. Hide your cash like you’d hide your drugs.
Lawyer on retainer. This should be the first thing you pay for with drug money. Memorize his number. Give him bail money to use and only he has access to it.
DO NOT TOUCH PRODUCT PACKAGING! Use gloves when packing up product and wipe down with rubbing alcohol. Wear gloves when dropping them off to your buyer.
I take an extra step and do not do transaction. I take the money and the buyer will get the package via a dead drop within the hour. I DO NOT hand drugs over for money EVER. If your buyer doesn’t understand this rule, do not sell to them.
It seems like you have all your bases covered, although there are still ways of getting busted and to think you’re 100% untraceable seems ignorant
If your goal is to be 100% untraceable, you’ve failed from the beginning.
You just need to be worth less than the investigation. Think of your police force like a thief casing a house(Houses are drug dealers). The thief is going to pick a house that is easy to get into. They want low hanging fruit. They don’t want to have to use explosives or expensive drills to get your TV when the neighbors have one and the front door is unlocked. Now, if they know you’re holding diamonds or a mound of gold…they might be way more willing to use expensive tools and force to get in.
Is it worth going after a mid-range Xanax dealer who has his bases covered? The time, energy, and man-power spent on busting me wouldn’t net much. It’s my first offense and I have a decent lawyer ready to fight for me. There’s a story of a guy who ran a sled over the Canadian border with $55 MILLION worth of Xanax, they gave him 5 years of house arrest in a Federal court room. I’ve studied case after case of Xanax related busts.
Or
Would you rather focus on the “dumb” drug dealers who use Facebook and Snapchat to sell to anyone and everyone?
Could you give an example of a drop for ordering items? I just can’t see how this is secure. Abandoned house, PO box, neighbor, friend? How can you securely pick up a package at your drop location?
Rent a house in a ghetto area with a fake ID. I didn’t need to give up my social security or anything. I just showed my ID, signed papers, and handed over deposit and first months rent.
My buyer(s) will tell me the quantity they want, I’ll either do it hours later or the next day depending on how I feel, and I’ll go drop the product in a discrete location where I can check if anyone is following me or not and I usually use 2 level transportation(Car to one spot then ride my bike to another location), I’ll meet them, take cash, and then communicate with them later with the GPS location.
I’m a little surprised that your buyers are willing to hand you cash before you’ve given them the product. What guarantee do they have that you won’t just run off with the money?
They don’t have to do business with me. I have super competitive pricing so if they’re not willing to give me a try, there’s somebody who will. I always let the first pack go for a lower amount, like 100, but after that it’s 500 or more minimum. It’s not worth my time to do any less.
You said that you leave your phone at a different location and not your house. Doesn’t it not really matter if you’re using an app like wickr? Do you randomly go to the place and check your messages?
Your phone has GPS and more than likely a backdoor installed.
It’s a pain in the ass but here’s how I do it:
You can leave your phone at your drop house if you turn it off/take out the battery but I’ll leave my personal phone at home, go pick up the burner phone, drive to a coffee shop or library or something, and use it from there. I can usually get all my deals set up within an hour from there. After that, I’ll go drop the product off at my location, meet my person, and then go back to get my phone. I’ll use my phone in my car a good 5-10 miles away from my drop house, just a quick drive, to text them the location.
There were points in my life where I was meeting 3 people and points in my life I was working with just 1 person. The more people I’m working with, the more work I have to put in.
How do you avoid leaving a trail of your communications?
here’s a couple anonymous apps that you can use BUT do NOT use them on your personal phone. Get a “burner” phone and use them on there AWAY from your home. Turn the phone off and keep it in a different location than your home. NEVER TAKE IT TO YOUR HOME!
It’s a lot of work but you NEED to take your OPSEC seriously.
Walking In Shenzhen North Railway Station
This is what China is like today. This is what I see every day.
Humorous Illustrations Blending Sarcastic Nature and Adopted Cat’s Attitude
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The Internet has been abuzz in recent years with the phenomenon of cats taking over, and now we have one more artist to add to their ranks. @st.aftercigs, an Instagram account with 190K+ followers, gives a whole new dimension to cat appreciation with their bold, humorous artworks inspired by the artist’s own adopted cat.
The artist behind the account expresses the stark contrast between cats’ sassiness, and their ability to be inspirational muses. By blending the artist’s own sarcastic nature with their cat’s grumpy cattitude, a unique and lively art style has been born. The artworks are a great reminder of the many nuanced personalities our cats possess and the joy they can bring to our lives.
Is THIS Really The Best Place To Live In The Country??
4 Thoroughly Depressing Confessions
[1] I have lung cancer and Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Non-smoker by the way, just lost the lottery, that’s all. Considering the damage found from early on during the initial diagnosis, I am not expected to live for too long. I don’t want to get into details in case some friends recognize this.
I’m roughly 27 years old. I’ve been trying out new things, I have had so much fun with new hobbies, instruments I’ve learned over the last year, and have developed a routine for the gym since high school. I didn’t manage to go into what I wanted, entering college, but I’m happy with the jobs I managed to pick up from connections. I’m very happy with what I’ve done so far.
But the one thing I’ve tried to do, and have failed at, is to find a girl who likes me. I don’t bring up what I have and my outlook, but as of dozens of approaches and some new friendships kindled, there has been no one attracted to me. Apart from my physique, I’m not physically attractive up in the face, to say the least. Been trying different things since high school, nothing has changed as of yet.
I don’t want a hookup, not that I have one so far, or a pity fuck since I don’t want to bring up my cancer as I don’t want it to be the reason or my identity, but honestly this is the one thing that keeps me up at night. I’m still waiting for someone and I likely won’t find this person.
My lungs are starting to deteriorate, I’ve started exhibiting symptoms of where things will start to go downhill from here on out. I’ve seen the specialists and it’s not looking so good. 2019 might be my last year.
I don’t know why I’m writing this. I have lots of friends who love me, parents that I’m blessed to have in my life, and have done things I’m proud of. But something as selfish as wanting someone to love me and be attracted to me, I can’t achieve that.
[2] My parents adopted my siblings and I just so they could rape and molest us.
I’ve never told anyone this before, ever, in my life, except for the legal authorities after it all came out. I guess this is the perfect place to finally do so, for the anonymity.
My parents are pedophiles. I’m not entirely sure how they met; us kids got a story growing up, but I don’t think it’s true, because how big of a coincidence is it that two people with the same awful and taboo fetish hooked up? They were always active as swingers, apparently, so maybe they met in the fetish world.
They decided to adopt kids together to sexually abuse, because it wouldn’t be as messed up considering we weren’t biologically their children. (I’m not saying that. That was their logic.)
They adopted my sister and I when I was 2 and she was a baby first, we had the same crack addicted bio mom who lost both of us to the state. When I was 4 and 7 they adopted my two brothers, and when I was 10 they adopted my youngest sister.
I know all of this because when I was 19 my dad bragged about all of this to the other couple they were swinging with, who I guess seemed like they were pedophiles as well. They weren’t, and turned my parents in to the police.
They are both in prison for life.
I don’t want to get into the gory details of everything, except that by the time I was ten I had lost my virginity to my dad and had basically done every sex act under the sun. I thought it was completely normal, and what all little girls did with their fathers. I was a daddy’s girl through and through.
My father molested my sisters as well, and my mother molested my brothers; everything was hetero. Looking back we were the stereotypically abused kids in school, way too knowledgeable about sex/sexually forward for our ages, and my brothers both got in trouble for playing with their own poop. My parents were never suspected, however, because of our traumatic beginnings as the kids of drug addicts.
By the time I was a teenager my dad pretty much lost interest in me because I was too grown up and was instead molesting my youngest sister. I basically had free reign to do whatever I wanted from the time I was 12.
I became hugely promiscuous with older boys at school, which ended with me getting pregnant at 15. The father was my first boyfriend who wasn’t one of the scummy guys at school, and his family had shown me that my home life was hugely abnormal.
I worried that if my baby was a girl it would be molested by my dad (at the time, I didn’t know my mom was abusing my brothers as well) and asked if I could move in with my boyfriend’s family. I used the story that my parents were angry about my pregnancy and kicking me out. As for my parents, they didn’t care much about me at that point and I suppose they guessed correctly that abusing their grandchild would not work as well since it was also attached to this very loving and functional family. They let me go.
In a way getting pregnant and moving out so young saved me. All of my younger siblings struggle with drug addiction in some shape or form, be it heroin, meth, alcohol, or multiple substances.
One of my brothers shows sociopathic tendencies likely due to the abuse. My youngest sister has been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder.
After my parents were arrested, they all went back into the foster care system, which did not help at all. I am 26 today and while I still have a lot of problems with depression and suicidal thoughts I feel like having my son to live for is the only way I have avoided being addicted to drugs. He is 11 now and a great kid.
The worst thing for me wasn’t the abuse, shockingly. I grew up with it and never felt victimized during it, though I would never EVER do what my mom did to my son. It was the fact that during their trial it came out that my parents never thought of us as their “real” kids. We were just adopted kids that they took in to use as their playthings. All the love they showed us was just for show. I think that is what will haunt me for the rest of my life.
[3] I’m HIV positive
Earlier this year I had a relationship with a guy I mistakenly trusted. I don’t want to get into it because it upsets me a lot, but the short and short of it is, he told me he was clean, he was actually HIV positive, and now I am too because I felt safe enough not to use a condom with him during our relationship together.
I found out because I got what I thought was the flu, but it hit me so, so hard. I went to the ER twice. The first time they gave me fluids and some meds for my massive headache and sent me home. The second time I had a fever of 103 and they didn’t have any beds and wouldn’t for hours so I said fuck it and decided I’d rather die/go braindead in the comfort of my own bed. Two and a half weeks later I was still having fevers over 101 and couldn’t get out of bed except to pee. A rash like chicken pox that didn’t itch covered my entire body including my palms and my liver enzymes went off the chart. A month later after more tests and head scratching by a team of doctors, they finally diagnosed me with syphillis (stage 3) and HIV.
I took it in stride and went to therapy, took my new meds, and now my viral load is undetectable. My CD4 levels are normal (that means my immune system is working normally). Honestly the treatment for the syphillis was the worst. Three rounds of huge shots of penicillin in my butt, one in each ass cheek each time. I would be so sore it would be hard to drive out of the parking lot.
Life is pretty much the same, all except for I can’t donate blood anymore and I had to unregister from the bone marrow registry. Also I avoid this man like it’s my job. I don’t shop at the grocery store he works at. I don’t go to the park he lives near. I do a double take every time I see an older guy dressed in black on a bike now. I tried reporting him to the police but there’s nothing they could do for me because my governor changed the laws recently to reduce prison crowding.
Few people close to me know I’m positive. I haven’t even told my dad even though he asked me point blank when I was really sick and I just lied even though he’s a doctor himself and would love me all the same. I just don’t want him to worry, or to have to be burdened with knowing someone hurt me giving it to me, or if I leave that part of the story out for him to think I was reckless with my own health. But not telling him weighs on me too.
[4] When they first told me that I had cancer I thought that I would make it.
I did make it for a while. Things went alright and I went into remission when I was 18.
Things looked good and I started college as a film student in a 4 year University but by the age of 21 it came back and had was progressing rapidly. I ended up quitting school because It didn’t seem like it was worth planning for a future that I wouldn’t have.
I’m 22 now and recently was given an estimate of 4-6 months. I’ve been trying to stay strong for my family, but I’m so fucking scared.
I’ll be 23 years old when I die. There were so many things that I wanted to do that I’ll never get the chance to do.
I feel like I should be trying to find some rhyme or reason, or rationalizing some sort of after life or a god, but I just want to stay in my room and play videogames.
I love my family but I am tired of being around them, I see that they are trying to stay strong but I feel like I have to comfort them. They are also extremely religious and have tried to use this to make me a believer.
I don’t want to comfort people, or explain what I feel to people who won’t get it, or be fucking preached to.
I pre-ordered Red Dead Redemption two and my current goal is to stay healthy enough to beat it. That’s the one good thing about dying, I don’t have to save my money or worry about my future. It my sound selfish but at this point I’m just trying to play as many videogames as possible and try not to think about any of it.
Times like this are rough though, it’s 5 in the morning and I’m too tired to do anything. So I have a lot of thoughts popping up in my mind that I want to avoid
Poisoned pet | I try to save New life cat was poisoned
What Does It Feel Like To Be A Hot Girl Who Gets Old?
I was very, very hot.
Now I’m 61. I’m not hot. I’ve had two babies. I’ve been sleep deprived most of my life. My hair is a mess (possible Asperger’s symptom). I have never been married, legally. Funny, because I used to wonder how all those girls around me were ever going to find husbands, looking like that.
In high school, someone started a rumor I was on the cover of Seventeen. The freshman girls began to follow me around, giggling. They were so excited. This went on for months. I could see them admiring me from across the cafeteria, or down the hall. They’d stop, to worship. At last, one nervously came up to ask me about it. I told her: I was a model, but not in Seventeen.
If my parents had had their acts together, I could have been. But they were dysfunctional people.
I was raised with the understanding that I was important because I was beautiful. It was not just the most important thing. It was the only important thing.
Being shy, I was never comfortable with “hot”. Back then, I assumed it was normal to walk into a restaurant and everyone would stop eating. I took it for granted this happens all the time.
Then it stopped.
At the same time, I was competitive — I needed to be the most beautiful woman in the room. I wanted to crawl into a closet and escape if a more beautiful woman entered the same space. I felt deprived. I felt unappreciated. I felt worthless. I was nothing.
All based on my looks.
Men I did not know told me they were in love with me. Once, when I was 18, during my short modeling career, I received fan mail from 1000 miles away — including a pro football player requesting for a date — asking for “pinups” and a letter. It was unnerving. I do not miss those weird communications.
Some men could not help themselves; they wrote me poems. Their words were often beautiful. But they didn’t know me at all.
Any conversation with the opposite sex took place on eggshells. I prayed the chat would NOT end with a request for a date…. or an embrace. I’d try to be nice. But I knew it was coming. In my head, at every smile, I’d plead: Please don’t hate me when I turn you down. I avoided the question. I kindly rejected them. I never, ever got good at that.
So they hated me. They’d be angry, they’d resent me, they’d be embarrassed, they’d need to prove that I was not good enough for them… They turned rude and awful.
Needless to say, my looks and my desperate need not to upset men led to many a sexual harassment at work situation, which back then was not illegal.
I was fired from a magazine by a man I would not date. I didn’t flat out refuse. Trying to be diplomatic, I simply replied that we should “all” go out to lunch together. He saw right through this. I don’t miss that part of being hot one bit. He went ballistic. Like I said, today, it would be illegal.
I moved to Park Slope in the mid-80s. On a hot summer day I put on a pair of shorts and walked down the street. To my right, a pickup truck went flying past me. Then came the screech of breaks, the zoom of an engine racing backwards, and it stopped. I didn’t look. But I could hear them. One yelled:
“OH! MY! GOD!”
When the staring stopped, it was a relief in many ways.
I no longer had to give a damn about what I wore. No one is scrutinizing me for imperfection. When a beautiful woman has a pimple, no one stops discussing it.
I AM imperfection. I don’t have to prove to anyone anymore that I am more gorgeous than you.
I stopped wearing makeup — what is the point at 61? I still look much younger than my age, but I haven’t looked 30 since I was 45.
It was easy to get younger men to work with me when I was “hot”. It is now impossible. I am great at what I do but getting a 20-something guy to work with me as a team is threatening — and frankly it creeps me out too, to call someone a “colleague” when I’m old enough to be their mother. These young men are embarrassed to be seen talking to me now. Needless to say, I eat lunch alone. I am lonely. Funny, that.
I remember sitting next to an otherwise lovable guy named Mark at a bar in Elaine’s in Manhattan ca. 1986. At one point Mark asked me what I did for a living. At the time I was a freelance writer.
“Yeah?” he said, stifling a guffaw. “Whadya write? Romance novels?”
When I was hot, I could get out of anything.
I sailed through a red light once and at the top of the hill, a policeman was waiting for me. In my most adorably angry way, I got out of the car, put my hands on my hips, glared at him, and squeaked: You’re just picking on me because I have an old car!”
He pointed out I’d just gone through a completely red light. I pointed out right back: “Well, if I had known you were hereI would have stopped!”
Admission of guilt.
No license. No registration. No insurance. These were all home on my kitchen table.
A crowd began to form. The beautiful girl yelling at the cop. He reeled at them: Whadyou lookin’ at! Geddouda here! Go!
In the back seat of the car was a New York Times, and a story with my byline. This was what I used for identification — a newspaper with a byline.
I was telling the truth. But how the hell would he know?
He tried not to smile. But he couldn’t help it. Finally he laughed, said some warm and friendly things to me as he drove off.
I would never get away with that today.
I told that story to coworkers once and was met with blank stares — disbelief.
It upsets me when people look at beautiful women and remark how stupid they are. It’s a running joke.
Beauty = idiocy in this country.
I am smart, educated, refined, socially terribly awkward — and not an idiot. I am not hot and people respect me.
I did not get that when I was gorgeous.
I desperately wanted to be taken seriously. It was hopeless. No one could look like that and be heard except on paper.
So I write.
One time I arrived for a midtown New York press conference. I was sent to the “43rd floor”, a modeling agency. I was late for the p.c.
Of course I miss those days sometimes.
Days when men would hold the elevator for me and compete to pick up something I had just dropped.
When they would stare at me as we passed on the escalator and remark to a friend next to them, “Gooooood MORNing!“
When a boss would have me go to a conference room to ask a wealthy client if he would like to order dinner, knowing the guy was not hungry, just to show me off?
When a female coworker would suddenly hate me because her would-be paramour said something flattering about the way I looked, compared to her?
Yah. I do. I am invisible.
I don’t have many good photos of myself. I really can’t prove this at all. Worse, my current boyfriend who still has no idea what I used to look like tells me: “All women tell me they used to be beautiful“.So witnesses are all that’s left. Hard to believe I used to walk down the street and people would want my autograph or that modeling agents would want to sign me or that two male coworkers would request desks facing mine “for the beautiful view”.
Today, unlike others, I feel close to beautiful women.
I have no resentment; I have no jealousy; I totally relate to them A-Z. And I see what they go through, their struggle to navigate encounters with aggressive men in hot pursuit, the vicious rumors started by other women, the assumptions they are sluts if they are friendly, the belief they are morons.
The security department in the building where I work apparently had a picture of me posted on the wall, taken by a security camera. I heard from a man I work with: “Do you know they’ve got a picture of you in the security office hanging on the wall down there?” It had been there for years, apparently. When I asked to see it, someone told me it had “just” been taken down. Trust me, it’s a very old picture. I would have liked a copy, but no one’s talking.
I tell my daughter, Be grateful you’re not beautiful. Instead, be pretty. You don’t know what you’re not missing.
There was a downside. There was an upside. I think I was lucky to have lived both.
– Anonymous
They did the SAME thing to get us into WW2 and WW1
Carne en Adobo (Beef in Tomato
and Pepper Sauce – Guatemala)
2023 02 13 15 16
Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
3 pounds lean boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
10 ounces canned tomatillos
4 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup beef stock
2 stale flour tortillas
Instructions
Heat oil in saucepan and sauté onion, garlic and pepper until onion is soft.
Add meat and everything else except tortillas. Add more stock if needed so liquid barely covers meat. Cover, simmer gently 2 hours until beef is tender.
Soak tortillas in water, squeeze them out and crumble. Add to casserole and simmer uncovered until sauce thickens.
Serve with Arroz Guatemalteco.
DIO- Caught In The Middle- Don’t Talk To Strangers- Straight Through The Heart (Live 2005)
The United States is getting ready to wage global war against both Russia and China simultaneously, while the rest of the world readies for the onslaught. My guess is that all is well in hand, and the Western-led block (United States with proxies) haven’t a clue as to how bad the future will turn out for them if they continue upon this path.
Today’s installment…
Vietnamese Lemon Chicken Skewers
2023 02 11 17 24
Don’t marinate the chicken too long or the acidity will “cook” it.
Ingredients
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (nuoc mam)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 bamboo skewers
Instructions
Combine the scallions, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, sugar, fish sauce and oil in a medium-size bowl.
Slice the chicken crosswise on the diagonal into wide strips. Place in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Soak the skewers in warm water for 1 hour.
Heat broiler or grill. Thread the chicken strips onto the skewers.
Broil 5 inches from the heat source for about 4 minutes per side, or until done.
Alternately, grill the chicken for about 4 minutes per side.
The United States, Norway and NATO have Committed an Act of War Against Russia
During the final minutes of my radio show last night, I told my audience I wish I didn’t know some of the things I know. Now, one of those things has become public: It was the United States that bombed Russia’s Nord Stream 1 & 2 Pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
Norway participated by flying-in a sonar buoy which gave off the Detonation Signal. NATO is an accessory, by willfully using BALTOPS 22 “Exercise” as a cover to plant the bombs. War is now likely.
In an article written by long-time, world-renowned Investigative Journalist, Seymour M. Hersh, the truth has now come out.
First, from Wikipedia:
Seymour Myron “Sy” Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an 85 year old American investigative journalist, and political writer.
Hersh first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. During the 1970s, Hersh covered the Watergate scandal for The New York Times and revealed the clandestine bombing of Cambodia. In 2004, he reported on the U.S. military’s mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. He has also won two National Magazine Awards and five George Polk Awards. In 2004, he received the George Orwell Award.
Hersh accused the Obama administration of lying about the events surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden and disputed the claim that the Assad regime used chemical weapons on civilians in the Syrian Civil War. Both assertions have stirred controversy.
In his “substack” web site, published about nine hours ago (about 7:00 AM eastern US time today) Hirsh published a story entitled “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline” with the sub-title being “The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now.” (Direct Link to Story)
It’s a long read, but worth it.
In the story, Hirsh reveals that the Operation was planned for nine months. It was planned in the top floor of the Old Executive Office Building, on the grounds of the White House. The biggest concern: How to leave no evidence tying it to the United States.
The story reports that the explosives were placed during the annual NATO Naval Exercise “Baltic Operations 22” (BALTOPS 22) by US Navy Divers. The NATO exercise was used as a “cover” for the explosives to be planted.
It also reveals that months later, after receiving the “Go” signal from CIA Director Burns, a plane from Norway’s military dropped a special sonar buoy into the Baltic Sea which gave-off the Detonation signal, triggering the explosives and destroying the pipeline.
Ladies and Gentlemen, make no mistake: This was a crime. It was a criminal conspiracy to commit a bombing, and later, the actual commission of that bombing. It seems to me, as a layman, the people who engaged in this are personally guilty of federal Felonies.
The planning for this crime was so thorough, they even chose the use of a specific US Navy undersea dive team which would NOT trigger any reporting to the US Congress about its activities!
Now, I could go paragraph by paragraph to report and analyze Seymour Hersh article, but it is much better if you go read it yourselves.
Very long story short: The President of the United States ordered his staff to come up with a way to “deal with” the Nord Stream Pipeline. They did. It got blown up. This was a crime. It is also, an Act of War against Russia.
I suspect the Russians are absorbing and analyzing Hersh’s article. As Russians are well known to do, they will think about this for a good while. Then, they will take well-thought-out and thought-through action.
We have committed an Act of War. Russia now has a Casus Belli – a cause for just war.
I suspect that Russia may publicly demand President Biden be Impeached and criminally prosecuted, along with the other Conspirators. I also suspect that Russia may add, if Biden is not impeached and prosecuted, and the Conspirators not prosecuted, then it will be war.
Knowing that the US Government will never agree to impeach its apparently now-criminal President, nor hold accountable the other Conspirators, I also suspect war is coming — a lot faster than any of us think, and a lot worse than any of us know.
UPDATE:
The Biden regime said an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claiming the United States was behind the explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines was “utterly false and complete fiction.”
“This is utterly false and complete fiction,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
Spokespeople for the CIA and State Department said the same thing, according to Reuters.
Stunning Colorized Photos Of The Discovery Of The Tutankhamun’s Tomb In The 1920s
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Harry Burton’s photographs capture Tutankhamun’s tomb at the moment of its discovery have enthralled the world for generations, enabling the viewer to witness the ‘Wonderful Things’ the discoverers of the tomb, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, were fortunate to experience first-hand. Burton’s iconic black and white photographs have illustrated the imagination of millions for almost a century, and now a selection of the original negatives and photographs, housed in the archive of the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, has been digitally colourised by Dynamichrome on behalf of SC Exhibitions and the Griffith Institute.
December 1922, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | View of the northern wall of the Antechamber showing the sentinel statues (Carter nos. 22 & 29) guarding the sealed doorway leading to the King’s Burial Chamber:
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December 1922, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Objects stacked under the lion couch (Carter no. 35) against the west wall of the Antechamber included an ivory and ebony chest (Carter no. 32), black ‘shrine-shaped boxes’ (Carter nos. 37 and 38) and a child’s chair made of ebony (Carter no. 39):
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29th November 1923, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Howard Carter (on the left) working with his friend and colleague Arthur Callender on wrapping one of two sentinel statues of Tutankhamun (Carter no. 22) found in the Antechamber, before their removal to the ‘laboratory’ set up in the tomb of Sethos II (KV 15). These statues had been placed either side of the sealed entrance to the Burial Chamber:
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December 1922, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | The rectangular white box (Carter no. 50), in front of the lion couch (Carter no. 35) in the Antechamber, contained, amongst other items, linen garments (shirts, shawls and loin cloths), 18 sticks, 69 arrows and a trumpet:
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December 1923, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | The linen pall, decorated with bronze ‘rosettes’ (Carter no. 209) inside the walls of the first (outermost) golden shrine (Carter no. 207) in the north west corner of the Burial Chamber:
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October 1926, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | A line of chests down the centre of the Treasury, ending with the canopic chest (Carter no. 266) which housed the king’s linen-wrapped stomach, intestines, liver and lungs in miniature gold coffins, inside an alabaster canopic box:
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29th/30th October 1925, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Carter and an Egyptian workman examine the third (innermost) coffin (Carter no. 255) made of solid gold, inside the case of the second coffin. (Carter no. 254):
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December 1922, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Objects, including the cow-headed couch (Carter no. 73) and boxes containing joints of meat (Carter nos. 62a to 62vv) piled up against the west wall of the Antechamber:
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October 1926, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Three wooden chests (the middle one in the shape of a cartouche) on the floor of the Treasury (Carter nos. 267, 269 and 270). Amongst other items these contained earrings, sandals and a wax model of a heron:
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October 1925, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Howard Carter working on the lid of the second (middle) coffin, still nestled within the case of the first (outermost) coffin in the Burial Chamber:
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November/December 1923, Sethos II’s Tomb (‘laboratory’) | Arthur Mace (left) and Alfred Lucas working outside the ‘laboratory’ set up in the tomb of Sethos II (KV 15), stabilizing the surface of one of the state chariots (Carter no. 120) found in the Antechamber:
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30th December 1923, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Howard Carter (left), Arthur Mace and an Egyptian workman standing on scaffolding, roll back the linen pall (Carter no. 209) which lay over a gilded, wooden frame (Carter no. 208) between the first (outermost) and second shrines:
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November 1926, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Objects, including numerous model boats (Carter nos. 284 to 287), stacked against the southern wall of the Treasury:
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December 1922, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Sealed alabaster ‘unguent’ vases (Carter nos. 57, 58, 60 and 61) between the cow-headed (Carter no. 73) and lion (Carter no. 35) couches against the west wall of the Antechamber:
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October 1926, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | The Anubis shrine (Carter no. 261) on the threshold of the Treasury viewed from the Burial Chamber. The figure of Anubis was covered with a linen shirt inscribed with the cartouche of Akhenaten:
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4th January 1923, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Howard Carter (kneeling), Arthur Callender and an Egyptian workman in the Burial Chamber, looking through the open doors of the four gilded shrines towards the quartzite sarcophagus:
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January 1924, Sethos II’s Tomb (‘laboratory’) | Arthur Mace (standing) and Alfred Lucas (sitting) working inside the makeshift ‘laboratory’ (set up in KV 15, the tomb of Sethos II) on the conservation of one of the two sentinel statues from the Antechamber (Carter no. 22). The statue shows the King wearing the nemes headdress, kilt and sandals, and carrying a mace and a staff:
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29th/30th October 1925, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | The gold mask (Carter no. 256a) in situ on the mummy of the King, still inside the third (innermost) solid gold coffin (Carter no. 255):
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December 1923, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Howard Carter (centre), Arthur Callender and two Egyptian workmen lifting one roof section from the first, outermost shrine (Carter no. 207). With its double sloping roof, the shape of this shrine resembles that of a ‘sed festival pavilion’; it was made of from twenty separate oak sections, held together by a variety of different joints:
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2nd December 1923, Tutankhamun’s Tomb | Howard Carter (at the top of the stairs), Arthur Callender and Egyptian workmen removing the wall between the Antechamber and the Burial Chamber to enable the dismantling of the four golden shrines enclosing the sarcophagus:
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Herbert George Edward Stanhope Molyneux, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, reading on the verandah of ‘Castle Carter’, Carter’s house at Elwat el-Dibbân on the Theban West Bank:
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China is economically defeating U.S. imperialism, Russia is militarily defeating it
Unless Washington’s provocations upset the dangerously unsteady balance it depends on, and lead to a third world war, the future of warfare between the U.S. and its geopolitical challengers will not primarily be based in the realm of international flare-ups like the “Chinese spy balloon” upset.
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It will be based in a series of economic struggles that end with the imperialists losing trade dominance over Eurasia, and therefore losing their neo-colonial extractive sources.
The American war machine’s ruse of treating a benign Chinese aircraft as malicious, then shooting it down for dramatic effect, has had no impact on history other than provide another reason for China to be irritated at the USA.
And unless Washington oversteps in a way which it knows would lead to a crisis too big for it to handle, China and its other adversaries will never respond to Washington’s antics by escalating towards open war.
These kinds of stunts by the imperialists are nothing more than ways to narratively justify its militarism, sanctions, and war-related austerity, which the imperialists hope will reverse the transition towards multipolarity.
I find these manufacturings of drama on Washington’s part relatively uninteresting, because the psyop managers aren’t going to succeed at restoring U.S. hegemony.
Hyperbolic headlines about a balloon can’t undo a process of economic development and geostrategic realignment that’s been underway for decades, and that’s the natural evolution away from postwar unipolarity.
Over half a century after the 1963 film 55 Days at Pekingcreated the famous quote “Let China sleep, for when she rises, the world will tremple,” we’re finally seeing what this rise was going to look like.
The anti-imperialist Pepe Escobar describes the extent of the ways the PRC is changing Eurasia’s economic orientation:
Acute supply chain decoupling, the crescendo of western hysteria over Beijing’s position on the war in Ukraine, and serious setbacks on Chinese investments in the west all play on the development of BRI 2.0.
Beijing will be focusing simultaneously on several nodes of the Global South, especially neighbors in ASEAN and across Eurasia.
Think, for instance, the Beijing-funded Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, Southeast Asia’s first: a BRI project opening this year as Indonesia hosts the rotating ASEAN chairmanship.
China is also building the East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia and has renewed negotiations with the Philippines for three railway projects.
Then there are the superposed interconnections.
The EAEU will clinch a free trade zone deal with Thailand.
On the sidelines of the epic return of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to power in Brazil, this past Sunday, officials of Iran and Saudi Arabia met amid smiles to discuss – what else – BRICS+.
Excellent choice of venue: Brazil is regarded by virtually every geopolitical player as prime neutral territory.
Even though the PRC, unlike the DPRK, has decided not to openly voice support for Russia’s anti-fascist war, Operation Z is why this project to economically undermine the empire has become so successful in the last year.
The foremost aim behind Washington’s provoking Russia into intervening was to weaken Russia enough that both the Russian Federation and the PRC could get successfully defeated by imperialist schemes.
The calculus behind this was that when America and Europe used the geopolitical escalation to fully decouple from Russia, and ultimately China as well, the shock would be destructive enough to bring about this scenario of a destabilized Eurasia.
Which depends on the assumption that the imperial powers, after their half a millennium of extracting from the colonized and formerly colonized peoples, consequently have the capacity to crush Eurasia’s emerging superpowers. That their past successes at destroying other societies guarantee they’ll keep being successful at it.
This hubris, and the desperate self-deception it requires, was shown when the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell declared after the sanctions had proven insufficient this fall:
“The world needs Europe…Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden.”
These are the words of somebody who’s just lost, and lost in a final sense.
The failure of the sanctions to bring about their objective represents a vast, fruitless sacrifice on the part of the imperial power structure. The campaign to economically isolate Russia and China has destroyed the social stability of the imperialist countries, driving down living standards as shocks devastate the working classes within these places.
Now our ruling class faces a greater danger than ever of uprisings, without having gained the geopolitical victories this destruction was supposed to bring.
The plan was for Americans and Europeans to economically suffer in the short term so that the empire could win on the Eurasian geopolitical chessboard, restoring neo-colonial extraction and ultimately bringing back social stability within the core countries.
Instead what the imperialists have gotten is a crisis for the core which will never end, not so long as workers revolution in the core is delayed.
Intensified austerity and repression is all the core’s proletariat can expect until they manage to overthrow their bourgeois dictatorship.
The only logical outcome, at least if the workers movement gains enough strength, is the end to the rule of our oligarchy.
Because more and more are coming to recognize this reality that their circumstances can only change if they smash the state that keeps capital in power.
This has been true since the beginning of capitalism, our socioeconomic system was always doomed to fail.
With this dual war against imperialism waged by the Russians and the Chinese, the process of capitalist decline is accelerating.
This is true both in the places the imperial ruling class still controls, and in Russia, which is run by a less economically powerful oligarchy.
As Russia’s neoliberal system proves unable to provide for the people’s needs during wartime, the war has sidelined the fascists within Russia’s government, while giving more power to the communists; it was the communists who helped pressure Putin into taking action against Ukrainian fascism, and into therefore solidifying Russia’s role as a challenger towards imperialism.
As present trends go, they’re gaining the leverage to carry out a Bolshevik revolution 2.0.
The equivalent is true in Belarus, where the communists hold great influence over a bourgeois state that’s assisting Russia in the anti-fascist war.
This successful joint attack against the empire is why China’s BRI has become as effective as it now is.
Z has prompted Russia to strengthen its ties with China, and ease the PRC’s project of lifting the peripheral countries out of poverty.
Under even the least optimistic of circumstances, the acceleration of the transition to multipolarity that Operation Z represents will without a doubt bring the defeat of U.S. imperialism as a globally hegemonic force.
And should the class struggle sufficiently succeed worldwide, we’ll see both a restoration of the Soviet Union and a new wave of revolutions across the peripheral countries, which are through the BRI gaining the economic strength to no longer be controlled by the empire.
What could ultimately come is revolution in the core countries as well, and with it the end of capital’s ability to coerce any of the historically colonized countries into submission.
The bourgeoisie will have lost almost definitively, and as long as the future socialist states maintain commitment to class struggle, the bourgeoisie will then be able to go extinct as a social class.
People on the Hawaiian islands have noticed barrages of green laser light being fired down at them from space at night. Turns out, the lasers are coming from Chinese Satellites in space – on purpose.
China claims they are scanning for “air pollution.”
Above the islands of Hawaii on January 28, a green laser was seen piercing the night sky, silently tracing a path towards the horizon like a stutter in the Matrix’s code.
The scene was caught on camera from a telescope atop Hawaii’s tallest peak.
Originally, experts at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), which co-owns the camera, announced on Twitter that the green light probably came from a radar device on an orbiting satellite, known as ICESat-2.
ICESat-2 is owned by NASA, and it’s used to keep an eye on the thickness of Earth’s sea ice, ice sheets, and forests.
But on 6 February 2022, NAOJ updated their footage of the laser beam saying that based on the trajectory, it was unlikely to be NASA after all.
“According to Dr. Martino, Anthony J., a NASA scientist working on ICESat-2 ATLAS, it is not by their instrument but by others,” a note on the YouTube video explains.
“His colleagues, Dr. Alvaro Ivanoff et al., did a simulation of the trajectory of satellites that have a similar instrument and found a most likely candidate as the ACDL instrument by the Chinese Daqi-1/AEMS satellite.
“We really appreciate their efforts in the identification of the light. We are sorry about our confusion related to this event and its potential impact on the ICESat-2 team.”
China’s Daqi-1 satellite was launched in April last year and similar to ICESat-2, it’s an atmospheric environment monitoring satellite.
That means it’s in orbit around Earth in order to monitor global carbon levels, as well as atmospheric pollution.
Daqi-1 contains five instruments to help it do this, including ACDL, which stands for Aerosol and Carbon dioxide Detection Lidar.
Lidar is an acronym for laser imaging, detection, and ranging, and it works a little like sonar. But instead of sending out sound waves to map an area, it sends out laser beams.
And it’s these lasers that are believed to have lit up the sky over Hawaii at the end of January.
In the case of ACDL, it can send out dual-wavelength lasers at specific wavelengths in order to detect various molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.
The time it takes for these laser beams to bounce back provides information on the composition of the atmosphere and ground below.
For example, ACDL can work out how much CO2 is in Earth’s atmosphere by emitting two alternating lasers around the 1572 nanometer wavelength range.
“Daqi-1 can monitor fine particle pollution like PM2.5, pollutant gasses including nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone, as well as carbon dioxide concentration,” a March 2021 press release from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which developed Daqi-1, explained.
It’s early days for Daqi-1 so we’re still waiting for results from its scans.
But if all goes to plan, the satellite is just the start of China’s plans to keep tabs on air pollution.
“China will produce a series of Daqi satellites in the future, which will be used to monitor atmospheric pollution, provide remote sensing data support for environment authorities, and also support scientific research into global climate change,” the March 2021 press release explained.
“Daqi-1 will be networked with other satellites, including Daqi-2, to realize greenhouse gas monitoring and help China achieve reduction of carbon emissions.”
It’s yet to be seen whether these green atmospheric detecting lasers may become more common as China achieves this goal.
Below is the satellite map of Earth, from U.S. Satellites which track actual pollution. The area circled in red is eastern China. Maybe they would do better if they started “studying” in their own country?
You might think that provoking nuclear war with Russia would be enough for brain-dead Biden and his gang of neocon controllers. But it isn’t. They want nuclear war with China too. The Chinese government regards Taiwan as part of China, but it hasn’t tried to take it over militarily. Biden decided this isn’t good enough. He warned the Chinese that if they use force against Taiwan, the US will use force against them. This risks nuclear war.
Michael D. Swaine, an authority of Chinese-American relations who has advised the State Department, explains what is going on in an article that was published in The Diplomat, January 23: “The past year has seen a significant escalation in tension between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, with many strategists warning that China seems poised to invade the island. In order to preserve U.S. interests, they argue, Washington must rely primarily, if not entirely, on military deterrence.
But this strategy would almost certainly backfire. Rather than preventing a war with China over Taiwan, a policy centered on military deterrence could spark one.
Those who advocate an approach based almost exclusively on deterrence believe China aspires to replace the United States as the dominant regional power in Asia through largely military means. Seizing Taiwan by force or intimidation, they say, is a necessary first step toward subjugating other Asian nations, including U.S. allies like Japan. They believe that once it has gained broader military access to the Pacific by controlling Taiwan and dominating other nearby powers, China could then go on to threaten Hawaii and the continental United States.
According to this analysis, the only option for the United States is to double down on its military presence in the region, push its allies to greatly increase their defense spending and support for the U.S. stance, and move closer to Taiwan both politically and militarily, making it a de facto security ally in Asia. The clear implication is that Taiwan, as a critical strategic location, must never be unified with China.
But this approach to the Taiwan situation is based on a very dubious analysis of both Taiwan’s purported strategic value and China’s regional intentions.
In fact, despite the views of some American and Chinese defense analysts today, historically, neither Washington nor Beijing have ever regarded Taiwan as a key strategic linchpin in the region. For China, reunification with Taiwan is above all else an issue of territorial integrity and national pride; as such, it is critical to the legitimacy of the Communist Party regime in the eyes of its people. For the United States, Taiwan is linked to Washington’s credibility as a loyal supporter of a democratic friend and an ally to others such as Japan and South Korea.
From a purely military perspective, it is highly problematic to assert that control over Taiwan would give Beijing decisive leverage over Japan, South Korea, or other Asian countries, much less the United States. And there is no clear evidence to show that China believes its security depends on militarily defeating or intimidating its Asian neighbors.
Moreover, while some Asian countries are certainly hedging against China’s growing military power and the danger of a Sino-American conflict by increasing their defense spending, the region as a whole is more worried about economic issues such as recovering from the pandemic, overcoming recession, and promoting sustainable growth through continued close economic ties with both the United States and China.
For the United States, a deterrence policy predicated on keeping Taiwan separate from China for strategic reasons is totally incompatible with its one China policy, whereby Washington opposes any unilateral move toward Taiwan independence, maintains strategic ambiguity regarding its defense of Taiwan, and remains open to the possibility of peaceful, uncoerced unification. This position remains the core of the understanding reached in 1972, which formed the basis of the normalization of Sino-American relations, in which the U.S. acknowledged the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China while Beijing stressed that peaceful unification would be a top priority of its cross-strait policy.
If the United States were to abrogate that critical understanding by, for example, extending diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, or making the island into a full–fledged security ally (as the deterrence-only approach advocates), China would without doubt respond by dropping its part of the understanding and proceed to reverse any such U.S. actions by all means necessary, including military force. The PRC government’s legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens would simply not survive if Beijing failed to respond to such a basic challenge to its nationalist credentials.
Equally significant, China’s leaders would almost certainly resort to force even if the U.S. enjoyed superior military deterrence capabilities, a point that is apparently not fully grasped by proponents of the deterrence-only approach. Given the incredibly high political stakes involved, even a failed effort to forcibly prevent the loss of Taiwan would be viewed in Beijing as favorable to doing nothing. The latter would almost certainly result in a severe domestic crisis, putting at risk not only the personal positions of China’s leaders but the stability of the entire PRC regime.
The Biden administration seems to be inviting such desperate Chinese calculations with its erosion of the one China policy and its growing reliance on aspects of the deterrence-only approach to Taiwan.
President Joe Biden has said repeatedly that the United States will intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan, thereby treating the island as a sovereign security ally. He has also asserted that Taiwan alone must decide whether it should be independent, which denies the long-standing U.S. stance of opposition to any unilateral move toward Taiwan independence.
The government has also designated Taiwan as a non-NATO U.S. ally, giving it a status similar to sovereign nations with which it has formal security ties. It has sent senior U.S. officials to Taiwan under quasi-official conditions and sought to pressure countries against shifting their diplomatic representation from Taiwan to China, despite Washington having taken exactly the same action in 1979. And one senior U.S. defense official recently indicated in congressional testimony that Taiwan is indeed a critical U.S. strategic node central to its entire defense position in the Western Pacific, implying that the United States would be opposed to Taiwan uniting with China under any circumstances.”
It does not help matters that a U.S. General predicted on January 27 that war with China was likely by 2025: “A U.S. general said in a memo on Friday that he believes the country will be at war with China by 2025, according to several outlets that obtained a copy of the communication.
‘I hope I am wrong,’ Gen. Mike Minihan, a four-star Air Force general who leads the Air Mobility Command (AMC), said in the memo to troops under his command, which was first reported by NBC News.
However, he added: ‘My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.’
Minihan told AMC personnel to accept some increased risk in training as they prepare for the ‘China fight’ and sometime in February to ‘fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head.’”
You might ask, how can brain-dead Biden be so stupid that he provokes war with both China and Russia? But that is just the point. Biden wants to block any challenge to American global hegemony. As the Strategic Culture Foundation noted nearly two years ago, “Similar to the Ukraine, the Biden administration’s rhetoric and conduct is serving to fuel an ever-more provocative stance by the Taiwanese leaders. This week, a senior official warned that the island’s forces would shoot down Chinese aircraft that approach the territory. This is nothing but a flagrant challenge to China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. As in the case of the Ukraine and Russia, it is Washington’s words and actions that are inflaming the tensions between Taiwan and China. Yet the Americans accuse others of ‘aggression’ and claim to be providing ‘defense’.
The bigger picture for all of this is, of course, the geopolitical great game which Washington sees as a zero-sum challenge. Strategists in Washington have made it abundantly clear that the American imperative for pursuing its ambitions for global power and dominance is to prevent the rise of Russia and China and a multipolar world order. . . It is therefore logical, if not execrable, that Washington appears to be accelerating on a collision course against Russia and China. The speed and recklessness is correlated with the growing sense that the American Empire is in terminal demise. The Ukraine and Taiwan are providing the U.S. with a two-prong attack against Russia and China and what Washington views as its last chance to grasp on to a world that is disappearing before its eyes. America’s reckless and delusional gambling is placing the world in an extremely dangerous situation. Its rulers and their political flunkies are flicking matches at a powder-keg.”
But if the US abandons its aggressive anti-China policy, doesn’t this also mean abandoning Taiwan? Pat Buchanan has the answer to this, in a column last September: “One wonders: If China invades and seizes Taiwanese-claimed and -occupied islands within sight of the Chinese coast, and Taiwan resists, what would Biden do?
In the Nixon-Kennedy campaign of 1960, JFK called it ‘unwise’ to take a risk of being dragged into war, which could lead to a world war, over islands like Quemoy and Matsu that were not strategically defensible.
If Beijing invaded and occupied islands a few miles right off its coast, and Taiwan resisted, would Biden send the Seventh Fleet to war with China?
The basic question raised by these Biden commitments to go to war with a China with a huge army and fleet, and in its own home region, is — why?
No U.S. president after Richard Nixon has challenged China’s claim that there is but ‘one China’ and Taiwan ‘is a part of China.’
How many battle deaths, how many war dead, are we willing to sacrifice to prevent Beijing taking political control of an island of 23 million Taiwanese 6,000 miles away from the United States?
We did not fight to prevent China from imposing its control on 7 million people of Hong Kong. Why then does the independence of 23 million Taiwanese justify a U.S. war with the world’s most populous nation?
And if we fought a war with China over Taiwan, what would be our long-term strategic goal?
I returned to Brussels on Sunday after a month of travels in exotic and warm lands south of the equator. The re-entry shock upon arrival in Belgium was a lot greater than the 27 degree Centigrade drop in outdoor air temperature. After a month of only very limited reception of Russian news, due to satellite issues and hotel service issues, last night I switched on Russian state television’s news and talk show “Sixty Minutes” on www.smotrim.ru and got a full blast of the current state of relations with the US, which are very close to Doomsday.
Allow me to share with you the key point, namely the soon to be announced changes to the Russian doctrine on first use of nuclear weapons and their new more precise red lines that have come about from the plans for Russia’s partition and destruction that seem to be aired daily on US television.
As usual, Yevgeny Popov, State Duma member and host of “Sixty Minutes,” put a lot of video segments from Western television up on the screen, including a lengthy statement by Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of all U.S. forces in Europe from 2014 to 2017, on how the Ukrainians must be given long range precision missiles for them to attack Russian Crimea and also further into the Russian heartland. The interview from which this declaration was made does not yet appear in Google search, but from interviews posted in 2022 it is clear that Hodges is no madman, and his statements must, as Popov said, be taken with utmost seriousness.
The context, of course, for the radical escalation now being discussed in the United States is the expectation of a massive Russian offensive to begin shortly as the anniversary of the Special Military Operation approaches. The imminent defeat of Ukrainian forces has focused minds in Washington.
One of the regular panelists on “Sixty Minutes” then faced the cameras directly and said that Russia’s nuclear doctrine is under revision in light of these aggressive plans being aired in the United States, so that Russia is headed towards a policy of ‘preventive’ tactical nuclear strikes, similar to what the United States has. Moreover, if Ukraine targets Crimea and heartland Russia, then Russia will respond according to plans now being laid down.
These plans foresee counter strikes against U.S military installations in Europe and in the Continental United States using hypersonic missiles.
The panelist calls for this threat of counter strikes in Europe and the US to be made public and explicit, so that no one is in doubt about what to expect from the Kremlin.
So here we are.
The Russians are stripping away the fiction of a proxy war and revealing the co-belligerent status of the US and its NATO allies in preparation for a kinetic war with NATO.
As our illustrious former President, a man of few words, would say: “Not good!”
Allow me also to share with my readership the bitter medicine that I just shared with our daughter: look for an escape hatch!
Either, as I fervently hope, there will be an anti-war movement in the USA, in Europe arising from the shock therapy news now developing with respect to the coming kinetic war between NATO and Russia, OR failing that, it will be every man for himself.
Back in 1937 there were Jews in Berlin who decided they could ride out the storm and stay put. There were others who took the first boats out, to England, to the US, to South America. All of us in the Northern Hemisphere now may be facing the same existential choice.
Gaeng Massaman Kai
2023 02 11 17 27
This recipe is for Gaeng Massaman Kai. The “massaman” indicates that the recipe is of a “musselman” or islamic origin, and it probably owes something to early Portuguese influences, and is similar in concept to the “sour and hot” Goan style vindaloo dishes. By Thai standards this is usually a fairly mild curry, so I find it is a good starting point.
Two points should be made:
(1) the quantities are a guide only: if you like a spice use more, if you don’t, use less. If your favorite spice is missing, try adding some…
(2) the dish is cooked “when it is cooked”. The meat should be cooked until tender and the potatoes should be cooked thoroughly, but otherwise taste it and stop cooking when you are happy. As the British chef Keith Floyd remarked in a series about South East Asian cuisine, Thai charcoal burners don’t have thermostats. I would add that most Thai cooks have neither a wrist watch nor a clock in their kitchen (which is often the back yard of the house, or even the sidewalk in front of their door).
First you must prepare a massaman curry paste. This can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge in a preserving jar for several weeks or even months.
Massaman Paste
10 to 20 dried red chiles
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (from fresh bark)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground star anise
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
4 tablespoons chopped shallots (i.e. the small red skinned onions)
4 to 6 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 (2-inch) pieces lemon grass stalk, sliced into thin rounds
A cube about half an inch on a side of galangal root, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon kaffir lime skin (ordinary lime skin will do if you can’t get it)
1 tablespoon “kapi” (preserved shrimp paste – note this smells awful until after you cook it, but it is quite essential to the flavor)
To this you add a little salt: preferably about 1-2 teaspoons of fish sauce.
The galangal is roasted before use. The ground spices should preferably be fresh, in which case you should briefly toast them in a wok without any oil to bring out the flavor before grinding them.
The ingredients are blended to a fine paste (traditionally in a heavy granite mortar and pestle, but you can use a food processor just as well, and with far less effort). Note if you can get fresh red chiles you can usefully use them instead of the dried ones.
Curry
About 1 pound of chicken (you can also use pork or beef), cut into the usual “bite size pieces”
3 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts (unsalted of course)
5 peeled, but whole, small onions
5 small potatoes, peeled and partly boiled
3 bay leaves
5 roasted cardamom fruits (i.e. the whole pod)
A small piece of roasted cinnamon bark
3 tablespoons palm sugar (you can use a light brown sugar instead if you can’t get palm sugar)
3 tablespoons tamarind juice (this is the “sour” ingredient – you can use white vinegar instead if you can’t get tamarind juice. The juice is made by soaking tamarind paste in a little water then squeezing it out, and running it through a seize to extract the juice from the pulp)
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 to 3 tablespoon curry paste (above)
About 1 to 3 teaspoons crushed garlic (optional)
Instructions
Allow the coconut milk to separate and you will have about 1 cup of thick “cream” and two cups of thin “milk”. In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer and add the chicken or pork. If you are using beef you will need another two cups of milk. simmer the meat until it is beginning to become tender (beef takes longer, hence the additional milk).
Put the coconut cream in a wok and bring to a boil, add the massaman paste and “stir fry” until the flavor is brought out and maximized. The coconut oil will separate out and can be skimmed off with a spoon or ladle. (this removes much of the vegetable cholesterol or whatever it is called, and makes the dish much less trouble for those watching their weight or heart).
Add the remaining cream and curry paste to the meat.
Add the peanuts. Taste and adjust the flavor until it is (just) sweet (by adding sugar), sour and salty (by adding tamarind juice, lime juice and fish sauce).
Add the remaining ingredients and cook until cooked.
Note: The potatoes we use are a yellow fleshed sweet potato of the type sometimes called a yam in the US. Western style potatoes can be used, but absorb less of the sauce and flavor. The potatoes act as a “moderator” to reduce the heat of the curry, and should not be left out.
You can either serve it on a bed of rice, or double the amount of potato and serve it alone.
Accompany it with a dressed green salad and a bowl of pickled cucumbers. The traditional Thai table also offers chiles in fish sauce (Phrik nam pla) chiles in vinegar (phrik nam som or phrik dong), powdered chile (phrik phom – not to be confused with the powdered chile mix sold as chili powder in the US – it only contains chiles), sugar, and often MSG. You can if you wish add about a teaspoon of MSG to the above recipe to bring out the flavors, but I personally don’t think it is necessary.
And finally a word of warning to those who burn their tongues on the chiles: chile/curry cooked this way is oily – drinking water does not alleviate the burn; it spreads it around your mouth and throat. You should use a sweet effervescent beverage such as Coke, Pepsi or 7-Up to wash the burn away as quickly as possible. If you do not suffer the burn, I suggest you accompany the meal with a beer Singha is traditional, but any strong flavored lager type beer will do), or a robust red wine.
Disturbingly, the recent UN General Assembly resolution voted by 140 countries asks Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. Forget about the Nazis, forget about the gross abuse of Russian speakers in the Donbass, forget about the cynically broken Minsk agreements, forget about the USA and NATO flooding their Nazi infested proxy colony against Russia with weapons. It’s all Russia’s fault.
To make things worse, China itself put forward its 12 point ‘peace plan’ which calls ambiguously for respecting territorial integrity of countries, again disregarding the whole history of US/NATO subversion of Ukraine’s government, not just in 2014, but taking into account decades of CIA backing of the worst elements of Ukrainian society.
Following Russia suspending its cooperation with the START strategic (nuclear) missile reduction treaty, what is left out of commentaries is Putin’s statement that the US has given various excuses to prevent Russian inspection of US nuclear sites, while demanding access to Russia’s. To sum up treaties that the US signed, they are, like George Bush’s characterization of the US Constitution itself, “Goddamn piece of paper”. So explain how negotiations have any meaning at all.
Indeed, the US has walked out of every other arms control treaty it signed and deliberately undermined START.
Next, tension is heating up in the independent region sandwiched between hostile Moldova and hostile Ukraine, known as Transniestria, or its Russian name Priednestrovie.It houses an enormous warehouse, containing about 20,000 tons of Soviet era ammunition and weapons, equal to the bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima. If it falls into the hands of Ukraine, it will ‘solve’ Ukraine’s lack of ammunition.
And finally, the US seems to have forgotten its commitment to China of the One China Policy. This stated that Taiwan is part of China.
It just provoked China directly, by sending US military trainers to Taiwan, to train its tiny army against a possible Chinese attack, meant to recover its delinquent province.
Sidenote: Following WWII, the Communists and their Western backed opponents, the KMT fought a civil war. The KMT was pushed out of Mainland China, and due to US influence, it took over and maintained its rule over the island province Taiwan, which it calls The Republic of China, claiming that it was the real government of China. Now that Taiwan realizes that it’s not going to return to ruling all of China from Beijing, much of the Taiwan leadership flirts with the US, a total violation of the agreed policy.
The US has ‘an unsinkable aircraft carrier’ in the island of Taiwan. So it’s using Taiwan to whip up another war, this time with China.
So the US along with its subservient vassal states in Europe and in Asia, wants a war to subjugate both Russia and China at the same time! Both of which have armies that are more modern and better equipped than the US and the NATO countries. What could go wrong?
Listen up!
When China FM met with President Putin in Russia, they did NOT talk about Ukraine, or a peace plan. They talked about something else…
Russia and China didn’t discuss Beijing’s ‘peace plan’ – Moscow
The two countries’ top diplomats have only exchanged thoughts on the “root cause” of the Ukraine crisis, Maria Zakharova says
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi did not discuss Beijing’s yet-to-be-unveiled peace proposal for the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told reporters on Wednesday.
“Our Chinese partners explained their thoughts on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as their approaches to its political resolution,” she said. The official added “there were no talks of any specific ‘plan’.”
Wang first mentioned his “peace proposal” at the Munich Security Conference last week. “We will put forth China’s position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” the diplomat announced. Wang warned that he knew that “some forces might not want to see peace talks materialize” without naming any party in particular.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also commented on the peace proposal at the Monday press briefing. “The international community is fully aware who is calling for dialogue and striving for peace, and who is fanning the flames and stoking confrontation,” the diplomat said. He then encouraged the US to “seriously reflect on the role it has played” in the Ukrainian conflict so far.
China presented ‘key elements’ of peace plan to Ukraine – Kiev
On Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun said that a “position paper” with China’s consistent views on the conflict would be released “within days.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky commented on the plan during a press conference on Tuesday, saying that he had his own “peace formula” supported by a large number of states. Zelensky was apparently referring to the so-called ‘10-point peace plan’ that was presented by him at the G20 summit in November.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow anticipated a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping once Beijing had completed items on its domestic agenda. “We assume that we will realize our plans regarding face-to-face meetings, which will give an additional boost to our relations,” Putin added.
Complete text
Here is the complete text in English translation appearing on the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs produced by the Chinese rulers that Gonzalo Lira understood as a “prosecution case” against the US tantamount to a declaration of war.
The Sovereigns of Ancient China had the ritual of proclaiming publicly (Urbi & Orbi) the faults or mistakes 错 (cuo4) even the sins or evil doings 罪 (Zui4) of the troublemaker before neutralizing the blamed entity.
The US evil doings are grouped into 5 categories :
I- Political Hegemony-Throwing its weight around
II- Military Hegemony-Wanton use of force
III- Economic Hegemony-Looting and Exploitation
IV- Technological Hegemony-Monopoly and Suppression
In a rare scathing essay, Beijing’s foreign ministry has blasted Washington’s every effort at world domination
By Timur Fomenko, a political analyst
The Chinese foreign ministry has published an essay titled ‘US Hegemony and Its Perils’, a scathing attack on the United States and its attempts to effectively rule the world.
The essay was widely shared throughout Chinese state media outlets and was probably the harshest thing they’ve ever published at least as far as Washington is concerned. It coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent address and attacks the US across a broad spectrum of topics, outlining Washington’s multi-pronged efforts to achieve and maintain exclusive dominance over the entire planet. This includes military action, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as interference in internal political affairs of countries in the form of coups and revolutions.
The essay discussed the Arab Spring, US interference in Latin America including the CIA coup in Chile and attempts to undermine the government of Cuba and Venezuela, and the number of “color revolutions” in former Soviet states such as Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. It went on to condemn how Washington weaponizes the subject of democracy and forces countries to take sides, branded the US a country “characterized by violence and expansion” that crushes its opponents with sanctions and “economic coercion” and claimed the (US) dollar of being “the main source of instability and uncertainty in the world economy.”
Never has China’s foreign ministry launched such a blistering attack on the US.
For many years, despite Washington’s turn to hostility towards Beijing, China has been overwhelmingly restrained when it comes to the US. For a long time, it held to the belief that America can be engaged with, that somehow the country can be brought to reason, and that the US-China bilateral relationship can be improved and stabilized. It once held the belief that after the departure of the Donald Trump administration, things could be returned to “normal” under Joe Biden.
That belief could not have been more wrong.
After two years in office, the Biden administration has shown itself to be more belligerent and hawkish on China than Trump and his colleagues had ever been, and ties have gone from one new low to another, with the Biden presidency having transformed US policy from a series of “America First” Trumpian grievances over trade, to an all-encompassing campaign of military and strategic containment which has dramatically escalated tensions. Trump was a negotiator, who wanted to make trade deals with China to suit American interests using tariffs as leverage, whereas the word “compromise” does not exist in Biden’s vocabulary.
The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed it wants “guardrails” and “lines of communication” with Beijing, but its actions have shown its real intentions, from allowing Nancy Pelosi’s highly provocative visit to Taiwan, to stoking paranoia over a balloon, to forcing countries to cut off supplies to China’s entire semiconductor industry.
The conclusion that Beijing has finally arrived at is that when it comes to the United States, there is no serious dialogue to be had. It is a waste of time. China faces a belligerent, hegemonic and bad-faith actor who seeks to contain it and strategically crush it at all costs.
The US is forcing a change in China’s foreign policy. For many decades, China’s philosophy was to avoid confrontation with Washington and seek cooperation, to prevent the Americans from moving towards policies of Cold War containment and blocking its economic development, which is the Communist Party’s overarching domestic priority.
This is why even when the US was turning hostile, China remained ambivalent and restrained for a long time. It wanted to believe the relationship with America could be rescued, and these policies could be offset.
China now recognizes that its best bet is not appeasing Washington, but that its continued development and prosperity depends on sustaining a multipolar world where American power is diluted.
China has formally identified American hegemony as the biggest source of instability, chaos, inequality and conflict in the world, mirroring comments made by Vladimir Putin.
As such, the US has no interest in accepting or coming to terms with the rise of any other country which challenges its monopoly on global power, believing its hegemony to be some sort of divine right, and leaving little hope for “stability”.
It will do everything it can to try and contain China and break up its integration with the global economy.
While this does not mean Beijing will do something reckless or risk-prone, it does mean it has finally woken up to the challenge it faces and is no longer, after decades of cordial ties, starry-eyed or deluded about the true nature of the American regime.
Heaven Help My Heart – Tina Arena
Filthy Philaenis? The Ancient Mediterranean Sex Guide that Steamed Up the West
first sex guide
Often referred to as the author of the Mediterranean Kama Sutra , little is known about Philaenis of Samos, who likely wrote this work around the 4th century BC. She is the most mentioned author of the erotic sex guide Joy of Sex , being a rare surviving work by a woman from antiquity. She is mentioned in more than a dozen sources, and fragments of a manual titled P. Oxy. 2891, found in Egypt’s Oxyrhynchus, and published in 1972 seem to trace their attribution to her.
The Joy of Sex: Sentence and Structure
“Philaenis of Samos, daughter of Ocymenes, wrote the following things for those wanting … life”, begins the work.
The papyrus preserves two adjoining columns from the upper margin of the very beginning of a roll. It commences with a short preamble that introduces the author and the purpose of their work and the second column of the papyrus begins with a new chapter heading, advising the seducer to neglect their appearance.
“Concerning Seductions: Accordingly, the seducer should be unadorned and uncombed, so that he does not [seem] to the woman to be too concerned about the matter in hand,” the manual states.
The sex guide is very practical in nature, written in simple and accessible language, prioritizing the ways of making love easier. There is no erotic rhetoric or literary artifice, and it proceeds to lay out the stages of seduction systematically – flattery, kissing, and ultimately intercourse.
There is a large segment on how different kinds of women (somatotypes) must make love – petite, bodacious, and pretty are separated, and men are instructed on how to take them. Great parts of this section are missing, so reconstruction has been a little complex.
Who Was Philaenis, alleged author of the ancient sex guide?
Interestingly, Philaenis, who was a Hellenic hetaira, or a female companion herself, was the kind of woman who had professional technique. Thus, she and other hetairas or courtesans were the only ones capable of instructing men in how to take them. Her work covered the best sexual positions, perfumes, cosmetics, means of inducing abortions, and the art of kissing, among others.
attribution
The attribution of the ancient sex guide to Philaenis is disputed. Hetaira, oil painting by Franciszek Żmurko circa 1906 ( Public Domain )
The only mention of Philaenis outside of this book comes from another preserved papyrus scroll, where Philaenis debunks the myth surrounding her being a hetaira. “I, Philaenis, renowned amongst men, rest here, after living long into old age. Frivolous sailor, you who round the cape, do not mock me, do not laugh, do not despise me. No, by Zeus, in the name of the young people resting underground, I was not a debauched woman with men, offered to anyone. It is Polycrates of Athenian birth, a sort of subtlety of words and a perfidious tongue, who wrote what he wrote. As for me, I know nothing about it,” she is alleged to have written.
The Hidden Fronts of Greek Sexuality
What is particularly interesting in a larger historical context, keeping in mind that Philaenis was a front for a random assortment of unknown male authors, was that Greek society was an active practitioner of pederasty. Adult men, both married and single, had relationships with young boys, generally post-pubescent juveniles.
The Joy of Sex was written in the same style as The Histories of Herodotus , akin to a history of sex. It was widely read, although publicly condemned at the same time. This disapproval obviously emanated from the fact that a woman potentially wrote such a work, rather than a disapproval of the subject matter itself.
Will the Real Philaenis Please Stand Up?
This is where a certain degree of conflict does arise – that of identity. Many scholars believe that Philaenis was a generic enough Hellenic name under which a few people wrote and compiled this treatise, and those were likely men.
The manner in which it was written reduced the complexity of sex to that of providing pleasure to only men, which is not different from various sex manuals written across history, all over the world. The poet Aeschrion of Samos has claimed that the Athenian sophist Polycrates was the author of the sex guide.
Philaenis was thus also an idea, one that encompassed the elements of sex considered crude or vulgar, including debauchery and prostitution. This ties up with a lesser explored and more closeted question of female homoeroticism and lesbianism, which many conservative male authors have attributed to the idea of Philaenis.
Sandra Boehringer explains, “Philaenis has particular status for another reason. Three times, in Greek and Latin works, her name is found in feminine homoerotic contexts. Yet, while orators’ speeches overflow with accusations or praise for famous men who loved boys, while historians mention names of women who lost their honor in adulterous relationships with men, in the case of documents evoking sexual or loving relationships between women, the names of either fictional characters or real persons are rare.”
couples
Male couples at a symposium, as depicted on a fresco in the Tomb of the Diver from the Greek colony of Paestum in Ital ( Public Domain )
This is because, in Greek society, sexual desire was not seen as the marker of gender – rather, it was the roles assumed by each participant in the sexual act. This was generally clubbed into active penetrator and passive penetrated, or the dominant and submissive roles respectively. The dominant role was associated with masculinity, higher social status, and adulthood, while the passive positon became associated with femininity, lower social status, and juvenescence.
Love between adult women was not as well documented, although it may be said that etymology of the term lesbian, used for homosexual women, has its origin on the island of Lesbos. Many love poems were written by Sappho, a poet from this island, who left behind close to 12,000 lines of poetry on her love for other women. There are a few other scattered references, but all in all, the love between women was not as well-documented.
Clearly, ancient Greece was a land where alternate sexualities were being explored in much more of an open manner than they are in certain societies today. Yet, traits of dominant and submissive have been passed down through the eons, and assume importance in sexual power play even today. Philaenis was clearly someone who held an importance place in society, even though her identity is mythical at this point. Perhaps more finds in the future can help shed more clarity on this.
Sweet Pineapple Tamales (Tamales de Dulce)
Aside from flan, sweet tamales are probably the most satisfying of Mexican desserts. The flavor varieties for sweet tamales are endless. This pineapple and raisin tamale is one of our favorites. They go great with morning coffee!
tamales dulces 7
Yield: about 30 tamales
Ingredients
30 dried corn husks
Hot water
3/4 cup firmly packed crushed piloncillo or brown sugar
1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening (at room temperature)
1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Masa Harina
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
1/3 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup raisins
2 cups diced fresh pineapple
Boiling water
2 cups crema or sour cream
Instructions
Place corn husks in large pot; add very hot water to cover. Top husks with plate and heavy jar to keep submerged. Let stand at least 3 hours or overnight.
Drain corn husks; rinse and rub each husk under running water to remove any silk and debris. Drain well; pat dry. Wrap in towel to keep pliable.
Combine piloncillo, lard and butter in large mixer bowl; beat until light and fluffy, 5 to 10 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix Masa Harina, 1/4 cup at a time; beat until thoroughly blended. Gradually beat in warm water, using just as much as is needed to form dough that just holds together. Stir in coconut and raisins.
For each tamale, spread rounded tablespoon dough in center of 1 corn husk to form 3-inch square; top with 4 to 6 pineapple pieces. Make 30 tamales in all. Fold tamales.
Line large steamer basket with remaining corn husks. Stack tamales in basket, seam sides down. Cover tamales with kitchen towel. Place steamer basket over 3 to 4 inches boiling water; cover with lid. Adjust heat to maintain gentle boil. Steam tamales about 40 minutes.
Remove 1 tamale from center of basket and carefully unwrap; if dough pulls easily away from husk, it is done. If necessary, steam 5 or 10 minutes longer and test again.
Serve tamales hot.
ISIS women force boys to impregnate them – media
Female detainees in Syrian camps have reportedly used teen males as sex slaves to help populate the so-called Caliphate
Women ISIS devotees held in Syrian detention camps have forced boys as young as 13 to serve as sex slaves to impregnate them and help boost the population of the “Caliphate,” the Daily Beast reported on Thursday.
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At least ten boys at Camp al-Hawl in northeast Syria were conscripted to have intercourse with dozens of women, the US media outlet said, citing unidentified Syrian Defense Force (SDF) officials. The Syrian government has detained about 8,000 ISIS-affiliated women and children since the terrorist group’s defeat in 2019. Adult male ISIS members are held in separate camps.
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“We are being forced to have sex with the ISIS women, to impregnate them,” two teens identified as Ahmet, 13, and Hamid, 14, told a guard at Camp al-Hawl. “Can you get us out of here?” One of the boys was required to have sex with eight ISIS women in just a few days.
Security forces confirmed that teen boys at Camp al-Roj, also in northeastern Syria, had been subjected to similar exploitation, the Daily Beast said. In fact, one of the boys collapsed and was hospitalized after being given a Viagra-like substance to make him perform. Mothers at al-Roj, seeking to protect their sons from sexual enslavement, have begged camp authorities to transfer their boys to rehabilitation centers.
Syrian defense officials have recently adopted a policy of moving boys who have reached puberty to such rehabilitation facilities, where they receive anti-extremism counseling and are prepared for reintegration into society. The United Nations decried the policy last week, calling it “unlawful” and suggested that they may be “forcibly disappeared” or sold.
Many of the ISIS women have refused repatriation to their home countries for themselves and their children. Others, such as “ISIS bride” Shamima Begum of the UK, were stripped of their citizenship and barred from returning.
SDF officials said many women have become pregnant in the camps, though the Damascus government doesn’t know the exact number. Some give birth in secret with hopes of boosting the population of the Islamic State, which they believe will be re-established when their men arrive to break them out of the camps.
Artist Creates Cute Paintings Of Chicks Doing Yoga
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Tree pose? Downward-facing dog? If these sound familiar to you, I assume you have tried doing yoga. Like many people in true quarantine fashion. Maybe not only people. For example, artist Lucia Heffernan has imagined chicks in 15 different yoga poses!
The idea was inspired by the phrase “a yoga pose a day keeps the doctor away”, and these lovely paintings were created. Artist Lucia Heffernan has many cool paintings shared on her Instagram account and these chick paintings can be purchased as prints on her Etsy.
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Russia, China and South Africa launch joint military drills
Naval ships from the three countries are set to conduct artillery firing exercises in the Indian Ocean, Moscow has announced
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The trilateral ‘Mosi II’ drills officially kicked off in the South African port of Richards Bay on Wednesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Frigates from the Russian, Chinese, and South African navies are set to carry out artillery drills in the Indian Ocean over the weekend.
The opening ceremony was overseen by top officials and commanders from the Russian Navy, Chinese Naval Forces and South Africa’s Joint Command. The exercises will also be observed by representatives of Brazil’s naval forces.
Russia will be represented in the drills by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the medium sea tanker Kama. China has sent its frigate Rizhao, destroyer Huainan and supply vessel Kekesilihu. The South African Navy will deploy friagte Mendy.
“The active part of the exercise will take place from February 25 to 27. Joint artillery firing and tactical maneuvering will be carried out at sea. Sailors of the three countries will work out the actions of inspection teams to search and release a captured ship, provide assistance to a ship in distress, and repel enemy air attacks,” a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service read.
Speaking to the audience attending the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, stated that “the Russian navy is deeply interested in strengthening naval cooperation between Russian, Chinese and South African sailors.”
The three nations conducted similar exercises in 2019. This time, however, South Africa has faced criticism for participating in the drills. The Democratic Alliance, an opposition party, has claimed that the move suggests the country has sided with Russia in the conflict in Ukraine. The government, however, has defended its position by noting that it also routinely engages in naval exercises with other nations such as France and the US.
9 Women Who Gave A ‘Nice Guy’ A Chance Describe Their Experiences
1. He seemed a bit shy but goofy,smart and genuinely kind when he approached me, so I agreed to go out and we hit it off at first. Deep, meaningful conversation about our personal challenges, him quickly meeting my friends and me being the first person he called after a family emergency. We were both pretty vulnerable, but things were seemingly progressing somewhat well.
One day he was on Tinder in bed next to me and when called on it, he said that dating me had made him realize that he needed more confidence and experience with women and thus needed to date a lot more different people, but that he only fucked the others at their houses, so I was obviously his no1. I freaked, cried and broke things off – he called me the next day to casually ask me out to the new Hunger Games movie.
I got an STD-screening the next week – he harassed me at work for another 6 months.
2. All the guys I have known or dated that felt it necessary to label themselves “nice guys” turned out to absolutely awful humans. Either they had a bad temper, horrible morals, or just didn’t want to take “no” for answer. One even turned out to be an emotionally abusive alcoholic.
The actual nicest guys I’ve dated or called friends were the ones who didn’t feel the need to label themselves “nice guy”. In fact, the best of them usually warned me and others that they were not all that nice, but always turned out to be the sweetest, most understanding, appreciative, and kind guys I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.
3. Had a “nice guy” on tinder who didn’t make it to date for the following reason.
He lived in a different city so he insisted on an all day date (lives about 50 mins away). I said I’m not comfortable subscribing to 8+ hours with someone I hadn’t met yet, but he kept insisting I had to make it worth his while to come through. At this point I said I can’t see it going anywhere and it was putting me under pressure and that made me feel a little uncomfortable, that realistically, it may not work out so let’s just leave it.
So then he says he’s gonna book a hotel and come through. Explained that’s sweet but it’s making me uncomfortable. So he says I can have the bed and hell be a gentleman and have the sofa… I explained that he seems to have the wrong idea, I’m not going to a hotel with him and I feel uncomfortable, I don’t want to meet. He continues to press, saying he is nice guy, he won’t make me have sex if I don’t want to. I say I don’t want to. I don’t want to go to a hotel. I don’t want to meet. It’s too much pressure, and for someone I’ve not met, I feel uneasy, thanks, good luck with your search…
But apparently I need to give him a chance. He’s willing to come all this way. I say no. He keeps finding new things to message me. Uses my phone number to add my snap chat and says he can see what street I’m on. At this point I start feeling very uneasy. I didn’t know I had location on. I block him. He messaged on something else so I say I’ve got back with my ex. ( I see my ex a lot, we are good friends, he’s happy to “have a word”) so he starts going on about my ex had his chance and blew it, he is a much nicer guy than my ex, he will treat me like a princess and worship me and my ex has blown it etc etc. I tell him this is my choice. Thanks and goodbye. Please don’t try to message me on anything else as it’s not appropriate and I’ve already blocked on 3 things.
Fast forward 4 months and I move cities. I get an Instagram message. It’s the nice guy saying he’s seen my on bumble in this new city and even though we haven’t matched it must not have worked out with my ex. He’s using Instagram and can see I’m near the station (Is that even a thing?!) And we should go on that date that I owe him.
Blocked again. Had a friend stay over that night.
4. Went on and on about what a great, compassionate guy he was. He was actually just your garden variety, abusive psycho.
He once said to me: “I wish you had been abused so you would realise how great I am”. What the fuck. Who says that?!
5. Not well. He was funny and friendly in public, but turned into a different person as soon as we were behind closed doors. He was basically your textbook abuser – manipulative, controlling, and demanding. He wanted to do some really weird and degrading (to me) sex stuff and acted like I was the psycho for not wanting to. He’d make angry comments like “I’m just trying to be romantic and YOU keep freaking out”. I got out of the relationship before he could hit or rape me, but no question that was what the future held. Oh, and he still insisted that he was the nicest guy I’d ever meet.
6. We met on Tindr and he convinced me he was such a nice guy and he was so misunderstood…the typical sob story.
He fatfished me with old photos, tried to convince me that I had autism and we would be “an amazing autistic couple.” I finished the date – politely making conversation while waiting for my half of the cheque.
At the end, I wouldnt let him walk me to my car. I walked him to the bus stop and waited for the bus to drive off before I left.
When I told him later that night that we didn’t really have chemistry, he begged for another chance. He told me he was really depressed and had to see me again because I helped him to feel happy. This is 110% emotional blackmail and I fell for it.
We met again, I was really uncomfortable the entire time but he tried to insist that I was the one for him if I would just meet him closer to his place. He kept trying to grab my waist and hands despite me saying No.
I was weirded out and eventually said goodnight. He went in for a kiss, but I ducked and walked the long way home.
He threatened suicide later that night and showed me his giant scar down his arm from when he had been unsuccessful previously.
I freaked out and blocked him.
He messaged me on Facebook a week later telling me that he thought we had chemistry and he hadn’t friended me yet because he thought it was creepy. So he waited and was messaging me as a final attempt to court me.
It was a wild ride.
7. He was one of the most manipulative people I ever dated. And I will never give another chance to any self proclaimed nice guy again. He kept positioning himself like he was just a nice guy so nothing he did could ever be wrong, hurtful, or rude.
8. I’ve dated several. All of them were manipulative, most were abusive, emotionally and mentally, one physically and sexually. They would constantly belittle my feelings and opinions, ignore me and blow me off, and get mad when I wanted to do my own thing. And god forbid another man pay me any attention, even if it was clear I was uninterested. It gave me a very warped sense of relationships and self. The constant gaslighting and the fact that pretty much all the people I was close to took their sides made me feel absolutely unreasonable and actually insane. Even though the most recent one was roughly 5 years ago, I still am realizing different ways it has damaged me.
A lot of the behaviors they try to pass off as nice are typically incredibly calculated. The will always try to get something from you later. There’s no unconditional anything. There’s no selfless acts. And god forbid you bring up that they said it was just cuz or that they’re using it against you. You are put on an impossibly high pedestal, acting human is punishable by anything from screaming to being kneed in the uterus as hard as they can. They will convince you that they are the nicest you will get cuz they are the nicest out there. There is no better for you. No one could ever possibly love them the way you do. They force you to depend on them. They leave cuz you’ve become too hard to love after everything they’ve put you through. You’re moodier and more withdrawn and miserable, even though most of them cite that your depression is what drew them to you. They wanted to fix you. To see that broken girl smile. They fetishize your sadness and then hate you when they make it worse.
Do not bother with these people.
9. I had dated one for about three weeks, shortly after a serious boyfriend seriously fucked me over. Looking back, it was like he sensed blood in the water with me being sensitive to assholes, and went in for the kill. Also, people have this thought process that nice guys are all basement dwelling fedora wearing neckbeards, when in reality a lot of them are decent looking, normal dudes, which is what this one was.
I got constantly accused of cheating because I was too pretty/smart/whatever for him, even though he was smart and good looking. I have been told multiple times I have one of those friendly, sweet faces, and it makes me always approachable. We could be out and some guy I don’t know could come up to me and ask for directions, I could explain where he wants to go, and he’d thank me and leave, and he’d think I was fucking him, because I knew I could do better, and was rubbing it in his face. The constant praise was also horrible; I’d be told I was a bitch if I wasn’t perfectly happy and wonderful all the time. I’d be brought around to be shown off to his friends, and then ignored once I stopped being amusing. Also dealing with hearing about how horrible he thought he was in comparison to me was so goddamn TIRING, you don’t even know.
The whole thing crashed and burned after I went on a new york trip for a weekend with a few friends, that was planned well before I started dating him.
I have a tattoo near my collarbone/just above my armpit of a cockade that’s the colors of the french flag, because I’m a theatre nerd and love Les Miserables. A guy saw my tattoo and asked if it was a Les Mis thing, and ended up finding out he was involved in the Broadway revival that was going to be happening the following year. We started a conversation that led to me and my two friends and this guy, his wife, and their buddy at a bar together. His wife took a picture of us talking with his hand on my arm looking excited and captioned it with something like ‘well, I’ve lost him to a fangirl’ on instagram and followed me so she could tag me in it, and I liked it.
I woke up the next morning to a wall of text, berating me, calling me a slut, saying I was cheating on him, etc. No idea what he was talking about. Reading through it hit me that he had been checking my instagram likes. I didn’t even know he had an instagram, because he had told me he didn’t. this guy had a secret instagram account so he could monitor my every move. When I freaked out on him about it he said he had to do it, because I was so much better than him, and he needed to know I wasn’t cheating on him because women are all bitches and I could find someone easily while he’d be stuck alone.
I broke up with him on the spot.
The kitten was abandoned and has hid in the muddy, cold, lonely sewer
https://youtu.be/In9vdEZx6rM
What’s It Like To Be Pulled Back From The Brink of Death
I don’t know what death feels like, but I do know what dying feels like.
A year and a half ago, I was shot point blank in the chest with a 9mm. I didn’t feel it, but the bullet severed my subclavian artery. I was losing blood quickly and I collapsed. And let me tell you, to lie there and bleed out would have been the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Instead I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done; I crawled out of the house and into the street, where a neighbor saw me and called an ambulance.
I moved back to my porch and sat down on the steps, pressing on the wound as hard as I could… But I was losing my strength at a terrifying rate. I could hear my neighbor in the background saying to 911 dispatch, “y’all need to hurry up, this boy is bleeding.” I’ll never forget the emphasis she put on that last word. I was in my boxers only, and the blood soaking me from neck to toe was far from inconspicuous.
As I was sitting there on my steps, I began to feel everything shut down. Calm overcame chaos. My pineal gland was dripping. I felt instinct, fear, and everything I had known in my worldly existence slowly drift away. I felt no pain throughout this entire ordeal (that didn’t come until the next day, chronic nerve pain that has been with me ever since, as the bullet also did severe damage to my brachial plexus). My vision began to blacken around the edges. Looking back I know I was dying, but I didn’t know it at the time. I stopped caring, which is the scariest part. For a brief moment, it was almost peaceful. When my vision began to fade, I left my body. My body was sitting on the steps, but my mind had left. In my reality, I was sitting directly over my body, upside down on the ceiling, still facing out towards the street. The ambulance rounded the corner as I had about a foot diameter of light remaining in my line of sight, the rest was black. They say don’t go into the light, but that’s asinine. The light is all that’s left of the world as you know it.
The paramedics came at me like a nascar pit crew. Trying to replenish my blood, and I can only imagine what else. I believe they put 5 pints of blood in me on the short ride to the hospital. I asked them if they had me, if I was safe, and they said “NO.” They had me answer questions over and over about my name and address and whatnot… just to keep me alive. This continued into the OR, I wanted to sleep so badly but they wouldn’t let me. Thank fucking god. I also wanted water very badly (you don’t know thirst until you’ve had half your blood drained), but they would not let me drink as it would interfere with the operation. They put in a stent and it didn’t cover it, so they ran another. The head of vascular surgery (who is my vascular surgeon now) was there that night, and when the operating surgeon was about to give up on the second stent and amputate my arm, his boss made him keep going, so I was fortunate enough to keep my arm. It took a lot of rehabilitation to get function back, and my hand still doesn’t work.
However, I beat death that day. And the world has shone with a touch more beauty ever since.
Roxus Where Are You Now 1991
Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage
shrimptacoswithcabbageslaw 7 1140×1710 1
Ingredients
1 pound cooked shrimp, shelled, deveined and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 teaspoons TABASCO brand Green Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup chopped pimento stuffed green olives
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 pound cabbage, cored and finely chopped
1/2 cup crema Mexicana (Mexican-style sour cream)*
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 corn tortillas
* Sour cream mixed with 2 tablespoons milk or cream may be substituted for crema Mexicana.
Instructions
In medium bowl, combine shrimp, onion and 2 teaspoons TABASCO® Green Pepper Sauce, olives and tomato. Toss to mix well.
In separate bowl, combine cabbage, crema Mexicana, cilantro, remaining 2 teaspoons TABASCO® Green Pepper Sauce and salt. Gently toss to mix well.
To serve, place small amount of shrimp mixture in center of each tortilla; top with 2 tablespoons prepared cabbage. Fold tortilla over filling to form taco. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Serve immediately.
Facing the Global South: Building a new International System by Yang Ping
“If you raise [the development of the BRI] to the strategic level, there are countries where ... you will have to lose money and there are countries where you will be free to make money."
How to respond to the growing political divide between China and the West marked by partial decoupling, security alliances, and the risk of sanctions, amongst other things, continues to be a major topic of discussion among China’s intellectual elite. As already evidenced in previous editions of this newsletter, opinions vary considerably. Those presented here so far have ranged from Da Wei (达巍) stressing the importance of preserving if not strengthening ties with the West and Shen Wei (沈伟) arguing in favour of reforming the WTO and building up a network of free trade agreements to Ye Hailin (叶海林) emphasising the need for China to demonstrate its military might to demobilise US allies and Lu Feng (路风) calling for self-reliance and greater assertiveness in the field of tech. A certain amount of overlap certainly exists among these perspectives but the differences are nonetheless striking.
Today’s edition of Sinification looks at a speech made last month by Yang Ping (杨平), head and editor-in-chief of the highly regarded Beijing Cultural Review (文化纵横, hereafter BCR). Yang is also director of the Longway Foundation (修远基金会) which publishes BCR. The foundation describes its publication as “the most influential magazine of intellectual thought and commentary in China” and sees itself as having a key role in helping shape the direction of intellectual debates in China (“议题的设置就是意识形态斗争成功的一半”). Indeed, BCR often republishes old articles at key junctures as so often highlighted by David Ownby’s wonderful Reading the China Dream.
The following are excerpts from an edited transcript of a speech by Yang made at an event hosted by Renmin University’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, which was attended by China’s Vice-minister of foreign affairs Xie Feng (谢锋). In his speech, Yang advocates building a new international system led by countries in the Global South (which, of course, includes China) rather than the West. His ideas are not particularly novel but are nevertheless noteworthy in that they represent yet another viewpoint in the ongoing debate over how China should respond to the increasing tensions that characterise its relations with the US and other Western countries. Next week, I will be sharing a somewhat longer piece that proposes a way of protecting China from the growing threat of Western sanctions.
Yang’s speech in a nutshell:
“Capitalist politics” are no longer in line with “capitalist economics”. The former now undermines globalisation, while the latter supports it.
Sanctions, export controls, friend-shoring and alliance-building are damaging the world economy and further alienating China from the current US-led international order.
China must respond to this growing trend by building a “new type of international system” with other countries in the Global South.
BRI projects should be increasingly focused on achieving this goal and thus allow more room for loss-making endeavours.
Capitalist politics ≠ Capitalist economics
“Since 2022 and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, our main focus and topic of discussion has been China’s construction of a new type of international system.”
“The most important feature of today’s world is the beginning of a separation between capitalist politics and capitalist economics. The capitalist political order and the capitalist economic order do not support each other [any longer].”
“We have witnessed two typical manifestations of the separation of politics and the economy and the impact of politics on the economy:
The first is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.The sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and the West have reached unthinkable, abominable [令人发指] and unimaginable proportions. Under established international rules, it was understood that such sanctions could not possibly occur, but now they have. These include the fracturing of the financial system, the expropriation and seizure of Russian private assets and the freezing of Russian foreign exchange reserves. These are all abominable and unimaginable forms of confrontation. At the same time, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has led to serious disruptions in global food and energy systems and supply chains, with massive food ‘shortages’ and soaring food prices, particularly in developing countries. Sanctions and political repression [政治打压] have severely disrupted the [world’s] economic order.
The second is the conflict between the US and China. Since the Trump era, the US has been engaged in a trade war against China, mainly by raising tariffs. Basically, this was simply about balancing trade [with China] and used mainly economic means. But under Biden, it [has become] a war that mixes politics with economics. Biden’s strategy towards China can basically be summed up in just a few words: one, friend-shoring, [i.e.] only allowing friendly countries into [parts of] its supply chains; two, alliance politics, [i.e.] continuously forging an alliance system involving NATO, the European Union, Japan, AUKUS and the four Asia-Pacific countries [I assume he is referring to South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia taking part for the first time in a NATO summit last year] and constantly opposing China [不断应对中国]; three, its so-called ‘precision strikes’, [i.e.] its radical crackdown on China’s high tech [industry], especially our chip industry.”
China is being pushed out of the US-led international system
“The information I have seen so far is that the number of Chinese companies included in the US’s ‘entity list‘ has risen from 132 under Trump to over 530 now. The scope of such point-to-point [点对点] precision strikes is constantly expanding. With such a political impact on the economy, we can feel the [world’s] economic order being disrupted across the board. The world is moving inexorably in the direction of decoupling. The phenomenon of politics affecting the economy and the capitalist political order no longer upholding the capitalist economic order are extremely striking.”
“In such a context, the challenges now facing China are extremely serious and varied. We have the pressures of dealing both with containment in the Indo-Pacific and with the US-led politics of alliances across the world. More importantly and fundamentally China faces the strategic task of building a new type of international system [新型国际体系] … The existing Western-dominated international system used to be one in which we tried hard to blend [so as] to become one with it. During this process, we [sought to] absorb the West’s advanced technologies and management [practices] and thus complete our mission of industrialisation and modernisation.”
“But once you enter the existing international system, he [who is already inside] does not want to play with you, and even wants to drive you back out. He wants to divide both supply chains and the economic system into two parts [搞成两套] and desperately wants to contain and suppress you. This is not something that can be determined by your own subjective preferences. He has made up his mind: you have already become his ‘fated opponent’ [命定的对手]. He has to suppress you and drive you out of the existing system.”
Building a new international system with the Global South
“It is at this point that China is faced with the task of constructing a new type of international system that is not dominated by the West. In today’s so-called strategic quadrangle consisting of the US, Europe, Russia and China, how to construct such an international system appears particularly difficult [逼庂 literally means “narrow” or “cramped” rather than “difficult”].”
“But if we look a little further south, we will find a vast number of developing countries, the Third World and the countries of the global South. They should be our strategy’s depth [我们的战略纵深]. That is to say, [we should] build a new type of international relations and a new type of international system that has strategic depth and in which China and the countries of the global South are jointly integrated. [This] is, in my view, an important strategic task for China’s international relations in the coming decades.”
BRI projects: Strategy trumps profitability
“For China today, especially for businesses and governments at all levels [within China] that are currently working hard to develop BRI trade, there is a very important point to which they should be alerted or reminded about: the development of the BRI has to go beyond mere business, beyond the general export of [China’s excess] production capacity, beyond the partial thinking of industry and the partial thinking at the regional level, or the simple economic way of thinking of business. The development of the BRI should be considered at the strategic level. That is, it should be included into China’s strategy when thinking about Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.”
“If you raise [the development of the BRI] to the strategic level, there are countries where you won’t be able to make money and will have to lose money, and there are countries where you will be free to make money. You have to unite the two within your organic strategy.”
“The strategic task of building a new type of international system is, in my view, a strategic proposition that Chinese think tanks and research institutes should pay very close attention to with regards to international relations.”
“Time is limited today. I just wanted to make a start here. I hope to receive your corrections and criticisms. Thank you!”
First Public Display of 16-meter-long Papyrus Found in Saqqara Casket
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The exciting discovery of a 16-meter-long (52.5 ft) ancient papyrus found in a sarcophagus in Egypt’s Saqqara region has now been unveiled. A papyrus of this size and quality had not been discovered in over a century. The restored artifact that dates back to 50 BC and contains passages and images of the Egyptian Book of the Dead has now been put on display at the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, Cairo for all to see. It really is an impressive document from Egypt’s deep past.
The Saqqara site where it was discovered, a vast necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis, is a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s home to pyramids, animal burials, and even ancient Christian monasteries.
At first, scientists believed the ancient scroll to be only 9 meters long (29.5 ft), but after a thorough restoration and translation process in the restoration laboratory of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, it was revealed to measure an astounding 16 meters (52.5 ft), reported the Egypt Independent .
The papyrus has been named the “Waziri Papyrus” after Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, who made the exciting announcement. It contains texts from the Pharaonic Book of the Dead of its owner, Ahmose, and was found inside one of 250 caskets at the Saqqara site, noted Arkeonews.
Ahmose is mentioned a total of 260 times in the script, which is mostly black ink with some texts in red. The script contains 113 chapters from the Book of the Dead, as well as scenes of Ahmose worshipping Osiris, amongst many other images. The script would have been prepared by priests in anticipation of his death.
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Ancient Papyrus Contains Texts from Book of the Dead
The Pharaonic Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text which was written on papyrus scrolls and buried with the deceased in their tomb. The texts contain declarations, hymns, and spells that were intended to help the deceased navigate the treacherous journey to the afterlife. It also includes illustrations and vignettes that depict the journey of the soul through the underworld and the different gods and goddesses the deceased would encounter along the way.
The Book of the Dead is an important source of information on ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices related to death and the afterlife. It is considered an important document of ancient Egyptian culture and religion and continues to be studied by scholars and Egyptologists around the world.
Papyrus Will Be Displayed at Opening of Grand Egyptian Museum
The date the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities chose to make the announcement of this incredible find was January 14th. This was in recognition of the annual Egyptian Archaeologists Day, due to the fact that this latest discovery is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the country’s archaeologists.
The papyrus is currently the centerpiece of the completed first phase of the renovation of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.
Ahmed Eissa, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities stated at the opening of the newly renovated wing where it is currently housed, “Today we announce the completion of the first phase of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square’s renovation as we are delivering a message to the whole world that the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square is still developing”.
The newly-discovered papyrus containing the Book of the Dead spells will provide a deeper understanding of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient cultures.
Eventually, the papyrus will be one of thousands of exciting artifacts that visitors will be able to view when the Grand Egyptian Museum opens later this year.
Top image: Part of the 16-meter-long document from Saqqara that includes illustrations and text from the Book of the Dead of Ahmose. Source: Supreme Council of Antiquities
Girl Overboard – The Love We Make
US ‘quadrupling’ number of troops in Taiwan – WSJ
Up to 200 soldiers will reportedly head to the island to train its military against a hypothetical “Chinese invasion”
Washington is planning to send between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan “in the coming months,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing anonymous officials. The personnel will be tasked with training the Taiwanese military against what was described as a “rising threat from China.”
The deployment will more than quadruple the US military presence on the island, according to the Journal
. According to the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center, there were 23 American soldiers in Taiwan as of autumn 2022.
These Americans have been acting as advisers and trainers for the US weapons and equipment sent to Taipei. The new troops will also train the Taiwanese in tactics “to protect against a potential Chinese offensive,” according to unnamed US officials.
There were also Taiwanese troops in the US, with “a contingent” training alongside the Michigan National Guard in the north of that state, the Journal reported. When reached for comment, the Pentagon said only that the US “commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid.”
“We don’t have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” Army Lieutenant Colonel Marty Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Journal.
The expanded training is intended to “thwart a possible invasion by China,” and has been planned for months, long before this month’s incident with the Chinese “spy balloon,” officials who spoke to the Journal said. They also don’t believe it amounts to “anywhere close to a tipping point” for Beijing.
“One of the difficult things to determine is what really is objectionable to China,” one official said.
China has repeatedly warned the US against arming Taiwan and warned Washington to abide by the treaties and agreements governing their relationship. The US used to recognize Taipei as the “Republic of China” but switched that recognition to Beijing in 1978, adopting a One-China policy.
Taiwan has been a point of contention between China and the US since 1949, when the Communists won the civil war against the Kuomintang. The Americans helped evacuate the defeated nationalists to the island, which was liberated in 1945 from 50 years of Japanese rule.
The People’s Republic of China has pointed to Taiwan’s status as Chinese territory for over 200 years before it was ceded to Japan as a war trophy in 1895. Beijing seeks to reunite
what it calls a renegade island with the mainland, preferably by peaceful means.
The Living End – ‘One Said to the Other’ (Official Music Video)
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
6 People Describe What’s It Like To Do DMT
1. The other side was like a rollercoaster ride. I had no choice but to sit back and be carried away as things unfolded in front of me. I — or, my essence, my consciousness — was just floating in space, detached from existence, not fighting anything, not trying to direct anything. It was like I was being given a spiritual tour of this parallel world.
The first thing that I remember is the imagery. The infinitely intricate, breathtakingly complex geometric images that I saw were indescribably beautiful. One pattern after another, in split seconds, unfolded. Dozens of them. They unfolded or melted away as quickly as they appeared. Glowing rainbow colors — everything had an aura. It turned blue, green, yellow, hot pink, light orange — unfathomably beautiful. And they kept coming and coming and coming — It is simply astonishing that the mind is capable of such things.
Then, it’s like I’m in space — pitch-black darkness, but with hundreds of glowing, rainbow stars in the background, shining beautifully. And I go past these holographic, glowing blue floors — and then I saw — them. They could be described as aliens or elves — aliens, since I had the feeling of being in outer space; elves, because of their elongated ears. They were very thin, but not emaciated — everything was proportional. Their bodies were comprised of triangular shapes, and were glowing blue, too, although they also had an aura.
I saw several of them, though I remember certain images most vividly. I saw a family of three — a mother, a father, and a young boy. She was pouring the boy cereal at the table as the father was at the stove, attending to something, talking to a client on the phone. I also saw two young women having coffee on a breezy weekday afternoon. I vaguely remember a man showing himself to me, as if he were about to go to work. But I didn’t interact with them; they said nothing to me — it was just this sense that this was their world, and, while things looked mundane, their lives were peaceful and didn’t need any interference. I just had to keep going; my ride was taking me elsewhere. It was all happening so frustratingly quickly.
As I felt myself coming down and my consciousness restored, the images kept coming at me at a million miles a minute — images that implicitly conveyed information, mostly evoking feelings of childhood and daily life, although they felt like so much more. Things were just coming and going at lightning speed — there was hardly time to process any of it. It was simply an incomparable show, like a kaleidoscope of dream images, beautiful geometric shapes, and images that so perfectly conveyed particular feelings.
When I came to, all I could do for three minutes was pound the ground relentlessly, repeating variations of ‘Holy shit!’ and ‘What the fuck?!’ — It was just pure astonishment, just utter disbelief at what I’d just experienced. I still felt ‘in the experience’ for another five minutes or so, — my body was shaking, I was breathing heavily, and I was still able to feel out-of-body when I closed my eyes.
2. “I cannot recall the transition to the void. There were no colors or visions, in the traditional sense. I realized immediately that I had actually poisoned myself, and this was not a DMT trip at all, this was death.
“This period of time is impossible to relate. Try to understand that there was no sensation of time at all. Nothing was linear, and my ideas seemed to come to me at impossible intervals. My brain had been killed, I could tell, because I could not think. I could only sense the overwhelming loneliness and shame. I had actually believed at some point, somewhere, that I was alive, but this was not possible, because I was a scrap of discarded thought, not worthy of keeping. It was a foregone conclusion that I would destroy myself. This seemed to be forever.
“There appeared in the vastness a tiny point of light. I remember realizing that I had not died at all, but that I had been dead. Then, not dead, but dormant. Dormant. I was about to be born.”
3. “I couldn’t believe the breakneck speed with which I was beginning to move, like a proton in a hyper spatial supercollider. The breathtakingly ecstatic sensation of being literally shot out of the confines of my corporeal body was overwhelming, and already my mind was grasping wildly about for some semblance of familiarity. No previous DMT journey had ever moved this fast…
“ Ahead was an entirely ludicrous, tensile, concentric, mandala-like disco-medusa that wore about it a technicolor dream coat of fibrillating antennae, surrounded by an ultraviolet aura. Instantly I could tell it was alive: some sort of a sentinel. Then seemingly out of nowhere and from every direction at once came these freakish tentacles of liquid lapis lazuli. They began moving together with an almost orchestral hyper precision, and I was completely mesmerized — it was like nothing I had ever seen…
“The presence of what is awesome, what is wildly and passionately and luminously alive, filled every meridian in the vast continent of my expanded being, an intensity of joy and love and life coursing like heavenly ambrosia through my electrified veins. It was as though I myself was God, moving through liquid ecologies of God, the self-crystallizing emerald labyrinths of the tryptamine dream time, a marvelous infundibulum of plasmodial calisthenics. What occurred was a total meltdown of everything I know and hold dear. [It was an] utter surrender into the honeycomb love womb of the universe reborn, born anew in a thousand unendingly magnificent eyes, and Maya and Lila handheld spinning in sundream dandelions, my five senses spinning like a zillion gyroscopes round the centripetal amethyst of this all and everything.”
4. “I was transported to that extremely alien-like realm that I had been to so many times before. I felt like I was being schooled on existence. A teacher entity that seemed to have some sort of almost condescending power over me was trying to convince me that ‘they’ constructed our reality completely, and tried to get me to agree that this reality was not under our control; it was being constructed and predetermined by an outside force completely. Even though I had lost complete touch with reality, I did not listen blindly. I was skeptical. ([It was] not that I disbelieved it, but I didn’t believe it either… I always like to keep an open mind when it comes to these sorts of existential matters). The entity was so persistent about trying to convince me! I remained neutral on the matter, but courteous and attentive all the same…
“I don’t know where I was, but I was confronted by a mother entity. She was shapeless; dripping, melting, ugly, terrifying, disgusting, and even smelled bad. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but next thing I knew, she was engaging me in psychic conversation. She had a wallet of some sort, and began showing me photographs of her son. I could tell that she loved her son very much. She also had a bunch of his artwork that she was obviously proud of, and began showing it to me. The problem was, her son and all of his artwork were also melting, grotesque and disgusting. I could still feel her genuine love for her son and pride in his artwork, but at the same time, no matter how hard I tried to show her love, I couldn’t hide the fact that I felt grossed out by her and the entire situation. I could tell that she could tell that I was feeling uncomfortable…
“When I came down from this trip, I found myself feeling guilty for not being able to feel/give the love that I felt that I should have given her. So I had another hit of DMT and tried to meditate on the experience and its meaning. I tried to send out my purest, most intended form of love to her and every other entity under this umbrella called consciousness. I even tried to psychically apologize to her for my reaction to her. I felt a little bit better after that, like I had resolved something.”
5. I was given the pipe and took the largest hit I could. After blowing out the smoke I immediately took a second, very large hit and instantly handed my friend the pipe. As soon as I blew the second hit out a familiar feeling came over me. It was very much like the peak of inhaling N2O. It lasted just enough time for me to think that this is not very impressive (about 30 seconds into trip). The next sensation was a feeling of separation from my body and the feeling I could not breath (45 seconds into trip). I had expected these feelings from my studies so I just relaxed and waited for the next stage of this experiment. No study, no book, no letter and no conversation could have explained to me or prepared me for what was yet to come.
I started to think to myself ‘remember to breath, stay calm, you will be back’. Before I finished that thought I was met by a multitude of sounds (At this point track of time was lost) It was music-like but it was not music. It was the typical cracking and popping I had read about but did never read that these sounds could be felt. I could feel them in every part of my body and that was when I realized I had no body, I was outside of my body. My soul had separated from the flesh and had transcended to another place I still did not yet understand. I then realized these sounds were not just random sounds but living entities. I did not question what these entities were or where they came from. I did not try to communicate with them for I had no need. They were there and the sound they made gave me more comfort and peace than I have ever felt on this plane of existence. I knew they had come to see me and to guide me to where I was going. We had known each other before and were with each other not to question what was happening or to communicate with each other but just to thrive from each other’s energy. I had a feeling of mutuality between us. They were all around me, inside me, over me and below me and the whole time nothing more than content, peaceful feelings were present. I thought this was all there was and I would be returning home soon. I had never been so wrong in my life.
I think the sounds may have been beings sent to guide me to where I was being taken. I had a feeling of movement faster than anything I could have ever imagined. I felt a flood of energy and ultra high and low frequencies weighing on my body similar to a high G-force turn. While this was happening I felt as if I was being flooded with information. It was like other beings trying to communicate with me each one wanting my attention. It was coming too fast and it was the only time I had any sort of panic or fear, I thought or said slow down and was almost annoyed by the speed at which this was coming at me. As soon as I thought or said slow down everything stopped. I had no sensation of touch, smell or sight but was content with this feeling. I had no need for the physical sensations we need in this plane of existence. I was not hungry, cold, in pain, tired, etc… and had no wants or desires for anything, I was truly content and at peace with my surroundings.
Once this contentment filled my soul and everything slowed down I heard a female voice as if it was being tuned in on a radio. I could not make out the words but I knew they were being said to me. I only made out 3 words clearly and they were all I was supposed to hear. The female voice said, “I love you”. In those three words I felt more secure, comforted and loved than I have ever felt anywhere, anytime in my life. As soon as I heard those three words I heard a male voice in the same “radio being tuned in” matter. I never did make out any of the words that were said to me but the message was loud and clear. The message I was being given was don’t worry, you are with me, you can and will get over anything, there is nothing you can not handle. Then, suddenly the voices were gone but the sound were still with and within me. I knew I had been given the gift I was pulled to that place for and I knew it was time for me to return to my body and my friends. I had a feeling of opening of a door and walking though it. Before I walked through the door I felt as if I turned and said thank you. The most honest, unconditional thank you I have ever said.
6. Drifting deeply into the visual ebb and flow of the DMT I just walked through the thin fabric of the visual fractal fantasy. It was like a gauze layer of the dream just separated and boom .. it was like walking from a dark night into a brightly lit casino in Las Vegas. I felt like I had walked behind the scenes into a series of rooms. Everything was prime color cranked up to it s fullest potential. The images were clear, crisp and vivid. many times more vivid then the early pre-room images.
There were two people a man and a women or a girl and a boy. They appeared to me like simple balloon computer generated images. As soon as I stepped in the room, they glided up to me and spoke directly to me. They kept saying welcome back and words like: the big winner, he has returned, welcome to the end and the beginning, you are The One! As I looked around the room I felt the sense of some huge celebration upon my entry to this place. Bells were ringing, lights flashing fear began to rise in me as I felt the deep change in my world. The sprites begin to lead me around the room showing me how all my life they had been preparing me for this return. I was shown dozen of experiences simultaneously in my life, that had lead up to and been clues to this moment. I was shown in a flood and a onslaught of images, thoughts, situations, raw feelings that everything had been building to this moment. That this moment had been planned.
They told me it was a gift. That I had been selected to be The One. I felt feelings of huge relief, excitement and fear in the sprites. At this moment in the experience I became afraid for my life. I felt that this gift would cost me my life. I did not want to be The One. The sprits felt this fear in me and begin to hold my hands and arms rushing me deeper into their world. I felt their fear and I begin to believe that I had stepped out of the dream, out of the drug, out of my body and mind and into this super world. I begin to believe in the transformation. As I walked deeper I could see standing in the middle of the room, in the center of this place, an object similar to an hour glass. It was slowly turning over. I became aware that this vessel, as it tipped over, transferring its contents from the small red end to the larger blue end was transforming me. I felt my humanity slip out as I was filled with this new powerful light. A light of greater perception, of clarity. It felt like returning home. It felt familiar. It felt like I was waking up from a hollow, pale dream of reality. I felt god like and omnipotent. I realized the this gift was not only a gift but equally a death sentence for my physical body. I felt like I had been chosen to receive this not out of benevolence but out of a need to release this power and perception There had to be The One, to relieve the others. There had to be The One who perceived completely. I felt like Christ at the moment of realization of godhood and the inevitable moment of his crucifixion. I also felt like all this knowledge and perception was far too large to be processed by my physical mind and that death was the obvious transition.
As this moment of realization hit me I felt the sprites smile and step back. They told me I WAS The One and this WAS real and that it would never end.
They said do you not believe….. then see.
At this moment I sat up (in the real world) and opened my eyes. This moment true panic set in. I was deeply hallucinating. The real world was being covered, transformed into a psychedelic kaleidoscope of energy. Every surface had something like movie film, one image after another lined up like film shown through an overhead projector. These were the prime images of our symbolic nature. Slowly rolling over every surface. like the sprites of the objects. I felt I was seeing time in a singularity. I felt like I was seeing the symbolic patters like a second perception of true meaning. In the real room there were two people sitting next to me. When I looked at them I felt reassured momentarily. Then they exploded into dozens of two dimensional layers of light. Looking like computer generated futurists paintings. Wafer thin halos created the shapes of my friends. Dave looked up at me and said Welcome Back causing me to panic. Because when he said welcome back I did not think it was back to reality but back into the fold of this super world I was in. Back as there chosen one or at least one amongst them. I perceived Dave and Poon as personal guides or Guardians or gatekeepers there to welcome me into this new exalted state. That moment striped me of my world, my truths leading me to believe that my hallucinations were truth. I once again had the crashing feeling of winning, of being chosen, and being forced to receive this unwanted sentence of total vision. I had this crash as I could see once again the cause and effect of my being there and the price I would have to pay. I was the Bean King and the price of my gift would be perceptual transcendence but physical death.
At this time I felt a collapsing feeling as I gave in to the experience excepting my fate. I remember thinking that the hour glass had turned a little farther and I was pouring out of this life into my new one. I said out loud I am dying. Then I lost the support of my body, my self, my existence and I began to drift.
Dave then touched my leg I remember being drawn back into my body and thinking to hell with this I am not going to die, not yet and I felt the sprites smiling around me looking at me. I felt the fear. I felt the exhilaration of my visions. I was back in the sprites room. Even though this place was vibrant and psychedelic it was within my ability to comprehend. The sprits began there pitch at me being a winner and The One. I felt they were taking me back down the hallway to open those iconic, electric vision and to my death. I then said out loud again I am dying to which Dave responded only three more minutes and you will be all right.
Three more minutes.. Three more minutes was like a life raft that I sailed out of that world. As soon as I was able to believe that in three more minutes I would be normal again and everything began to fade. I felt in control of my body and my life. Slowly I drifted out of the their world, back through the gauzy world of colors and patterns. With a little extra coaxing from my friends I was able to wake up and separate my self from that moment.
I still vibrate from the experience.
I am very grateful to have been with my friends.
I cried when I met the kitten on the side of the road and the miracle happened
Our leaders in Washington and the collective west in general are lost in their own sea of arrogance, ignorance and incompetence. They are also certifiably insane. They will escalate the world into oblivion.
JustAMaverick | Feb 8 2023 14:55 utc | 4
Crazy times. A little depressing. Sigh.
Check out the death throes of the United States.
From <redacted> …
Unz can find all the MSM stats he wants and maybe he doesn’t leave home, but Florence and I just lost a third good friend in the last year, all younger than us, all jabbed. That’s statistically abnormal.
Our Indian friend, 42 years old, just dropped dead from a heart attack. Fit, practicing Muslim, father of two children, whom we adopted as honorary niece and nephew starting 22 years ago.
He told me he was going to call me for chat and two weeks later, he’s gone.
Luckily, his wife will have the support of her family in India, but that is no compensation.
Interestingly, on French TV, they recently reported that there is an epidemic of heart attacks in India and they actually suggested it was being caused by the jabs.
-<redacted>
In a conversation with CNN, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says the company is preparing for possible US sovereign debt default. The financial institution is the second largest bank in the country and is reportedly preparing for the worst regarding Congressional conflict over the nation’s debt ceiling.
Moynihan spoke about the Congressional debate, and specifically how that impacts corporate America. Subsequently, defaulting on the country’s debt remains a very real possibility that entities, like Bank of America, cannot disregard.
In the first few months of the new year, the National debt has reached unprecedented levels. Thus, that development has led to debates on both sides of the political aisle on whether or not the national debt ceiling should be increased before the summer months.
“We have to be prepared for that, not only in this country but in other countries around the world,” Moynihan told CNN. Additionally stating, “You hope it doesn’t happen, but hope is not a strategy – so you prepare for it.”
There is some expectation that President Joe Biden could address the debt ceiling debate during Tuesday’s State of the Union Address. Conversely, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has already expressed a warning over the nation’s debt crisis. Noting the possible default as soon as June, if the ceiling is not raised.
The US government has so over-spent, for so many years, it does not have enough cash on hand to pay its debts AND fund ongoing operations. If the debt ceiling is not raised by Congress, then the government would only have the cash on hand which comes in each month from things like Payroll taxes. That __may__ be enough to keeps some parts of the government operating, but it would not be enough to pay off debt – or even interest on the debt.
The China Communist Party (CCP) has quietly passed its Reserve Military Service Law, which will take effect on 3/1/2023. Anyone who is 18 years or older is obliged to enlist after a national defense mobilization is announced.
The notice, instructs China citizens “After receiving the call-up notice, reservists must report to the designated place at the specified time in accordance with the requirements. After the state issued the mobilization order, the reserve personnel who have not received the call-up notice shall not leave the reserve registration place without the approval of the troops and the military service organs of the reserve registration place; if they have left, they shall return immediately or standby in the same place.”
The above was only just published. I am currently busy but will eventually read it and make up my mind.
Update: 13:50 UTC
I have now read the piece but I am someone in doubt over it. The story that Hersh tells seems incomplete and not researched as deeply as possible. I bet that his sources know more than that.
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:
Back then I presented just the available fact and left the conclusion open for the reader to chose.
But it has since become more and more obvious that the U.S. was responsible for the enormous economic damage to Germany that its action has caused.
The gloating by Sec State Anthony Blinken and his deputy Victoria Nuland is just too too obvious. It is a”tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come” said Blinken and Nuland, in a Congress hearing, was “very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal.”
Most Germans, if not their pliant government, have drawn their conclusions from that.
This is a pretty-looking dough and a good way to get spinach into the kids. The spinach flavor is very mild and the color is a healthy green. A good pizza for a Christmas party could be made from this green crust with a bright red tomato filling.
4dd6e956ac395ecd17e69ed1390a2a8a
Ingredients
1 cup fresh spinach, leaves lightly steamed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) olive oil
2 packages dry yeast
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
3/4 cup warm water
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and stir in the light brown sugar. Set the yeast mixture aside for at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the ricotta cheese and the spinach leaves in a blender and blend at high speed until you have a smooth, bright green mixture.
Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour and add 3 tablespoons of the oil, the egg, the spinach mixture and the yeast mixture.
Put flour on the kneading board and place the dough mixture on the flour. Knead the mixture for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is uniformly mixed and elastic. Add flour as you knead if necessary to keep the dough from becoming too sticky.
When the dough is ready, place it in a clean bowl that has been brushed with oil.
Brush the top of the dough with oil and place a clean cloth over the bowl.
Put the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours.
During the final minutes of my radio show last night, I told my audience I wish I didn’t know some of the things I know. Now, one of those things has become public: It was the United States that bombed Russia’s Nord Stream 1 & 2 Pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Norway participated by flying-in a sonar buoy which gave off the Detonation Signal. NATO is an accessory, by willfully using BALTOPS 22 “Exercise” as a cover to plant the bombs. War is now likely.
In an article written by long-time, world-renowned Investigative Journalist, Seymour M. Hersh, the truth has now come out.
First, from Wikipedia:
Seymour Myron “Sy” Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an 85 year old American investigative journalist, and political writer.
Hersh first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. During the 1970s, Hersh covered the Watergate scandal for The New York Times and revealed the clandestine bombing of Cambodia. In 2004, he reported on the U.S. military’s mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. He has also won two National Magazine Awards and five George Polk Awards. In 2004, he received the George Orwell Award.
Hersh accused the Obama administration of lying about the events surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden and disputed the claim that the Assad regime used chemical weapons on civilians in the Syrian Civil War. Both assertions have stirred controversy.
In his “substack” web site, published about nine hours ago (about 7:00 AM eastern US time today) Hirsh published a story entitled “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline” with the sub-title being “The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now.” (Direct Link to Story)
It’s a long read, but worth it.
In the story, Hirsh reveals that the Operation was planned for nine months. It was planned in the top floor of the Old Executive Office Building, on the grounds of the White House. The biggest concern: How to leave no evidence tying it to the United States.
The story reports that the explosives were placed during the annual NATO Naval Exercise “Baltic Operations 22” (BALTOPS 22) by US Navy Divers. The NATO exercise was used as a “cover” for the explosives to be planted.
It also reveals that months later, after receiving the “Go” signal from CIA Director Burns, a plane from Norway’s military dropped a special sonar buoy into the Baltic Sea which gave-off the Detonation signal, triggering the explosives and destroying the pipeline.
Ladies and Gentlemen, make no mistake: This was a crime. It was a criminal conspiracy to commit a bombing, and later, the actual commission of that bombing. It seems to me, as a layman, the people who engaged in this are personally guilty of federal Felonies.
The planning for this crime was so thorough, they even chose the use of a specific US Navy undersea dive team which would NOT trigger any reporting to the US Congress about its activities!
Now, I could go paragraph by paragraph to report and analyze Seymour Hersh article, but it is much better if you go read it yourselves.
Very long story short: The President of the United States ordered his staff to come up with a way to “deal with” the Nord Stream Pipeline. They did. It got blown up. This was a crime. It is also, an Act of War against Russia.
I suspect the Russians are absorbing and analyzing Hersh’s article. As Russians are well known to do, they will think about this for a good while. Then, they will take well-thought-out and thought-through action.
We have committed an Act of War. Russia now has a Casus Belli – a cause for just war.
I suspect that Russia may publicly demand President Biden be Impeached and criminally prosecuted, along with the other Conspirators. I also suspect that Russia may add, if Biden is not impeached and prosecuted, and the Conspirators not prosecuted, then it will be war.
Knowing that the US Government will never agree to impeach its apparently now-criminal President, nor hold accountable the other Conspirators, I also suspect war is coming — a lot faster than any of us think, and a lot worse than any of us know.
UPDATE:
The Biden regime said an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claiming the United States was behind the explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines was “utterly false and complete fiction.”
“This is utterly false and complete fiction,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
Spokespeople for the CIA and State Department said the same thing, according to Reuters.
US issues Red Alert on China as Biden launches warships
At this point, insanity is beyond belief, and stupidity has consequences!
The military didn’t clap. That says it all.
Each day is more shocking than the last.
I will strongly suggest to change our leadership quickly before we sink.
We sinkin
To late
too late , point of no return has been reached, asta la vista baby
People believe China will have a hard time invading Taiwan because there is a 100 mile stretch of water between China and Taiwan, but the US will have no issue with the thousands of miles required to move weapons and ships to the China theatre. LOL.
Jerry Finds Out Elaine Faked It
Celebrities Recreated As If They Were In Classical Paintings By Kyès
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Art from the past comes back into our lives once again. The internet fell in love with classical paintings that were turned into memes, therefore, we are sure you will be interested to see what this artist did.
Kyès (previously featured) is an expert in using the style of French 17th-18th century paintings to reimagine what today’s celebrities would look like if they lived back in the day. His first works portrayed French rappers, but later on, he included other celebrities. These paintings are made digitally using computer programs, but the results seem to look just like real paintings from the past.
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Kyès’ first shared digital painting was of Charles Baudelaire, a French poet, portrayed as a joker. The artist seems to give attention to French artists and celebrities first, but over time has incorporated other well-known people such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West, and others as well.
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Kyès uses Photoshop to recreate old classical paintings into ones with celebrities that are famous today. Such an approach makes us look up original paintings that let us revive our memories of old art. We noticed that Kyès usually uses paintings from the 16th to 18th century as a base. The art style varies from the High Renaissance to Rococo and Neoclassicism.
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Most Renaissance artwork is thought to be made between 1300 and 1600. After that, all the art is classified as High Renaissance. The difference between these two is that while earlier Renaissance artists would emphasize a work’s perspective or technical aspects, High Renaissance artists were willing to forego technical principles to create a more beautiful, harmonious whole.
WARNING. GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW. VIEWER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED. Video has been put out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces laughing about their use of Chemical Weapons to kill Russian Troops. The video, complete with happy, carnival-type music, appears below.
The video, shot from the drone which drops the chemical weapon, shows two separate cartridges being dropped on Russian troops who have taken cover in a small creek or stream.
The first cartridge has limited effect. The second cartridge, with a blue end cover, is utterly horrifying.
The soldiers go into spasms and convulsions, with balled-fists, and flailing legs.
As the chemicals saturate them, the soldiers clearly cannot control their body movement, and end-up failing to keep their heads above water, presumably because they are neurologically impaired from the attack, and their brain cannot think to keep their heads out of the water. Both soldiers die within minutes.
The Geneva Protocol
The 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, commonly known as the 1925 Geneva Protocol, bans the use of chemical and bacteriological (biological) weapons in war.
Based upon this video, it appears Ukraine is now using such banned weapons, and boasting about what they’re doing by releasing videos with happy music.
This is the single most disgusting display of inhuman cruelty I have so far seen from the battlefields of Ukraine.
WARNING: This video is extremely graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.
Combine yogurt and 1 cup flour in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary until combined.
Knead on medium high for 5 minutes.
Slowly add additional flour as necessary to help dough come together. Depending on how thick your yogurt is, you may need up to an extra 1/2 cup of flour.
Dust clean counter top with flour and remove dough from bowl. Knead a few turns until dough is tacky, but not sticky. Roll out and add toppings as desired.
Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F oven for 10-12 minutes.
Yield: 2 medium pizza crusts or one extra large pizza crust
George Dates A Convict | The Little Jerry | Seinfeld
China Rejects “Shoot First, Talk Later” Attitude
Here is demonstration of typically childish-arrogant behavior of the U.S. government towards foreign countries.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that China had rejected a request from Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to speak with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday soon after an American fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
That statement by the Pentagon immediately raises a question. Why hadn’t the U.S. defense secretary called the Chinese defense minister before shooting down the Chinese weather ballon?
The U.S. apparently detected the balloon on January 29 when it was over the Aleutian Islands. Austin could have called his Chinese counterpart anytime in the seven days between that detection and the time the decision was taken to shot it down:
“We believe in the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and the P.R.C. in order to responsibly manage the relationship,” Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in an emailed statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “Lines between our militaries are particularly important in moments like this.”It was not to be. “Unfortunately,” General Ryder said, “the P.R.C. has declined our request” to arrange a call with Wei Fenghe, the Chinese defense minister.
The purpose of high level lines of communication between military and political leaders is to prevent that crises happen or, if one has happen incidentally, to prevent their escalation.
Before the shot down the Chinese defense minister Wei Fenghe likely would have taken that call. But the U.S. decided to shoot first and to talk later. That was and is inappropriate.
On January 29 the Chinese weather balloon was drifting westward over Alaska and Canada. There was no expectation that it would cross into the United States. But an unusual low pressure formation over east Canada eventually caused that. Low pressure areas in the northern hemisphere turn counter-clockwise. High pressure areas turn clockwise. The unusually strong low pressure zone over east Canada pushed arctic air masses south through Canada and then south west to west to New England. This phenomenon, on February 1 and 2, caused a cold snap in east Canada and the northeast of the U.S.. But the wind also caused the 200 feet high balloon to turn south.
Picture the coldest Canadian night imaginable. What did you think of it? Clear skies? Calm winds? A deep snowpack? This cold snap had none of these ingredients align because this type of cold is different. Meet advection cold.The cold air wasn’t developed on location. The imported cold was fed south by a strong low and the trajectory of the polar vortex. The polar vortex was swirling near Hudson Bay and was slingshotted south by favourable atmospheric dynamics.
The cold air wrapped around a developing low, lifting across Labrador. Not just any cold air, either — the stratospheric polar vortex mixed down in what’s known as a tropopause fold and occurs near the core of a jet stream.
A wind and pressure map from February 3 shows the then already waning low pressure area in the upper right. The red arrow shows the balloon’s course.
bal5
biggerBoth the cold snap and the balloon’s turn were surprising. The jet stream would usually have prevent both from happening. But this time the low pressure area proved to be stronger if only for a short moment. It is the reason why the balloon ended up crossing the U.S.
Ed Russo @EdRussoWX – 11:37 UTC · Feb 4, 2023Replying to @soonersfan2022
The balloon is flying at the height of the jet stream. The jet stream winds will steer the balloon… even a simple rudder won’t be a match for the 200+ mph upper level winds.
By no means could China have planned the balloon’s course. Any allegations that the balloon was being ‘steered’ and intentionally crossed U.S. missile fields and military bases to ‘spy’ on those are thereby bogus. China has some 300 satellites in the earth’s orbit. It does not need balloons to take aerial pictures of static missile silos in the mid-west U.S.
China has insisted that the electronics-laden machine was simply a weather balloon that had drifted off course.
The balloon debris has not been recovered yet. Based on what fact is the NYT then claiming that it the balloon was an ‘electronics-laden machine’?
China is not happy that the Biden administration is hyperventilating over the incident. But it will keep its calm:
Different political forces within the US, including President Joe Biden and the Republican Party, are still hyping up the incident of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship in the US media in order to gain political interests ahead of the annual State of the Union address, rather than making efforts to cool down the matter.Chinese experts said on Tuesday that it shows that the chaotic, messy and sick political situation in Washington means that China-US tensions are unlikely to ease in the near future. It also proves that the Biden administration is incapable of setting so-called guardrails for bilateral ties under the complex situation within the US.
China will keep calm and observe what the US does next, and whether Biden creates conditions for engagement or Washington allows bilateral ties to keep worsening, China is ready to handle any possible moves by the US, experts noted.
Austin’s attempts to call his Chinese counterpart AFTER the shit happened is seen as an attempt to additionally insult the Chinese government.
Austin will not be given a chance to do that.
Posted by b on February 8, 2023 at 14:34 UTC | Permalink
Banks admit the COLLAPSE is coming and they don’t want YOU to know about it
China released a Global Security Initiative (GSI) Concept Paper on Tuesday, fully elaborating a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept and providing China’s wisdom in tackling growing risks and challenges in traditional and non-traditional security areas.
Chinese diplomats and experts hailed the release of the document as timely, necessary and targeted, saying that it provides a detailed blueprint in tackling global and regional hotspot issues in an effective way, especially further clarifying China’s peace-promoting position on the Ukraine crisis.
In a forum held at the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang unveiled the concept paper and told the audience that the document underscores China’s responsibilities and determination in safeguarding world peace.
“‘What kind of security concept the world needs and how countries achieve common security?’ has become a topic of our days,” Qin said.
The concept is now welcomed and supported by more than 80 countries and regions, the Chinese foreign minister said.
Ambassadors, diplomats and representatives from 137 countries and international organizations attended the forum on Tuesday. Some diplomats told the Global Times during the event that they welcomed China-proposed security initiative, saying that it would be important to solve disputes through dialogue rather than bloc confrontation or hegemony.
During his speech, Qin noted that China’s development is impossible without a safe international environment. Similarly, without China’s security, there will be no global security.
“President Xi first proposed a new vision for security, which goes beyond traditional security ideas and power politics in the West,” Xu Bu, president of the China Institute of International Studies and secretary-general of the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
It transcends the long-term practice of Western countries of building their own security on the basis of jeopardizing the security of other countries. When times are so turbulent, “we need a correct vision as guidance,” Xu said.
As the world is approaching the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine crisis this week, the US and some Western countries have been continuing to fan the flames and escalate the tension by sending more weapons to Ukraine, and making political gestures like the surprise visit by US President Joe Biden to Kiev on Monday.
“China is deeply concerned about the escalating conflict and potential for situation to spiral out of control,” Qin said, commenting on the Ukraine crisis during the forum. China will continue to promote peace talks, provide Chinese wisdom for a comprehensive solution to the Ukraine issue, and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation to address the concerns of all parties to seek common security, he said.
The Chinese foreign minister urged relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire on the matter, stop blaming China and stop provoking the situation by using references like “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.”
Clear blueprint
Some Western media outlets, citing experts, claimed that the concept paper “continued Beijing’s ambiguity over the Ukraine crisis,” suggesting that it appears to be largely a strategic messaging exercise rather than a fully thought-out strategy.
“In fact, we have a very clear position on the Ukraine issue. This document points out some basic ideas on solving the crisis in a much clearer way,” Fu Cong, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
China will also put forward a more comprehensive and authoritative position document in the next few days in terms of a political settlement of the Ukraine issue including some basic ideas such as respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty, respecting the UN Charter and resolving disputes through peaceful means, Fu said.
“One country’s security cannot be built on the non-security of another country. All the security concerns of relevant countries should be respected… those basic ideas have been included in the paper, which should play a leading role in preventing further escalation and in seeking peaceful solutions,” the Chinese envoy said.
The concept paper provides an important path to further implement the GSI over 20 key cooperation areas and six cooperation platforms, which could be actionable measures, Wang Dong, an expert on China-US relations at Peking University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
“Although Qin did not mention the US by name in the speech, he urged the US not to fuel the conflict, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop comparing the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, to which we are firmly opposed to,” Wang from Peking University said, noting that China’s position is always clear as it always stands on the side of peace, de-escalation and advancing peace talks.
“The document was unveiled in order to fully elaborate our position – that is supporting a UN-centered multilateralism when some Western countries keep blaming us for being pro-Russia,” Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Some Chinese experts believe that China holds the most objective and neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict as it is taking a very fair attitude toward both sides. In contrast, the US – part of the root cause of the conflict – raised doubts over China’s position as Washington views it from its own interests and perspective.
“Under the GSI concepts and ideas, when it comes to the Ukraine crisis, the future security of Europe can’t exclude Russia,” Wang said. As now some forces like the US hope to bring down Russia and exclude the country from Europe in security and energy, that is unrealistic, Wang Yiwei noted.
New type of foreign relations
During the forum, the Chinese Foreign Minister emphasized that security is the right of all countries in the world, which is not held exclusively by some countries nor should it be decided by certain countries. “We welcome any country who is willing to join the GSI and support world peace and development,” Qin said.
The document highlights the positive interaction between major countries and the special responsibilities that a major country needs to shoulder in safeguarding global peace. Security and development are complimentary to building a new type of international relations, which is underscored in China-proposed ideas, Chinese experts said.
In terms of cooperation mechanisms, the paper supports multilateral platforms, for example, on establishing a new security framework in the Middle East, it supports the League of Arab States and other regional organizations in playing a constructive role, while in resolving regional conflicts, fighting terrorism and safeguarding maritime security, it supports the efforts of African countries, the AU and sub-regional organizations’ efforts.
“We are firmly opposed to hegemony and power politics in all forms, the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation,” Qin told the forum.
Some Western media also highlighted that although the GSI paper mentioned some multilateral mechanisms but it did not mention the organizations like NATO.
Against the backdrop of the US-China rivalry, the China-proposed security vision clearly targets US-led bloc confrontation which desires to expand NATO, including into Asian Pacific, that only creates enemies or restructure supply chains in the name of security, creating more confrontation, Wang noted. “In contrast, China is pushing forward a new type of international relations that are inclusive and balanced, tackling challenges together and achieve the security for all.”
China has had enough.
mmexport1677043572682
Introduction
Since becoming the world's most powerful country after the two world wars and the Cold War, the United States has acted more boldly to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, pursue, maintain and abuse hegemony, advance subversion and infiltration, and willfully wage wars, bringing harm to the international community.
The United States has developed a hegemonic playbook to stage "color revolutions," instigate regional disputes, and even directly launch wars under the guise of promoting democracy, freedom and human rights. Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the United States has ramped up bloc politics and stoked conflict and confrontation. It has overstretched the concept of national security, abused export controls and forced unilateral sanctions upon others. It has taken a selective approach to international law and rules, utilizing or discarding them as it sees fit, and has sought to impose rules that serve its own interests in the name of upholding a "rules-based international order."
This report, by presenting the relevant facts, seeks to expose the U.S. abuse of hegemony in the political, military, economic, financial, technological and cultural fields, and to draw greater international attention to the perils of the U.S. practices to world peace and stability and the well-being of all peoples.
My video on this subject:
And Gonzalo Lira on this subject;
As Gonzalo Lira understood perfectly (to my utter amazement), the short Chinese document is in the traditional form (with contemporary words) the Chinese Sovereigns used in the past (near past, remote past, very remote past) before going to war as an axio-epistemo-political proclamation justifying "a holy war", meaning for the Chinese mindset a war ordained by God restoring Justice & Harmony in a troubled Universe before striking mercilessly at the entity judged as troubling the Harmony of the Universe.
Of course, the Chinese don't say God but Beauty-Goodness-Truth as an Unity is God's name for the Chinese. The Timeless Heavenly Universal Principles. If you need one word in Chinese closest to God, it's 道 (Dao) meaning the Way. By metonymic transfert, the Way to Beauty-Goodness-Truth represents symbolically Beauty-Goodness-Truth or God in the Western lexicon.
As Gonzalo Lira said, it's "a prosecution case". He used a straightforward expression equivalent to mine : an axio-epistemo-political proclamation explaining the legitimacy of "a holy war".
From the Duran…
China’s Wang Yi in Moscow, meeting Lavrov and Putin
The Duran observations…
China’s “white paper” should be read and shared widely…
The following is the 30th 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
.
Up to date version
This article is in HTML. It is version 1.
A better version of this summary is on PDF, and it corrects some errors and adds some more detail.
I suggest that you read this PDF, downloadable HERE rather than reading this summary…
If it is more convenient to read here in HTML, go ahead…
A Report on the Operational Characteristics of the ET Craft I Piloted, (later TBD) Accompanied by a Video Simulation:
The following report is based on an experience I had on the 27th June 2022 in which I believe I was successful in having my consciousness merged and attached to what most people would consider an extra terrestrial space craft. Whilst this falls under the category of a Lucid Dreaming/ Astral Projection experience, these forms of nomenclature are, in my opinion, not sufficient in describing the vividness of the experience, which was comparable to the vividness of waking, physical reality. It is for this reason I have decided to write this report including as much detail as possible, so it can hopefully be built upon by other explorers of consciousness. I am confident that there is valuable information here that will give insight into the potential operating parameters of ET spacecraft visiting our planet. I am currently working on an accompanying video simulating what it was like to fly this space craft. The original article I wrote can be found at [daegonmagus] – Part 26 – Lucid Astral Projection – The Consciousness Craft Launch Facility and Something Dwelling in the Red Planet: – Metallicman, albeit, much to my chagrin I had not found much time to properly scrutinize the experience and draft a proper report on my findings when I wrote it. This document is to make up for that, though bear in mind it has been written several months after the fact. I apologise, for not writing this sooner, as life got in the way.
To the layman, and those who have not had Out of Body experiences such as astral projection and lucid dreaming this report might come as a bit outlandish in its claims. It is therefore important to understand some back context derived through many years worth of experimentations in lucid dreaming I myself have conducted over several decades and note some passages from prior works in this field of Ufology that are relevant to what is being discussed here. Hopefully, I can then provide a logical process by which other consciousness explorers may adapt to their own voluntary OBE sessions to achieve similar results. I am confident in my assertions that further investigation into this material will yield results that will make the scientific community pay more attention to astral projection and lucid dreaming. In saying that though I am only one man who is limited to only a very narrow window of knowledge and skillsets which can be used for the purpose of scientifically investigating this matter (specifically electronics and radio propagation theory), therefore I welcome any input and advice from others whose own windows of knowledge and skills can further compliment this research. I have done my best to provide as much information as possible to give a starting point for further investigation, but at the end of the day, much of this model has been derived through my own interpretations of what I was experiencing that may prove to be inaccurate. However, I do not think these inaccuracies warrant this material to a swift shuffling into the dustbin, and am confident that they can be ironed out if enough manpower takes the subject herein seriously enough.
An integral part of the theory being discussed here is the idea that consciousness and the physical body are two completely separate things that interface with one another to provide a singularly functioning biological machine that is capable of perceiving and interacting with the physical world around it. It is important to cast aside Darwinian theory of evolution here, as it does nothing to assess the consciousness components that drive said machine, and assumes, rather incorrectly, that consciousness and body are one combined “thing”, inseparable until at least the expiration of the biological body through death. While the evolutionary model of the biological body through Darwinian theory is likely correct (I have no intention of setting out to prove or disprove it), it fails to provide any rationale to the consciousness component and somewhat considers it as an after thought in the question of human {intelligence} evolution. I therefore argue that if consciousness existed before the body (from the rationale that it is too complex to evolve to its current position through a single incarnation), then it deserves a much more thorough scrutinisation, and its own theory of evolution to be applied.
Based on my own experiments and experiences during my OBEs, consciousness, itself, is a superior technology, far in advance of what humans can consider our greatest technological achievements, of which only very advanced civilizations are able to fully realize (for the sake of the argument we will consider these advanced civilizations as being of extra terrestrial nature, or non human, as the human experience is a direct consequence of their manipulation strategies of this superior technology – something which has been directly communicated to me during OBEs, by representatives of such advanced civilisations). It is an extremely versatile component and energy source, of a quantum construction that is extremely adaptable to its own environment. What do I mean by this? To put it simply, through the voluntary act of initiating an OBE, or more specifically through initiating a conscious transition into the sleeping state (where consistent awareness is carried over and no break in understanding or memory is allowed to interfere before sleep is induced), one can deliberately change the dynamics of their own consciousness and manipulate it at a quantum level, to experience things of an indescribable nature to the layman who is yet to have an OBE.
To the investigators of quantum physics, this equates to a witnessing and understanding of the other side of the quantum domain, where Schrodinger’s cat is both alive and dead at once (metaphorically speaking). Where the particle becomes wave and the seemingly impossible becomes possible.
So now we understand that consciousness is a superior, quantum based technology, we can start to gain an understanding of the relationship between consciousness and body, and the irrelevance of Darwinian theory thus becomes apparent. Indeed, consciousness is an entirely separate thing to the body, and can actually be detached from it voluntarily through advanced lucid dreaming practices. Through years of practice, I became somewhat of an expert at regularly achieving this level of detachment, in which I took the opportunities to experiment with just what exactly is achievable by consciousness whilst in this state, pushing it beyond limits that can be explained through common rationality and logic. This detachment can be felt during the aforementioned conscious transition into the sleeping state, where the “interfaces” that allow movements of the limbs and data to be obtained and processed through the nervous system are felt to “fall away”, in which physical reality then becomes replaced by a quantum reality, and where the act of thought creates a seemingly physical environment to manifest around you (what we commonly equate to being dreamscapes).
It is here that consciousness can be tuned out of resonance with the body and made to adapt to other containers, of both physical and non physical (quantum) nature, simply by the use of tought.
How exactly is this achieved? I once had a lucid dreaming experience which I believe offers valuable insight into this question. In the dream, my physical reality was applied like a holographic overlay over my dream environment as I awoke. This physical picture of my room “grew” in definition the closer I got to waking up until I was completely awake, washing out the dreamscape as it did so. During this holographic overlaying of physical reality, I observed a back and forth “wave like” effect (of the holographic physical reality) that moved back and forth through its wave’s peaks at a rate somewhere around 0.5Hertz.Originally I stated this to be about 4Hz, but after reassessing these waves, I figured it closer to being 0.5Hz, based on my understanding of frequency. I immediately applied my (somewhat limited) expertise in radio modulation to my mode of thinking to try and conceptualise what was happening during this experience. After several years of studying that radio theory more in depth (and comparing it to an experience whereby I remembered my own reincarnation and my consciousness being placed within the fetus of my current incarnation, again courtesy of lucid dreaming), my arriving hypothesis is that the brain emits a carrier wave somewhere down this end of the ELF spectrum, (the exact frequency I suspect which can be determined through the application of standard antenna theory to the neurological/ nervous system pathways assuming they act as complex antenna arrays that are susceptible to drift tuning from the parasitic oscillations derived through the natural inductances, capacitances and resistances inherent within the body’s fats and salts) and that consciousness “rides” on the envelope of this carrier in a similar way to how an audio frequency can be modulated on to an AM carrier wave. It could also be closer to an FM or PM wave, though admittedly I have not bothered trying to conceptualize this operating potential beyond simple imaginings.
An important note is to be made here; the formulas associated with finding wavelengths and frequency are based on the idea of electromagnetic radiation being propagated at the speed of light (minus 5% on earth due to atmospheric influence). Whilst these formulas may provide an explanation of the physical, biological body’s energetic radiation (and thus may determine its carrier wave frequency), it would seem that mode of thought (the consciousness signal that rides upon the carrier) operates much fast than the speed of light, which means that an entirely new set of formulas would likely need to be devised before attempting to calculate these thought component wavelengths/ frequencies. I suspect that this modulation operation is actually achieved through a range of harmonic carriers, rather than one stand alone frequency, and would suggest dream researchers study more in depth, the envelopes between the brainwaves picked up through EEG equipment, rather than the actual waves themselves. In other words, try looking for information where at first glance there doesn’t appear to be any.
In another lucid dreaming experience I was in a hypnogogic state bordering a conscious transition into the sleeping state, and caught a signal from nearby non physical intelligence. This signal I heard coming through like a typical broken radio signal, interlaced with heavy static/ white noise, that almost completely drowned at the audible component of the signal out. Given that in these states of mind, thoughts produce tangible environments, I deliberately used my thoughts to manifest a radio dial in which I was then able to tune out this white noise interference and bring out the fidelity in the audible signal. I understood this immediately as being “not of human or earth origins”, as whatever was speaking spoke in a “clickity clack” dialect that had no familiarity to any language I had ever heard; I had no idea what they were saying.
Almost simultaneously as I tuned into this frequency, I was “teleported” to a sort of large ship (no longer in hypnogogia but on the otherside of transitioning into the sleeping state) filled with a strange liquid where telepathic images were transmitted to me about what these creatures looked like (not describable), as well as gesturing me to enter a strange cylinder device to my side. Upon entering the cylinder, I underwent a calibration process, whereby an understanding of this foreign language immediately happened. The details of that conversation are irrelevant to this report and have been discussed elsewhere in my literature. After having many experiences of contact with non physical “alien” intelligences within these states, I am very confident in my assertion that the operational characteristics of consciousness can be finely tuned whilst consciously aware one is in this state.
So, to summarize, the hypothesis is that the biological human body is simply a vessel that locks consciousness into it through the use of what essentially equates to signal modulation. Through deliberately induced lucid dreaming (or more specifically Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming) one can gain access to the mechanisms that allow them to control and tune their consciousness away from this “capturing” frequency of the human body, in which it can then be primed for habitation within other vessels both of biological and non biological substance.
We now take a look at the testimony of Lt Colonel Philip J Corso (which was relayed in his book The Day After Roswell) in which he states his assumption (from reports he read) that the craft that crashed at Roswell in 1947 seemingly had no operational controls that one would expect to find in conventional aircraft, and that this particular craft was possibly controlled by an extraterrestrial consciousness that was able to be tethered in with it. In the book, Corso mentions how the suits worn by the ETs also somehow allowed control of the craft by emitting an electromagnetic signature that matched in with the craft. Corso’s assumptions are heavily similar to my own determinations of using a carrier frequency to lock consciousness within a biological body; in fact if you substitute the space craft for the human body they are almost identical, and these were hypotheticals I was conceptualizing years before reading his book.
Further, in the Alien Interview (an alleged manuscript of an interview with the alien from the same Roswell Crash) Airl, the alien suggests a very similar mode of piloting their craft by moving their consciousness into it. Regardless of whether or not either of these works are legitimate or not, they present a very workable hypothesis that I believe warrants further investigation, which I used as a basis for experimentation during my own lucid dreams: deliberately using induced OBEs to target and hijack functional ET spacecraft.
Based on my experiences and experiments therein, I can state with 100% surety that Lt Col Corso was correct in his assessment, but that he failed to identify deliberately induced OBEs, such as Lucid Dreaming and Astral Projection as a very reliable means in achieving operational control of extra terrestrial vehicles (if you believe the military industrial complex hadn’t already worked this out). I remind the reader of this article that I am very well versed in what constitutes a sub conscious dream, a deliberately constructed (visualised) dream, an astral projection experience, hypnogogia, sleep paralysis and the difference between all of them. What my experience entailed was something completely different; it was a rerouting of my consciousness into an extra terrestrial space vehicle that I wore and experienced in the exact same way I experience the physical body I use to type these words. I was physically present in (physical) outer space whilst operating this vehicle, not simply buzzing around the astral plane (which I have done before and also managed to bump into some kind of flying UFO).. The following is based on notes I was able to take during that flight out of the solar system into incredibly “deep” space, which hoping will one day be taken as validation of the experience, when space exploration technology progresses to a point where a more thorough exploration to the region of space I was in can be carried out.
The Vanquish DM-22 Specifications:
Given my appreciation of the craft in question, and the achievement of the experience, I feel the need to refer to it in specific manner, so that no confusion can be made if this craft is ever witnessed in our local region of space. Thus I came up with the name Vanquish DM-22; Vanquish (because it seemed like the space fairing equivalent of an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, also fitting considering the safety of feeling being able to “vanquish” any offensive attack that came my way), and DM – 22 in reference to my initials and the year I first flew it. Flying this craft was a very big deal for me.
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Size and shape were hard to determine, as a) it is hard to determine the outside of a body you are currently inside of (just like we cannot determine the shapes of our own bodies without a mirror, except for those parts we can see), and b) the distance between celestial bodies gave a distorted perception of size, particularly at the speeds I was travelling. In saying that though, I got the feeling of a sort of spinning top as a basic silhouette of shape (through my field of vision and based on what I could “feel”, just like one can “feel” their head is a certain shape without touching it). I am confident the above CAD model is a close representation of its shape, considering. The bottom point of the VDM-22 would be what I consider the standout feature, as I could feel this as being the main “limb” of the VDM-22. Most of the control points (the “nerves” of the craft) seemed to gather at this bottom point.
Based on the hangar length, and that the VDM-22’s width was almost touching each side of the launch “chimney”, then considering my perspective of the chimney whilst inside of it, then once again outside in space, I am guessing the diameter was somewhere around 20m. I consider this to be a less accurate assumption than estimating the shape as I had a limited frame of reference to work off. The movement of celestial bodies past the ship suggested the size was astronomically large, but again at those distances and speeds it becomes almost impossible to tell. Extrapolating from the idea I was able to eventually land on Mars, is suggestive the craft was much smaller than that particular planet. At the same time, using the atmospheric boundary of the same planet during landing also suggests it was bigger than conventional earth shuttles.
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The “ears” of the VDM-22 body seemed to be some kind of telepathic transceiver that increased audible range to the point that atmospheric noise could be heard with crystal clear clarity from great distances. Noises very similar to those compiled by NASA on what planets “sound like” could be heard on approach to certain planets, which faded as one moved away from them. According to NASA these particular frequencies (before being manipulated by them so they could be heard by the human ear) sit somewhere within the 800MHz spectrum, suggesting this craft body allows the filtering of signals far beyond the 20kHz limit of the human ear. Through the use of the HUD, zooming in to a neighboring galaxy also allowed one to pin point the audio signals coming from that region of space. Interlaced throughout this white noise, in various star clusters, intelligent voices could be heard quite easily. It appeared that certain planets were also conscious (as if consciousness had taken up residence in them like I was taking up residence in this craft) and exhibited intelligence to the level they were able to seemingly communicate (which took the form of English, assumedly translated through the craft’s “ears”) with other nearby planets and me as I approached them. An apparent Martian intelligence was one such example that seemed quite dominant and “loud” and easily discernible even from deep space. Two way communication with these intelligences could be achieved through first zooming into their region of space and using thought as a transmission medium. This zooming feature allowed identification of planetary bodies to extremely high detail from vast distances over several hundred lightyears away.
It was also apparent that some of these planetary transmissions had been set up as beacons to provide navigational data to similar space craft that would be traversing the area.
I was also able to use a stellarium astronomy software that came with a telescope I bought, called Starry Night 8, to devise a very close simulated representation of some aspects of the experience, and derive from it interesting data in the form of star maps that allowed me to approximate in space I was, as well as speeds I was achieving with this craft. This simulation will be included in the aforementioned video along with animations to better show the process of how to merge ones consciousness with these type of craft.
The speeds of the VDM-22 can be broken down into 3 categories of operation: atmospheric, local space and outer galaxy speeds. Atmospheric was the initial speed upon launching from the facility tunnel perched on the top of an asteroid I tracked using Starry Night 8 to being somewhere near the Pawlowia Asteroid during the time of the experience. I have in my head (and I don’t know why) that the approximate length of the tunnel the VDM-22 was hangared in was between 32 and 36km in length (protruding directly into space). This length was covered in about 10 seconds, which equates to about a 13000km/hr initial “launch” speed and presented the hardest part to navigate, as I was very much aware there was limited clearance between the edges of my craft body and the tunnel walls (within a mere meter). Extreme focus must be given to propel the craft at this speed through such a confined space. I knew if I was out by even small degree, at that distance I would crash into these tunnel walls and the experience would end.
How to Achieve Flight Control of the Vanquish DM-22:
To understand how to gain operational control of the Vanquish DM-22, we must first delve a bit deeper into this idea that one experiences a detachment of the consciousness mechanisms from the interfaces of the human body that allow motor control over the limbs etc which can be directly ported over to a target space craft. I mentioned previously that consciousness whilst out of body (lucid dreaming, not astral projecting, as consciousness is still attached to an energetic body with the latter) is extremely versatile in its ability to adapt to its quantum environment. This should be taken as meaning that consciousness can exhibit an infinite range of movement and form whilst in this state, that does not conform to typical standards related to the physical plane. These mechanisms therefore can be considered as control points with an endless number of ways that they can be arranged. When locked within the body, these control points take the typical bipedal human form, which appears like a tree branch that extends out from the head, down both sides and branches off at the arms or the legs (I highly recommend vigourous study of the Kabbalistic tree of life, as it provides the template of consciousness whilst in human form, according to the students of it). If we consider a MO capped stick figured commonly used a basis for building CGI characters off the movements of real people, this acts as a good mock representation of these control points. We can then start to identify the crucial control points and designate them with specific alphanumeric characters:
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What we now have is a rudimentary map of the “quantum body” (my own terminology). This body should in no way be compared to the astral or etheric bodies, as it is really just a ball of energy without any recognizable form – our consciousness in pure consciousness state. What our quantum body map allows us is a means to conceptualise how these control points are reshaped according to the interfaces of whatever vehicle it is being adapted to. In the case of the interstellar craft I was lucky enough to pilot, this shape takes a similar form to the typical sitting lotus position many people use to engage in meditation, if only differing from the position of the hand control points that would equate to resting in the middle of the lap. If one takes our stick figure, arranges it into this position, and then compares it to the typical flying saucer shape, the similarities between the two, should immediately become apparent. This will give an idea of where the consciousness control points will “sit” within the craft that is being piloted.
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We can then equate specific gestures that are activated within our biological “meat suit” bodies courtesy of our consciousness stimulating these control points, with actual real time space craft controls. This is the key to controlling these craft. Effectively what you are doing is stimulating these same control points which are now tethered to different parts of the craft in question rather than your biological body. This is how I was able to propel this vehicle at incredible speeds into very deep space.
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Through my experience piloting this craft I made the following observations mid flight on how control of the craft through these control points is realized. These determinations were made after going through a “calibration process” or “dance” by which I had to become acquainted with these gestures before I could properly fly the craft.
The shape of the saucer has nothing to do with aero dynamics (which always eluded me due to the idea in the vacuity of space velocity is not effected by drag ); it has to do with the turning motion of consciousness within the craft. In the craft I was in, it was as if there was an invisible central axis running from top to bottom that was the main housing for my consciousness. An action comparable to turning my head to look in a certain direction was achieved by spinning consciousness around this axis in either a clockwise or counter clockwise motion. This allowed a 360 pivot and scouting of one’s entire surroundings without any actual physical movement of the craft being carried out. When propelling forward, turning of the vehicle was achieved by rotating consciousness around this axis, which was almost instantaneous. This allowed tight 90 degree bends to be achieved rather effortlessly mid flight.
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As consciousness was spun around this central axis, the control points, which were embedded into walls of the vehicle, also spun with it.
To move through the z axis, the control points of the head are used to what would equate to a looking up or looking down gesture, except that the craft never tilted as our head would do when making such a gesture. It always stayed in the same position relative to how consciousness was viewing (through the x/y axis) from within the central “cockpit”.
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To strafe left and right on the x axis we take the triangular arrangement of control points at the top of the forearm, the elbow, and the top of the bicep and push them out to the side, we wish to strafe to, like we are elbowing someone in the ribs. An elbow “jab” would equate to a quick evasive “jump” in that direction, whilst a prolonged “shove” would propel the VDM-22 quite a distance.
A tilt of the craft (ie left or right) was achievable by using this same triangular arrangement of control points and bringing them down to our side (like we are making a chicken flying gesture). This would equate to a “barrel roll” around the y axis on whatever side the control points were on, allowing the ship’s relative plane to be changed.
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A forward propelling motion through the y axis equated to taking all control points above the pelvis (from the middle of through the arms and fingers to the head) and pushing them forward, like they comprised a joystick.
Braking was achievable by pulling these same control points back to center.
Reverse was simply the opposite of forward propelling through the x axis using the same control points, or a “lean” back motion.
A detailed HUD map of current location was accessible through simple thought. This is hard to explain but it effectively allowed one to target areas of interest as well as zoom in incredible distances (into neighboring galaxies) in order to pin point travel destinations. It was effectively like switching from 1st person to third person view, except the craft was not visible during the process. My assumption is that it was some sort of controlled method of projecting consciousness into these regions, not comparable to astral projection.
Targeting of areas of interest were achievable by using the control points equated with the fingers. Rapid, multiple target acquisition could be achieved similarly to playing a piano or typing on a computer keyboard when the HUD was activated (if you could fit it into the crammed space of your lap in the lotus position).
Close scrutiny of the above should allow one to conceptualize a near complete range of movement through all 3 axes and explain the evasion techniques seen by most UFO encounters by pilots. In addition to the above I also had an inkling that the control points of the toes (ie wriggling them) would activate the on board weapons arsenal, which I never bothered testing due to an inner knowing it would be quite devastating (beyond humankind’s worst weapons). This knowledge of having these weapons on board was comparable to the understanding one has male reproductive organs whilst sitting in this (lotus) position; one does not have to “take them out” or “play with them” to know they are there. I suspect it was some kind of laser system, but as I never used it, this is just a guess. I understood that I was a force to be reckoned with, that the composition of my space craft body was virtually indestructible and almost wished for another craft to engage me so I could so test out the defence capabilities of the VDM-22. I felt confidant that I was the biggest fish in the universe, and nothing was going to injure me.
Body Disconnection and Spacecraft Reattachment Process:
Importance must be given to the Hypngogic phase of the OBE, as there is a very small window of opportunity between properly disconnecting consciousness from the body, then attaching it to another usable vessel. Whilst hypnagogia can be considered as a cleavage point of consciousness, where it is “drifting” away from the physical body, but still attached to it, it does not equate to a full separation. Proper separation of consciousness from the body happens very quickly after consciousness inverts from its projected outward state which one experiences from hypnagogia (as well as from sleep paralysis) as a fast “sucking backwards” sensation in which it is pulled away from all hypnogogic imagery (what would happen if Han Solo slammed the millennium falcon in reverse whilst in hyperdrive). This inversion of consciousness is where the physical world becomes supplanted by the quantum one, where the attachment mechanisms of the body fall away and is the crucial point at which consciousness must be quickly tethered to its new container. In the case of my experience, this tethering was achieved by a sort of {non physical} hook that hung from the hallway roof that had the ability to pull my consciousness out of the body I was remote viewing from, and orient it in such a way that it aligned with the space craft cockpit (which was rotated 90 degrees in reference to the ground plane of the facility), and simultaneously merged me into it. It seemed it was by almost sheer luck the timing of this hook hitting me coincided with a conscious transition into the sleeping state, but it is more likely that the hook actually initiated the transition. My suggestion here is that this hook is probably standard affair in many ET space craft docks, or at least those that exhibit an effortless ability to move their consciousness between different containers. An important take away from this is that hypnogogia can be used to target a specific craft through remote viewing practices.
Interestingly – and I am going to be bold with this statement – our models of neighboring galaxies seem to be somewhat inaccurate. According to this experience, I can say with 100% certainty that the Milky Way is not the largest galaxy in this region of space, and that we have a neighboring twin of roughly the same size that comes off perpendicularly to it.
The Experience:
The experience began as an involuntary remote viewing in hypnagogic trance. If I wanted to I could move my body and get up out of bed, but my consciousness was almost completely “away” and viewing from inside of a body that was walking around the launch facility, which took the form of a typical hospital insofar as layout and design was concerned. I was, evidently, on the very cusp of falling asleep. It is important in this stage of the veiwing, one intentionally refrains from exploring any random thoughts that present themselves, and just let the viewing unfold, as experience tells me that any focus away from the events unfolding in the viewing session has a tendancy to ruin it. I thus watched as this body walked about 50m down a hallway, past what appeared to be a cafeteria lounge, turn right through a door way and then walk down a neighboring hallway back from the direction I had just come. I passed what appeared to be two female reception staff to my left sitting at a table which appeared to have a doorway to outside behind it. The whole effort was quite casual, including the very brief conversation that was had with these reception staff; mine and my escort’s destination was through some blast doors that were located just up ahead. Upon reaching just in front of these blast doors the hook became evident. This was of non physical nature, but I could see it, not through the eyes of the body I was observing through, but through my own consciousness. It looked like a standard length of metal that protruded from the roof, and folded at a 90 angle towards the direction I was coming from – perfectly aligning with the centre of my forehead. The end of the hook seemed to taper into a sharp point.
I had barely had time to react before the head of body I was observing through walked was pierced this hook.
My consciousness immediately underwent the same transition into the sleeping state I have become accustomed to experiencing during my lucid dreams. I entered on into the same void space (written about elsewhere), only that this hook seemed to turn my consciousness 90 degrees upwards as it transitioned; if you picture Han Solo throwing his Millenium Falcon into a sideways back flip as he hits hyper drive in reverse, this is what it felt like; it takes much practice for one to find their bearings through such confusion, and is, in my opinion, the “fun” part of the whole affair. I immediately noticed a cluster of stars coming through what appeared to be a circular hole in this void space. My immediate realization was that this “void space” was some sort of non physical (quantum) hangar; I had just never bothered looking upwards in my other experiences with it. Ie, every time one enters into the sleeping state and into this void space, they are entering into one of these quantum hangars (even if they don’t remember it).
There was a slight period of distortion during the engagement period of my consciousness control points interfacing in within the craft body, similar to how when one first wakes up they are in a daze and their arms and legs are yet to work properly. After several seconds this haze wore off, and I was now completely attached and using this craft as if it was my own body, perceiving the physical, cylindrical, structure of the hanger. The interesting part of this haze period, was that the hangar seemingly went from being in non physical state to becoming solid as the haze wore off, and I could make out, with great vividness, tapered ridges running the entire length of the launch “chimney”. I can remember the roaring sound my thruster exhausts made as it echoed along these tapered ridges, as I propelled the craft forward, towards the opening with the stars, taking care not to move too close to the sides of the launch. This marked the hardest part of the flight; I was aware that any slight movement or twitching of the control interfaces would crash the craft into this chimney, so particular attention was paid to slowly accelerating forward until I was confident I wasn’t going to drift into it. At the same time, I had launch protocols being relayed to me via telepathic means by an unknown party, and I could feel their presence through telepathic means (not describable). A few seconds later I arrived at the opening and shot out of the chimney into space where I could see, in very vivid detail a ring of asteroids circling our sun. These asteroids looked like wet rocks glistening from the rays of light of the sun that were hitting them.
Once in open space, I underwent the calibration process to better get acquainted with the consciousness control points and how they would move the craft. This calibration process was a few minutes of me “dancing” around in space doing barrel rolls and amateur flips as if I was taking a car out to a parking lot to learn how to drive it properly. I am therefore quite sure in my assessment of the above control point manipulation to space craft operation criteria; I had to run myself through it before I could properly control the craft; it was like stretching ones limbs before playing a football game to make sure they work properly. The entire time I was aware of the base launch facility beneath me perched on a small asteroid. The facility appeared somewhat like it was made of brick work (something I found curious given its location in the middle of space) and was probably about fifty by one hundred meters in area, several stories high. The launch tunnel was several tens of kilometers in length.
After a quick tour of this asteroid ring, pin pointing earth, I decided I wanted to get away from these asteroids into a much more open area so I could test this craft’s speed capabilities. I had the inner knowing that this particular craft was the Bugatti Veyron of space (ie, engineered for speed); this understanding was akin to the intimate understanding one has of their own body and it’s capabilities and knowing that a lethargic, heavy weighted body is unlikely to perform as well in a 100m sprint than a more agile one. I just knew, this craft body was designed to be “fast”, and I was itching to see what it could do.
Using starry night software I was then able to simulate a very close representation of the time it took to fly past Jupiter and Saturn (note that in the simulation these planets appear further than I was to them because of lack of control I have over that particular program; in the experience these planets were much bigger, taking up almost all of my viewport, which I assume would mean the speeds to be somewhat faster, as I would have been covering greater distances at the same time). According to starry night 8, this would equate to an approximate acceleration of this craft from a standstill to about 4 Astronomical Units (roughly 598,000,000km) in 2 seconds; 4AU to 250ly/sec (23,652, 000, 000, 000, 000km) within 30 seconds. The region close to the location of the Magellanic clouds was reached within 1 minute of burning with barely any effort, in which I assume I was travelling somewhere near the 250ly/ sec mark. The simulation is a very close representation as to what I witnessed and how planets and stars “floated” past me during the experience. Stoppage from any of these speeds was instantaneous (no coasting or wind down), from the moment the braking control points were stimulated. As one can see, even at initial launch speeds, this craft is capable of flying pretty fast – faster than photonic based light, whilst out of atmosphere, that is for sure. The simulation from finishing the calibration process to entering into the nearby Sagittarius Galaxy can be considered 99% exact to how I experienced it, with a short period of total darkness coming out of the milky way before entering into the next galaxy., taking probably a few more seconds in actuality.
Coming out of the Milky Way, and entering into this darkness, I then turned around (spun my consciousness around the central axis of the craft), which is when I noticed two twin sized galaxies arranged perpendicular to each other. A period of disorientation occurred in which I did not know which exact one it was that I had come from.
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In the bottom galaxy, I noticed a large anomalous black hole petrusion taking up about a third of the entire galaxy, spanning from one edge to other, so proceeded to fly over the top of the pancake to get a better view. This black hole I identified as being part of the anomaly I have written about elsewhere (consciousness disassembler I have experienced during prior OBEs). My suspicions are that from our vantage point on earth much of the light from this larger neighboring pancake’s stars is being swallowed by this anomaly which distorts our perception of this galaxy and makes it look much smaller than it really is. I am aware radio emissions are used by astrophysicists to map areas around black holes, but this particular area was somewhat silent around this anomaly (remember, my audible range was several hundred MHz wide, possibly even wider, as opposed to human hearing which peaks at 20kHz), suggesting this anomaly is also capable of swallowing radio frequencies. At the cracks of this anomalous protrusion were what looked like bits of sea foam being brightly illuminated by nearby stars, which I assumed to be left over remnants of other stars that this thing had swallowed after it had spat them out.
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Using starry night, and trying to ascertain the relative location of this galaxy from the apparent sizes of galaxies neighboring the Milky Way at different angles, my conclusion is that this close twin is located in the very same region of space that houses the small and large Magellanic Clouds. My suggestion here is that the Magellanic Clouds are actually one larger galaxy which has been.
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“cleaved” into two parts through this anomaly, which distorts our perception of them from earth, making them appear as two different clusters. I am hoping that future advances in space exploration will one day provide validation of my experience through the finding of evidence of this supermassive black hole anomaly.
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Regardless, after pondering this anomaly for a few moments, and being somewhat concerned of its proximity to earth, I then penetrated out into very, very deep space, to the point I was left floating “in the middle of nowhere”. This would have equated to somewhere near the edge of the cosmic web (the real one, which covers a far greater distance than the known one, judging from what I was witnessing, and comparing to the starry night simulation software).
It was here I tried to establish telepathic communication with the Elder Guardians, who I knew existed very, very far beyond this cosmic web. This was the prime intention of what I wished to achieve with this experience. Up until that point I had been quite active in my exploration around the universe, but it was at this point that I simply just stopped and floated in the middle of no where and the realization hit me that I was an almost unfathomable distance from my physical body back on earth. A curious discovery was made out here; even at that vantage point, I was not able to receive more than a broken transmission that consisted of mainly white noise in between a few “Hello, can you hear me’s”, which suggests to me that there is a barrier that “absorbs” (or more correctly, introduces interference at) even the frequencies associated with telepathic thought transmission somewhere near the edge of the universe.
Shortly after this communication attempt was aborted, the Martian Intelligence spoke directly to me, the amplitude of its “voice” coming through extremely prominently and clear even from this deep region of space. It had evidentally “spotted” my presence flying inside and out of the milky way, and was curious about what I was up to. I had been aware of this intelligence from breaching the outer edges of the milky way, but had not paid much attention to it until it decided to specifically address me. How this was done was hard to explain, but it was like someone shouting at you from a distance, and saying “yes you” when attention was given to the voice. This attention was achieved through the aforementioned “zooming” in to the region of space this intelligence was coming from. The initial thought was that, to a human, this intelligence would have been quite sinister and dangerous, though from the comfort of my space vehicle I thought it’s attempts at coercion to be quite lame, like an adult trying to scare a child who has already called their bluff. I proceeded with extreme caution at its suggestion I come closer to it as it had “something I needed”. Through my targeting apparatus I was then able to run a scan of the planetary body this intelligence was inhabiting, which I identified from its red patterns as being Mars, or a very similar looking planet (galaxy and solar systems were still hard to determine even with this apparatus, unlike my simulation software I did not have the luxury of labels I could use for identification). I was basically operating as a police officer would, going through basic protocols to make sure I was not going to be ambushed.
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Once the Mars like planet had been identified, I accelerated forward to it and came within its atmosphere within about 10-20 seconds. Note, that in the simulation, this is covered much quicker on account for the limited way I had to show the targeting of Mars from deep space. However, the part where I look around trying to pin point where this intelligence was coming from is fairly accurate, although actual movement was more robotic. Atmospheric penetration of the Martian like planet was different to that outlined in the simulation, and involved a forward acceleration into a region that was darkened by the lack of sunlight, close to where daylight would have been breaking. This forward acceleration eventually allowed me to get close enough to gently bring my craft body down to almost ground level, in a rocky outcrop with several cliffs surrounding me. There appeared to be a violent dust storm that made visibility of anything but the nearby cliff faces hard to make out. Even upon landing the intelligence still beckoned for me to follow it into this dust storm, which I was very convinced by this point was a trap.
I decided that the wisest move would be to report my findings of this alien intelligence back to the launch facility base on the asteroid near Pawlowia. Shortly after this, my consciousness was disconnected form this space craft body and I awoke in bed, suggesting that this craft may have been left on whatever planet this was I was on.
Determinations from the experience:
ET spacecraft can 100% be “hijacked” through using techniques commonly involved in initiating out of body experiences. Remote viewing practices can be used as an effective means to target these craft.
There is a launch facility for these craft set up in the asteroid belt, which seems to be close to where the asteroid Pawlowia was on the 27th June 2022.
This facility exhibits human like construction methods (brickwork) and is populated by beings seemingly indistguishable from humans.
These spacecraft have the ability to up scale the bandwidth of frequencies that can be heard during their piloting. There seems to be a common “channel of communication” through this entire bandwidth.
Operation of frequency transmission is different to common methods used on earth; whereas we tend to use a single frequency to modulate the information onto, typical signal transmission from these craft seem to happen simultaneously over this entire frequency range, which has a bandwidth several MHz wide.
The instantaneous transmission speeds through vast distances of space suggest that these transmission are operating beyond those restricted to the speed of light. Instantaneous communication from two different points, many millions of light years apart also suggest a different means of signal propagation, as radio waves are limited to the speed of light (minus 5% under earth atmospheric conditions)
Planetary bodies can seemingly exhibit intelligence at a level that they can be communicated with by not only other planets over great distances, but also by intelligences passing by in some of these space vehicles. My assumption is that this intelligence really comes from an extremely high powered transceiver stationed on these planets by other ET races, in which the planet itself becomes part of the transmission component. I suspect ET races are actually using the planets in some way as an amplification medium of the signals on this telepathy channel.
The most dominant of these transmission stations comes from a planet that either is Mars or looks very similar to it. This transceiver, from whatever its location, can propagate signals out into the edge of the cosmic web instantaneously, with effectively 0 attennuation. Again, this alludes to the idea that these are not typical electromagnetic based radio signals we use on earth, given the obvious bypassing of the inverse square law. The intelligence behind these transmissions is extremely hostile and malicious as far as human standards go, but somewhat inferior when operating from one of these vehicles, suffering from an obvious cowardice.
Some planetary bodies are being used as navigational beacons for these type of space craft. These transmission beacons cover radiuses of several light years, or in the case of the Martian like planet transceiver, several million lightyears, but can be pin pointed from distances very far away from them through directional receiver (audio telescope) capabilities of these craft. This means that sounds from these beacons will not be heard until passing into their broadcasting range, unless these areas are specifically targeted by the craft’s audio telescope zooming capabilities.
Earth propagates a signal that is very noticeable throughout, at least, its own solar system. There is no way it can remain hidden to outside craft of similar capabilities given the loudness of this signal.
The regions inside and outside of the Milky Way are teaming with “intelligent chatter” on this telepathic line. This comes across like being in a crowd of people all speaking at once, until the audio telescope is used and zoomed into a particular sector, where signals in that sector get louder and drown out the crowded noise. In the case of the Martian transceiver, it was essentially like being shouted at by someone on the opposite end of the universe, the loudness of the shout being very obvious.
There is a boundary out past the cosmic web in which signals from this telepathic channel are broken and experience a high level of interference. Estimated distance from earth to this boundary is in the “trillions” of lightyears or more.
There is a neighboring pancake galaxy of similar size to the milky way that comes off perpendicular to it at an approximate distance similar to the Magellanic Clouds. A large part of this galaxy is taken up by a massive anomalous black hole that swallows light and radio frequencies around the site. An ocean of foamy white substance lines the edges of this “crack”. It is also possible this galaxy with the anomaly is the milky way itself. Past experience with this black hole anomaly suggest it exists outside of known time and space, originates from outside of the telepathic signal boundary, and can rip consciousness apart. From those experiences, it seemingly has a direct relationship with the amnesia introduced into our consciousness that prohibit us from retaining memory of past lives.
The universe is spherical, and does not feel a big enough a place to explore when using one of these craft.
Through directional audio telescoping capabilities and relevant speeds of the craft I piloted, exploration into useful areas and galaxies for resource gathering purposes could be carried out extremely easily and efficiently in a very small amount of time. I estimate, that if humans had consistent and unfettered access to this technology, they could accurately map the entire universe within a single year.
It is my belief that it is possible to move consciousness in a similar manner to what is done via lucid dreaming at the moment of death. It is my intention to try and move my consciousness into one of these space craft suits at the expiration of this physical body, in an attempt to provide some form of validation of my claim that techniques used to induce OBEs can be used to hijack and pilot these craft. If I am successful in my endeavors, then I will use this opportunity to provide not only evidence of the existence of these craft, but that my curriculum for piloting them is at least somewhat usable. Therefore, any sightings of a craft similar to the Vanquish DM-22, distinguishable by the pointed “spinning top” bottom, over areas or during events with direct significance to my life, such as properties I owned, burial site of my body, etc, can be taken as a visitation from the same consciousness that piloted the body used to write these very words. I am certain that direct telepathic communication, along the same channel used by this craft, can be made through broadcasted thoughts during hypnagogia or whilst in the void space after a conscious transition into the sleeping state. I recommend using this avenue for any parties interested in trying to contact my consciousness post humously.
A more thorough explanation of visiting schedule will be given to my Ordo Occultum Astrum once it has been worked out.
Electronic billboards in Moscow Russia are broadcasting war images with the message “”Moscow is preparing for tomorrow’s historic day. There will be no turning back. 21.02.23”
.
I don’t know what it is that President Vladimir Putin has planned. Of course, all of us already know that, last week, the Russian government ORDERED all TV and radio stations in the country to carry President Putin’s speech to the Federal Assembly tomorrow. They were all told to expect it to be a one hour speech.
Never before in Russia’s history has government ORDERED the carrying of a Presidential speech live, on every TV and radio station in the country – because the country has twelve time zones and is so huge, the government allowed TV and Radio to cover past speeches as appropriate for each time zone. Not tomorrow.
So whatever is coming, tomorrow looks like it’s a doozy.
Not the same as my experience. I was in a hard labor prison. We lived in dorms. Ate grewl, and worked the fields in chain gangs. -MM
I was in a cell. There are also dorms, and I haven’t been in a dorm.
I was in a 2-3 man cell (new guy had to sleep on floor).
I woke up around 5:30 AM or just before( you get used to it). Then there was a count.
At that point you had the option to go back to sleep until breakfast or do something else, such as watch the local news on T.V., work out or try to shower.
You could also read, or do something. I usually got up and started moving around.
Around 7 you’d do another count where they actually looked in you cell to see if it was in order, and then chow.
Have some breakfast. Then, the day started really. I had a job, so I’d wait around in my full uniform, to see if they came for me that day. Sometimes they didn’t come. (M-F). After that I’d chat with some people, mess around, play a few games of chess or what not and maybe read a little bit.
Then there’s another count: This is where you line up and the guards just come around and count every head they see, sometimes look in you cell or maybe give a speech about things in the unit going well or poorly.
Then Chow (lunch) This is around the time I came back from work on the days that I did go. Id eat, bargain with the food depending on what was on offer. (I liked to get an extra hamburger on Wednesday so I’d hustle that)
Then I’d work out for 2-3 hours about 3-4 times a week. After lunch until dinner was the best time for me. I hated waking up in jail so bad, but when it came night-time, it became like a whole viable world in there and I knew after I worked out that I’d be sleeping soon which was my favorite part of doing time.
Then dinner came. At this point everyone would be winding down, and if I didn’t do a late work out, I’d read by myself, or just take a shower and be clean and socialize, maybe casually shoot some hoops or take a walk around the unit. This is something that I did quite a bit. I’d just do laps around the unit with my headphones in, or more rarely, I’d walk around with another guy, just talking.
I should say that I read quite a bit. I read over 350 books while I was in for one year.
In addition I read countless magazine articles and newspapers.
In the morning or afternoon when I was waiting for work etc, I would do some work, or academic study. I would read biographies, or study some subjects like math, drawing, or random. I read and write letters around this time, and did crosswords, puzzles, and played a little chess.
Then in the evening after dinner, I would read a novel, or something fun, or light. In many cases this was actually literature, something that I could sink my teeth into more than T.V.
I hardly watched T.V., but there were some guys who basically did their whole time watching T.V. or sleeping.
Tee evening after dinner was the happiest time for me. Generally people were in a good mood. Although I am not religious, sometimes I would go out to the prayer circle that was held on the basketball court. I liked the positivity of it, and the guys, all would give one another a hug. Being in such close quarters all the time it just felt nice to have a positive prayerful space.
Then I’d hit the cell before we got locked down, just to be out of everyone’s way in the last run-up to lock down. I felt like I was being the cool guy who leaves the party early. I’d hit my bunk and grab a book, or write a love note to my wife.
They came and locked the doors at 1030 after I’d been laying down for a bit. My cellys all would stay out until the very last second, so in that last hour or so I had the place to myself to clean up the cell again (another constant activity) or use the bathroom, and brush my teeth by myself.
Then we’d have to sit there for another half hour until they came and counted us again through the cell door before we could turn off the lights and go to sleep. I had a reading lamp and would just lay there reading until my eyes got tired.
There are also highlights and benchmarks of certain days.
There is laundry night and then laundry day. You have to be present and get your clothes and sheets.
There is commissary day which is like Christmas, you get all your treats for the week (2weeks or more sometimes)
There are also the weekends which are a little better rules. You can be out of your cell more, and you didn’t have to go to work for most people.
There are visits which are amazingly huge.
There are phone calls. I always chose times when the phones were slow, and dragged a chair over there to chat with the wife or someone like my mom or brother.
Then there’s the usual killing time bullshit.
There’s shakedowns, when they come and ruin everyone’s day and schedule and everything by tearing up your cell and fucking up everyone’s trip.
There’s holidays which work in a similar way to the outside, people are just people, and Christmas hits everyone.
There’s a tremendous amount of sadness. Just writing this makes me feel so amazingly grateful that I’m not inside anymore and am not going back in. I make every decision predicated on not going back to that nightmare. It’s so easy to go in and so hard to get out.
Korean Barbecued Beef (Bulkokee)
Yield: 4 servings
3983202
Ingredients
1 pound beef boneless top loin or sirloin steak
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sesame or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Instructions
Trim fat from beef; cut beef diagonally across grain into 1/8-inch slices.
Mix remaining ingredients; stir in beef until well coated.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Drain beef; stir-fry in 10-inch skillet or wok over medium heat until light brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Serve beef with hot cooked rice.
CRFCPD Chinese side holds plenary meeting in Beijing
On Feb 16, a plenary session of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development (CRFCPD) on the Chinese side was held in Beijing.
In his speech at the plenary meeting, Xia Baolong, vice-chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of the Chinese side of the CRFCPD, said that in 2022, which marked the 25th anniversary of the CRFCPD, the CRFCPD focused more on the immediate needs of further development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, and carried out a series of friendly non-governmental exchanges between the two countries to consolidate the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Russian people and to strengthen the people-to-people bond.
Xia stressed that the CRFCPD should make thorough studies, focus on the implementation and publicity of the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), implement the consensus reached between the two heads of state, expand the depth and width of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, translate the high-level political relationship into more pragmatic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and create greater benefits for the people of both countries.
The secretariat of the CRFCPD and delegates to its subgroups held talks on their work.
The plenary session also laid out the work plan of the CRFCPD in 2023.
When Did You Realize They Were The One?
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What’s It Like To Be A Rockstar?
Well, first off, I wouldn’t ever describe myself as a “rockstar” (that seems cheesy to me haha), but I drummed for a popular underground hardcore-punk band for a few years. We toured all the time, headlined a few tours, played all of Warped Tour 08′, and all of Warped Tour ’09. I was 17-21 in the years of playing for the band and touring and everything. I will try to breakdown each part of your question…
Lifestyle: It was amazing. We were on the road 80% of the year and for that 20% when we were home, we were resting, with our friends/familiares, and working part time jobs to save up for tour money. We obviously all loved music more than anything, so getting to play almost every day was a dream come true. Since we were all 18-21, also, we loved to party and meet new people. Being in places where lots of people already knew who you were made it very easy to meet new people and have lots of conversational topics. I’m not going to lie, either, it was amazing being in the limelight after shows. It just gave you this sense of a “king” or something. You also got lots of fun gifts and such that fans would make you. Even small things like a fan baking us brownies or something was amazing to us.
Sexlife: You definitely got to meet lots of random girls on the road. We would typically get invited to lots of house parties after each show. Sometimes the parties were lame but other times they were pretty crazy. IT was typically very easy to find a girl to hook up with at the party, if that was what you were into. I had a girlfriend for most of the years in the band, so I wasn’t super into the hooking up, but if you wanted to, it was very easy. Most of the girls at the parties obviously knew who we were so it was an easy conversation started and with the combo of alcohol and occasionally minor drugs, it was very easy to get girls in bed. They would basically throw themselves at you, anyways. Haha
Daily: This could vary. On the road, there was lots of driving. We had a bus and a bus driver, so we would typically hangout on the bus, play cards, play video games, joke around, etc. while we were traveling. As far as show days went; we would get there in the morning, find out times and schedules, play out show, and then typically just party after we played. Since we didn’t have to worry about driving, it was the best case scenario. We got to live a dream that was perfect for us.
Diet: You learn pretty fast on tour that fast food and junk food will make touring a horrible experience. So you make a lot of sandwiches, or get sandwiches (like Jimmy Johns or Subway). Or to save money we would stop at a grocery store and get things for PB&J’s, granola bars, fruit cups, veggies, fresh fruit, etc. Since we had a fridge on the tour bus, it was pretty easy to keep food good and fresh like you would at home. Also, a lot of the shows had red room platters and all that jazz, which was typically pretty damn good. Lots of BBQ’s with other band friends, also.
Working with a manager: We had a tour manager, and a band manager from the same company. The tour manager was on the road with us (obviously), and would do more day-to-day operations and handle all the on-the-road logistics and financial stuff. While our band manager was at his offices in Seattle, WA and did more of the big picture stuff. Promotional stuff with the label, CD/DVD stuff, etc.
All in all, the rest of the band and I stayed very humble. There were times you were cocky in your head a little, but we never liked to show that on the outside. We didn’t want to ever come off as dicks or anything, so we tried extra hard just to be friends with everyone we met and “keep it real.”
– Anonymous
China’s new top diplomat to visit Russia as tensions with the US mount
China’s top diplomat is in Russia right now, this week. Reporting by CNN is the same ol’, same ol’, but pay attention to this…
According to China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang’s visit to Moscow will provide an opportunity for China and Russia to continue to develop their strategic partnership and “exchange views” on “international and regional hotspot issues of shared interest” – a catch-all phrase often used to allude to topics including the war in Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry did not specify whether Wang would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“China is ready to take this visit as an opportunity and work with Russia to promote steady growth of bilateral relations in the direction identified by the two heads of state, defend the legitimate rights and interests of both sides, and play an active role for world peace,” spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Wang’s visit may also foreshadow a state visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Moscow later this year. Putin extended an invitation to Xi during a customary end-of-year call between the two leaders, but China’s Foreign Ministry has yet to confirm any plans.
10 Addicts And Former Drug Addicts Reveal Their Daily Routine
1. Wake up dopesick at about 8-9 am. Shoot up heroin in the bathroom with the shower running so room mates didn’t know what I was up to. Often mixed in meth/coke for the energy boost.
I would then get ready and drive to work as a salesman for a major cell phone retailer. Shoot up again in the car before I walked in the door. Many days I would steal iPhones or galaxy s3 phones and pawn them to stay high. It’s a miracle they can’t prove it and just withheld my last paycheck, or I would be in prison today for theft over $20k.
I would also call my parents and make up reasons I needed money, and sometimes just steal shit from people’s garages. I sold everything I owned, including my own phone and computer.
I had to, if I did less than a gram of heroin a day I got sick. To actually get high I had to mix in Xanax or alcohol or meth or coke. Another party of my routine was contemplating suicide. Usually thinking about driving off a bridge on the highway.
I shot up everything except alcohol and Xanax, cause there’s no reason to do so for those. I shot up about 7-9 times a day.
2. I would usually wake up around 6 am to the sound of my dad getting ready for work, and I’d go throw up in my bathroom. If I threw up or pissed the bed I would usually have a garbage bag in the room to throw my sheet in so I could take care of it later. This only happened a few times but it got more and more frequent. Usually the vomit was dark black, goopy, and extremely acidic. I found out later it was blood.
I had a constant supply of tums that I would eat from. I would then drink a bottle of water, a hit from the bong to reduce nausea, and some valium to stop myself from shaking. I would then wake up at around noon and take more valium to stop shaking. I would usually sleep until about 2 or 3pm, sometimes up until 6pm. Once I woke I would take a few shots of captain morgan to keep the constant body high going, and depending on how much weed or valium I had I would try and make some calls to get some more. Around 7pm before my mother left for work I would go through her meds to find Klonopin and Ambien that I could take later in the evening. I was ALWAYS thinking ahead – because I liked to be completely fucked up by around 11pm. She took a quarter of a 10mg of ambien to sleep, and I would usually take about half of her bottle over the month (Between 20 to 60 depending on the script). Denial.
If I wasn’t hanging out with friends that night I would be on the computer all night or with my girlfriend getting wasted and popping valium. Each valium was 10mg and I’d usually take around 20 per day. Eventually I would get really nauseous because I forget to eat, or just took too much, and I’d have to smoke weed and eat more tums. If I didn’t want to stop drinking at this point I would purposefully push the contents of my stomach up and I would vomit violently, and then continue drinking. By the time it was all winding down I would take up to 40mg of ambien. At the time I liked to tell myself this was to sleep, but I always stayed up and drank with it in order to gain more of a body high/psychedelic experience. Usually by this point my girlfriend would be passed out, and I would just be on the computer. Many of these nights I spent crying from 2 am to 5am, either when my dad would wake up and he could console me, or my girlfriend woke up. Needless to say those two and my substances were my only coping mechanisms. Many times my father would come check on me to make sure I was okay every morning.
This was my routine for 3 years until right around age 22. The only thing I have left that reminds me of it is a bald spot of cement on my floor where my black vomit destroyed the carpet, so we had to cut it out. When we got new carpet (they did this when I was in rehab) they left that cut out. Every morning my feet touch the cold reality of the world, and I am ever so grateful that I am alive. Sorry this was long winded. I had a hiccup last night after two years of sobriety and this was really perfect timing for me to write.
3. Wake up. Hit snooze. Hit snooze at least 3 more times. Brush teeth, outside for a smoke, and hit the shower. Groan under the hot water for at least 15 minutes, trying to burn some of the hangover away.
Drive to work, right in between half-pissed and hung-over, praying I don’t get pulled over. Grab a takeout coffee so big I can swim laps in it. Stumble into work and hope nobody notices.
Somehow make it through the day, and since I didn’t bring lunch, grab a slice or a sub for lunch. Now the work day is done, and it’s time to head home.
Inventory the smokes. Are there enough for the night? Try to remember if there’s enough ice and mix. Maybe pick up a bag of chips or something when I get more smokes. Stop at the liquor store and pick up a 375ml bottle of whatever, and 3 or 4 500ml beers.
Ah, now I’m home. Crack the first beer, and use it to chase a solid shot of the booze. There’s a nice glow, good. Wait 10 or 15 minutes until for the warmth to spread before the first bowl of the night. Fire up the computer.
Take off my clothes, and throw them on the pile on the floor. Put on my tattered robe from better days, and then grab the least dirty glass from the massive pile in the sink. Sit in front of the comp, in my underwear, bathrobe and socks, drinking, and smoking the night away. Maybe make a phone call. Maybe have a wank. Once in a while, score some lines, or an Oxy, just to mix things up.
Toss the empty beer cans in the general direction of a trash can. Maybe empty the overflowing ashtray, but only if a lit butt put another burn mark in the table. Try not to miss the toilet when I piss. In fact, try to piss a little harder to scrub the freckles off the bowl.
Down that last shot, then stagger into the bedroom and flop down on sheets that haven’t been laundered in a month. Bam! Coma sleep.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat….for 30 years.
Picked up my 6-month chip last week. In those 6 months I have lost 40lbs, got a promotion, new clothes, new furniture, and this week I get a new car. I ended a toxic relationship, and have a great social life through the people I have met in AA. I’m not healed, but I’m healing, and I have a sense of optimism for the future that I haven’t felt in decades.
Relying on a molecule for your happiness is a lot like repeatedly hitting yourself in the forehead with a hammer. It feels really good when you stop.
4. My thing was speed. Seeing as my particular drug of choice takes three normal days and makes them one hellish one, I’ll go over my routine during the course of a several-day-long span.
I’d wake up extremely groggily and slowly, feeling like I was walking through molasses trying to go anywhere. So I’d stay in bed until the time I needed to get up, then take ~60-90mg Adderall along with a cup or two of coffee. I’m a physics major, so I’d usually have a problem set or two to do; once the Adderall kicked in I’d sit in the science center and WORK. For hours – up to 12 straight, in the same position without moving (except for the frequent bathroom breaks, after which I’d sit back down and resume my proofs etc.). If I had to go to class or work or something, I’d go, but would keep consuming a steady supply of coffee, Red Bull, and TONS of water throughout the duration of whatever I was doing. Every 4 hours or so I’d do another 30-60mg of Adderall (depending on how much I had allotted for that particular binge marathon). I wouldn’t eat the entire time, and my skin would constantly feel hot to the touch. My heart would race (palpitations were frequent), my hands would shake, and I would be extremely jittery. I would just be your typical idea of a speeded-up person. And I loved it.
Towards the end of the second day I’d simultaneously be fully awake and very fatigued, which is a singularly miserable state in which to find oneself. My body and mind would work slower and slower but wouldn’t ever be able to stop for rest, because the Addy, like a slave driver, would make them power through. At this point it was no longer enjoyable because no matter how much I took, the kind of euphoria I loved from the beginning would refuse to make an appearance now.
So then I’d wait: wait for my body to get this devil-drug out of my system, for my running mind to slow down, for my heart to stop racing, albeit all just enough for the diphenhydramine to overtake it all and let me rest. If I happened to fall asleep with still some amphetamine in my system it would, needless to say, be a very unrestful sleep. I’d wake up every few hours to drink more water. But once the long sleep came, it’d last a good 24 hours. This meant that I’d miss everything that happened: all classes, social events, meetings that I’d scheduled. If I was particularly on top of my schedule that week, I’d have made sure to cancel/flake on everything during the “big sleep” before it actually came. Then, after my hibernation, the whole process would begin again.
While I was using, I was extremely unreliable, my behavior was erratic, and I was generally an unpredictably volatile being. Adderall was my best friend in the world and I often call my separation from it the emotionally worst break-up of my life. It sounds crazy, but I loved everything I thought it gave me because it allowed me to shed all the human trappings of existence: hunger, tiredness, and everything mundane. But eventually I crashed and burned, landing myself in a psychiatric hospital being held against my will. Now I’m 71 days clean and absolutely loving it; the chaos is gone, and everything has been normalized once more.
5. I’m having a difficult time right now with alcohol. I’d estimate I’ve had a problem for five, maybe seven years or so, maybe more. I’ve managed to get two undergraduate degrees and a law degree despite this.
Anyway, after a failed business, I’m now living at home with my parents. Planning ahead, like others have said, is crucial.
I wake up anywhere between 11:00AM and 2:00PM and hope there’s something left over from last night because I usually don’t remember how much I drank before I passed out. If not, I go downstairs to see if my mom is around. If she left me a note saying when she’ll be back and I have time, I’ll immediately run out and get a “big” bottle of vodka (750 mL) because I can get that in without her there and it’s cheaper.
If she’s home or I don’t have time, I’ll go get two smaller bottles (375 mL) and tuck them into my knee-high dress socks under my jeans that I wear with my boots solely for that purpose. Literally bootlegging. Since I wear boot cut jeans, they’re not visible, so I can sneak them in. I’ll even sit on the sofa for a few minutes or so with her to “prove” I didn’t get anything while I was out.
Then comes the planning. If I have a small bottle and 1/3 of another, I know I’ll “make it through the night.” Sometimes I only buy one small bottle to try to cut down and end up in that horrible place between being properly drunk and sober and annoyed by that fact.
I did that today and I don’t know what’s going to happen later. I only have half of it left and I don’t feel fucked up enough. So what do I do? Do I go out for more? (I’m sure I can drive, but tomorrow is going to suck.) Do I chug it now and hope it works? (Risking a DUI later in the evening if it doesn’t.)
I’m trying to break the chain, but it’s become such a habit that I don’t know how I can. I goddamn promised myself today was the last day before I try to get my shit together tomorrow.
For me, it’s entirely reactionary. If I’m with friends having a good time, I drink like a normal person. If I’m depressed and in my own head, all bets are off.
6. I wake up, and the first thing I do is prep a shot. Like before I even think, I prep a shot. I take a deep breath. I tie off, just about an inch above where I’m planning to enter the vein. I release my breath and push the needle in, waiting to see that bright red sign that I’ve hit my mark. As soon as I get it, I remove the tie and push my liquid version of heaven into my arm…and blast off. That’s the best I’m going to feel all day, and I know it, so I savor it for a second. Then I go outside and smoke, and proceed to start my day.
I went to work. I got home, I went to meet my drug dealer, bought some more, and repeat.
It was a truly miserable existence. Working for money, to run out and spend every dime of it, for not enough junk.
7. When I was badly strung out (Opiate addict, polydrug abuser), it was wake up early because I was sick, either get high or scheme to get money. If I got high, I would flop back down and waste away time. If I needed to get high, I would frantically call my girl or my mother to get money. At best, someone had money for me (or someone needed drugs and I’d middleman), at worst I suffered for a bit until I pulled myself up and went to kick in some poor family’s door and take their jewelery, change jar, photo/video shit, laptops and assorted small things that rinsed well. Lots of time was spent driving a 100 mile round trip to an open air drug market. The rest was spent getting high or selling the drugs at huge profit so I could get the next batch (which was always smaller, since the money never got made back entirely). Occasionally an arrest, OD, or change of supplier would shift things a bit. Eventually prison.
Nowadays I’m going to the suboxone clinic 40 miles away once a week. Unfortunately, it’s in the closest open air drug zone. So I take someone’s clean urine, pass my screen and get my script. Then I go and spend every cent a few blocks away, drive home and furiously stick a needle in my arm until the typical $100-150 purchase is gone. Then I wait for the next appointment. I have no motivation to do much of anything. I have virtually no job experience at 25 years old, and a felony record. I live in isolation, having alienated 98% of the people I know. I constantly dream of getting high, and only go through the motions of living. I am a dead man at 25. This course of action will eventually kill me literally, but unless my heart pops from a fat blast of coke, it’ll likely be a long and slow fade away while juggling opiates.
8. I have been sober for a little over a year but will attempt to give an accurate story of my different stages if addiction.
It all started when they took OC (OxyContin) off the market. A few days before it happened my friend got his hands on about 500, 20 mg pills.
I sold about 150-200 of them I took my profit and went up to Portland Oregon to buy some heroin to start selling. I started selling points for $15 which was cheaper than anyone else. So I started making some decent money. I would smoke and sell all day and go to bed around 5-6 am and wake up around noon. Depended on when i started getting calls or if I needed to head to Portland that day. I wasn’t selling huge amounts so I would pick up a quarter to half ounce each time I went up and I would make 2-3 trips a week.
I had to supply heroin for me and my girlfriends addiction so I never moved past about a half ounce. Well this lasted about a year until I got pushed out of business. Someone paid the guy who was hooking me up to start cutting my shit and I didn’t know who else to go through. I also let people get in debt to me which was a bad idea. One kid owed me $2000 which was a ton of money to me. Times got tough after I stopped selling. Each day I would wake up around 10-12. If I had money then I would go and get some heroin since I would already be sick upon waking up. If I didn’t have them money then I would have to go sell some clothes or my electronics. I went through 2 TVs, 4 ps3s, a surround sound system, 4 iPods, 3 iPhones and a bunch of movies doing this.
When I was selling I could only go 12 hours without using until I got sick but at this point it was 24 hours. I was not shooting up at this time. So this went on for about a year. It was fucking miserable!! I couldn’t enjoy my high anymore because I would constantly be thinking of how I could get more. It wasn’t about getting high anymore. It was about not being sick.
So after about a year I was tired of this routine. I decided to get sober. I quit cold turkey and was able to stay away for 6-7 months. Then one day I got a call from my friend who was selling. He needed a ride to go pick up his stuff. I agreed and that’s what started me being his driver for about a year. He was shooting up so I decided to start. He would pick up about 6-10 ounces a week and a couple ounces of cocaine. I pretty much lived at his house going on huge binges. If I wasn’t at his place then I was at mine, sitting and waiting for him to call me so I could drive him and get some free dope.
At the end of one binge I noticed my ankle starting to get sore. Within 2 days it has swelled to twice its normal size. I decided to go to the emergency room. When I got there I had a 103 degree fever along with my swollen ankle. I ended up having a nasty blood infection and had to be on I.V antibiotics for 3 days. One of the scariest times of my life but I was back to shooting up while the I.V was still in my arm.
I remember doing shots of coke while driving on I-5 on the way to Portland. Shit got pretty bad. I got to the point of doing 4 point shots. To me that was a lot but to my friend it was nothing. He would do 1 gram shots like it was nothing. His arms were covered in black holes where he had missed shots of coke and heroin. So I drove him for about a year until I just couldn’t take it anymore. I asked my parents for help and was on a plane to Sierra Tucson treatment center the next day. I have now been sober for about 15 months. I hope this granted you a little insight in to the day of a drug addict.
Korean Pickled Vegetables (Kimchee)
Yield: 3 or 4 servings
2023 02 19 18 24
Ingredients
1 cup 1/4 inch slices carrot
1 cup 1 inch pieces bok choy
1 cup cauliflower florets
2 teaspoons salt
3 scallions (with tops), minced
1 thin slice ginger root, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
Sprinkle carrot, bok choy and cauliflower florets with 2 teaspoons salt; toss. Let stand 20 minutes; rinse with cold water and drain.
Toss drained vegetables with remaining ingredients.
Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 48 hours but no longer than 4 days.
What’s It Like Finding Out You Have A Terminal Illness?
It sucks. hah.
For me, the entire process involved a great deal of disbelief – some of it rather normal, I suppose, and some of it quite intentionally brought about by myself.
I’d actually first noticed the tumor myself. Not even being out of my 20s yet, I had a hard time believing it could be what I suspected it was, and managed to convince myself it was fairly harmless. At one point, while seeing a doctor for an entirely unrelated thing, I pointed out the lump to him and he gave it a quick look and feel but didn’t seem overly concerned by it and nothing came of it after that particular visit. That ended up adding to my own idea that it was something harmless and not worth thinking about much further.
Believe it or not, I went on to essentially ignore it for over another year! You’d imagine, first thing you’d do when suspecting something was up, would be to run off to every physician imaginable and do all you could about it. What ended up overpowering any inclination to do just that was, instead, a desire to ignore it and almost wish it away – if I never got confirmation it was something serious and never got diagnosed with something serious… it was nothing serious!
That time between initially coming across the suspicious lump and finally getting confirmation it was what it was involved many hours of self-diagnosis, thanks to endless hours on medical websites (such as WebMD) from the legit to some pretty crackpot sites. I’d come across one article that would convince me I’d be dead within a month, and another that would leave me feeling I had nothing to worry about at all; some articles mentioned symptom after symptom I was absolutely certain I had and leave me feeling frightened and anxious, while others would mention symptoms I quite clearly never had and so would convince me I had no reason to be concerned at all; some suggested that bump (and obvious mass, as I could actually feel it when pressing around it) was one problem, while others allowed me to believe it was something else entirely. At various points along the way I was both convinced I had just about every malady one could imagine, alternating with being certain there was absolutely nothing wrong with me at all.
The only reason I finally went through the process of getting confirmation it was indeed cancer involved, again, an entirely unrelated condition. I needed surgery for a relatively benign thing (“If it involves getting put under, how benign could it really be?”, my dad asked at one point) – gallstones. The funny thing is, while this suspected tumor had the potential to be some serious business, I ignored it for quite awhile. The gallstones were not too big a deal, but I was all over them instantly. Gallstones can make for some serious pain; a tumor can just be kind of painlessly there and unnoticed. The gallstone pains were immediate and real; the tumor was still kind of abstract, in a way. Nonetheless, while in the process of getting ready to have surgery for the gallstone problem, I figured it best to point out to the main physician I was dealing with that I had this lump. After all, I didn’t want it to complicate the surgery! Odd thought process there, too. “Hey, doc… I don’t wanna complicate this fairly routine procedure so figured I should point out this possible cancerous tumor”. He made it a point to schedule some other appointments with other specialists during the whole lead up to my gallstone surgery, and that’s when confirmation was received. Thank goodness for those gallstones, though, as my absolutely having to go through the process of getting surgery for that is really the only thing that forced me to see these other doctors, follow through with these other appointments, and finally deal with the issue.
While I certainly could have benefited from an earlier diagnosis and that whole year+ of denial was sorta silly, at the very least I suppose it did help me avoid that shock many often feel with diagnosis. I’d essentially resigned myself to being certain I had *something* by the time it was ever concerned, so never actually went through a phase where I was blown away or overwhelmed by it.
Funny enough… I don’t much worry about myself. I’ve been all over the world and seen people living in some pretty miserable conditions. Relative to the overwhelming majority of the world’s population, I’ve lived a pretty fortunate life and have been pretty damn lucky. Born in to a well-off, close-knit and loving family; financially secure and even well-to-do; going on many years of a stable and fulfilling relationship; having done and seen some remarkable things in my life to this point, how could I ever feel sorry for myself when there are countless kids in Africa who will know little more than suffering before they die short of their 10th birthday?! In the context of human history, I’ve already made it well past the lifespan most others could have expected. I’m not some 20 year old getting wiped off the face of the planet in an instant during some war; I’m not some young child who was diagnosed at so young an age I’ll likely know nothing of life but cancer before I die.
I’m not religious at all, so don’t get – nor do I really need or want – any comfort from that angle. I’ve always been a pragmatist – to a fault, almost – and I know I’ll deal with things as needed (so far, at least). It’s my loved ones I feel sorry for the most. I hate knowing my parents know, and knowing it saddens them as it does. My partner depends on me entirely as I’m the sole wage earner in the house, and that does cause me some anxiety and stress. We’re doing what we can to prepare for things should I go bye-bye anytime soon, but it’s not easy given our circumstances – we’re a same-sex couple and so don’t get any consideration from the state, and the stress and worry over ensuring he’ll be taken care of if something happens to me is something I’d certainly rather not have to deal with given everything else. You can’t take anything for granted in our situation, and I probably spend as much time dealing with insurers and estate folk to make sure everything is lined up there as I do with doctors. To bad paperwork isn’t a cure. All the medical appointments are kind of a pain in the butt, too. It can be a bit difficult balancing work, personal life, doctors appointments, treatments, paperwork and preparations. I don’t have much in the way of free time.
What stresses me out the most and probably causes me more grief than anything else in all of this? My dogs. And that probably sounds kind of nuts. But I know people can at least comprehend what is going on and what has happened to me once it does. But, funny enough, I probably spend more time thinking about them and how they’ll be in all of this than myself or anyone else. I’ve never once cried during this whole process as a result of diagnoses or discussions or revealing my condition to loved ones; the one thing that’s brought me to tears, and does so regularly, is the thought of my dogs sitting around and wondering what might have happened to me, where I went, and whether I’ll come back home at some point. I know they’re resilient and adapt easy, and given the lifespan of most dogs there is still a reasonable chance I’ll outlast them. But, out of all I find myself having to deal with, that honestly gets to me the most. Part of the process of making arrangements and ensuring my assets and such are all in order for my partner and family has involved also creating a trust for them.
When I say I don’t worry much about myself it’s not to try and put forth this image of confidence and strength. In fact, at times it’s bothered me how little I stress over my condition itself. The fact that I seem the least bothered by it of all that are aware probably bothers those close to me the most. Sometimes they’ll interpret my lack of outward anxiety as denial. People almost expect you to be moping around, feeling sorry for yourself. I’ve not fought those feelings off! I just haven’t really found myself feeling them yet! So when people ask how I’m doing and I confidently and honestly respond that I’m doing quite well, they won’t let it go. “Are you sure? Really? Do you need to talk?”. That kind of bothers me, but I’m also aware they’re not asking these things to bug me and are doing so out of genuine caring. I just don’t much care for thinking others are constantly feeling sorry for me or expecting me to break down at any moment. And certain symptoms do become more and more apparent or uncomfortable. It’s safe to say I “feel off” more often than not, there are complications from this and that, and side effects to be dealt with. I’d much rather do without all that stuff. But there’s not much to be done about it.
I’m in my mid-30s now. There’s a decent chance (worth betting on, actually) I’ll get in to my 40s. It’s even not entirely unlikely I’ll make it in to my 50s, but at that point we’re getting in to some extremely far out odds. One the scale of things, though, to have 5 or possibly 10 years to look forward to isn’t that bad a diagnosis. It does give me time to do some cool things, still, and quite enjoy life – which I honestly do! At the very least I now spend more time with family than in years past, and my partner and I hang out, go out, travel and have fun more than before. And I’m doing a pretty damn good job of knocking out my bucket list:
Spend as much time as possible with my dogs
It’s hard to not still enjoy life when their looks and antics practically force you to smile and have fun. – Anonymous
In regards to all the “news” in the world; and the role that the United States plays…
I am a US citizen. I am beginning to understand what things might have looked like at the end of the Roman Empire.
Ha. Ha. Great quote. Accurate. Love it.
Read this article… it is what is REALLY going on behind the scenes right now.
A panicked Empire tries to make Russia an ‘offer it can’t refuse’
37638 ViewsJanuary 30, 2023
By Pepe Escobar, originally posted at The Cradle, reposted with the author’s permission
Realizing NATO’s war with Russia will likely end unfavorably, the US is test-driving an exit offer. But why should Moscow take indirect proposals seriously, especially on the eve of its new military advance and while it is in the winning seat?
Those behind the Throne are never more dangerous than when they have their backs against the wall.
Their power is slipping away, fast: Militarily, via NATO’s progressive humiliation in Ukraine; Financially, sooner rather than later, most of the Global South will want nothing to do with the currency of a bankrupt rogue giant; Politically, the global majority is taking decisive steps to stop obeying a rapacious, discredited, de facto minority.
So now those behind the Throne are plotting to at least try to stall the incoming disaster on the military front.
As confirmed by a high-level US establishment source, a new directive on NATO vs. Russia in Ukraine was relayed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken, in terms of actual power, is nothing but a messenger boy for the Straussian neocons and neoliberals who actually run US foreign policy.
The secretary of state was instructed to relay the new directive – a sort of message to the Kremlin – via mainstream print media, which was promptly published by the Washington Post.
In the elite US mainstream media division of labor, the New York Times is very close to the State Department. and the Washington Post to the CIA. In this case though the directive was too important, and needed to be relayed by the paper of record in the imperial capital. It was published as an Op-Ed (behind paywall).
The novelty here is that for the first time since the start of Russia’s February 2022 Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine, the Americans are actually proposing a variation of the “offer you can’t refuse” classic, including some concessions which may satisfy Russia’s security imperatives.
Crucially, the US offer totally bypasses Kiev, once again certifying that this is a war against Russia conducted by Empire and its NATO minions – with the Ukrainians as mere expandable proxies.
‘Please don’t go on the offensive’
The Washington Post’s old school Moscow-based correspondent John Helmer has provided an important service, offering the full text of Blinken’s offer, of course extensively edited to include fantasist notions such as “US weapons help pulverize Putin’s invasion force” and a cringe-worthy explanation: “In other words, Russia should not be ready to rest, regroup and attack.”
The message from Washington may, at first glance, give the impression that the US would admit Russian control over Crimea, Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson – “the land bridge that connects Crimea and Russia” – as a fait accompli.
Ukraine would have a demilitarized status, and the deployment of HIMARS missiles and Leopard and Abrams tanks would be confined to western Ukraine, kept as a “deterrent against further Russian attacks.”
What may have been offered, in quite hazy terms, is in fact a partition of Ukraine, demilitarized zone included, in exchange for the Russian General Staff cancelling its yet-unknown 2023 offensive, which may be as devastating as cutting off Kiev’s access to the Black Sea and/or cutting off the supply of NATO weapons across the Polish border.
The US offer defines itself as the path towards a “just and durable peace that upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity.” Well, not really. It just won’t be a rump Ukraine, and Kiev might even retain those western lands that Poland is dying to gobble up.
The possibility of a direct Washington-Moscow deal on “an eventual postwar military balance” is also evoked, including no Ukraine membership of NATO. As for Ukraine itself, the Americans seem to believe it will be a “strong, non-corrupt economy with membership in the European Union.”
Whatever remains of value in Ukraine has already been swallowed not only by its monumentally corrupt oligarchy, but most of all, investors and speculators of the BlackRock variety. Assorted corporate vultures simply cannot afford to lose Ukraine’s grain export ports, as well as the trade deal terms agreed with the EU before the war. And they’re terrified that the Russian offensive may capture Odessa, the major seaport and transportation hub on the Black Sea – which would leave Ukraine landlocked.
There’s no evidence whatsoever that Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the entire Russian Security Council – including its Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev – have reason to believe anything coming from the US establishment, especially via mere minions such as Blinken and the Washington Post. After all the stavka – a moniker for the high command of the Russian armed forces – regard the Americans as “non-agreement capable,” even when an offer is in writing.
This walks and talks like a desperate US gambit to stall and present some carrots to Moscow in the hope of delaying or even cancelling the planned offensive of the next few months.
Even old school, dissident Washington operatives – not beholden to the Straussian neocon galaxy – bet that the gambit will be a nothing burger: in classic “strategic ambiguity” mode, the Russians will continue on their stated drive of demilitarization, denazification and de-electrification, and will “stop” anytime and anywhere they see fit east of the Dnieper. Or beyond.
What the Deep State really wants
Washington’s ambitions in this essentially NATO vs. Russia war go well beyond Ukraine. And we’re not even talking about preventing a Russia-China-Germany Eurasian union or a peer competitor nightmare; let’s stick with prosaic issues on the Ukrainian battleground.
The key “recommendations” – military, economic, political, diplomatic – were detailed in an Atlantic Council strategy paper late last year.
And in another one, under “War scenario 1: The war continues in its current tempo,” we find the Straussian neocon policy fully spelled out.
It’s all here: from “marshaling support and military-assistance transfers to Kyiv sufficient to enable it to win” to “increase the lethality of military assistance transferred to include fighter aircraft that would enable Ukraine to control its airspace and attack Russian forces therein; and missile technology with range sufficient to reach into Russian territory.”
From training the Ukrainian military “to use Western weapons, electronic warfare, and offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, and to seamlessly integrate new recruits in the service” to buttressing “defenses on the front lines, near the Donbass region,” including “combat training focusing on irregular warfare.”
Added to “imposing secondary sanctions on all entities doing business with the Kremlin,” we reach of course the Mother of All Plunders: “Confiscate the $300 billion that the Russian state holds in overseas accounts in the United States and EU and use seized monies to fund reconstruction.”
The reorganization of the SMO, with Putin, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and General Armageddon in their new, enhanced roles is derailing all these elaborate plans.
The Straussians are now in deep panic. Even Blinken’s number two, Russophobic warmonger Victoria “F**k the EU” Nuland, has admitted to the US Senate there will be no Abrams tanks on the battlefield before Spring (realistically, only in 2024). She also promised to “ease sanctions” if Moscow “returns to negotiations.” Those negotiations were scotched by the Americans themselves in Istanbul in the Spring of 2022.
Nuland also called the Russians to “withdraw their troops.” Well, that at least offers some comic relief compared with the panic oozing from Blinken’s “offer you can’t refuse.” Stay tuned for Russia’s non-response response.
Thai Chicken Bundles
Yield: 4 servings
2023 02 05 16 55
Ingredients
8 Rhodes Texas Rolls or 12 Dinner Rolls, thawed
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup grated hot pepper Monterey jack cheese
Mango chutney, if desired
Instructions
Combine 2 Texas rolls or 3 dinner rolls together and flatten into a 6 to 7 inch square. Repeat with remaining rolls.
In a large bowl, combine sour cream, peanut butter, curry powder, ginger, garlic salt and soy sauce. Mix well.
Add chicken, carrots and cheese and toss until well combined.
Divide chicken mixture evenly between dough squares. Bring 4 corners of each dough square up over filling, to meet in the middle, overlapping slightly. Secure with a toothpick.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with mango chutney, if desired.
What Is It Like To Have Depression?
Imagine your head is like a whirlpool in a hurricane – thoughts are just whirling around (and around and around) in there. Positive thoughts float, and they just sit there on the surface until they are blown away, but negative thoughts get sucked into the whirlpool and spin around, repeating themselves over and over, and worse and worse, until you have arrived at the worst-case believable scenario, at which point they sink down the spout and you internalise them as truth. Worse, the whirlpool is mesmerising – it’s a natural disaster, a tidal wave, a train wreck, and you just can’t look away.
You can throw as many “chin up!”, “get over it”, “come out to this party”, “you’ll be OK” and “just get out of the house” comments at that as you like, but it won’t do shit. My mind will just force me to blow those comments off – I’ll probably ditch the party, or make some non-committal noise about leaving the house or cheering up, so I can get back to the whirlpool. Because, I’m USED to watching the whirlpool. In some sick (mentally sick) way, I LIKE that I have a whirlpool to watch.
When I’m sick enough, I’ll cling to the whirlpool as the only thing that makes me different, more realistic than those annoying little shits that keep asking me to go to parties and telling me to cheer up – what is there to cheer up about? The world is all going to end in fire eventually, everybody dies, what difference does it make when I die? If I killed myself, people might stop making their glib remarks that I should cheer up and go out partying – that would be nice – how awesome would it be to shut all of those bastards up, to make them feel what I feel for just one day?
At this point, the only thing stopping me was what it would do to the people I didn’t want to feel bad – my family. I couldn’t put them through that, even for revenge against everyone that didn’t care. (Remember, I’m talking from the perspective of my sick mind here). Don’t get me wrong, it was CLOSE. I was going through ways I could kill myself that I would be comfortable with. I explored my fear of dying in minute detail to find a scenario in which I would be able to kill myself. If my depression had gotten even a little worse, that would have been the end of me.
Do you know what helped to bring me back from the brink many times – helped to control the seething desire to do something drastic? Cutting myself. It helped me gain some control, helped me associate my mental anguish with physical pain so I could dissociate from it a little, treat it, know it.
I sought professional help, and ended up on a series of different antidepressants, all of which failed for one reason or another (some had bad side effects, which led me closer to suicide). But, then something remarkable happened while I was dosing up on one of them and getting counselling – I got into a relationship.
Now, I had to drop that antidepressant (I believe it was an NSRI), but having someone around me most of the time who would just listen to what I had to say, would let me vent and just HOLD me, that helped me get back to a place where I could get some perspective and climb my way out of the pit. It was a small improvement, but it was one that interrupted the whirlpool. The counsellor got me talking, and my partner kept listening and supporting me, and not forcing me to go anywhere or do anything I wasn’t OK doing.
You have to remember, that for me at least, going out was just a tiring way to get back to bed at night, depressed. It changed nothing, and because it tired me out, I actually felt worse, not better.
The US dollar collapse is coming w/Peter Schiff, Alexander Mercouris and Glenn Diesen
Photos That Prove The Station Wagon Was Actually The Best Family Car Ever
1 30
Who else remembers piling as many kids as we could into the old wagon and watching a movie at the drive-in? No seat belts, no stress, just playing games and waving at the people in the other cars!
If you are over 40, you definitely remember driving around in a station wagon like these!
In case you haven’t been able to hear under all the media thunder of doomsday prophesying by so-called “experts” on China’s future economic performance (which has been going on for close to a decade and is more akin to wishful thinking than economic analysis), Japan’s economy does not require a prophet or crystal ball to tell you what lies ahead in its very near future: that is, that Japan has become the ticking time bomb for the world economy.
According to NIKKEI Asia, in an October report, Japan’s “yen weakened past 150 against the dollar reaching a new 32-year low as the policy gap widens between the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve…The Fed has repeatedly raised interest rates to tackle inflation, while the Bank of Japan maintains its ultraloose monetary policy to support the economy.
The Fed’s hawkish monetary policy, along with persistent inflation expectations, has pushed the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield up to 4%. The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, is continuing to hold the 10-year Japanese government bond yield near zero. The Japanese central bank conducted a bond-buying operation for the second straight day to keep the yield within its implicit range of -0.25% to 0.25%.
The yield gap is prompting investors to invest in dollars rather than yen, exerting strong downward pressure on the Japanese currency.” [emphasis added]
In response to this the Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided to maintain its “ultraloose monetary policy” as BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda “highlighted downside risks to the economy and indicated his willingness to accept a weaker yen.” By mid-November it was reported that the Japanese economy shrank for the first time in four quarters as inflation and the weak yen hit the country. “Japan has a history of having suffered from extreme yen strength,” Kuroda added, suggesting that excessive weakness is easier to bear than a too-muscular currency.
By mid-November, NIKKEI Asia reported “Bank of Japan’s ultreasy policy under pressure as inflation hits 40-year high,” with food prices increasing by 3.6% on the year in October, well above the 2% target. Governor of the BOJ, Kuroda responded “The bank will continue with monetary easing, aiming to firmly support Japan’s economy and thereby achieve the price stability target of 2% in a sustainable and stable manner, accompanied by wage increases.”
By mid-January Japan had reported a record low in annual trade deficit of $155 billion USD for 2022.
2023 02 06 21 02
This is not a sudden outcome for Japan’s economy but rather has been a slow burn over a 12 year period. Alex Krainer writes: “Over the ensuing 12 years and several rounds of ever greater QE [quantitative easing], the imbalances have only worsened and in February last year, the BOJ was forced to go full Mario Draghi, all-that-it-takes, committing to buy unlimited amounts of JGB’s [Japanese Government Bonds]. At the same time however, the BOJ capped the interest rates on 10-year JGBs at 0.25% to avoid inflating the domestic borrowing costs…Well, if you conjure unlimited amounts of currency to monetize runaway government debt, and you keep the interest rates suppressed below market levels, you are certain to blow up the currency.”
Not unrelated to this unfolding of Japan’s economy was the meeting of the Trilateral Commission in Tokyo, Japan for their 50th anniversary this past November.
For those who are unaware, the Trilateral Commission was founded in the wake of the Watergate and oil crisis of 1973. It was formed under the pretense of addressing the “crisis of democracy” and calling for a reshaping of political systems in order to form a more “stable” international order and “cooperative” relations among regions.
“The commission was co-founded in July of 1973 by David Rockefeller, Zbigniew Brzezinski and a group of American, European and Japanese bankers, public officials and academics including Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker. It was set up to foster close cooperation among nations that constituted the three-block architecture of today’s western empire. That ‘close cooperation’ was intended as the very foundation of the empire’s ‘three block agenda,’ as formulated by the stewards of the undead British Empire.”
Its formation would be organised by Britain’s hand in America, the Council on Foreign Relations, (aka: the offspring of the Royal Institute for International Affairs, the leading think tank for the British Crown).
Project Democracy would originate out of a Trilateral Commission meeting on May 31st, 1975 in Kyoto Japan, where the Trilateral Commission’s “Task Force on the Governability of Democracies” findings were delivered. The project was overseen by Trilateral Commission Director Zbigniew Brzezinski and its members James Schlesinger (former CIA Director) and Samuel P. Huntington.
It would mark the beginning of the end, introducing the policy, or more aptly “ideology”, for the need to instigate a “controlled disintegration of society.”
However, it appears certain participants of this Trilateral Commission are starting to catch on that this alliance between the United States, Western Europe and Japan for the restructuring of regions (à la League of Nations) is not what they so naively thought it would be, that is, that it would not be just about the disintegration of competing economies but would include their very own.
In the end, all would be expected to bend the knee in subservience to the head of a new world empire. As one of the attendees of this latest Trilateral meeting joked “some…say that all the significant events in the world have been predetermined by the Trilateral Commission,” he said to laughter from the veteran attendees, however, “we don’t know who’s in, what they are saying!”
Interestingly, three reporters from NIKKEI Asia were invited to observe this 50th anniversary gathering of the Trilateral Commission, the first time that press has been allowed entry into the notoriously secretive meetings. The meeting began with Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, delivering his remarks in a speech titled, “Democracy vs. Autocracy: You are going to see 2022 as an Inflection Point in the Success of Democracy.”
Interestingly, it seems that the Asian delegates weren’t too impressed.
NIKKEI Asia reported: “…the press has been invited to highlight a rift that may be emerging between Asia and the other wings of the organization. ‘We feel that the U.S. policy toward Asia, especially toward China, has been narrow-minded and unyielding. We want the people in the U.S. to recognize the various Asian perspectives,’ said Masahisa Ikeda, an executive committee member of the Trilateral Commission. Ikeda has been named the next director of the Asia Pacific Group [of the Trilateral Commission], and is scheduled to assume the position next spring.
…A new sentiment has now emerged from the Asia Pacific Group: Without proper steering, the U.S.-China rivalry may lead the world into a dangerous confrontation.” [emphasis added]
The U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel was quoted as saying while democracy is “sloppy” and “messy,” “the institutions of the democratic process, the political stability of the United States, NATO, the European countries, have held.”
However, there were many attendees who disagreed with Emanuel’s pro-U.S., pro-NATO, anti-China stance. “What is the ambassador saying?” a former Japanese official said on background. “We must engage China. If we force countries to choose sides, the Southeast Asian nations will choose China. The key is to not force them to choose,” he said.
“I feel very much embarrassed and disappointed to see the complete void of Chinese participation in this meeting,” said a former Japanese financial official. A veteran member from the Philippines agreed, saying there is no point talking about Asia without the participation of the region’s largest country and expressed concern about dividing the world into two camps. “When two elephants fight, the ants get trampled. And we’re feeling it. When two elephants fight to the death, we will all be dead. And the question is: What for?” [emphasis added]
A South Korean professor told Emanuel in the Q&A period that there are concerns in Asia about the zero-sum thinking in U.S. foreign policy toward China. “We have to develop some deliverable strategy to persuade and engage un-like-minded countries as well.”
NIKKEI Asia also reported “There were also members who noted how the liberal international order that Washington advocates is different from the original liberal order that was formed after World War II. ‘The original order, led by the U.S., sought a multifaceted extensive international system based on multilateral institutions and free trade among the democratic bloc,’ a South Korean academic said. The Six Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons was one such example of the original order, the academic said, noting that the U.S., China and Russia were all at the table.” [emphasis added]
The NIKKEI Asia report ended with a veteran of the Trilateral Commission – a former Philippine cabinet minister – who stated “Just in the past week, we edged toward a nuclear confrontation,” referring to the missile blast in Poland, that was initially suspected to be a Russian-made missile, but was more likely a Ukrainian air-defense missile that landed in NATO territory ‘by mistake.’ “And we edged toward that because of the type of zero sum games that us elders are playing. Is this what you want for your future? You don’t want a situation in the future where everybody’s edging toward the cliff and being macho about it without realizing that this is a zero-sum game that could wipe out the planet. It is beyond climate change,” the veteran said.
Japan’s “Shock Therapy” as a Response to the “Crisis of Democracy”
The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental body, its members include elected and non-elected officials scattered throughout the world, ironically coming together to discuss how to address the “crisis of democracy” in the most undemocratic process possible. It is an organisation meant to uphold the “interests” of its members, regardless of who the people voted into political office.
On Nov 9th, 1978, Trilateral Commission member Paul Volcker (Federal Reserve Chairman from 1979-1987) would affirm at a lecture delivered at Warwick University in England: “A controlled disintegration in the world economy is a legitimate object for the 1980s.” This is also the ideology that has shaped Milton Friedman’s “Shock Therapy”. By the time of Jimmy Carter’s Administration, the majority of the government was being run by members of the Trilateral Commission.
In 1975 the CFR launched a public study of global policy titled the 1980’s Project. The general theme was “controlled disintegration” of the world economy, and the report did not attempt to hide the famine, social chaos, and death its policy would bring upon most of the world’s population.
The study explained that the world financial and economic system needed a complete overhaul according to which key sectors such as energy, credit allocation and food would be placed under the direction of a single global administration. The objective of this reorganization would be the replacement of sovereign nation states (using the League of Nations model).
This is precisely and demonstrably what has occurred to Japan’s economy over the past four decades, as showcased in the Princes of Yen documentary based off of Richard Werner’s book by the same title. As Werner demonstrates, Japan’s economy was purposefully put through multiple economic crises throughout the 80s and 90s in order to push through massive structural reform despite their economy having been one of the world’s top performing before foreign tampering.
As Werner insightfully remarked, the best way to have a crisis is to manufacture a bubble, that way, nobody will stop you.
To understand the incredible significance of this, we will need a quick review of what occurred to Japan’s economy over a 40-year period.
Japan’s Offering to the Gods on the Altar of “Free Trade”
By the 1980s, Japan was the second biggest economy in the world next to the United States and was a leader in the manufacturing of consumer technology products to the West, including the United States. Due to Japan’s investment in automation tools and processes, Japan was able to produce products faster and cheaper than the United States that were also superior in quality.
One of the examples of this was competition between the two in the memory chip DRAM market. In 1985, there was a recession in the United States in the computer market, resulting in the biggest crash in over ten years for Intel. 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.
Long story short, 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.
No surprise here, the Japanese companies refused to do this and METI had no way of forcing them to do so.
The Plaza Accord was signed in 1985 by Japan, Germany, France, Britain and the United States. The agreement depreciated the United States Dollar against the Japanese Yen and the German Deustche Mark in an effort to improve the competitiveness of American exports. How very “free market”!!! (Refer here for the story of De Gaulle and Adenauer’s attempt to form the European Monetary System which was sabotaged by Anglo-America). Over the next two years after the signing of the Plaza Accord, the dollar lost 51% of its value against the yen. Japan entered the Plaza Accord to avoid having its goods tariffed and locked out of the American market.
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The Yen’s appreciation plunged the Japanese manufacturing sector into recession. In response to this, the Bank of Japan loosened monetary lending policies and lowered interest rates. This cheap money was supposed to be funneled into productive efforts. Instead, it went into stocks, real estate, and asset speculation. This is when Japanese real estate and stocks reached their peak price level.
Between 1985 and 1989, stocks rose in Japan by 240% and land prices by 245%. By the end of the 80s the value of the garden surrounding the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo was worth as much as the entire state of California.
Although Japan is only 1/26th of the size of the United States its land was valued at four times greater. The market value of a single one of Tokyo’s 23 districts, the Central Chiyoda Ward exceeded the value of the whole of Canada.
With asset and stock prices rising inexorably even traditional manufacturers could not resist the temptation to try their hand at playing the markets. Soon they expanded their finance and treasury divisions to handle the speculation themselves. The frenzy reached such proportions that many leading manufacturers, such as the car maker Nissan, made more money through speculative investments than through manufacturing cars.
The Princes of Yen documentary explains: “Many credited the boom in Japan’s economy to high and rising productivity. In reality, Japan’s stellar performance in the 1980s had little to do with management techniques. Instead of being used to limit and direct credit, window guidance was used to create a giant bubble. It was the Bank of Japan who had forced the banks to increasing their lending by so much. The Bank of Japan knew that the only way for banks to fulfill their loan quotas was for them to expand non-productive lending.”
Between 1986 and 1989, Toshihiko Fukui was the head of the Banking Department at the Bank of Japan and would later become the 29th Governor of the Bank of Japan. This was the department that was responsible for the window guidance quotas.
When Fukui was asked by a journalist “Borrowing is expanding fast, don’t you have any intention of closing the tap of bank loans?” Fukui replied “Because the consistent policy of monetary easing continues, quantity control of bank loans would imply a self-contradiction. Therefore, we do not intend to implement quantitative tightening. With structural adjustment of the economy going on for quite a long period, the international imbalances are being addressed. The monetary policy supports this, thus we have the responsibility to continue the monetary easing policy as long as possible. Therefore, it is natural for bank loans to expand.”
In Japan, total private sector land wealth rose from 14.2 trillion yen in 1969, to 2000 trillion yen in 1989.
The Princes of Yen documentary reported: “At his first press conference as the 26th governor of the Bank of Japan, in 1989, Yasushi Mieno said that ‘Since the previous policy of monetary easing had caused the land price rise problems, real estate-related lending would now be restricted.’ Mieno was hailed as a hero in the press to put a stop to this silly monetary policy that was responsible for the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. However, Mieno was deputy governor [of the Bank of Japan] during the bubble era, and he was in charge of creating the bubble.
All of a sudden land and asset prices stop rising. In 1990 alone, the stock market dropped by 32%. Then in July 1991, window guidance was abolished. As banks realised that the majority of the 99 trillion yen in bubble loans were likely to turn sour, they became so fearful that they not only stopped lending to speculators, but also restricted loans to everyone else. More than 5 million Japanese lost their jobs and did not find employment elsewhere. Suicide became the leading cause of death for men between the ages of 20 and 44.
Between 1990 and 2003, 212,000 companies went bankrupt. In the same period, the stock market dropped by 80%. Land prices in the major cities fell by up to 84%. Meanwhile, the Governor of the Bank of Japan, Yasushi Mieno, said that ‘Thanks to this recession, everyone is becoming conscious of the need to implement economic transformation’.”
Between 1992 and 2002, ten stimulation packages worth 146 trillion yen were issued. The thought was domestic demand had to be boosted by government spending and then loan demand would also rise. For a decade the government executed this approach, boosting government debt to historic levels.
Richard Werner remarked “The government was spending with the right hand, putting money into the economy, but the fundraising was done through the bond market, and therefore it took the same money out of the economy with the left hand. There was no increase in total purchasing power, and that’s why the government spending couldn’t have an impact.”
By 2011, Japan’s government debt would reach 230% of GDP, the highest in the world. The Ministry of Finance was running out of options. Observers began to blame the Ministry of Finance (despite the clear sabotage by the Bank of Japan’s actions) for the recession, and started to listen to the voices that argued that the recession was due to Japan’s economic system.
In Japan, the authorities and the Bank of Japan argued, as did the Western powers almost two decades later, that the taxpayer should foot the bill. However, taxpayers have not been responsible for the banks problems, therefore, such policies have created a moral hazard (a moral hazard is a situation where an economic actor has an incentive to increase its exposure to risk because it does not bear the full costs of that risk).
According to the Princes of Yen documentary, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa had turned to the Bank of Japan asking it to help stop deflation, or fight deflation at least. The Bank of Japan consistently defied calls by the government, by the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister of Japan, to create more money to stimulate the economy and end the long recession. At times the Bank of Japan even actively reduced the amount of money circulating in the economy, which worsened the recession. The Bank of Japan’s arguments always came to the same conclusion, namely that the blame lay in Japan’s economic structure.
It should also be noted that a whole generation of Japan’s economists were sent to the United States to receive PhDs and MBAs in U.S. style economics. Since neoclassical economics assumes that there is only one type of economic system, namely, unmitigated free markets, where shareholders and central bankers rule supreme, many Japanese economists quickly came to regurgitate the arguments of U.S. economists.
By the late 1990s, Japan’s economy was heading for the rocks. Ira Shapiro who worked as a U.S. ‘negotiator’ of U.S.-Japan talks during this period stated “Primary sector deregulation is needed to overcome the entrenched interests of large insurance companies, life and non-life, and the Ministry of Finance bureaucracy.”
On Shapiro’s Federalist Society biography page, he is described as playing “a central role in the negotiation and legislative approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the multilateral Uruguay Round that created the World Trade Organization and the current trade rules.”
These U.S.-Japan talks needed to reach an agreement by a deadline decided by the United States. If no agreement were met after the declared deadline, then the U.S. had threatened to impose trade sanctions.
Richard Werner clarified what would be the consequences of Shapiro’s demands to the Japanese; that securitisation of the real estate was being pushed however, in order to have meaningful securitisation we need deregulation, and to get deregulation you have to reduce the power of the Ministry of Finance. This in turn would allow the Bank of Japan, who was under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, to gain power.
From the mid 1990s onwards the Government began to dismantle much of the power structure of the Ministry of Finance. The Bank of Japan, on the other hand, saw its influence grow significantly. The Bank of Japan was cut loose from the Ministry of Finance pretty much making it independent.
Soon after his retirement from the position of governor of the Bank of Japan in 1994, Mieno embarked on a campaign, giving speeches to various associations and interest groups. He lobbied for a change in the Bank of Japan law. His line of argument was to subtly suggest that the Ministry of Finance had pushed the Bank of Japan into the wrong policies. To avoid such problems in the future, the Bank of Japan had to be given full legal independence.
In 1998 monetary policy was put into the hands of the newly independent Bank of Japan.
In early 2001, a new type of politician was swept into power. Junichiro Koizumi became the Prime Minister of Japan. In terms of his popularity and his policies he is often compared to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. His message was simply: no recovery without structural reform.
Princes of Yen remarked: “During 2001, the message of no economic growth without structural reform had been broadcast on an almost daily basis on the nation’s TV screens. Japan was shifting its economic system to a U.S. style market economy, and that also meant that the centre of the economy was being moved from banks to stock markets. To entice depositors to pull their money out of banks and into the risky stock market, reformers withdrew the guarantee on all bank deposits, while creating tax incentives for stock investments.
As U.S. style shareholder capitalism spread, unemployment rose significantly, income and wealth disparities rose, as did suicides and incidents of violent crime. Then, in 2002, the Bank of Japan strengthened its efforts to worsen bank balance sheets and force banks to foreclose on their borrowers…Heizo Takenaka [the new Minister for Financial Services] was supportive of the Bank of Japan’s plan to increase foreclosures of borrowers…Takuro Morinaga, a well-known economist in Tokyo, argued forcefully that the Bank of Japan inspired proposal by Takenaka would not have many indigenous beneficiaries, but instead would mainly benefit U.S. vulture funds specialising in the purchase of distressed assets…[When Toshihiko] Fukui’s support for the bankruptcy plan was voiced… [he] was an adviser of the Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs, one of the largest operators of vulture funds in the world.”
Richard Werner remarked: “Mr. [Toshihiko] Fukui [29th Governor of the Bank of Japan], and also his mentor Mr. [Yasushi] Mieno [26th Governor of the Bank of Japan], and his mentor Mr. [Haruo] Maekawa [24th Governor of the Bank of Japan], and you’ve guessed it, these are some of the Princes of the Yen that the book is all about. They have said on the record in the 80s and the 90s, ‘What is the goal of monetary policy? It is to change the economic structure.’ Now how do you do that? Well, you need a crisis. They made a crisis in order to change the economic structure.”
The department responsible for the window guidance quotas at the Bank of Japan, was called the Banking Department. The man at the head of this from ‘1986 to ’1989, was Toshihiko Fukui. Mr. Fukui thus directly helped create the bubble. When Fukui had become governor of the Bank of Japan, he would say “While destroying the high-growth model, I am building a model that suits the new era.”
Richard Werner remarked: “They have succeeded on all counts. If you look at the list of their goals, destroy the Ministry of Finance, break it up, get an independent supervisory agency, reach independence for the Bank of Japan itself by changing the Bank of Japan law, and engineer deep structural changes in the economy, by shifting from manufacturing to services, opening up, deregulating, liberalising, privatising, the whole lot.”
What’s it like to be rich and then go broke?
One of the worst things that can happen and one of the best things that can happen.
Lost multi-millions in saved wealth, a beachfront house, and a business generating mid six figures every year after the GFC.
Like others have said it was the darkest days of my life, not only for the tangible loss, but the loss in all faith in people, government oversight, justice and the way society functions in general. My losses were due to fraudulent business people within publicly listed investment companies, and after it all washed out, billions were lost of mine and others money and only one person went to jail, which really mattered for nothing as none of us got our money back. Also in hindsight it became clear that the supposed oversight created to protect us investors was actually the secret portal for the investment managers to have carte blanche to do whatever they wanted with investors money, including personally paying themselves and leveraging to unrealistic levels to generate more fees.
The first reaction is failure and anger, then fear as you realize how hard it will be to ever get back to where you were, then fear to even survive kicks in as saving dwindle, no new prospects of work, and then debts start to add up and minor bills start falling late as you begin to try to balance the small money you have like a circus juggler. When the debt collectors start calling and showing up it brings out the worst of the worst in life and you realize that your life has absolutely no value, is really only worth the $800 for that phone bill, or the $600 car payment and the people chasing you for this money would not care if you were dead or alive as long as they get their small collection fee. You also realize how cruel the world of money is, and how the late fees and interest are 30%/40%/50% and it throws you into disaster zone so quick.
The positive thing is I developed an incredible empathy for those who struggle a feeling I would not really consider when everything was going well. Our society values the rights of a $100 creditor over the life of a citizen, and literally it feels that any person who for whatever reason cannot pay a bill, is the scum of the earth.
I learned that our society has a very, very unhealthy value and emphasis on money.
It has taken many years to try to get back on my feet and I still suffer from fear and anxiety, probably similar to a depression era survivor. I am not sure if I will ever catch up but I am trying and fighting everyday. This is something that is hard, as it is almost impossible to relax and enjoy as it seems every action and decision is life or death.
I have to work so much harder and smarter now which has helped me to acquire new skills and hone my existing skills. I realize now that despite being in a low position wealth wise, I am so much more skilled and knowledgeable than many of my peers who are getting paid salaries 1000% higher than I am making, and I hope and trust that one day this will come to serve me well, as long as I keep at it.
Probably the hardest impact of the financial loss is how it impacted loved ones, my spouse and children. To go from having it all to not, and not really understanding how it happened and not being in control of changing things was a huge burden on me, and many times led me to think life for them would be much better without me. However I also thought I can be the solution, and what a great lesson that would be to overcome adversity and to succeed against all odds. This is one of my current drivers.
The benefit (I think & hope) is that my young adult children will have a much better understanding of the value of things, and what is really important, and not get sucked into the materialistic world that is so easy to fall into when life is easy and money is around. Hard work is valuable and the results and benefits from that hard work is much more enjoyable and lasting than easy money or daddy’s money.
Another benefit is that my wife and I now work together in our business, so she has grown in ways she never would have and discovered skills and abilities that has made her feel much better about herself and equipped her to be more helpful and supportive to our children and others. We also respect each other and understand each other so much better, and also know we have weathered a storm that would destroy most marriages, and have a solid foundation to take with us for the rest of our lives.
The world is corrupt and I am pretty sure it always will be, and most people are only looking out for their own interest, but by being aware of this, and not expecting anything different gives a person more control over their life and allows them to make choices in line with what really matters the most to them.
I would not wish this loss on anyone as it is as dark as dark can be, but I also think that the lessons learned from it are ultimately worth more that the loss itself.
Would I like my money back….sure….but only with the life experiences I have gained along the way. I see friends with so much money, their pocket change could dramatically improve my situation, but they have nothing, and I know they never will, as they are so blind to so much about the reality and values of life.
John Thomson’s Remarkable Photographs of China from the 1870s
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John Thomson (1837-1921) created work that was ground-breaking and pioneering. Far more pioneering than an innovative coiffure or a teen’s product placement on YouTube.
Thomson was an Edinburgh-born photographer who travelled to China in the late 1860s. From 1870-71, Thomson travelled extensively in China photographing the people he met, documenting their customs, lives, costumes, and traditions. Thomson feared much of China’s culture would be swamped by the expansion of Empire and the opening of trading routes.
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Thomson travelled with a camera the size of a large packing crate. He used the collodion process or wet plate process which was a time-consuming and difficult. Thomson hoped his work would bring an appreciation of the rich diversity of ethnicity and culture to Victorian Britain. That he succeeded and his works are still held in high esteem today is testament to Thomson’s pioneering work as a photographer.
Those “Mongolian BBQ” places you see all around town is pure bullshit. Our ancestors didnt eat stuff like that, and we sure as hell dont eat that except at our own “Thai” or “Chinese” restaurants. Our food (traditionally) consists of mostly meat, mostly from lamb or beer, with lamb being extremely common. We usually boil these and either eat em with veggies, or make it into nice soup. We also eat food called “Buuz”, which looks similar to a dumpling, except bigger in size. Edibles (no 420 sorry) and drinkables made of dairy is also common. Things like yoghurt, dried curds, milk tea and kumis. Kumis is a sour milk-like drink made by fermenting a mare’s milk. The people love to drink it, especially when going to the countryside. There are some cases of much of it causing people to get tipsy due to the fermentation. Good shit. But that’s the traditional stuff, an average regular Joe living in the city wouldnt eat those stuff all the time. People mostly cook food with rice, meat, veggies etc. You know the standard stuff. We also have many famous restaurants and eateries here like most other countries. KFC, Burger king, Pizza Hut are all here. However for some, these restaurants are considered a delicacy where they only go once in a while.
While traditional sports such as wrestling, bow and arrow, horse racing are common especially during national holidays, the global sports are what the most youth is all about. Soccer and basketball are extremely popular. Baseball and hockey not so much. Whenever theres an open space somewhere, you can be sure that some kids will kick some balls there. However our national teams suck in terms of team sports. Maybe the notion that we were once fierce and arrogant horselords who dont take shit from nobody is still in our DNA and takes its toll during team plays? Who knows. Individual sports however, have brought quite a few joys to the nation. In many big events such as the Olympics, Mongolians do well every once in a while, bringing home gold, silver, bronze and all of them are celebrated proudly. I do hope I live to see the day that my country plays in a world cup, or atleast an Asian Cup or something.
Although it is true we were quite ferocious in battles during the 13th century and upwards, we werent always the bad guys the western media makes our ancestors to be. Genghis Khan was one of the first men to tolerate religious freedom, allowing people to worship whatever they like as long as they paid tribute to the Mongol Empire. The Mongol Empire also had laws against looting, raping, murder, fraud, etc. It was a well established empire that had its own strict rules and boundaries. Our recent history however is filled with revolutions and struggles. Things such as 200 years of Manchurian dominance in Mongolia and the religious violence have really set our country back. The entire history of Mongolia is very rich, long and complex, nevertheless very interesting. However I cant write it all here nor do I know the entire history.
Think the word “Mongolia”. What comes into your head? If the answer is people living in rural huts, riding horses, herding sheep and being nomadic, then you would be right. However, that part of Mongolia is quickly fading away. Our whole population is at only 3,081,600. That is around 1/3 of the population of New York City alone. With 1.31 million in the capital city, almost half of the country’s population (46%) lives in an urban environment. Completely toying with the notion that all Mongolians are barbarians riding horses and plowing women. The city life is quickly developing as more and more people seek refuge in the city rather than the harsh and blistering winter winds in the countryside.
However, the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, is originally designed to withhold only over 500,000 people. Now crammed with more than a million, much of the people live in the traditional nomadic “Ger”, but instead of in the countryside, far from eachother, they are cramped up together in what we call a “Ger district”. These district are proving to be a huge problem as the air pollution tightens. The country is ranked #6 with most air pollution as of 2017. And this winter things only got worse. In fact, its gotten so worse that our youth finally decided to take action, pleading for help and organizing various activities to make the people aware of the growing problem of air pollution. People are being told to wear masks that filter out the polluted air. There have been reports that the pollution levels are extremely harmful, much so that the polluted air is equivalent for someone to smoke a few dozen packs of cigarettes. The air quality during the wintertime is in no way healthy for any child to be living in. And the Ger Districts dont help at all. You see, Ulaanbaatar is a city built in a valley between 4 big mountains surrounding it. Making the air exchange very minimum in and out of the city. Pollution made in the city stays in the city. People living in Gers need to stay warm, and to do that, they burn wood, coal, fossil fuels, or even sometimes any types of plastic. The smoke burned from all these materials go up the chimney. Now imagine for a second, hundreds, maybe even thousands of these, all cramped up in one district. Yeah.
Since globalization is a thing, and Mongolia is part of the world (After all, we’re between two of the greatest nations right in history), things like social media, cultural diversity, global culture are very much a thing. Everyone uses social media and are obsessed by it. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter are all extremely common and everyone wants to voice their opinion nowadays. Mongolian teenagers are affected by alot of aspects of western culture. Netflix is here, people like western tv shows, we watch Game of Thrones on HBO or in huge auditoriums near the central department store, the Avengers fangirling is real. Basically anything you could expect from most teenagers around the world, is the same in Mongolia.
Speaking of socializing and teens. Clubbing and nightlife is becoming huge in Mongolia. Well, mostly Ulaanbaatar. Teenagers at the age of 14,15 are already going out, some sneaking out with their daddys BMWs. The clubs are affected by money, and will let just about anyone inside, though lately rules might have been getting more strict… It is considered “normal” in the teenage culture to have smoked cigarettes, drinking alcohol, having underage sex. Although I guess you could say the same about most countries.
Most of the youth spend their time in PC gaming places, with most being ‘addicted’ to games like Dota, CS, PUBG. It is encouraged to play sports and spend time outdoors. However it is rare to find a place to do such activities. Sports recreational areas and parks are extremely rare. Very rare soccer fields, very small but trashed basketball courts, dusty and gravel filled open spaces are common. When there is a nice park or open space, it is often packed full of people trying to get away from their busy stressful lives.
The city planning in Ulaanbaatar is very poor, although it is turning into a big city, filled with skyscrapers. It still lacks most basic things that make a decent city. These include proper transition systems, clean paved walkways, biking roads, proper lightning system, and most importantly, the traffic. The traffic is horrendous and the jams could get you stuck in one place for hours if you’re unlucky enough to be in it during peak hours. Many road constructions take place with the taxpayers money however ironically, these roads seem to break down every 6 months. There are buses going places in the city however no subtrain systems at all. Although to make up for it, the taxis are pretty damn cheap, and many people with a car usually does a taxi service for some easy bucks.
We have the worlds largest Man and a Horse statue. Its that of Genghis Khan and its few dozen kilometres outside the capital. Its beautiful and certainly a place to visit if you’re in Mongolia.
Speaking of places to visit: Mongolian countryside is the place to be rather than the city. Although some areas are affected by desertification. Our nomadic lifestyle treated the lands well and in turn, these lands blessed us with its beauty. Heres a few you could check out off the top of my head:
Erdenezuu Monastery, in Kharkhorin city
Terelj National Park, few KM outside the city. Mongolian version of grand canyon
Gobi Desert
Khorgiin Togoi & Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur. A volcanic crater beside a huge lake. In Arkhangai region
Altai Tavan Bogd Mountain range
Khuvsgul Lake
Bogd Khan Mountain
Theres alot going down in Mongolia, and life is happening just the same as anywhere else. If you’re up for a wild adventure then definitely Mongolia is the place to be. However I shouldnt say to expect a 5 star western luxury when traveling through the countrysides. As most part is left untouched and wild. But hey, thats the beauty isnt it?
US Airmen Respond With Shock, Mockery as General Urged Service Members to Prepare for War With China
“I felt like a random email blast to thousands of airmen was an inappropriate way to direct them to essentially prepare for war with a near-peer adversary,” one Air Force officer reportedly stated.
US Air Force officers are reacting with horror to a memo by a top general advising them to prepare for a conventional war against China within two years.
On January 27, thousands of airmen received a communique from Gen. Mike Minihan informing them that his “gut” told him the US “will fight [China] in 2025,” and demanding they be prepared to “fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most.”
“Aim for the head,” added the memo, which also included instructions to update their virtual ‘Record of Emergency Data,’ which informs the military what to do in the event of a service member’s death.
A number of Air Force members were left dumbfounded by the message, including an officer who recently told Military.com that many of his subordinates could not believe what they were seeing.
“Some of my airmen are going to get scared when they read this memo,” the officer reportedly said. “I felt like a random email blast to thousands of airmen was an inappropriate way to direct them to essentially prepare for war with a near-peer adversary.”
The officer reportedly pointed out it was “inaccurate” to describe a magazine as a ‘clip,’ and that the insistence airmen “aim for the head” was “dramatic.”
Furthermore, he noted the suggestion ran contrary to lessons taught to snipers during marksmanship, which encourage sharpshooters to aim for the center of a target’s mass.
“Someone sarcastically joked, ‘Aim for the head. Spoken like a true marksman!’” the officer reportedly added.
Several advisers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a leading US military aligned think tank, also greeted the general’s comments with dismay.
“What we're effectively signaling is we have no idea, and I'm not sure we understand just how damaging that is,” said an official, who added that “having this menu option of various years… I think comes across as undermining the credibility of our statements and our assessments on precisely the relationship where your words matter.”
Another reportedly added, “I think we are seemingly trying to talk ourselves into a conflict that doesn't need to occur.”
Incredible And Futuristic Bookstore-Themed Shopping Mall In China
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Undergoing a cultural renaissance, the city of Xi’an, China, is home to a new bookstore-themed commercial complex designed by Lafonce Maxone and intervened by Gonverge Interior Design for the interiors. The project offers a lifestyle and an educational experience with multiple business models through its ‘culture and commerce’ design strategy. The 18m-high and 240m-long artistic book walls in the building are striking and pioneering, brining a new model for urban commercial space to the city.
Based on the long, narrow site oriented in the south-north direction and the four-storey-high illuminated atrium, Gonverge Interior Design carried out project orientation planning as well as commercial and spatial design by appealing to all the senses.
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Thailand to ban Pfizer after the Thai Princesses falls into a coma immediately after a booster jab
Just days after receiving her covid booster jab, the daughter of the king of Thailand collapsed and fell into a coma.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, who is the potential heir to the Thai throne, is in a grave condition weeks after she collapsed.
Some reports suggest she had suffered a heart attack though her family were told she likely suffered a bacterial infection. None the less, six weeks later and the princess is still in a coma and being kept alive by machines.
The Royal Family have now been alerted to the fact that the princess has most likely been a victim of the jab.
Top Thai authorities including advisors to the King have been in discussions with Prof. Sucharit Bhakdi and are preparing to have the Pfizer contracts declared null and void according to reports.
If this happens Thailand will become the first country to make the contract null and void, meaning that Pfizer will become responsible for all vaccine injuries.
Three point plan to avoid conflict with China
The USA is now scheduling wars like a doctor’s appointment.
Stewardess Skill Training In China
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Students attend a stewardess skill training for the upcoming 2017 entrance examination for art majors in colleges in Luoyang, central China’s Henan Province. These photos portray the bizarre range of skills Chinese air hostesses require before they take to the skies.
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China’s hypersonic triad pressing down on US
China’s new sea, air and land-based hypersonic weapons are a formidable three-pronged deterrence against US and Taiwan forces
For the first time, China has revealed the specifications of its YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missile, which was first observed last April during a test launch from a Type 055 cruiser. Alongside air-launched and land-based hypersonic missiles, the YJ-21 signals China’s nascent hypersonic weapons triad for conventional deterrence.
This week, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the People’s Liberation Army – Strategic Support Force (PLA-SSF) published an article in its official Weibo account that states the YJ-21 missile can travel at a speed of Mach 10, or 3,400 meters per second.
It also claims that any known shipboard defense system cannot intercept the missile at that speed and that even without an explosion its tremendous kinetic energy will have devastating effects on its target.
The PLA-SSF article also claims that the YJ-21’s introduction marks a significant evolution in China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, highlighting the operational flexibility and survivability advantages of a sea-based launch platform such as the Type 055 cruiser.
The PLA-SSF’s release of information on the YJ-21 may serve as a deliberate warning against the US and its allies after then-US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan last August.
The unveiling of the YJ-21’s export version at last year’s Zhuhai Airshow, designated the YJ-21E, indicates that the domestic version of the YJ-21 is no longer China’s most advanced model of the type and that it may have more capable missiles in its inventory.
The SCMP article notes that since it was the PLA-SSF that released information about the YJ-21, the missile relies on satellite guidance provided by the PLA-SSF to hit its targets. This implies that the YJ-21 is reserved as a strategic weapon against US carriers, the most critical assets of US force projection in the Pacific.
Asia Times has noted that the integration of the YJ-21 on the Type 055 cruiser makes the class one of the most heavily-armed warships in the world, with 128 VLS cells arranged in two silos of 64 cells each, a 130 mm H/PJ-38 main gun, Yu-8 anti-submarine rockets and Yu-7 lightweight torpedoes launched from two triple torpedo tubes.
Brent Eastwood mentions in a December 2022 article from 1945 that with the YJ-21 the Type 055 cruiser will become one of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s (PLA-N) most capable assets.
Furthermore, Eastwood notes that the Type 055 cruiser, the Type 052D destroyer and the upcoming next-generation frigate will be integrated into China’s carrier battlegroups, which would operate in the East China Sea, South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
At the strategic level, China’s emerging hypersonic weapons triad may align with its evolving concept of conventional deterrence, which seeks to deter the US and its allies from intervening in a Taiwan contingency.
Chase and Chan note that Chinese military publications state that conventional deterrence is increasingly becoming more powerful due to the “informatization” of conventional strike capabilities.
They also say that conventional weapons are more applicable to a broader range of circumstances, have greater flexibility than nuclear weapons and are not subject to the political constraints of using nuclear arms.
Richard Weitz, in a January 2022 article in China-US Focus, outlines five possible Taiwan scenarios that include China using military force to seize all of Taiwan, a limited operation to blockade Taiwan and capture its frontline islands, deliberate manipulation of risks in a squeeze-and-relax strategy, and avoidance of conflict altogether through transparency and confidence-building measures.
In all but the last scenario, conventional weapons such as China’s hypersonic weapons will play a vital role, from an outright seizure of Taiwan to conveying the threat of force and raising costs to discourage US and allied intervention on behalf of Taiwan.
Indeed, China’s unveiling of its YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missile may be essential in its efforts to build a flexible conventional deterrent against US and allied intervention in a Taiwan scenario.
Besides having the ship-based YJ-21 in its Type 055 cruisers, China’s strategic bombers may also carry an air-launched variant. Defense analyst H I Sutton has previously reported on an air-launched variant of the YJ-21 carried by the People’s Liberation Army-Air Force’s (PLA-AF) H-6 strategic bomber.
As noted by Asia Times, air-launched hypersonic anti-ship missiles improve China’s standoff strike capabilities against US bases and warships in the Pacific, with an air launch potentially increasing the YJ-21’s already formidable performance, with the H-6 bomber adding 3,500 or more kilometers to the missile’s range.
In such a configuration, the YJ-21 may be employed against US and allied forces in faraway locations such as Okinawa or Guam.
China’s sea and air-launched hypersonic anti-ship missiles can also complement its land-based arsenal of such weapons. As noted by Missile Threat, China’s road-mobile DF-17 was first spotted in 2014 and may have entered PLA service in 2019.
The report notes that the DF-17 is estimated to have a range between 1,800 to 2,500 kilometers, is capable of extreme maneuvers and can reach up to Mach 5 in its glide phase. Notably, Chinese state media outlet Global Times has previously reported that the DF-17 was among the missiles China fired in a show of force to protest Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year.
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Those launches may have intended to show that China can effectively “box in” Taiwan with long-range precision fires alongside a persistent blockade of warships and submarines.
The emergence of hypersonic anti-ship missiles puts the importance of carriers as the mainstays of modern naval warfare into question.
As noted by Jon Harper in a 2019 article in National Defense Magazine, hypersonic missiles such as the YJ-21 – unlike conventional ballistic missiles – can maneuver during their terminal phase to evade shipboard missile defenses.
Harper also notes that while existing anti-ship missiles can be highly maneuverable, they typically fly at subsonic speeds, unlike hypersonic anti-ship missiles that give little to no window for their targets to react.
Thai Larb
Larb Moo is a popular dish made in Thailand. It’s a meat salad consisting of ground pork and many fresh and flavorful veggies and ingredients. It’s naturally on the low carb side, but I made keto Thai Larb by omitting toasted rice and using toasted cashews instead. This also makes my version paleo and Whole30 friendly as well! If you like meat and veggies in a tangy, semi spicy homemade sauce, this Thai Larb recipe will blow you away!
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What You’ll Need to Make Keto Thai Larb Recipe
Before you get started, gather the ingredients needed to make Larb Moo, including:
Cashews: Cashews are used as a paleo replacement for toasted rice, and adds crunch to the recipe. Make sure you’re using raw cashews to toast them yourself.
Avocado oil: I love avocado oil because it’s great for high heat cooking, and doesn’t add any flavor to the final dish. If you don’t have avocado oil, feel free to use any other cooking oil of your choice.
Shallots: If you can’t find shallots, you can use onions instead.
Ground pork: Ground chicken or turkey can also be used if you don’t consume pork.
Lime juice
Coconut aminos: A paleo and Whole30-friendly alternative to soy sauce. It’s delicious and adds a slight natural sweetness as well!
Fish sauce: Fish sauce is a crucial flavor in Thai cooking, and adds a delicious umami saltiness. This is my favorite brand of fish sauce with high quality, clean ingredients.
Thai Chili Flakes: Also called prik bon, you can get these at your local Asian mart or online.
You’ll need a few other ingredients, including green onions, chopped cilantro, mint leaves, lettuce, and cucumbers.
Ingredients
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 to 2 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapeno chiles*
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup chicken broth
Salt
Large whole leaves of iceberg lettuce
Sliced cucumbers, chopped cilantro and lime wedges (garnish)
Hot rice (optional)
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Instructions
In large bowl, combine chicken, cilantro, lime juice, chiles, garlic, green onions and fish sauce.
Bring broth to simmer in wok or large frying pan.
Add chicken mixture and stir, breaking up mixture, until cooked through but not brown, and broth has evaporated.
Spoon off any fat that may have melted out.
Add salt to taste.
Chill or serve at room temperature on lettuce leaves.
Add garnishes.
Serve with hot rice.
What If I Can’t Find Thai Chili Flakes?
If you’re unable to find Thai chili flakes, you can use any chili flakes that you can get at the grocery store. I find that Korean chili flakes, or gochugaru, is a close substitute.
Do I Need to Use Fresh Lime Juice for ?
Using fresh lime juice while preparing the Larb Moo is best. However, if you don’t have fresh lime, you can use lime juice from a bottle. You may need a bit less since I find that bottled lime juice is more concentrated in flavor.
Which Type of Lettuce Should I Use When Serving?
You can use romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, or even shredded iceberg lettuce when you’re serving paleo Thai Larb. I personally prefer butter lettuce and find that it holds up well.
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Thai Larb Recipe Tips and Suggestions
If you taste the Larb Moo and feel like it needs to be a bit saltier, you can add more fish sauce to it. The fish sauce also brings a level of saltiness to the dish that enhances the flavor of the pork and vegetables.
When you want to make the dish a bit spicier, you can add more of the chili flakes to it. If you can’t tolerate spiciness, you can omit the chili flakes or decrease the amount when preparing this Keto Thai Larb dish.
How to Store Leftovers
Store your cooked pork and vegetables together, but store your lettuce and cucumbers in a separate container. Put these containers in the fridge to keep your ingredients fresh. You can assemble more of the Larb Moo when you’re ready to eat it, adding the ground pork and vegetables to a bed of lettuce with cucumbers.
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NATO is going to get us ALL killed
Excellent and informative program. Really enjoyed it.
The United States in the midst of a cultural revolution; just like swept through China in 1966. Today, China views that time as perhaps one of the most dangerous and lethal times for Chinese society and will no longer permit it to exist.
Watch this video…
THIS IS INSANE!
What is going on in the United States? What is going on in the West?
Will the West's Christian Colonial Cretins attack China?
I doubt it. John Pilger's 2016 doco The Coming War On China, and a short-lived abc.net.au weekly current affairs program called China Tonight from March, 2022, have persuaded me that:
1. China hasn't forgotten the Opium Wars nor the perps. And has made Opium Wars part of the school curriculum...
2. One suspects that China will have a much shorter Nuclear War fuse than Russia if subjected to an(other) Unprovoked Attack by the CCCs.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Feb 1 2023 17:06 utc | 4
Lately, I have been dancing with my little girl.
It’s a great work out, but I have to tell youse guys, it’s EXHAUSTING. Try this little number. See if you can keep up the pace for a full three minutes! Ugh!
On the plus side, she’s learning Japanese along with her English and Chinese…
Yes. Do not live a life of regret…
The Story Of David Glasheen, A Real Life Robinson Crusoe
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David Glasheen is a 70-year-old former businessman from Sydney’s North Shore who traded in his suit for a loincloth after losing most of his money in the stock market crash of 1987. He first visited Restoration Island in 1993, he acquired an interest in the island with his remaining money in 1994, and moved there permanently in 1997 with his girlfriend. But with no hot water, a bath or the mod cons she found it tough and left to return to the city. Since then he has upgraded accommodation on the island, and has lived there happily with his dog Quasi.
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David Glasheen, who has lived alone on the island off Cape York Peninsula since 1993, made international headlines four years ago, when he went online looking for a “Girl Friday” to live with him.
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David Glasheen says sometimes he gets lonely with his dog his only companion but he is occasionally visited by passing yachtsmen, kayakers and organic farmers.
A meme
A meme shared: Gas prices are rising again because China stopped its Covid crackdown.
For years, the Western perception of the Chinese economy has alternated between two extremes: either the Chinese economy is at the cusp of collapsing - the "China collapse" theory - or the Chinese economy is rising so rapidly that it poses a threat to the world - the "China threat" theory.
There is virtually no middle ground between the two totally contradicting narratives, though both serve the same goal - smearing China's socialist market economic system.
Western media outlets switch between the two narratives at different times to best serve that goal.Such a twisted, malign practice cannot be clearer than what we have seen over the past several weeks, as China moved to downgrade its COVID response, went through a COVID infection peak and embarked on a rapid economic recovery in such a short time span.
The transitions happened so swiftly that the shift in Western media outlets' narrative of the Chinese economy could barely catch up.
Before the Chinese Spring Festival holidays, many foreign media outlets made grim predictions about China's epidemic situation and economic recovery.
Bloomberg on January 20 predicted a "COVID catastrophe" during the Chinese New Year, while CNN on January 18 claimed that a "COVID-19 tsunami" was brewing in the countryside amid the holiday travel rush.
And of course, China’s Spring Festival is a smashing success.
Some of the info provided would make great material for comedians; Carlin would make much of the narrative swap. What’s happening is NEVER the fault of the West; it’s always somebody else’s fault. I’m reminded of the Family Circus cartoon and the “Not Me” ghost. Bill Keane was very insightful with that.
When I was 7 or 8 years old, I snapped at my dad for getting me the wrong video game and I can still see the disappointment in his face. Haunts me to this day.
Preventing a long war w/Scott Ritter
Scott at his brilliant best! A voice of reason and reality amid a dangerous climate of delusional esculatory rhetoric in the West.
I called my buddy one night because I knew he was having a tough time, I told him I'm coming over, he kept saying no I'm good I'm good...he was less than a mile away. I said okay and then his mom called me in the morning saying he was dead and what did he say to me in the phone call.
I wish I went over
Philly Cheese and Ground Beef Casserole
Bring the fabulous flavor of Philly cheese steak sandwiches to a comforting casserole!
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Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 (8 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 (1 ounce) slicesprovolone cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced into wedges
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into strips*
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (16.3 ounce) can Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle original biscuits
* To easily cut peppers, cut a thin slice off bottom of pepper. Set pepper on cutting board, cut side down. Cut strips of pepper from stem down to board, cutting just the flesh and leaving seeds and core attached to stem.
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
In 12-inch skillet, cook beef, mushrooms, salt and pepper over medium-high heat 7 to 9 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
Place in baking dish.
Arrange cheese over beef mixture, overlapping slices if needed.
In same skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and bell peppers. Cook over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until peppers are crisp-tender.
Stir in garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Spoon over cheese in baking dish.
Separate dough into 8 biscuits. On lightly floured surface, pat biscuits into 5-inch circles. Arrange biscuits over vegetable mixture.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown on top.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft)
Don’t live a life of regret…
Like this chick.
I deeply regret picking on this very socially challenged girl when I was younger. I wasn't particularly vicious or anything but I should have used my popularity to stand up for her, or at least treat her right.
Through Darkness Into Light: The Concept Art Of Ivan Khomenko
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Ivan Khomenko is a freelance concept artist and digital illustrator based in Kostroma, Russia. He currently works as a concept artist at One Pixel Brush. We have an amazing collection of science fiction and fantasy themed works by the artist below from both commercial and personal projects. Ivan Khomenko’s illustrations and paintings have an incredible cinematic quality.
I was seven years of age, I had an argument with my mother the night before she died. Before I went to bed she asked me for a hug I told her NO and stormed off to bed. The next morning I woke up to find everyone in the house was gone, it was very surreal and confusing. My father came back in that morning crying and told me my mother had died of a brain hemorrhage..
Never go to bed on an argument.
Oddly and curious
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Don’t live a life of regret
Like this man.
Not getting a second opinion sooner on my back injury. Injured my back at work in 2014, was taken to a WorkCover doctor where I now know I was misdiagnosed and then gaslighted by the workplace OH&S officer. Had I known that I could seek a second opinion from another doctor while on WorkCover, it would have been found that I had a permanent disc protrusion that was impacting a major nerve.
I waited 7 years to seek a different opinion, all because I believed the WorkCover doctor and a physio couldn't be wrong as they were professionals and that I had 'just a simple back strain'. Meanwhile I'm walking around in chronic pain with a disc protrusion that could've ruptured at any given moment.
I'm now permanently disabled thanks to my own stupidity. And I can't take legal action against the company now as there is only a 3 year grace period to do so.
Illustrator Perfectly Captures The Beauty Of Single Life
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Mexico-based artist Idalia Candelas draws women who are content to be alone. Using pencil, ink, and watercolor, “Postmodern Loneliness” is a series that celebrates being single. Candelas says she was inspired by her time living alone in Mexico City.
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“The theme of the loneliness has been recurring in my drawings,” Candelas told Mic. “I like to show women who exist in solitude but do not suffer. They are not depressed or crying. Rather [they] are safe, exalting in the sense of enjoying the company of just herself.”
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Do not live a life of regret
Like this person…
My mom died nearly one year ago. She battled ALS for two years. It was very sudden and a horrific experience. The last thing she said to me before she lost the ability to speak was “stay”. She was dying and afraid and just wanted her daughter to stay by her side, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit and watch her die. It was excruciating for me. I did visit her every day until her death, but she was no longer there really. She died a week later. I will never forgive myself.
Oddly funny
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China will ramp up efforts to stand on its own feet in science and technology and solve the issue of foreign stranglehold in the sphere, as part of a push for the country to become a global forerunner in key technological areas, according to key takeaways from the top leadership on Tuesday.Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the efforts to accelerate the establishment of a new pattern of development and enhance the security and initiative of development when attending the second group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee on Tuesday afternoon.As the country eyes expediting the establishment of a new pattern of development, technological self-sufficiency and competitive yet secure supply chains will become all the more important, industry observers said, citing the US-led technology decoupling from China....On top of that, the country will take accelerated steps toward science and technology self-sufficiency and self-strength and address foreign "stranglehold" issues, Xi said.
The actions by the Outlaw US Empire and its vassals that began decades ago to thwart development within the Global South has finally blown-back onto their economies as becoming sovereign in all areas is now the goal of all Global South nations and is a Movement that will not be beaten back again as it was in the 1950-60s when it was first attempted.
Recall that nobody holds a patent on Nature’s Secrets; they can be discovered by anyone and used.
The Global South holds a big advantage over the West in STEM grads and better economic models to follow to promote that advantage.
What remains to be seen in the future is the Global South’s behavior towards the West: Can the urge to put the West down and trample on it as the West did to the Global South be resisted?
Can Xi’s vision of a Win-Win world of a shared human destiny triumph? Only Time will tell.
Do not live a life of regret
As in this…
Being too kind to people that do me wrong all the time.
I deeply regret letting my creative writing and piano playing skills go to s**t. Ever since I entered the corporate world 19 years ago, it has consumed me and I no longer feel passionate about those things. I stopped practicing everything. When I try to make myself do them, it feels like just that, like I am forcing myself and it is no longer fun. I feel like I’ve become a shell of my former self in so many ways.
Preacher Man Casserole
The preacher isn’t the only one who will enjoy this great casserole.
2023 01 25 07 45
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
Garlic (to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
8 ounces tomato sauce
8 ounces egg noodles
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook and drain ground beef.
Mix beef with garlic, salt, sugar and tomato sauce.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook and drain egg noodles.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese together in a small bowl.
Layer, in order twice – noodles, sour cream mixture, meat.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivered a speech at Keio University in Japan on Wednesday.
If we are to describe this speech, it would be labeled with "poor level, bad influence, and insidious intentions."
It was not worth mentioning, but the negative trends of NATO and Japan exposed from its content deserve the high vigilance of the entire Asia-Pacific region. It can be said that the speech is full of "ominous omens."Before visiting Japan, Stoltenberg went to South Korea.
Although he also played up the "China threat" in South Korea and tied China, Russia and North Korea together with malicious intent, his words were far less straightforward and blatant than in Tokyo.
Facing the Japanese audience, Stoltenberg spent a lot of time attacking China.
He said in a sensational tone, "What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow."
He also said unctuously, "China is not our adversary," but what he said later was basically to smear and slander China.
He accused China of "substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, without any transparency" and said that China (the Chinese mainland) is attempting to assert control over the South China Sea, and threatening Taiwan.Stoltenberg's words and actions in Japan and South Korea are very different, which reflects many deep-seated problems, indicating that the two countries play different roles in NATO's strategic design.
In Seoul, he mainly spoke to the South Korean side, which was the target of his persuasion and incitement, while in Tokyo, he spoke to the entire Asia-Pacific region, and the Japanese authorities stood by as accomplices and co-conspirators.A joint statement was issued after talks between Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on January 31, in which the common stance against China and Russia was very prominent, and the intention to interfere in the situation across the Taiwan Straits was very strong.
These will undoubtedly create risks of camp confrontation and division in the Asia-Pacific region.
The role NATO is playing is exactly the same as it has played on the European soil.
In other words, it is actually NATO itself that is promoting the idea that "what is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow."A wolf whose base camp and activities have been in the far west for a long time has found a foothold in East Asia with great ambitions.
Japan is the one who lured the wolf into the house, and also seeks a high-sounding reason.
As the secretary general of NATO, Stoltenberg is not qualified to dictate East Asian affairs, not to mention even giving outrageous statements.
To some extent, Japan created such an opportunity for him and NATO. Stoltenberg did not hesitate to speak sweetly about Japan, saying that among NATO's partners, none is closer or more capable than Japan.
He also praised Japan's substantial increase in defense budget and revision of its security strategy, behaviors that have been widely questioned in the Asia-Pacific region.
NATO and Japan formed a vicious mutual reinforcement.
Like Germany, Japan is captured and lacks sovereignty.
Only its people can alter the situation, which is the same formula for Europe.
IMO, NATO will likely last through the 2030s, although it will likely shrink to just the Outlaw US Empire, Canada and UK, and perhaps Denmark and Netherlands.
Once Russia establishes its new security arrangements, it will become clear there’s no longer any need for NATO within Europe. But as with its evil twin the EU, it will take time for its complete demise.
This Woman Restored An Old Van To Make All Her Traveling Dreams Come True
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Marina Piro wanted to travel the world with her rescue dog Odie, but she couldn’t find the right van to travel with. After a little bit of searching she decided that the best thing to do would be to build one herself.
“The main reason why I chose to be travelling by van was that I wanted to have Odie with me. A van seemed the most viable option. Too many bus, train, plane companies do not accept dogs, not to mention the difficulties you might have to find a suitable accommodation. Despite being the most practical solution, van life with a dog can be difficult at times and you must consider various aspects of it before throwing yourself into it,” she said.
What’s It Like To Take Part In An Ayahuasca Ceremony?
The first time I heard about Ayahuasca was in a Rolling Stone article and it did not paint a pretty picture: sitting blindfolded in a dark room, puking into buckets, and wearing adult diapers. I suppose in an attempt at journalistic fairness the author talked about both the psychedelic wonders of the experience and also the corridors of hell. I found the article terrifying.
A year or so later a close friend of mine had his own experience with the spirit vine and upon telling me about his beautiful adventures he continually prodded me, “When are you going to drink Ayahuasca?” In my mind, not soon, but now at least I had an invitation. Through my ongoing spiritual journey I learned more about the “Grandmother” and after about two years of education I decided it was time for a visit. I asked my friend if he could help arrange an upcoming session and two months later I found myself in an Ayahuasca healing ceremony with a Peruvian Shaman direct from the Amazon.
I arrived at the temple about an hour or so before the ceremony was to begin. There were twenty total participants and everyone was setting up little beds – mattress pads, blankets, pillows, personal “power objects” and everyone had a small white bucket for purging into. Another first-timer friend of mind accompanied me for the journey. The group was arranged in a U-shaped circle and with not much room left so my friend and I arranged ourselves at opposite ends of the U with the Shaman between us. Later I discovered that my friend and I were the only two virgin Ayahuascaros of the group. I found it pleasing that the two of us ended up at the opposite anchors of the circle and next to the Shaman.
The Shaman spoke for about twenty or thirty minutes about what we were embarking upon. He blessed the Ayahuasca, called in the four spirits, and then called us up one by one to receive our dosage. I was the last of the group to get the medicine. I was relatively calm in those final moments but had plenty of anxiety beforehand. I had been preparing for the experience a long time with a special recommended diet of no salt, no dairy, no refined sugar, no red meat or pork, no alcohol, no sex, no drugs of any kind, and also meditation in both the morning and evening.
I knelt down to receive my brew. Knowing it was my first time the Shaman asked me through a translator, “Do you have experience with other psychedelics?” I said, “Yes.” “Are you sensitive?” I said, “No,” but haltingly. He poured a dark brown gooey liquid from one container into a thimble shot glass like cup – he looked me in the eyes – poured a bit more from a second container – looked me in the eyes – and then poured a bit back into the container. I felt he was sensing some kind of innocence and I trusted his dosing completely. I drank the goo, which tasted like battery acid mixed with echinachia extract. I thanked him and sat down on my mat.
We sat in silence for about thirty minutes. I was not feeling any effects besides intense anticipation. The sun had now receded and total darkness descended upon the room. I breathed and closed my eyes and after 30 or 40 minutes it began.
I started to see geometric like patterns. Something was happening. I heard someone purge. It was my friend. “Oh no. Is he okay? Here we go,” I thought. The Shaman began shaking a rattle and singing. The visuals rapidly increased into a multi-colored, fractal, ever changing Tron-like laser light show moving at hyper speed. It was amazing but fast. Soon I felt a buzzing of energy around me that was incredibly strong. I got very hot and uncomfortable. I was sweating profusely and I couldn’t find relief – just too hot. I began to accept the fact that I would likely have to throw up. I was having a hard time with it. I reached in the darkness for my little white bucket and put it between my legs. As the buzzing grew and against the cacophony of the light show I heard a voice – a cheerful little spirit – it said, “Okay, so we’re going to do this and it won’t be that bad and after it’s over with things are just going to be great, are you ready?” I mumbled a weak “Okay.” The voice added, “No don’t think about it too much we’ll just get it over with, ok, here we go…” And then I purged. Considering I had been fasting for the previous twenty-four hours all that came up was the same Ayahuasca battery acid and a little bit of water. It came out in an explosion of colors and a wild burst of energy. I heaved as much as I could, tried to clean myself up, and lay back down in a fetal position with my puke bucket as my new best friend.
I lay there on my side and entered hyperspace. The Absolute. I immediately felt better. One of the three sitters in the room changed out my bucket. It was so strong. A muscular force that was lifting me into another dimension. I had no idea where we were going next – I just focused on my breathing: long slow breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth. This was my lifeblood. My meditation practice before the journey was invaluable. Being able to continually return to by breath and release thoughts helped steer the balance of my sanity. The more I was able to breath with total purity – without thought or judgment – the more I slipped into ecstatic enlightenment. I could feel little flittering floating elf like creatures buzzing around me and pulling away layers of beauty.
The music was beautiful and the Shaman was seemingly everywhere. Sometimes I would sing along with his songs to help regulate my breathing. I would hang onto his singing like a life preserver in a stormy ocean. His rhythm was incredible. He would sing a song and then stop for what seemed like long stretches of time when I could forget there was any music before at all. And in the pauses was total silence as we gently rocked in a womb of absolute being.
I felt we were in a hall or pantheon of cosmic peace and wisdom – an infinite space of pure thoughtless being. All twenty of us were there together, all absolutely in the same space, all breathing together – in and out. It was incredible. A room of souls just hanging out in Timelessness, purring and utterly connected. If someone was in need – in pain or purging – we would breath for him or her and bring the individual back into the space. I realized that we were taking turns breathing for one other – we took turns at many tasks, looking after one another – so we could all do the “work” that needed to be done. I found this to be a poignant model for building community on planet Earth: each of us taking care of one another, taking turns, trading, sharing, not waiting or expecting, pure giving.
Throughout the ceremony my mind, my ego, was a masterful clever fellow. I saw my mind as a separate sentient being with thirty-one years of experience and it would use unbelievable complex tricks to grab my attention. Anytime I found myself “thinking” and falling down an uncomfortable void of anxiety I would (as in meditation) return to the breath – in and out – and almost instantly the bliss returned, the cosmic knowledge returned: “this is the lesson, this is your being.” The never ending back and forth from our minds to our body, from our ego to our souls, from our thoughts to our breath, is an endless lesson in forgiveness – I was learning how to let go and surrender to what is, to the moment, absent of any punishment or perceived outcome. I felt profound forgiveness. I felt a lifetime of judgment and guilt for all my perceived shortcomings and apparent failures disintegrate in one breath. The simplicity ushered absolute peace. Just one breath and it was gone.
At one point I felt the voice return and it said, “Do you want to know what enlightenment is?” “Yes,” I replied. I took another slow deep thoughtless breath and understood it in pure manifestation. “There it is, it’s as simple as that” replied the voice, “and it’s with you at every moment.” It’s all inside us – enlightenment is as simple as letting go of your mind – letting go of attachment to yourself, to outcomes, to just letting go to the way things are. But the realization wasn’t a rejection of my ego. Instead it’s about embracing the false duality of our existence with compassion.
The songs continued. The journey pressed on. Sometimes other people offered music. Much of it was transcendent: antique guitars, chimes, solo voices, flutes, and myself with a drum.
Throughout the ceremony I sometimes wondered how long it had been or how much longer it would continue but such “thoughts” only brought discomfort and I found them to be yet another trick of the mind. The Shaman came over to me at one point and put his hand on my head and whispered in my ear, “How are you?” “I’m listening to you, I’m here, I’m listening,” I whispered. He blew something around me and under my shirt and I felt as if gold rain was washing away all my fears, all menacing spirits, and I melted into surrender with bottomless gratitude.
The absence of validation and judgment with the embracing of total surrender and forgiveness for the Self and others (many times being the same thing) was a critical lesson. I felt this was the ticket to the highway of eternity. Forgive myself, let go, and breath – in and out.
We are watching EVERYTHING collapse and here’s the proof
China reveals tailless concept for next-generation fighter jet
A promotional video released by the Chinese aviation industry on Tuesday featured computer generated images showing what analysts said on Wednesday could represent a concept of the country’s next-generation fighter jet, which reflects China’s determination to outpace the US in new warplane development.
The video, published in the WeChat video channel of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), introduced China’s airborne radar development and featured near its end a computer-generated clip showing three unknown aircraft flying in formation.
The aircraft looked like the J-20 stealth fighter jet, but with no canards, tails or fins, and the diamond-shaped wings appeared bigger than those of the J-20, giving it what seems to be a blended wing-body configuration, observers said, who also speculated that it might be China’s next-generation fighter jet.
At the Airshow China 2022 held in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province in November 2022, AVIC put on display a concept model of a next-generation fighter jet, which also had a tailless design like the aircraft shown in the latest video.
Other countries are also conducting research and development into next-generation fighter jets, and tailless designs similar to the one shown by China are some of the most popular concepts, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
A tailless design will give the next-generation, or the sixth-generation, fighter jet superior stealth capability in all directions than current fifth-generation ones, and a blended wing body design will provide higher lift, longer range and lower fuel consumption. However, without vertical tails, the new aircraft will lose out on maneuverability if it does not use other designs or technologies to compensate, like thrust vectoring control-capable engines and split brake rudders, or other innovative approaches, analysts said.
With the project name Next Generation Air Dominance, the US’ next-generation fighter jet might also use a tailless design, according to a computer-generated rendering by US military warplane contractor Lockheed Martin, US news website Defense News reported in September 2022.
Based on the information available now, China has started research and development in terms of the next-generation fighter jet, and it is in a confident place to eventually outpace the US, Fu said.
Africa Embraces Russia & China And SHUTS OUT The U.S.
What’s It Like To Work For Elon Musk
After working for Elon for over 5 years at SpaceX as the Head of Talent Acquisition, there are many potential answers to this question. Any answer I might give will be completely colored by my own experiences, so full disclaimer this is not an unbiased piece free of personal narrative.
It is said that you cannot dream yourself a character; you must hammer and forge one yourself. If any leader and any company has done that, and continues to do that it is SpaceX. To try and capture in words what working with Elon is like, I’d like to share some specific memories, particularly of one really rough day and its epic aftermath.
On Aug 2 2008, 8 months after I joined the company, SpaceX launched its third flight of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle. Falcon 1 was the predecessor to the Falcon 9 launch vehicles that the company flies today.
It was a defining moment for the company. Elon had a couple years prior stated in the press that his $100M personal investment in the company would get us up to 3 tries and if we couldn’t be successful by the third flight we may have to admit defeat. In addition to the pressure created by this narrative in the press, the lobbyist armies of our competitors (largest, most powerful defense contractors in the world) had been in overdrive in DC trying to undermine SpaceX and damage our credibility by painting us as too risky and inexperienced in order to protect their multi-billion dollar interests in the space launch business.
SpaceX executed a picture perfect flight of the first stage (portion of the flight that gets the vehicle away from Earth’s gravity and where the vehicle experiences max Q/maximum dynamic pressure, or basically where the conditions on the vehicle are physically the harshest) clearing some of the highest risk points of mission.
However, shortly after the first stage flight, immediately following stage separation (when the first stage of the vehicle detaches and falls away from the 2nd stage of the vehicle which continues its journey to space) we lost the vehicle and mission.
SpaceX, VP of Propulsion Tom Mueller, the modern day godfather of rocket science and one of the most brilliant scientific minds on the planet, and his team had done such a great job redesigning the vehicles engines systems that they were even more efficient and powerful than in some ways projected.
We turned off the first stage engine, and then proceeded to separate the vehicle stages; however when the stages uncoupled there was still a little leftover ‘kick’ or thrust in the first stage engine- so our first stage literally rear ended our second stage immediately after we had tried to separate the two sections of the vehicle. It was a devastating emotional experience.
I stood around with the then 350 or so employees, and we cheered the vehicle on as it took off, and as we were watching the mission clock and knew that the stages were about to separate – the video feed was cut. The company is on a 20 second viewing delay from the mission control team as we are being projected the external press feed which is delayed in case of major mission anomalies. So when we lost video, we knew something had gone wrong in a big way.
Elon and about 7-8 of the most senior technical people at SpaceX were commanding the mission from a trailer in the back of the Hawthorne factory; and we all waited anxiously for the trailer door to open and for someone to tell us something. The mood in the building hung thick with despair; you have to keep in mind that by this point SpaceX was 6 years old, and many people have been working 70-80+ hours a week, swimming against extremely powerful currents, like difficult barriers in technology, institution, politics, and finance- by sheer force of their blood and sweat.
They had all given so much, were mentally and physically exhausted, and really needed a win in order to replenish their spiritual wells and give them the faith to keep following this man up a treacherous mountain that had depleted the hopes and resources of the many others who had come to conquer it.
This night would forever impact the future of the company, it had the potential to send the company into a downward spiral, from which we may not have ever recovered. A failure in leadership would have destroyed us not only from the eyes of the press or potential consumers but it would have destroyed us internally.
When Elon came out he walked past the press and first addressed the company. Although his exact words escape me in how he started off, the essence of his comments were that:
We knew this was going to be hard, it is after all rocket science; then listed the half dozen or so countries who had failed to even successfully execute a first stage flight and get to outer space, a feat we had accomplished successfully that day.
Elon has (in his infinite wisdom) prepared for the possibility of an issue with the flight by taking on a significant investment (from Draper Fisher Jurvetson if I recall correctly) providing SpaceX with ample financial resources to attempt 2 more launches; giving us security until at least flight 5 if needed.
And that we need to pick ourselves up, and dust ourselves off, because we have a lot of work to do. Then he said, with as much fortitude and ferocity as he could muster after having been awake for like 20+ hours by this point that, “”For my part, I will never give up and I mean never,” and that if we stick with him, we will win.
I think most of us would have followed him into the gates of hell carrying suntan oil after that. It was the most impressive display of leadership that I have ever witnessed. Within moments the energy of the building went from despair and defeat to a massive buzz of determination as people began to focus on moving forward instead of looking back. This shift happened collectively, across all 300+ people in a matter of not more than 5 seconds. I wish I had video footage as I would love to analyze the shifts in body language that occurred over those 5 seconds. It was an unbelievably powerful experience.
What happened in the days and weeks following that night is nothing short of a series of miracles:
Within a matter of hours the SpaceX team identified the likely cause of the launch failure. Typically turnaround time from others in the launch business can range from weeks to months for failure investigations. Our team combed through every ounce of data to make sure we understood exactly what went wrong as quickly as possible.
By Aug 6th we announced the results of our investigation and came 100% clean with our supporters and customer community in order to make sure we could retain their trust in this difficult time. (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation)
In 7 weeks, we had another rocket fully manufactured, integrated and on location ready to fly again. No one else could have done this in less than 6 months with unlimited human and financial resources; SpaceX did it in 6 weeks, with less than 400 people and on a restricted financial diet.
On Sept 28 2008, SpaceX flew its Falcon 1 launch vehicle from Kwajalein Atoll in the south pacific and executed its first 100% successful launch becoming the world’s first privately built rocket to achieve earth orbit. An accomplishment of truly epic portions and a task previously completed by only 6 mightiest nations in the history of the world. A much needed and much deserved victory for the entire SpaceX team and as it hopefully will turn out the future of humanity overall.
So for those who ask the question, this is in my opinion the true character of Elon Musk. Undeterred in the face of all odds, undaunted by the fear of failure, and forged in the battlefields of some of the most terrifyingly technical, and capital intensive challenges that any human being could choose to take on. Somehow he comes out alive, every time – with the other guy’s head on a platter.
Working with him isn’t a comfortable experience, he is never satisfied with himself so he is never really satisfied with anyone around him. He pushes himself harder and harder and he pushes others around him the exact same way. The challenge is that he is a machine and the rest of us aren’t. So if you work for Elon you have to accept the discomfort. But in that discomfort is the kind of growth you can’t get anywhere else, and worth every ounce of blood and sweat.
– Dolly Singh
Major news regarding the Chinese nuclear submarine fleet and development
And yet another new 093B hull was spotted.
main qimg 2a323ec05c2830ecd430ccc785098973 lq
I find three details more interesting though.
1- It seems to have a pump jet.
2- There can be a VLS farm under that blanket.
main qimg 5d457fd6a643ac88db88d9bc3ed625cd pjlq
3- Most importantly, look at the number of hull sections in the bottom left. Counting their pixels, their size is in line with what you’d expect from a hull section for 093.
main qimg 782a3248dd9cced59e0c34ac1550f374 lq
So far this model which was ordered by the shipyard that builds real subs has proven accurate.
main qimg 45110d79bcaea6f27f66020f39ff62e9 lq
Kai Yat Sai (ไข่ยัดไส้หมูสับ)
2023 02 01 18 41
Ingredients:
¼ cup (60 ml) oil
150 g ground pork or chicken
3 tablespoon diced cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoon fresh or frozen green peas
2 tablespoon minced onion
2 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
¼ tspn black soy sauce
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
3 eggs, beaten
Method:
Heat half of the oil in a wok high heat and stir-fry the meat for 2 minutes or until cooked. Add the tomatoes, green peas, onion, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and pepper. Stir-fry another 2 to 3 minutes until cooked then set aside.
2023 02 01 18 44d
Heat a small skillet or omelet pan 12 to 20 cm in diameter and add a drop of the remaining oil. Pour in enough egg to thinly cover the base. Brown the omelet lightly on both sides, being careful to turn the omelet over gently halfway through cooking.
2023 02 01 18 4f7
To stuff the omelet, place 1 to 2 spoonfuls of the meat mixture in the center, fold two opposite sides toward the center and then fold in the remaining sides so that the omelet forms a square. Place on a serving plate and repeat until all the egg and pork mixture is used.
2023 02 01 18 44
Garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) and finely sliced red chilli.
What’s It Like To Date A Model
I dated a model during what you might call her “declining” years. I put that in quotes because to a normal person the idea is absurd. Models have a shelf-life of maybe 10 years, 15 if they are lucky. Once a model hits 30, the modeling industry considers her old and used up, and there is no shortage of eager 15- and 26-year-olds from Eastern Europe who are willing to work longer hours, fly more places, and get paid far less. Almost every model in her late 20s (including the woman I dated) begins to worry incessantly (when she isn’t worrying about nonexistent eye wrinkles) about how to make herself into a “brand” and transition into being a supermodel, which is pretty much the only post modeling career available to you in this line of work.
Dating a model is pretty interesting. As a couple and as a man, you are immediately accorded utterly absurd amounts of social consideration. Any time we were out, we’d get special treatment. Not just from service people but just regular people. People would regularly offer to let us cut in front of them in lines at restaurants, grocery stores, even once at the DMV(!) when we happened to go together. Of course we could get into clubs, although this is not as great as it seems because every two-bit wannabe pickup artist would try to chat “us” (really just her) up when we were just there to dance and have a good time with friends. Probably the biggest benefit is that we always stood an extremely good chance of being offered upgrades to first class when flying. Airlines look for well-dressed people to offer first-class upgrades to when seats are open, and dating my girlfriend had led me to up my game in terms of dress so I always wore a jacket and tie when flying, so we were a pretty good-looking couple (well, she was—I was a chump in a nice suit), and we would always get offered the first-class upgrades. And we flew a lot, because my job is pretty portable and she would have shoots all over the world. I eventually decided that dating a model was potentially a cash-flow-positive arrangement in that during the seasons where we traveled frequently enough, the value of the first-class upgrades we would receive (sometimes thousands of dollars) actually exceeded the amount of money I spent taking her out on dates or covering for her fraction of the rent (more on this below).
Speaking of money, her finances were always a mess. I’ve heard this is often an issue with people who work in industries where you get irregular lump-sum payments for your work. She would get huge checks every few months, but on a highly irregular and totally unpredictable basis. And as a contractor, she would be responsible for handling her own tax withholdings (which she would never do), so she would always have a huge unexpected tax bill in the spring that she would freak out about, and each time she was only saved in the nick of time by the next check that (luckily) came in the mail. I was brought up to be pretty good with money, so I tried to help her keep her finances in order, but she never understood why she should put away about 45 percent (“That’s like half my earnings!”) from every check to account for the self-employment taxes that would be due at the end of the year. After being together for a couple years, I got a good sense of how much she earned over time, and I tried to explain to her what she should try to think of as her average income stream over time and to keep weekly expenses in line, but it was something she just wasn’t very interested in. Instead she would go on partying and shopping binges in the weeks following getting paid and the rest of the time scraping by when she wasn’t. Luckily, I made the wise decision to keep our finances completely separate even when we started living together and “splitting” the rent, which more often than not turned out to be me footing all of the rent for that month and her paying me back months later when she got paid. But like I said, sometimes this was offset by the tremendous material consideration in the form of airline upgrades or hotel room upgrades when we would go on vacation.
Ultimately though, the most frustrating thing about the whole experience is that despite being absolutely drop-dead gorgeous (some models look “strange,” while others are more conventionally beautiful, and she was one of the conventionally beautiful ones), she became increasingly insecure and worried about her “declining” looks. To give you an idea of what this is like, imagine someone who is literally better looking than anyone else you know or ever meet on the street. Not only this but they are, by dint of their profession, an expert in terms of how to dress and apply makeup, so you are basically dating a walking Photoshop commercial. Despite this, she would obsess about what I could only perceive to be completely invisible fat on her thighs and just-as-invisible wrinkles around her eyes. She would literally ask me, “Do I look fat?” or “Don’t you think I look old?” and of course as a man with a good sense of perspective about what I’d managed to snag, at first I would enthusiastically answer, “Of course not! You’re the most beautiful woman on the planet!” which as far as I could tell was 100 percent the truth. The problem was, none of these really assuaged her insecurities (of course) so she would keep asking over and over, and there is a limit to how many times you can enthusiastically exclaim about how beautiful your girlfriend is, even if you do believe it to be the truth. Obviously, she noticed this difference in the enthusiasm of my answers, and it didn’t help her insecurity about her supposed fading looks. Remember, again, during all this time she is still better looking than 99.99 percent of all human beings, so you get a sense of the utter absurdity of the situation.
She was also spending all of her spare time trying to “make it” as a supermodel, which for those who aren’t familiar with the industry, doesn’t mean “extra-good-looking model,” it means models who have the brains to figure out that they have to leverage their looks into building themselves into a brand and business before their shelf-life runs out. She had several friends who were doing the same thing (models have wised up to the game, with the success of supermodels like Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum who have parlayed their careers into television shows and such), one of them is having some measure of success at it—you would probably recognize her name since she hosts a minor show on cable. But of course to build a business, you need to, at a minimum, be pretty good with finances, and she had no interest in it, despite my continuing attempts to try and get her to pay attention to the basics. It wasn’t that she wasn’t smart—she just hated finance. As a result of this, she became gradually more demotivated, insecure, and would complain often that she was “over the hill,” which is pretty absurd at 28 or 29 (although I hear it sometimes from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, which I consider equally absurd) and it became a continual source of negativity in our day-to-day interactions.
I met her when she was 25, and we dated nearly four years until finally breaking up just a couple months before she turned 30. I know I’ve sounded pretty negative in this answer, but in the first couple years the relationship was so good that I thought she was marriage material, but her insecurity and negativity became such a problem later on that despite my attempts to be supportive and make it work, we eventually had to part ways. I really thought we were meant to be together so I probably let things go on for much longer than was wise, in retrospect. At one point, I thought maybe we could make it work as a joint venture, with her doing the modeling and speaking and industry relationships, and I would handle the finance and “business” pieces, but her negativity and insecurity about everything had totally poisoned things between us so much by then that I just couldn’t handle it anymore.
One funny postscript is that my mom perhaps recognized this before I did, and (to my chagrin at the time) tried to set me up with various hometown girls when I would visit for holidays. Finally, I met someone when I was home for Christmas when my mom, before I could stop her, introduced me as “my son, who is dating the supermodel” to a girl I’d been friends with in high school, which of course got her to talk to me. She now says she was impressed not because I was dating a supermodel, but because I was helping her with her finances and “good with business,” and now she is my fiancee.
– Anonymous
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US ‘not sincere’ in fixing ties with China, as Washington still wants to copy ‘bloc-to-bloc confrontation’ in Asia-Pacific
‘Bloc confrontation, Cold War mentality’ not welcomed in Asia-Pacific
ByYang ShengPublished: Feb 01, 2023 08:42 PM Updated: Feb 01, 2023 09:10 PM
Senior officials of the US and US-led military organization NATO are continuing to create hostile atmosphere against China among its allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region, but at the same time, the US is seeking more engagement with China to better manage the so-called competition and the US even wishes to cooperate with China on some issues of great concern to the US, such as finance and the economy, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.Chinese analysts said the insincerity of the US side is very obvious, so China will also be cautious when it deals with the US. If the US refuses to correct its mistakes to fix the bilateral ties that have been unilaterally damaged by the US side since 2018, but instead, keeps urging and using its allies to contain China, then Washington should not expect China to be cooperative in those fields.
According to the Associated Press, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the Philippines on Wednesday for talks about deploying US forces and weapons in more Philippine military camps to ramp up deterrence against China’s actions around the island of Taiwan and the South China Sea.
In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this month, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos ruled out the reopening of the former US military bases of Subic Bay and Clark, saying it was against his country’s constitution to allow foreign bases on its soil.
On Tuesday, visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida pledged to strengthen their ties and discussed “challenges,” including “China’s coercive behavior” in the region. Stoltenberg also implied to the media that an incident like the Russia-Ukraine crisis in Europe could also happen in Asia while labeling China as a “threat” to regional peace.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responding to a question related to the NATO chief’s remarks raised at Wednesday’s routine press conference, said that on hot spot issues like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, “China has always played an active role in promoting peace and negotiation,” and that NATO should carefully rethink what role it has played in the security of Europe.
“What I want to stress is that the Asia-Pacific region is not a battlefield for geopolitical struggles, and we don’t welcome a Cold War mentality or bloc confrontation,” Mao said.
The VOA said in a report that US experts hold low expectations for US State Secretary Antony Blinken’s potential trip to China as they believe it will not “reset” ties with China. So far, the Chinese side is yet to confirm Blinken’s visit despite the spokesperson of China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry previously expressing an attitude of welcome.
Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the reason why the Chinese side has held such low expectations is that it knew the US will not change its hostile attitude toward China, and it knew Washington will not be sincere in fixing the bilateral relations.
“China will also hold a cautious attitude to deal with the US. We are open to any efforts for engagement, but we are also clear that the US will not give up its attempt to contain China’s development, and China will never give up its legitimate and rightful development,” Lü noted.
When US leaders and officials talk about setting “guardrails” for the China-US tension, they are actually talking about setting unfair rules and standards issued by the US and they want China to follow those rules to eventually contain China’s development, a Beijing-based analyst said.
However, China hopes “setting guardrails” is about making sure Washington does not do anything to provoke the China’s core interests like the Taiwan question, he remarked.
The US will not get what it wants from China if Washington shows no sincerity to correct the mistakes it has made since it launched a trade war with China in 2018, and the tough economic situation will make the US pay a higher price for its China policies, analysts noted.
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Bakhmut, Ukraine within 10KM of Encirclement; Supply Routes for Ukraine Troops CUT OFF
The city of Bakhmut, Ukraine is besieged and all available highway routes to supply Ukrainian troops, have been captured by Russian forces.
The final state highway #00506 remains uncaptured, but is now well within range of Russian artillery, so for all intents and purposes, Bakhmut has been captured.
The mass-media has been reporting that Ukraine is “winning” its conflict with Russia. This is **not** what “winning” looks like!
What Does It Feel Like To Go From Being Wealthy To Being Poor?
The global financial crisis destroyed me in 2008. The years immediately after were some of the worst years of my life. I lost everything; or at least I thought I did.
As it turns out, I didn’t lose much at all (assuming you don’t count approximately $3 million in real estate equity and a couple of hundred thousand dollars in cash, as “much”).
I was in Vegas when Lehman Brothers folded… It was my birthday … and it was the first time I’d ever lost big there. I should have known something wicked was coming, but I didn’t. So when my consulting contract didn’t get renewed, I didn’t panic. I kept doing business as usual. When my tenants defaulted on rent, I kept paying mortgages. A year later, I still had $50,000 plus in the bank … enough of a cushion.
I suppose at this time I should make you aware that I was not exactly a low-profile person. I was (and am) in luxury goods and hospitality, and I consulted with companies catering to high-net worth individuals. I helped them design sales and business strategies to keep their clients happy in the short and long term. Needless to say, the luxury sector was massacred, and is still clawing its way out of the muck and mire, at least in the United States.
So, with enough money to float for six to ten months, I kept looking for work in my field.
And looking, and looking … nothing.
Any kind of business consulting … nothing (six more months go by).
Any kind of sales … nothing (six more months … this was where it got scary).
Bear in mind that up until this point, I had never even gone a month without a job since I was 12 years old.
My confidence was shot – I mean decimated. I was a shell of the man I had been only two years previously.
I had the stink of failure all over me.
A friend of mine owned a couple of car-washes. He offered me a job. It was outside work, taking orders when people drove in to the wash. “Would you like the undercarriage done?”
It was winter in Colorado
I declined.
I was sharing a huge house at the time with my best buddy and his new girlfriend, who became his fiancé, and we were ALL broke. It was brutal. I don’t think I would have made it without them. I was depressed and miserable. I’m lucky they didn’t bury me in a snow bank and leave me there. I’m sure there were times they wanted to.
“Cocky” doesn’t do failure well.
My buddy with the car-wash called again a few weeks later. I said no again. Not just because of the embarrassment. Not just because of the cold weather and the elements, or standing on my feet for 10 hours a day on concrete without Wi-Fi.
It was because of my father.
Almost every good father has a catch phrase that he uses to motivate his sons to do better than he did. Typically, it’s the threat of being stuck doing any minimum-wage job that no teenager from the Gekko era would ever aspire to. For some reason, the example that my father chose was “car wash”. We’d go through Towne Auto Wash after Little League and he’d always point to that guy who asks, “Do you want a regular wash, or deluxe?” and then hands you that little piece of paper.
“Mickey” He’d say. “You have to save some money/get better grades/quit chasing girls/do your homework. You don’t want to end up like that guy, working in a car-wash, do you?” The last time I heard the speech was around 1996. The words, however, hung in the air for years to come.
So, you can see my quandary. To me, working in a car-wash was the ultimate admission of failure. Not losing all my assets. Not selling my watches and cars. Not letting go of a few rugs and some art.
I was living with friends, driving a 17-year-old car, had less than $200 in the bank with no idea where the next $200 was coming from, and I was worried about being seen as a failure.
A little deluded?
Perhaps, but reality kicked in when I didn’t have money for a niece’s birthday present.
So I called my friend back and asked if I could still have the job at the car-wash. My utter failure as a human being was complete, my humiliation final -or so I thought.
On my third day of dragging myself in to work, the raven-haired stunner that I’d hired as my assistant five years previous pulled in – driving a brand new Lexus.
NOW my humiliation was complete.
There was nowhere to run, no place to hide.
And yet … just as I was about to die from shame, something happened that literally changed my life. She smiled, jumped out of her car, pointed her Louboutins right at me, ran over and gave me a hug. We chatted for about 10 minutes while her car was getting done. She said she was happy to see me, that I’d been a great boss, and that she was glad I was working. “Sooooo many” of her friends(able-bodied twenty-somethings) were unemployed, and at least I wasn’t trapped behind a desk.
I realized that I’d been beating myself up needlessly, and saw how lucky I truly was.
In that instant, I decided that instead of just showing up until I could find something better, I would use all my skills to increase my friend’s business, and I did. Over the next few months, something amazing happened to me. Something I never saw coming, and something that impacted my life and made me a better man.
I saw hundreds of people every day and none of them thought I was a failure, and it energized me. I smiled. They smiled back. I was happy and engaging, and I sold about a gazillion deluxe washes. But also, my worst fear morphed into something I started to look forward to. I got my confidence back, and it was obvious. I saw DOZENS of people I knew – clients, old customers, friends I’d lost touch with, and every single one of them said something positive.
They respected me.
They held me in higher esteem for seeing me in the cold, wearing a red nylon jacket with a car wash logo on it. Nobody made fun of me or called me names. Nobody laughed.
There was even an article in a local lifestyle magazine about me.
They respected me for doing what had to be done (I’m sure a few were secretly happy that I’d been taken down a few pegs … but hey, we’re all human, right?)
The truth of my situation was laid bare for the world to see … there’s no way to spin a story when you are asking people if they want the basic or deluxe wash. There’s no amount of charm of polish or bullshit that can hide the truth.
I was working in a car wash – and nobody thought I was a failure. Not even my father.
Then, about 6 months later, one of my old clients called. He needed some help setting up a new luxury club. We put a deal together and when I resigned from the car-wash, my friend was genuinely sad, saying I was the best employee he’d ever had.
I approached that new consulting contract with a vigor and zest for life I hadn’t felt for years! A few months after that, another contract took me to Asia, and I’ve been consulting over here ever since.
So, my worst fear turned out to be my salvation.
It gave me confidence, paid my bills for a while and put me in a position to move my company to Asia and have access to an abundance of new cultures and growing markets.
Sure, I’m not quite back to where I was that day 9 years ago in Vegas, but I have a red nylon jacket with a car wash logo on it that reminds me that for my version of success, I don’t have to be.
– Michael Aumock
Bpeek Kai Yat Sai Koong
(Stuffed Chicken Wings)
This recipe was a popular one at the restaurant that my wife was working in, located in Merrimack, New Hampshire (now I believe no longer in business – at least not under the same management). The original was available in two strengths quot;normal” and “five flames” – so you can suit yourself as the heat by simply increasing and decreasing the amount of chiles and curry paste that is added to the stuffing mixture.
As for the question “how many does it make” the answer is that it depends on how well you stuff the wings.
The original was known as “mini drum sticks” incidentally, and the ingredients added to the stuffing were the plain chiles, ginger and garlic, not the marinated variants that my wife includes in this version.
These little morsels can be eaten as a starter, or as a snack on their own. They are also served as a side dish with a larger Thai dinner.
If you choose to make some wings hotter than others, then you can dip the hot ones in a little red food coloring diluted in water to turn them red… as a warning to the unwary!
Ingredients
Marinade
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 cup takhrai (lemon grass), very finely sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground prikthai (black pepper)
1/4 cup chopped pak chi (coriander/cilantro plant)
Stuffing
Drained nam jim wan (see method)
Drained khing dong (see method)
1 cup shrimp, pureed or finely chopped
1 tablespoon prik ki nu daeng (red birdseye chiles), finely chopped
1 tablespoon prik nam pao (chili paste in oil)
1 tablespoon red curry paste
Wings
12 chicken wings
Instructions
Chop the chicken wings in half.
Combine the marinade ingredients and marinade the wings overnight.
Now you must separate the meat from the bones by gripping one end of each piece and jerking the meat and skin from the other end back to your hold (alternatively you can insert the stuffing using a cake icing bag).
Drain about 1 tablespoon of the ginger from a bottle of khing dong.
Similarly drain a tablespoon of the chili/garlic mixture for a bottle of nam jim wan.
Combine all the ingredients of the stuffing to form a fine paste, making sure that the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated to avoid “hot spots” in the mixture. and then stuff the wing portions with it.
The mini drumsticks can now be barbecued or deep fried until golden brown.
President Joe Biden’s administration has reportedly decided to send longer-range rockets to Ukraine, giving Kiev’s forces the capability to hit targets farther behind the frontlines, just as a top Ukrainian intelligence official threatened more strikes deeper inside Russia.
The gift of Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) rocket artillery munitions with a range of 150 kilometers (94 miles) will be part of an upcoming military aid package for Ukraine valued at more than $2 billion, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two unidentified US officials familiar with the plans. The package will also include additional Javelin anti-tank weapons, mine-resistant vehicles, multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), and support equipment for Patriot air defense systems.
The GLSDB rockets will give Ukrainian forces further reach, nearly doubling the range of the MLRS and HIMARS munitions that Washington and its NATO allies have previously been provided. Biden had been reluctant to send weaponry that could strike Russian soil, risking escalation into a wider conflict with Moscow, but he has authorized increasingly provocative aid in recent weeks.
Bpeek Kai Mao Daeng
(Drunken Chicken Wings)
In Thai mao means drunk (kimao means to be drunk), and daeng means red. Bpeek kai are chicken wings.
2023 02 01 18 37
This is a useful recipe for something to do with chicken wings. My wife cuts the wings off all the chickens she uses and keeps them in a large bowl in the freezer, when the bowl is full we make this up, and serve it as “tapas” in the restaurant in the evenings. It is good finger food, but perhaps only for adults.
Ingredients
Chicken
1 1/2 pounds chicken wings
Marinade
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/4 cup thinly sliced lemon grass
10 to 15 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon freshly milled black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped red birdseye chiles (prik ki nu)
1/4 cup chopped coriander/cilantro (including roots if possible)
1/4 cup tomato ketchup
1/4 cup whiskey (preferably bourbon or rice whiskey
Instructions
Mix the marinade, stir the wings until thoroughly coated and leave to marinade for 12-24 hours in the fridge.
They should then be barbecued or grilled over fairly high heat until cooked through.
This is then served with a dipping sauce that consists of 4 parts mayonnaise, 4 parts tomato ketchup to one part hot chili sauce (Tabasco is suitable, or anything hotter than that).
As for the leading question, most if not all the alcohol is burned off in the barbecuing process, so it is quite safe for children, but if you are making it for the kiddies, you might want to reduce or leave out the chiles!
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS QUARTERLY PROFIT DROPS ALMOST 70%
Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter operating profits plunged nearly 70 percent, the biggest drop in more than eight years, as the global economic slowdown dealt a blow to electronics and chips sales.
The South Korean tech giant said operating profits for the October to December period slumped to 4.3 trillion won ($3.4 billion), a 69 percent drop from a year earlier.
The drop is in line with the estimate Samsung released earlier this month and marks the company’s worst decline in quarterly profits since the third quarter of 2014.
“The business environment deteriorated significantly in the fourth quarter due to weak demand amid a global economic slowdown,” Samsung said in a statement.
Sales fell eight percent to 70.46 trillion won from the same period the previous year.
Samsung singled out weak demand for memory chips, saying the sector had been hit hard “as prices fell and customers continued to adjust inventory amid deepening uncertainties in the external environment”.
The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The fourth-quarter drop is the second consecutive margin squeeze for Samsung, which saw a 31 percent fall in operating profits in the third quarter year-on-year.
For the full year, Samsung reported 43.38 trillion won in operating profit and a record-high annual revenue of 302.23 trillion won.
– ‘Heavy blow’ –
Until the second quarter of 2022, Samsung, along with other tech companies, significantly benefited from strong demand for electronic devices — as well as chips that power them — during the pandemic.
But the global economy is now facing multiple challenges, including soaring inflation, rising interest rates and higher energy costs.
Global memory chip revenue dropped 10 percent last year, as electronic equipment manufacturers “started to deplete memory inventory they had been holding in anticipation of stronger demand,” according to tech research firm Gartner.
“Consumers also began to reduce spending, with PC and smartphone demand suffering, and then enterprises starting to reduce spending in anticipation of a global recession, all of which impacted overall semiconductor growth,” said Andrew Norwood, VP Analyst at Gartner.
The macroeconomic uncertainties are expected to persist in 2023, Samsung said, adding: “the Company anticipates demand to begin recovering in the second half.”
“Samsung was dealt a heavy blow with deteriorating external factors, like weaker demand and rising costs,” Samsung Electronics vice chairman Han Jong-hee said during CES 2023 in Las Vegas earlier this month, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
“I think this difficult business environment will continue this year as a prolonged economic slowdown and risks in supply chains increase uncertainties.”
Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce
2023 02 01 18 34
Ingredients
2 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes or Roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Halve the tomatoes lengthwise through the stems. Squeeze the tomatoes over a bowl or sink to remove the seeds and watery centers. Chop the remaining tomato flesh roughly and transfer to a food processor.
Add the oil, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, garlic, salt and some pepper and pulse until mostly pureed with some very small chunks. Pour into a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and let some of the watery liquid drain, shaking gently for about 30 seconds to hasten complete drainage.
Pour the tomato sauce into another bowl or jar, use immediately, freeze or refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Confessions Of A Former North Korean Citizen
How/when did you get out?
I fleed from North Korea when I was 17, in 2006, by crossing the North Korean-China border with my mom and younger sister, with the help and under the arrangement of middlemen.
How easy was it to travel from Pyongyang to the border of China? Is it difficult? It seems like a fair amount of distance to travel when you are not in favor of the regime.
Not very difficult. No road block and no tracing, simply not exciting as you might think so. The distance is not very fair away and the travel only take 2 days.
Would you say most people in North Korea have an idea of what life outside of the country is? Were you able to pick up South Korean radio signals or use uncensored internet?
No, I never able to pick up South Korean radio signals or use uncensored internet. For common North Korean we nearly had no access to the information of what life outside of the country is life, save as those taught in school and in the media controlled by the party.
What does the population get taught about the outside world growing up?
We had little contact with the outside world in North Korea. We were taught that other countries are full of bad things such as oppression and crimes and pollution. We were taught that the imperialist United States and the South Korea were seeking all the chance to attack and occupy North Korea.
Are people in N. Korea really as brainwashed as they seem or do they just act like that to avoid problems?
We are taught to follow and not to question the official doctrines since kindergarten. I would say brainwashed may be not the most appropriate adjective and there was nothing to wash in the very beginning when we were growing up. However, I think just like in all other societies, there were someone who have rebellious mentallity whilst there were also a lot just follow the social norm. The only difference may be that for those who have rebellious mentallity, they might be forced to act in accordance with social norms just like that to avoid problems and for the majority others we were indoctrinated to act as the others.
Do you hold the belief that as a sentient being you are entitled to certain inalienable rights, such as: freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly? I would assume most of those would threaten the North Korean regime and would not be allowed. Also, do you believe that the North Korean people are being oppressed and mislead by their government?
I believe a person should have absolute freedom and no restrictions should be imposed unless he or she is doing harm to other person. I don’t believe in those doctrine that you have to give up a part of the freedom for the good of the country or the society.
To be fair, every governments are misleading and oppressing its people, just North Korea is far more serious in doing that. I believe that all governments are bad.
Have you read George Orwell’s 1984, from what I have seen in the media N. Korea seem scarily similar to the world in that book.
I have not seen the book but know what the book is about. In North Korea the survelliance was not as intentive as you may think. We were taught from very young to follow and obey the party line and the majority of the people just not bother to question the party line so far as the people were able to maintain a livelihood. Further, all the people well understood what was the consequence of saying or doing something wrong and the people knew how to do to avoid trouble.
Media reports show a lot of north Koreans mourning over their leader’s death. Was it genuine, faked or just nurtured?
When Kim Il-sung died (I was still very young at that time), I could feel many, including my grands and my parents, were really sad. For Kim Jong Il, I do not know. However, I would say most of the mourning was nurtured, though a few may be genuine.
What went though your mind when Kim Jong Il died?
No feeling, really.
Are North Korean people properly nourished? How is the amount and variety of food?
For those in Pyongyang I would say no to your question. The variety were not much and most food was only vegetarian but the food was just sufficient. However, for the countryside the situation is much different. I would say most of the resources and food went to Pyongyang and there was not much left in other part of the country.
What are north koreans taught about other countries? What about western nations such as the US and the UK?
We were taught from the very young that other countries were full of bad things such as oppression, crimes, pollution, low moral standard, etc. We were taught to prepare all the times for the agressive attack of the imperialist United States and South Korea as they were taking every opportunities wishing to attack and take North Korea.
Are there things about the United States/China/South Korea that you were told in North Korea while growing up that you found to be true?
Yes, they are :-
United States is always agreesive and like to attack other countries;
South Korean are arrogant, especially to North Korean;
Pollution is wide-spread in China and all the Chinese already lost their revolution spirit and all are of very low moral standard.
What is an average day like for a family in North Korea?
An average day was very simple. Mother would prepare breakfast in the morning for the whole family. Father went to work and children went to school after breakfast. Mother usually remained in home for housework. Children usually had lunch at school. After school we did homework or other reading and playing to wait for father. Then the whole family had dinner and after dinner there was not much entertainment and we usually went to bed early.
In some special days such as the nationsal day and the bithday of Kim Il-sung, the school would usually arrange the students to join and participate some large scale rally or show to “celebrate” the special days. At the spring festivals, we would decorate the home and made some special food.
I understand the life in the countryside was much different and much harder.
How was life growing up there? How strong of an influence did Kim Jong Il’s have on the nation?
Actually I did not feel very bad with my life growing up in North Korea. I had a happy childhood and youth years, as my family was not amongst the lower class and we are not living in straving. My childhood and youth years were simple but happy. Contrary to what you may think about, I never think about we were living in no freedom and under many restrictions. As life was like that since I was born, there was no comparison.
I would say that the influence of Kim Il-sung was very strong in the North Korea, even after his death and in the Kim Jong Il’s era. You saw the protriats of Kim Il-sung everywhere and everythings were following the teaching and doctrines of Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong Il took his authority as the successor of the Kim Il-sung and his line, not as a leader on his own. North Korea is indeed ruling by a person who dead for years.
Did you have a hobby growing up (i.e. music, art, athletics), and what were the common pass times of children in N Korea? Also, what were you NOT allowed to do as a pass time?
I liked drawing and painting and was able to paint some good picture. I did spend a lot of time in drawing and painting in my leisure. We went to park or skiing during school holidays. No one had told me what was not allowed to do to pass time.
In a VICE documentary I saw that a lot of Pyongyang restaurants are always completely empty but the staff tried to make it look like they’re expecting a lot of visitors while putting old breadsticks on the table and rushing around with a stressful look on their face like hundreds of visitors will be coming in soon. Apparently there is a lot of (bad) acting in front of tourists to make North Korea look worldly and cultivated. Can you confirm this type of behavior?
I would say they were not doing that look like they were expecting a lot of visitors, but doing that to prove they had somethings to do and value of being employed. Even outside North Korea, I can see many people doing some meaningless work pretending they were busy to cheat their employer.
How is the education in North Korea? Were you only able to learn a second language because of your father’s position? Or is every student well-educated?
I agree that it may be because of my father’s position that I was able to receive a better education. I would say not every students in North Korea were well-educated, but at least every students in the family of party official or army received good education, no matter how lower was the rank.
I’ve always wondered about children of high ranking North Korean party officials that study abroad in Western countries. If they are allowed to live abroad and witness how life is outside of North Korea, how do they return to North Korea and still believe what is told to them by the North Korean government? How many of these children are “converted” to more Western norms yet hide that in order to get by in North Korea?
I don’t think those in the highest ranks do really believe the doctrine, even for those who never study aboard. They only believe in power and authority. Those children are not returning to take up the belief and party line, but returning to take up the power and authority. I do think many do “converted” to more Western norms but power and authority are much more attractive. You do not need to really believe in a doctrine in order to practise the doctrine.
How do marriages work? Is it usually arranged by the families to maintain social class or are people pretty much free to date/marry who they want without much outside pressure? Also, does the government have any role in this?
Amongst the young generation arranged marriages by the families were not common. The young generation were rather free to date and marry, but of course the parents’ opinion sometimes still played a part in the marry and the parent’s “objection” is usually “respected”. Just as in other society, the socal class was maintained not through arranged marriage but through the reality that most people could only have contacted and a chance to meet and date others in similar social class. I did not hear that the government have any role in that.
What do N.Koreans think of gay people? Are there any gay people that come out in N.Korea? Or does the country claim that no one in N.Korea is gay?
Never heard about any gay people come out in North Korea and personally I did not know any of the gay people in North Korea. This even not a topic in North Korea and so the country had never said anything on that.
So its true then….when some one defects their whole family get sent to a labour camp?
I can only say usually when someone defects his/her whole immediately family would have a high risks to be sent to labour camp. It also depends on how serious the allegations were.
Is there such a there such a thing as speaking ill of Kim jong?
No one would speaking ill on the the leaders, no matter openly or privately.
What is your opinion on the internet censorship in North Korea? What is the general public’s attitude toward such practices? (Do people try to circumvent it, or just live with it?)
Not many people had access to internet in North Korea. The usage of the internet were mainly for education and research and official purpose and was under a highly control environment. The general public even didn’t have the connection to access to internet, not to say any chance to try to circumvent the censorship.
Do you feel that most of the North Korean population, if they had the opportunity, would want unrestricted access to the internet? Would they challenge or defend their indoctrination (as you put it) as they learned more about the rest of the world?
I think sure. If you ask someone whether you wish unrestricted freedom to anything, I think nearly all will give you a positive answer.
Indoctrination will surely collapse with free access to information, just like the case of China.
Have you seen this video? Are things really that bad or is it “imperialist propaganda”? How many North Koreans live in these conditions? Do the people of Pyongyang know about this?
I did know there was famine and starving in the countryside though the media never told. We did see that when we have chance to go to the countryside. I wouild say there was about half of the population in North Korea living in the countryside and they were suffering from certain degree of famine and starving.
Are there charities in North Korea where more well off North Korean citizens can help the very poor citizens of North Korea? Are there charities of any kind or is that unheard of?
I had not heard about there was any charities in North Korea. Everythings and every areas of life were controlled by the party and I do not think they would allow any charities operating in North Korea.
I heard that Choco Pies are used as currency in North Korea and nowadays North Koreans watch smuggled DVDs of South Korean TV Shows. Was this common when you were living in N.Korea or is this a more recent thing?
Choco pies are not used as currency, but commodities exchange were still practised in North Korea.
When I was still living in North Korea, the trend of watching smuggled DVDs of South Korean TV shows was just beginning and the party were trying its best to suppress that.
I’ve heard Marijuana grows freely in North Korea and smoking it is common. Is this true?
I can only said that I had never heard or seen any of that. If there is sufficient water and soil and fertilizer, why not rice but Marijuana?
Are there any illegal drugs, commonly consumed in North Korea? I read some articles about the country, trying to handle a crystal meth epedemic.
Personally I had never seen or heard about drug. I think it may be difficult to traffick drugs into North Korean and they were also too expensive and not affordable to North Korean.
What is an item that you have used after leaving N.Korea that has simplified/made doing something much easier than the how it is done in N.Korea?
Mobile phone. Mobile phone is not availale to common people in North Korea.
What is one custom from North Korea that you feel other countries should follow?
After thinking, I really can’t name anyone, sorry.
Who do you think is really pulling the strings in North Korea? How much power does the military have?
I think it was the few military and party heads, collectively, not Kim Jong Un, who were actually in charge of the country. It is difficult to say how much power does the military have because most of the party highest ranks come from the military and the two ranks were widely overlapped.
Do you think this the Kim Jongs will ever been taken out? Is there a possibility of North Korea becoming what most of us would consider a “normal” country?
I would have a hope on that. You can never know what would happen tomorrow and there is never anything impossible. To be honest, I don’t think the present Kim’s dynasty can survive for hundreds of years and change is only a matter of time.
Would you ever choose to return to North Korea? That is, if the current regime were to fall.
Not if the current regime were to fall, but when there is an hopeful new and good regime. The falling of the current one does not automatically mean the next one will be good.
If you could introduce one aspect of a stereotypical democratic nation to North Korea, excluding freedom or the right to vote or things like that, (examples are press, right to rally, simple freedoms), what would that one thing be?
freedom to information
If the regime changed, do you think North Korea could become a good tourist destination? What are some places that would be considered “Tourist spots” in North Korea?
I think North Korea is now a good tourist destination for many people in the World. Many people just want to see how different the country is in comparing to the rest of the world. That is a selling point and everywhere in North Korea are “tourist spots” in such circumstances.
What are your thoughts on an unified Korea? Also what do you think about the rehabilition programs in S Korea which help N Korean children and adults into adapting S Korean lifestyle?
Just as an usual Korean, I hope for a peaceful, democratic and strong unified Korea. But I don’t think when will the hope be truth. And do you know that in the 2,000 years’ history of Korea, there was only an unified Korea in about 1/3 of the time.
I don’t know much about the rehabilitation programs. Wish those are not another type of indoctrination.
Would you ever want to move to a western country like the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, or any other?
Wish to move to European countries or Australia or New Zealand, but not United States or South Korea. Not much good feelings about United States and South Korea.
Can you expand on your feelings about the United States? Is this because of things you were taught in North Korea, and do you feel they were accurate?
Not because the things taught in North Korea. I understand United States is not a good place to live especially for the poor and the Asians. And also becasue personally I have some bad experience with Americans and South Koreans, I would say both are usually arrogant.
What was something about life outside of N.Korea that surprised you the most/seemed strange to you after leaving? (This can be something that might not seem significant to everyone else. Just something that really shocked you.
The wasting of food. Why do the Chinese always orders more than what they are able to eat and why do the American and the Europeans destroys the corn or wheat or milk just to put up the price in the market?
Is there one thing you actually liked about North Korea you miss?
Confessions of a $100 Million Mega Millions Jackpot Winner
Can you retrace us to the day you bought the ticket? What were u doing the day u saw you won? Did you run out of the store? What did u do after?
I buy $20 worth of picks whenever the jackpot exceeds $100 million. I always play the same numbers.
That particular day was just a day like any other: I left work, bought my ticket, and went home. It was a few days before the drawing and the drawings happen later in the evening so I check my numbers in the morning.
When I saw that I had won, I signed the back of the ticket and put it back in my wallet and went to work.
When you claim a jackpot you have to do paperwork. You take the lump sum and the lottery commission automatically takes 24% to cover taxes. You can elect to have more withheld, and, because I’m a data analyst and I have a spreadsheet for everything, I knew exactly how much to have them withhold. That was the last time I paid taxes and it totaled more than an average American pays in their entire life. So, I don’t feel too bad about not paying taxes out of pocket anymore.
The winnings come in two different deposits (those big checks aren’t real, it’s a wire transfer). The first deposit is the amount of the jackpot that my state owed me and came about 14 days after the paperwork was done. That day, I went to work, as usual, and when I got the notification on my phone of the deposit, I cleared my browser history on my work computer, left my work ID on my desk, and sent a delayed delivery email to my manager resigning. I walked out of the building and drove to a hotel a few hours away and stayed there for two weeks until the other deposit dropped. I called my lawyer and had her manage moving out of my apartment and putting all of that stuff in storage.
This way of quitting and disappearing is movie-style slick.
I had been slowly clearing out my desk between when I claimed and that day. Two days before I got the first deposit, I had my desk fully cleared out, all of my pictures off my desk, coffee cup out of the break room and all of my stuff out of the office. I had stopped carrying my bag and literally had nothing personal to take out of the office with me.
It’s likely they didn’t even notice I was gone until my email sent.
Did you dump the apartment because your name became public information when the money dropped?
No. My name didn’t become public. I use a trust, behind an LLC, behind an anonymous LLC to claim the winnings.
I dropped the apartment because I was wanted to move.
How did you, as a regular person, set up two LLCs to anonymize the money?
LegalZoom.
My first step was setting up an anonymous LLC in New Mexico. Then I set up an LLC in Ohio using the anonymous LLC in NM as the agent. I used the Ohio LLC to set up a trust with the LLC as the trustee and set up an anonymous LLC in Wyoming as the beneficiary.
These moves allowed me to effectively claim anonymously and the money could never be tracked all the way back to me without a lot of legal wrangling. It’s not litigation proof, but there are enough barriers to delay exposure for long enough to regroup and go deeper.
I’ve since set up more anonymous LLCs and trusts to move my money around. At this point I manage the entire system myself and only have to bring in an accountant once a year to look over the books for any tax liability. I also have a lawyer on retainer in case I need her.
What has been your most extravagant purchase?
I spent $3 million on my farm. 278 acres of rolling hills; about 35% pasture and 65% forested. Plenty of elevation, four significant streams, a developed spring and plenty of wild game.
Any hobbies for which you went completely crazy without $$ limits?
Well, my only persistent hobby over the years has been playing Civilization and watching Star Trek. I still do both of those things. I also play guitar but I bought a nice Taylor at first and that’s the last guitar I bought.
When I bought my farm, I built a pottery studio on one of the hills overlooking the property. It’s not for me though; the woman I dated in college majored in ceramics but she’s been out of my life for a long time. If she ever shows up in my life again, she’s welcome to it.
I have been known to fly to London on occasion to get a four pack of Korean hookers, but it’s not a regular thing.
Why Korean?
Because they are nice, fun, and playful. I’ve tried others. Eastern European hookers are fairly sloppy, not very polite, and seem very entitled. I had a weekend with a couple of Portuguese hookers once but they are rowdy. No shit; they will not stop fucking you until you pass out or the weekend is over.
How has your family, friends and love life been?
I told my family, who proceeded to take me to court to place me in a conservatorship to gain control of my assets. After the judge laughed them out of court, they started spreading rumors and gossip around my hometown about me to ruin my reputation. I haven’t been home since.
Most of my pre-lotto friends don’t speak to me anymore. They started asking me for money and when I told them “no” they would lash out saying things like “It’s not really your money” & “you shouldn’t get to decide what to do with it because you didn’t earn it”. They became bitter, resentful, and spiteful. Some of them asked me to help them “start a business” or “invest in this startup”. I’d ask them for a business plan or for more information and they’d bail.
Your family took you to court?
My parents filed the suit with affidavits from my three siblings as support. They wanted control of my money because, well, it’s mid-eight-figures USD and they are entitled, greedy, white-trash.
If your family had just been played it cool instead of the legal stuff and badmouthing you, is it safe to say they would of been well taken care of?
I would have been fair and generous. I mean, I did the fair and generous thing by telling them. I never had the best relationship with any of them, and really considered myself fortunate for getting out of my childhood alive. They are all toxic in one form or another; narcissists, assholes, Trump Republicans all. But I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Turns out, I was wrong.
So, realizing I had the resources to just up and say “Fuck off”, that’s what I did.
Is there anything you couldn’t do previously that you can do now that makes you happy?
Happy? Not really. I was pretty solid on the happiness front before.
I can say with relative certainty that I’m considerably more stress-free. I’ll be the first to admit that going to a job every day was a pain in the ass. I didn’t mind it, but I was only working so that I could retire and stop working.
I decided that I wanted more control over how I was living, and so, I bought the farm. I raise chickens, pigs, and rabbits for meat and I supplement that with hunting deer & turkey. I have a three acre pond stocked with catfish and lake trout.
I also take annual trips to Delaware to fish for lobster and to Louisiana to shrimp. I have Apple, pear, plum, pawpaw and persimmon orchards as well as blackberry, blueberry and elderberry groves. I grow my own barley and hops for beer and my own grapes for wine and I have gardens and grain fields to feed myself and my livestock.
I bought a 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible. I also have a beach house in addition to the farm and my house in town.
What’s your daily routine look like? And what do weekends look like now that money is essentially no object for you?
On the daily I wake up, have a coffee, feed the animals, take care of my money, do the rest of my farm chores, and chill.
On a good day on the farm, I can usually get all of my chores done by 3:00 pm and can then sit on the porch or on the patio, smoking weed and drinking some home brew.
If I’m at my house in the suburbs, I’ll wait for one of my neighbors and her daughter/sister to come over for some weed and sexy fun time.
Every day is a weekend. I don’t really pay attention to what day it is unless there’s something on TV I want to watch.
Whats your favorite part of your daily routine?
Settling into the bar in my basement with a beer and a smoke at the end of the day.
Any unexpected things you learned from being wealthier now?
More money doesn’t make you any happier. I was happy before I won (and pretty good with money anyway.) I already had a retirement portfolio of $1.3 million and was on track to retire in my 50s. The only thing I can say is that my life is just simpler. I don’t owe anything to anyone: my time, my money, my attention, my feelings are all my own and I don’t have to do anything unless I want to.
More money, more problems. The hustle never stops. I’ve increased my net worth 20% over my payout amount. It takes about 3-4 hours each day to look at my accounts and my investments and figure out what I’m going to do next. I’m constantly on the phone with lawyers, accountants and the agents for my LLCs dealing with administrative bullshit. Granted, I could sit back and just let it all shake out, but the horror stories you see on the news about those lottery winners who lose it all are true (if rare).
Money talks, wealth whispers. It doesn’t take long at all for people to figure you out if you draw attention to yourself. I don’t show off. While it’s true that I have a beach house in Destin, I don’t ever take anyone with me when I go. I own a 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible, but I don’t drive it everyday.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
Invest differently. I initially put a lot of my money in real estate, but the margin was too low and I lost a lot of wealth opportunity when I could have been investing in the market. I’ve since reallocated my portfolio to put about 95% of my money in the market (Short term corporate bonds, municipal bonds, large cap dividends, and emerging markets).
How true is it that most lottery winner go broke?
It’s not true at all.
The small minority of large jackpot winners who find themselves on the news because the lost it all are outliers.
If it were a widespread problem you’d hear about it more often, and with the increase in large jackpots, you’d hear about it more recently.
What advice would you give to someone who just won the lottery?
If you ever win a big jackpot, get a lawyer and tell him/her that you want to claim as anonymously as possible and then that you want to hide.
Don’t ever agree to pay the lawyer with a percentage of the winnings. If he/she is legit, they will agree to a set fee contingent upon claiming the jackpot; it should not exceed $100,000.
Then just show them what I did with the anonymous LLCs. It’s perfectly legal and will protect you. If they don’t believe you, find a different lawyer.
Do you think you could ever find true love?
I’ve found true love. I wasn’t emotionally intelligent enough to keep it.
Are you happy?
I’m just as happy as I was before the win.
President Biden continues his walk-back from a war with China
The US doesn’t have enough stockpiles of munitions or the industrial capacity to replenish them for a major military confrontation with China, a US think tank has warned, citing a series of war games it conducted.
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The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has urged the stockpiling of ammo and of materials for producing them, and the offering to producers of better terms so that they have incentive to invest in new facilities.
The CSIS, a nonprofit that lists among its donors major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and General Dynamics, criticized the state of the US defense industry as inadequate for “today’s competitive environment.”
The production base cannot support a protracted, high-intensity conflict, the report released on Monday stated. The country ran low on certain weapons in the simulation, including Javelin and Stinger missiles, 155 mm howitzers and counter-artillery radars, as these had been sent to Ukraine.
In a possible conflict with China over Taiwan, which CSIS assessed may break out with little preparation time, this scenario may replicate.
“In nearly two dozen iterations of a CSIS war game that examined a US-China war in the Taiwan Strait, the United States typically expended more than 5,000 long-range missiles in three weeks of conflict: 4,000 JASSMs, 450 LRASMs, 400 Harpoons, and 400 Tomahawk land-attack missiles (TLAMs),” the report said.
The think tank predicted that LRASMs, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, would be of particular importance, considering that the Chinese navy would likely impose a blockade of the self-governed island.
The US used up its inventory of those weapons in the first week in every iteration of the modelled conflict, CSIS noted, adding that the weapon’s production time is two years.
The report identified a number of underlying weaknesses, including the Pentagon’s status as a sole buyer of weapons, and its acquisition rules, which prioritize “efficiency and cost control over speed and capacity.”
Producers don’t enjoy predictable demand for munitions, which could be provided by multiyear contracts, for example, the report explained. So investing seriously in capital and personnel “is not a sound business decision” for them.
The US regulations for weapons exports mean that getting through the pipeline takes extra months, even years. Some advanced weapons offered by China and Russia get a competitive edge because of this, and due to their lower prices, the report said.
Taiwan missile failure
Recently, the Taiwanese XF-3 missile theodolite, known as the “carrier killer” by the Taiwan military, failed.
It was sent to the Swiss Leica company for repair. The Swiss Leica company transferred it to the Asian maintenance center, which is located in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Finally, it was sent back to Taiwan from Qingdao, Shandong.
Part of Taiwan’s most advanced missile sent to mainland China for repairs
The island’s top military research unit said it had determined that no data had been leaked or malware installed on the optical instrument
This strange part of Taiwan can be summed up in one sentence: The civil officials are indolent and the military officers frivolous.
Taiwanese don’t have any hope for the Taiwanese army!
Any Taiwanese who has served as a soldier in Taiwan knows that once the Taiwanese soldiers encounter the PLA they will only be slaughtered unilaterally.
TRADING HALTED IN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE AFTER OPENING PLUMMET – “GLITCH?”
At the 9:30 AM opening of the New York Stock Exchange today, Tuesday, January 24, a number of VERY LARGE stocks suddenly PLUMMETED at least twelve percent (12%) triggering Regulatory Halting of trades in those stocks. Huge corporations like Exxon, AT&T, Verizon, Wells Fargo Bank, Morgan Stanley, and also some 40 other stocks on the S&P 500, all had to be HALTED by market regulators. Something big seems to be up . . .
Let me take just a moment to remind you of COVERT INTEL which I reported to Subscribers on January 15. That COVERT INTEL said:
I don’t know what to make of this, but the subject is one which is important, so I’m passing this along to all of you, just in case.
I was contacted this morning by a source in the financial industry. Below is PRECISELY what he told me:
"Almost a Trillion dollars has hit the blockchain in just 72 hours as the Federal Government has a big announcement to make on January 20, about the Banking system, over possibly an issue of solvency.The S&P this week will likely see 20-40% falls and banks all get their share prices hit as the rumors start to circulate over what is about to happen."
The original link to this COVERT INTEL story is HERE
Of course, none of that actually took place during the week it was forecast . . . but here we are, the very NEXT week, and WHAM, this . . . . “Glitch???” hits the markets at the opening bell.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I had gotten Covert Intel which I reported to all of you on January 15 (Story Here) I would just chalk today’s moves up to a “glitch.” Somehow, though, given what I reported on the 15th, I don’t think today’s move was a glitch . . . at all.
The stocks that were suspended from trading briefly today include:
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When trading RESUMED, the stocks all __seemed__ to “bounce back up” but right now, no one knows WHY they plummeted and no one knows WHY they rebounded so fast. Did the markets “cancel” the sell orders? We don’t know. Where those sell orders invalid? We don’t know.
What if they were, in fact, all valid??????? We just don’t know. The people in the markets who know . . . aren’t saying anything. That bothers me a lot.
If they could point to a glitch and say “here’s what caused it” that would be good. Them not saying anything seems to me, to be bad.
As most of my regular readers know, I went into hospital Monday for Angioplasty, to deal with new clogs in my coronary arteries. I reported to my readers that for a month or so, I’ve been getting pains in my chest similar to the ones I got before my first heart attack, and I went to my Cardiologist who told me we had better go in with a camera and take a look.
I got that procedure done yesterday. I was on the operating table for two hours as Docs probed my heart arteries, found serious new blockages, and ultimately had to insert a now-second stent in my Left Anterior Descending artery to re-establish good blood flow. They also had to Angioplasty several other arteries to stretch them with a balloon-type device, to get them flowing better. So I had real heart issues . . . again.
I was released from hospital around 9:00 AM today, and was on my way home when all this stuff hit with the Stock Market.
Now, I admit I am behind the curve as far as looking into what’s really going on, because of my hospital situation, but no matter how you view it, glitch or otherwise, this is serious.
I am reaching out to my Intel contacts and will report what I am told on tonight’s radio show beginning at 9:00 PM eastern US time.
Woman Dies In Crash; Taught About Love, Spirits, And The Law Of Attraction (NDE)
Interesting description of the “movie film frames” as time “slowed down”…
Funny Cartoons From The New Yorker That Will Definitely Crack You Up
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The New Yorker is known for showcasing some of the funniest satirical illustrations in print today, and these are some of the best ones.
A young guy on Long Island who video records aircraft and does Astronomy hobby work, went out of his house of Long Island today to video a 747 taking off. As he turned his camera west, he caught SEVEN (7) US Air Force B-52’s flying eastward out into the Atlantic toward Europe .
We know that at least four (4) B-52’s will be participating with an Israeli military drill wherein they “simulate” bombing Iran nuclear facilities, so if any of these planes are heading there, then where are the others going? Ukraine?
Tex-Mex Chili Cheese Supreme
A delicious layered Tex-Mex casserole using three different cheeses.
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped
Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Sauté green bell pepper and garlic until tender.
Add kidney beans. Set aside.
In saucepan, combine tomatoes, tomato sauce and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Add to kidney bean mixture. Combine ricotta and Monterey Jack cheeses, chiles, onions and eggs.
Spread 1/4 of cheese mixture evenly in greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish.
Arrange 1/4 of chips over cheese.
Spread 1/4 of tomato mixture over chips. Repeat layer 3 more times.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove foil and top with cheddar cheese and bake 10 to 15 minutes more.
Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
People Who Were Taught Abstinence Only Education Reveal The Ridiculous Things They Were Taught About Sex
1. We had a teacher unwrap a piece of candy and pass it around the room. The last person was asked if they would eat the candy after everyone had touched it. This was meant to symbolize purity or some shit but was foiled when my friend ate the candy lmao
2. The teacher said that you can only really love one sexual partner and that’s why it’s so important that your spouse be your first and only partner. One of my classmates raised her hand and said, “My mom died when I was a baby and my dad’s been married to my stepmom for ten years. Does that mean he only loves one of them?”
The teacher just looked uncomfortable and moved on to how premarital sex causes depression.
3. I was given a diagram of the female anatomy in which the clitoris had been erased– as in someone went into MS paint and whited it out on a line drawing of the exterior of the vulva. The urethra, vagina, labia, anus were labelled, and then at the top of the labia, it was whited out.
4. Don’t shower while on your period, you will stop bleeding and then you will have gyno problems. Girls that wear thongs are going to damage their genitals.
5. My church based sex ed claimed that foreplay involved things like reciting poetry to one another or playing the violin together.
I guess their plan was for us to be so bad at foreplay we’d never have sex.
6. When your penis touches a girl’s private parts she gets pregnant.
7. That you only have a finite amount of love to give and if you give it away to people before you’re married you won’t have any left for your partner
8. Condoms have microscopic holes and don’t actually prevent pregnancy and definitely will not stop you from getting AIDS because the virus is so small it will magically go through the latex.
9. The school loved to teach “Sex will always result in pregnancy, and with abortion being the unforgivable sin you’re damned if you get pregnant, same if you terminate it, and a load of other sh*t…
They changed things after a kid whos folks knew the teacher asked if it happens every time, why don’t you have one?
(she had been having fertility issues for awhile)
Yes the teacher lost her cool and sent him to the office. We never got told anything aside from they were pulling the class? I mean lets be real, it was a small town about 15yrs ago at a religious school, word got out and they had to do damage control.
and yes, this kid was ruthless when he wanted to be
10. That the actual vagina opening is as small as the tip of a pencil. I also never knew women didn’t pee from their vaginas until I was 16. I’m 19 now and learned more from shitposts on the internet than I ever had in school.
11. The instructor gave all the boys in the class chewing gum and let them chew on it for a few minutes. Then she asked them if any of them wanted to share. Of course none did. Then she asked if they didn’t want to share gum, why would they want to share sex partners?
This was in a co-ed class so all the girls in the class got to see too.
12. I can’t think of anything cuh-razy, but I think it’s because we generally weren’t told much at all. They tried to scare us – condoms aren’t effective, chances are super high you’ll get an STD or get pregnant, watch this horrific slide show of worst-case-scenario STDs and then watch this video of crying women who regret the abortion they got after getting pregnant from their first sexual encounter.
But most topics were just vaguely circled. Some super uncomfortable, young youth pastor came and “educated” us, but he would only refer to genitalia as the “underwear zone.” We were able to write questions on a slip of paper to be answered anonymously, but he only read about 10% of them and deemed the rest inappropriate.
Shocker, we had a lot of teenage pregnancies.
13. We were shown a video where a lady said she could tell if a girl was a virgin just by looking into her eyes. The implication was that premarital sex causes your spirit to die so that you become just a shell with nothing to offer.
I’m sure you can guess that she didn’t say the same applied for the boys, as if teenage girls are the only ones to blame for anyone having premarital sex.
14. I was in an all girls Abstinence class in middle school and they said you will get pregnant if you have sex before marriage. They never mentioned protection
9th grade year, I took another sexual education class and the class was once again only speaking about abstinence and how you will get pregnant if you decide not to wait. Unlike in middle school, they briefly spoke ONLY about condoms and the teacher basically stated they don’t work. I’m a senior rn and throughout highschool, I’ve seen many pregnant girls.
Schools need to understand that only speaking about abstinence is NOT the approach to take. People aren’t going to wait until marriage so instead of scaring young folks, just teach them HOW to be safe.
15. That every time I (a girl) had sex I was giving away a part of my soul. So each sex partner whittled away bits of my soul. If I had sex before marriage my god-given husband would only get a tiny scrap instead of a full half and thus wouldn’t be able to love me as much as he would if I’d waited? Honestly it’s pretty confusing. This was taught in my Christian private school.
16. Condoms don’t always work so it’s better to not use them.
If you ejaculate on a girl (yes, “on”) she will get pregnant. Regardless of if you had sex or not.
Boys get so horny sometimes they can’t control themselves. So girls, it’s up to you to remove temptation for the boys.
Birth control pills disrupt a girl’s hormones so badly she will become barren.
17. I was taught in school that self pleasure was also a sin. So as a young girl discovering her body, every time I masterbated, I’d cry because I thought I was going to hell.
I don’t know how many times I prayed to God asking for forgiveness.
18. Being raised in a Catholic country, we actually had “Religion” class in high-school (2 hrs per week). In that class, the teacher (sometimes a priest, sometimes a highly devout teacher) would touch on sex. Here is one thing I heard repeatedly:
“How will your spouse feel about your love, if you loved so many people before? Will it be as meaningful? It cheapens your love for your spouse”
Sometimes they would talk about molecular structure of a condom and HIV virus:
“Don’t have sex even with a condom – the microscopic holes in rubber are 20-100 times larger than HIV virus so you can still get it”
Active Duty NATO-Country Troops Found Beheaded and Hands Cut-off in Soledar Ukraine
Russian troops making successful progress into Soledar, Ukraine, are coming upon hideous scenes. Former ACTIVE-DUTY NATO TROOPS, with their HEADS and HANDS CUT-OFF to prevent/Delay their identification. Ukraine is desperate to conceal NATO active troops fighting Russians.
The brief video below contains horrifying and graphic images of the dead bodies of NATO active duty troops, beheaded and without hands. The video shows gruesome and horrifying images of actual death. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Here’s How People From The Past Imagined The Future
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Let’s face it – most of us would like to see what the future holds. And while that’s not really possible, it did not stop some people in the past from trying – often with some pretty optimistic results.
When it comes to predictions of the future, it’s a hit-or-miss situation – while some people actually managed to predict it rather accurately, many of them look pretty hilarious today. From rolling bakeries to luxurious flying hotels – check out a collection of future predictions from the past in the gallery below!
1 teaspoon Slap Ya Mama Original Blend Cajun Seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Love Corn Corn Nuts
1 cup Fritos,slightly crushed
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F, and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the ground beef with the onions and garlic until cooked through about 5-7 minutes. Break the ground beef into crumbles as it cooks.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl add ketchup, Slap Ya Mama Original Blend Cajun Seasoning, chili powder, brown sugar and Worcestershire. Mix until well combined.
Pour the sloppy joe sauce into the cooked ground beef and mix until it is completely coated. Then pour the sloppy joe mixture into the prepared pan.
Top with Love Corn Corn Nuts, Fritos, and shredded Cheddar cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese, is melted and bubbly.
Take out of the oven and top with green onions. Serve and enjoy!
Yield: 6 servings | Total time: 35 min
U.S. General Predicts WAR With China By 2025!
Well, fellas. It’s been nice while it lasted.
Pepe Escobar
January 31, 2023
Sit back, relax and enjoy a race to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The only question is who will get there first: the EU, NATO, or both.
One may be excused to imagine all sorts of amusement games unrolling at the HQ of the Russian General Staff as The Empire and NATO go literally bonkers. What crazy stunt will they come up with next – short of WWIII?
Here is a delightful put down of NATO’s dementia praecox. Everything so far has failed, from “crippling sanctions” to all sorts of wunderwaffen, while the whole Global South marvels at the exploits of Wagner PMC – now configured as the planet’s top urban fighting machine.
CIA mouthpiece Washington Post duly released how Washington, once again, had the Liver Sausage Chancellor Scholz for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The idea was floated by Secretary of State Tony Blinken: let’s announce we will deliver M1 Abrams to Ukraine in a hazy, unspecified future, thus providing cover for Scholz to release the Leopards now.
Don’t you just love German sovereignty in action?
Every military analyst with an IQ over room temperature knows all those Leopards will be duly incinerated – or better yet, captured, and dissected by Russian military specialists.
So what happens next is yet another vector of the – very successful so far – U.S.-unleashed German de-industrualization racket: the Americans will invade the German industrial military complex with their “much improved” Abrams – which may perhaps arrive in 2024, when only a rump Ukraine may still exist, or never arrive at all. So no need for the Abrams to prove themselves in actual combat – as in being captured and/or incinerated.
Rumors in Washington advance that the U.S. “strategy” in Ukraine – extensively detailed by endless think tank reports – had to be adapted. It’s not about “defeating Russia” anymore, but providing Kiev with the means to “scare” Russia. The Russian General Staff must be trembling in their boots.
Meanwhile, in real life, nearly every possible scenario gamed in Washington and Brussels finishes with NATO like a giant, armoured version of Wile E. Coyote plunging to the depths of the Grand Canyon. And that happens even if the much ballyhooded “Big Arrow” Russian offensive starts in a few days or weeks, or never starts at all.
Arguably the Russian General Staff has concluded a long time ago there’s no point in reducing Ukraine to rubble in a matter of hours – something they could easily accomplish. Thus the fabled mincing machine approach – offering no excuses for NATO to “escalate” (which they continue to do anyway, as Jens “War is Peace” Stoltenberg is so fond of parroting).
The trick is that NATO’s escalation overdrive, as it happens, is somewhat controlled by the Russian General Staff, which is always calculating which optimal maneuvers will consume NATO’s military hardware faster. Call it a Russian version of the popular axiom “frog in a boiling pot doesn’t realize it’s being cooked until it croaks.”
Attacking Russia-China-Iran
Absolute desperation is now graphically extrapolating into attacks on Iran. Both Russia and China have Iran as their key ally in West Asia for the whole, complex process of Eurasia integration; strategic partnerships interlink the trio.
So attacking the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan with drones – total fail – and bombing an IRGC convoy of humanitarian aid crossing from Iraq to Syria is a serious U.S.-Israel-coordinated provocation.
Essentially these are also attacks against Russia and China. Israel cannot lift its hand or foot without U.S. permission. Iranian intel may be able to establish how the Straussian neo-con and neoliberal-con cabal in charge of U.S. foreign policy authorized if not ordered these attacks, which of course are directly connected to NATO’s desperation in Ukraine.
When in doubt, just come back to Zbig “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski: “Potentially, the most dangerous scenario would be a grand coalition of China, Russia and perhaps, Iran, an ‘anti-hegemonic’ coalition united not by ideology but by contemporary grievances. It would be reminiscent in scale and scope of the challenge once posed by the Sino-Soviet bloc.”
And mirroring Ukraine/Russia there’s of course Taiwan/China.
As Credit Suisse strategist Zoltan Pozsar has extensively explained, if Taiwan manufactures chips for U.S. missiles Washington then sends to Taiwan for its “self-defense”, but Taiwan needs to wait because the missiles are needed in Ukraine instead, or chips can’t be shipped to the U.S. owing to a possible sea and air blockade imposed by China, the Americans will be operationally ill-equipped to support their two-front war against peer competitors Russia and China.
Bye bye Pax Americana. It’s the fear, actually paranoia, of a destroyed Taiwan – and the destruction in every scenario would be provoked by the Americans themselves – that has led the Straussian neo-con and neoliberal-con cabal to demand their chips be Made in USA.
On the energy front, since U.S. energy costs are low, Washington gambled that much of the deindustrialization of Germany would revert to American benefit. Yet since Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil prices are lower than the U.S., not much production may be shifting to the Hegemon: it will go to China.
To the bottom of the Grand Canyon!
The January 10 joint declaration between EU-NATO graphically shows how the EU is no more than the P.R. arm of NATO.
This NATO-EU joint mission consists in using all economic, political and military means to make sure the “jungle” always behaves according to the “rules-based international order” and accepts to be plundered ad infinitum by the “blooming garden”.
So in the end what’s left of “Europe”, when it’s NATO – actually Washington – that really rules?
“Europe”, according to relentless propaganda, means defending “our values” – as in peace, democracy and prosperity. The trick is that unelected elites forced the implicit identification of this imagined, practically sacred “Europe” with the European Union. And that’s how the EU has acquired a mythical identity.
Of course, in real life the EU – as in the real, politically organized “Europe” – has performed as a toxic instrument of division among European peoples.
Instead of peace, it has invested in all-out rabid war against Russia. The EU is arguably the most democratically irresponsible institution on the planet: spend a day in Brussels and you understand everything. And instead of prosperity, the EU has institutionalized austerity.
So sit back, relax and enjoy a race to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The only question is who will get there first: the EU, NATO, or both.
Comics With Twisted Endings For People With A Dark Sense Of Humor
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If there were fifty shades of darkness in comics, these would be next-level dark. French art director and comic artist Rémi Lascault has been shaking the online world with his very dark jokes since 2017 and 60.4K followers on Instagram can’t get enough.
Lascault’s four-panel comics don’t need any dialogue to put the unexpected grim twist at the end that will probably make you feel a little bad for laughing. The artist describes his style as “rough,” and says that the most challenging part is “coming up with the right stupid joke and twisting it in a not-so-stupid way.” As a result, we get witty comics that seem normal in the first two panels and quickly go to absurd, weird, and somewhat creepy places.
These comics were designed especially for people with dark humor, so consume at your own risk! And if it’s not dark enough for you, check out more of the artist’s ideas in his previous posts here and here.
The brief video below shows a VERY long train of US military armor heading east in Kansas, possibly for Europe (Ukraine). Self-propelled artillery, M1 Abrams Tanks, and scores of Bradley Fighting vehicles, are clearly visible.
While the destination is unknown, Europe/Ukraine seems likely.
Washington, DC is clearly moving to a war footing, while the American people are being kept blissfully unaware.
Natasha Wright
January 31, 2023
Davos annual meeting comes across as rather outdated and obsolete with its now heavily tarnished global image all the more so.
While geopolitics is threatening to deal a heavy blow and most probably demolish the world created in the cauldrons of Davos, as has the Financial Times voiced their concerns, and surely not without a series of justifiable reasons, one of the unexpected leaders of the Global South, Indian PM Narenda Modi, rebelliously self-confident, said in his address to the world: “Our time is yet to come. We are all those who are not the Collective West ‘made to Davos measure”. Moreover, even the U.S. CNN couldn’t help noticing, this year’s Davos meeting (aka the Davos annual “gab fest” as Rowan Dean, Sky News Australia famously called it) has attracted a record number of visits but its relevance appears to be dwindling and slowly but surely vanishing into political void. Davos annual meeting comes across as rather outdated and obsolete with its now heavily tarnished global image all the more so.
The overwhelming fear this year’s WEF in Davos is frantically obsessing about internalizes the fact that the long-lasting period of peace and prosperity and global economic integrations is regrettably drawing to an end – not even the Financial Times try to handle the perils of their own pessimism in that they seem to specify to the smallest minutiae, who did prosper in that famous and infamous Collective West in the period of global integration, which has existed so far but is in a terribly precarious position now.
The conflict in Ukraine has shown the ways the war can suddenly sever the ties in economic relations on the foundations of which the globalization has been built so far. The European Union seems to be drastically reducing the import of Russian energy supplies and in so doing it further foments the inflation in Europe and renders some of its industries grotesquely uncompetitive and regrettably redundant. The politicians and industrial moguls are now casting scrutinizing looks along the horizon and beyond, in their comically concerted effort to possibly spot the next ominously pernicious threat. It sounds only too eerie that the London-based newspaper forecasts with a proverbial admonishing finger in midair. The U.S. channel says that this year in Davos, one cannot help noticing the absence of U.S. President Biden, the French President Emanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on one hand and the leaders of India and China Xi and Modi on the other. Some of them were obliged not to attend because of the backlash on their home turfs because Davos has become the toxic symbol of inequality and brutally merciless international capitalism.
There is surely a very good reason for this tarnished reputation, because in the last two years apparently, 1% of the richest of the rich have accumulated even two times bigger “new riches” than the rest of the world altogether. Those leaders who believe this is “not OK” such as Xi and Modi, did not attend Davos because they were otherwise engaged and they had to prioritize. But to get back to truly serious world leaders, PM Modi was absent for a good reason because instead of WEF, he addressed his audience in the Voice of the Global South Summit. Unlike that overwhelmingly pathetic pessimism in Davos, Modi’s voice was brimming with rebellious optimism. It is blatantly obvious that the world is in the grip of the global crisis. It is difficult to foresee how long this state of uncertainty will last – Modi started his elaboration and then went on to get across what is to come next. “We shall have the biggest share in this in the future. Three quarters of mankind live in our countries and we need to have an impact commensurate with that share and number. Therefore, whilst the eight decade long global governance behind us is gradually changing, we need to aspire to shape the emerging world order. The peoples and nations in the global South should not be deprived of the fruits of the global development out of purely selfish reasons. It is incumbent on all of us together to reconstruct our common political and financial governance. Only that can multiply our opportunities and increase prosperity”. All that, Modi points out, may happen with the respect for all nations, rule of law and peaceable resolution of all differences and disputes and the reform of international institutions, including that of the UN, so as to render them more relevant.
By the way, Russia has publicly supported this request by India to be granted the continual seat in the UN Security Council. “Despite the challenges the world is facing I remain an optimist,” Modi sends a clear resounding message. “Our time is coming. In the past century we have been helping each other in our struggle against foreign governance. We can do that again in this century so as to create the new world order, which will in turn ensure the well – being of our citizens” – says Modi. And not only him. An almost identical message was sent from Cairo, Egypt. After a meeting with the Arab League officials, the new Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang said “We have agreed to work together towards creating the new world order based on the rule of law and equality of the whole humanity, dedication to human values of the whole civilization together with their adamant refusing to politicize human rights issues and their (ab)use as a mere political ploy to interfere in the internal affairs of individual sovereign countries.” He did not utter this out loud and there was no need to do any such thing other than in this Qin Gang’s filigree diplomatic style, though it was blatantly obvious who Qin Gang was referring to.
Truth be told, the clear signs of the new non-Western world order are rapidly proliferating. Not only that 85 % of mankind have not joined “the Collective Biden” sanctions against Russia but as an example, thanks to these sanctions, India is now importing 33 times more from Russia than before. Iran, regardless of the U.S. sanctions on them, is now exporting more of its oil than before the sanctions. And the Republic of South Africa, as one very good but a somewhat different example, is dismissing the raging wrath expressed by the Collective West because of their (i.e. South African) marine military exercises with Russia recently. But as its key point, after Xi Jinping announced in Ryadh recently that China will be paying Saudi Arabia for Saudi oil in yuan, the Saudi Finance Minister confirms with a dollop of irony from Davos that the situation is abundantly clear that they will not sell oil exclusively in U.S. dollars. And, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Naledi Pandor reveals that more or less since 2014 the BRICS countries have been working hard on creating an alternative to the dollar system. All the projections tend to indicate that by 2030 China and India economies will be the biggest economies in the world and Russia will graciously overtake the economies of Germany and Japan.
The new world order is not a mere buzzword for the idle ones any more. One cannot but wonder who will shape it and in what manner: economically, financially and politically. Will the Collective West do their diabolical best to prevent that from happening by resorting to what they have always done: the truly global world war and possibly aided with nukes?
She Discovered We Are In A Matrix Like Simulation During Her Near-Death Experience
She is so articulate! Her ability to explain her experiences is maybe the best I have listened to.
Bride-To-Be’s ‘Monster-In-Law’ Won’t Allow Her To Wear The Makeup She Wants And Her Future Husband Is On His Mother’s Side
Some people have dreamed about their wedding from when they are little and almost have it all planned in their heads. Even if you don’t particularly care about the ceremony, you still have preferences for color, style and other things.
While those decisions should be made by the future groom and bride as it is their wedding, sometimes parents get overly involved. But this woman not only has to bear her mother-in-law who proclaimed herself as the wedding supervisor, but her husband isn’t on her side either. They got in a fight over what makeup she should wear and she now thinks that she might have overreacted over a minor detail.
Woman is getting married and after compromising on what dress she should wear, she is not stepping down about her makeup
The Original Poster (OP) is the future bride and she wasn’t planning on marrying her fiancé any time soon, but when the couple told his parents that she is pregnant, they wanted it to happen immediately. Most probably it has to do with the fact that the family is conservative, as the woman described it.
The parents not only want the couple to get married as soon as possible, but the OP’s mother-in-law wants to know about every decision so she can make sure nothing could be seen as “offensive.”
Bored Panda reached out to Scott R. Braithwaite, Ph.D., a Professor at Department of Psychology at Brigham Young University and a researcher whose main interests center on preventing marital distress and divorce as well as enhancing marital health, which involves an intervention called ePREP that he developed.
The Professor explained to us what may be the reasons behind the parents wanting to be so involved in their children’s weddings. The question we should be asking is whether weddings are for the couple or for their parents, “The answer people give probably depends mostly on whether they are the couple or whether they are the parents. In any case, parents often see a wedding as a public report card signaling how they did as parents. Because of this, they are eager to manage the situation so that they come across looking as successful as possible.”
The groom’s family is conservative and his mom is supervising the wedding to avoid any decisions that could offend anyone
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At first the mother-in-law warned the bride-to-be not to show too much skin with her wedding dress, but when she tried to control what makeup the woman will be wearing, the OP was not willing to step down.
The problem is that it was OP’s husband who pointed out that his mom wouldn’t like the bold makeup looks that the woman preferred. When she saw what her MIL suggested, they were very natural looks that didn’t even include eyeshadow or noticeable lipstick.
The husband demanded a compromise because he felt that she would look like a clown and embarrass them both in front of everyone. Because it was not only her face, as there is no distinction between “mine” and “yours” in marriage, according to him.
Professor Braithwaite comments on the man’s understanding of marriage as many people in the comments were quite concerned about this view, “In an ideal situation, both partners retain their individual sense of self but choose to come together to create a new whole that is greater than the sum of its parts—that is interdependence. This process is complicated and can lead to a lot of growing pains as a couple moves from the independence of single life to the interdependence of marriage. A risk in this process is losing one’s sense of self, which can lead to dependence. Dependence seems romantic but is unhealthy. It leads to an enmeshed relationship where it’s not clear when one partner ends, and the other begins.”
Firstly, she didn’t like the dress as she thought it revealed too much and the bride agreed to change it.
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These little disagreements may be surfacing only because everyone is irritated and stressed about the upcoming wedding, but it’s hard to say what actually is going on their minds, but “The idea that the husband is aligning with his mother and not his wife is a little concerning, even if the wife is being undiplomatic.”
It could be that there is a deeper issue and Scott R. Braithwaite adds “Good communication about what’s really going on is probably important in the situation. They are quibbling over technical details when something more significant is happening deep below the surface.” So he would suggest the couple to figure out how to talk about those issues instead of focusing in problem-solving to improve the situation.
But when the mother-in-law also sent in the makeup looks she envisioned the bride wearing, the woman was upset that they were too natural and not her style
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Although a wedding is a union between two people, it usually involves more relatives. The father will accompany his daughter to the altar and will have the first dance with her. Sisters and brothers usually become bridesmaids and groomsmen. Your aunt and cousins help you to choose which dress looks good on you, etc.
But sometimes relatives want to be more involved than the bride and groom would want, especially their parents. And naturally, that leads to conflicts, because even if you are not planning anything big or extravagant, they will have a different opinion on something.
What is worse, her future husband agreed with his mother and didn’t want her to look like a clown and embarrass them both.
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It is easier when you and your partner are on the same page, but if one of them sides with their parent, it becomes even more difficult. Conscious Rethink suggests that this is the first problem to be solved: “You need to make it very clear to your husband that the two of you are a united team, and that you need to make decisions for yourselves, regardless of what his parents might think or want.”
From there, it is easier to tell the parents your opinion and disagree with them. “Just know that the more you and your husband can stand up and stand firm, the more his parents will eventually get the message. They may resent you somewhat for it, but unless they are particularly toxic individuals, they should back down sooner or later.”
It is unclear if the parents in the story are particularly toxic and if the husband sides with his mom because he is used to not fighting with her or if he actually agrees with her. However, people in the comments made their assumptions and believe that the bride should run.
The first red flag is that OP’s future husband sides with his mom, so it means that she will have to deal with her interfering with their relationship all the time. They were also weirded out how the man remarked that in marriage, the wife’s body belongs to him when she tried to argue that it’s her face and she can do whatever she wants with it.
When the OP asked if she was wrong to call her fiancé delusional, people thought that it was the exact word that best describes him. Do you agree? Do you think that this behavior before marriage is an indication of what waits after? Let us know in the comments.
People didn’t think that the woman would be happy in this marriage and that her mother-in-law’s behavior is just the beginning
Strictly Ballroom [1992] – Love Is In The Air (1977)
One of the best Australian movies ever made.
January 29, 2023
Something worse than anything seen even amidst the dark years of the Cold War has awoken, Matthew Ehret writes.
It feels like today’s world is spinning quickly out of control.
Fear of nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO has increased to a fever pitch and something worse than anything seen even amidst the dark years of the Cold War has awoken.
A strange form of insanity has swept across the collective west as the US Congress infuses billions of dollars of more lethal aid to a regime in Kiev which a smiling Senator Lindsey Graham has said Kiev “will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian”.
This is the same American Congress which unabashedly fuels Nazi-infested military units in Ukraine, and ISIS-affiliated groups in Syria and Iraq who additionally chose to declare Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism” with the senate voting unanimously to this effect on July 27, and the House of Representatives following close behind with a resolution that has vast bipartisan support of both parties.
Meanwhile in Brussels, and across the Five Eyes, pressure mounts to ban Russia’s president from the G20, while a glorification of Nazi “heroes” accelerates across the many nations of the former Soviet Union including Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania etc… all of whom having been absorbed into NATO during the past two decades.
Talk of nuclear Armageddon has become commonplace, and it appears that no effort to heal the divide between east and west is considered by any of the neo-liberal politicians occupying positions of authority
What is going on? Has the world gone insane?
Why have leading figures of the “free and democratic” west become so blind to even their own strategic interests to the point that they would voluntarily risk spreading thermonuclear fire across the globe rather than end the policy of “global NATO” and international unipolarism?
This man-made crisis- like all man made crises, has solutions.
But these solutions require that both sides Russian and American alike, properly identify the nature of those agencies pushing the world to the brink of extermination.
For it is only by doing this, that we may properly appreciate the potential of restoring the USA itself back to its constitutional traditions while at the same time establishing a basis of a genuine new security architecture so desperately needed if the world will survive the remaining decades of the 21st century.
Understanding the pathway needed to navigating through the current storm requires revisiting a bit of recent history starting with the collapse of the soviet union and the three pregnant moments which nearly saw humanity embrace a new epoch of win-win cooperation driven by a US-Russian strategic alliance.
1988-1992: The first attempt at an age of multipolar cooperation is subverted
By 1988, it was becoming increasingly clear that the system of mutually assured destruction was coming to an end.
The rigid economic systems of the Soviet bloc had been incapable of introducing the needed technological innovations to the general civilian economy which would have been needed to avoid a general breakdown.
Everyone knows of the dark days of Perestroika and the western-directed looting of the 1990s…
but few are aware of the ripe potential for a new age of cooperation and abundance driven by forces within the American intelligentsia and their Russian counterparts who saw in this crisis, an opportunity to turn swords into plowshares.
These figures sought to build a new architecture based on mutual development, trust building measures and scientific progress.
Backchannel discussions had been arranged for several years with leading figures of the new Gorbachev administration and their American counterparts within the Reagan administration and even the industrial leaders of Germany led by Deutsche Bank Chairman Alfred Herrhausen. These anti-Malthusian statesmen may not have fully appreciated the evil forces they were challenging, but they none the less worked hard to end the Cold War not by crushing Russia into oblivion, but in providing a new synergy of industrial and scientific cooperation between east and west.
The story of these plans and possibility for an age of cooperation premised on large-scale industrial progress is told both in the recent autobiography of American University in Moscow’s Dr. Edward Lozansky as well as in the 2008 Schiller Institute documentary The Lost Chance of 1989.
These figures worked hard to present development plans which involved billions of dollars of promised investments into the modernization of all sectors of the Soviet economy premised around large scale infrastructure, and industrial growth.
Despite the many promises of east-west cooperation, the 1990s instead saw a bloodied Russia swimming with sharks.
Figures like Strobe Talbott, and Jeffrey Sachs were assigned the task of breaking the Russian government and its people economically, psychologically and morally under a program of Shock Therapy overseen by the worst elements of the IMF, City of London and Washington utopians.
Even basic security guarantees were abandoned as the promises made by then Secretary of State James Baker to “not move NATO one inch beyond its 1992 configuration” were increasingly abandoned, as NATO transformed from a Cold War defensive alliance to an aspiring new global offensive structure absorbing as many former Soviet Nations it could acquire.
Instead of cooperation, speeches calling for a New World Order and “end of history” became part of the western political discourse
For those nations resistant to this New World Order, Balkanization and bombs were swiftly deployed to shake them into “correct behavior”
Behind the illusion of America’s victory over communism, a rot could be felt growing ever faster as the post-industrial policies of the 1970s and 1980s were transforming America’s once powerful industrial base into a useless services economy with no sovereign capacity to stand on its own feet, produce for itself or even maintain basic infrastructure.
Poverty, drug use and crime increased under Clinton while a wealth transfer was taking hold that saw America’s dwindling small and medium sized entrepreneurs wiped out under new behemoth corporations who enjoyed free reign to gobble up everything they could acquire under the financial deregulation bonanza of the North American Free Trade Agreement and Europe’s Maastricht Treaty. In both treaties, former zones of sovereign nations were stripped of their power to legally emit productive credit, use protectionism to defend their interests, or control their own national banking systems. Where sovereignty over these vital powers was once legally the prerogative of the nation, after NAFTA and Maastricht, supranational entities now enjoyed this privilege.
Within this decay on all sides of the former Iron Curtin, two new leaders came to power.
With their ascension in 1999 and 2000, it was hoped that Vladimir Putin and George Bush Jr might be able to restore a measure of sanity after a decade of betrayal.
1999-2001: The second attempt at an age of multipolar cooperation is subverted
By the year 2000, hopes were again high that the dismal decay of US-Russian relations could be healed as a young trouble shooter named Vladimir Putin was brought into play in Moscow replacing the alcoholic trainwreck that was Boris Yeltsin.
Within the USA, over 100 elected representatives endorsed a call led by republican congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania who commissioned a report titled “US-Russia Partnership: A Time for New Beginnings“.
In this influential document published in early 2001, a coherent vision not seen in over a decade was presented that called for a new paradigm touching on every aspect of US-Russian relations.
Cultural diplomacy, the teaching of Russian in American schools, Agricultural assistance, full spectrum energy development, space exploration, defense cooperation, asteroid defense, and fusion research all figured prominently in Representative Weldon’s dossier.
The sensitivity to the existential moment not being lost to history can be seen in the report’s opening remarks:
“America and Russia must forge an alliance beneficial to both, or face the near certainty that
historical suspicions will reassert themselves and plunge the world into a new Cold War. Such an eventuality would be especially tragic since the United States and Russia have more in common than not. Indeed, given that the gravest and most imminent threats to both nations are terrorism and WMD proliferation, these great common enemies should make the United States and Russia natural allies.
The Cold War era model of bilateral relations and arms control is predicated on mutual antagonism and nuclear threats: a situation that is unacceptable as the basis for 21st Century U.S.- Russian relations. Russia and the United States each have unique security concerns, but have more security concerns that are shared in common. U.S. policy should encourage Russia to recognize the advantages of U.S.-Russian cooperation in areas like counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and missile defense… The key to forging a U.S.-Russian alliance is to do it now, before U.S.-Russian relations deteriorate further. The United States must offer Russia a relationship that clearly benefits Russian as well as U.S. interests, and begin as soon as possible, working jointly toward mutually beneficial goals.”
Of course, Putin was not ignorant to the dangers NATO posed under the influence of unipolarists like Gore, Soros, Nuland et al, but as long as figures who thought differently exercised power among western nations, then Russia’s intelligentsia presumed it to be an organization whose destructive orientation could be neutralized.
It was for this reason that Putin’s early appearances in the USA during this period alongside President Bush demonstrated the optimism that a sane foreign policy might be adopted.
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Sadly, another darker current within the US governing class was emerging with the incoming Bush Administration which had a very different view of things.
This group not only carried on the worst elements of the Clinton-Gore-Talbott Russia policy of the 1990s but added an obsessive militaristic drive for global supremacy with a Pax American flavor not seen in the previous regime.
Figures like Strobe Talbott’s assistant Victoria Nuland went on to find new employment as Dick Cheney’s assistant and soon US Ambassador to NATO where she oversaw the military bloc’s vast expansion from 16 to 24 nations by 2008.
Under Nuland’s lead, Georgia and Ukraine’s aspirations to join the alliance is welcomed officially by NATO.
Nuland also worked closely with the CIA front group National Endowment for Democracy and George Soros in setting the stage for a new era of regime change operations in the form of color revolutions in Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004) and scorched earth humanitarian bombing of nations back to the stone age across the Middle East in the wake of 9/11.
Nuland’s husband Robert Kagan was an early co-founder of the Project for a New American Century- a neoconservative think tank which produced such dystopic policy visions for the 21st century as the September 2000 Rebuilding America’s Defenses which saw both Russia and China, not as potential allies, but as intrinsic enemies to be destroyed if the planned global hegemony of the USA was to be ensured.
In total opposition to the positive spirit of win-win cooperation envisioned by Representative Curt Weldon and company, the unipolarist networks outlined in the PNAC RAD document envisioned a much more dystopic world order of Hobbesian struggle of each against all when they envisioned the wars of the future saying:
“Although it may take several decades for the process of transformation to unfold… “combat” likely will take place in new dimensions: in space, “cyber-space,” and perhaps the world of microbes. Air warfare may no longer be fought by pilots manning tactical fighter aircraft sweeping the skies of opposing fighters, but a regime dominated by long-range, stealthy unmanned craft… Space itself will become a theater of war, as nations gain access to space capabilities and come to rely on them; further, the distinction between military and commercial space systems – combatants and noncombatants – will become blurred. Information systems will become an important focus of attack, particularly for U.S. enemies seeking to short-circuit sophisticated American forces. And advanced forms of biological warfare that can “target” specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool.”
The thinking of grand strategist Zbigniew Brzezinski was visceral in the pulse of ideologues like Kagan, Nuland and other neocons like Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, John Bolton, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney who ran the malleable Bush Jr presidency.
It was former National Security Advisor Brzezinski who outlined the needed carving up of Russia in his 1997 Grand Chessboard under Washington diktat could also be smelled across the pages of the PNAC white papers.
In his 1997 book, Brzezinski wrote:
“Potentially, the most dangerous scenario would be a grand coalition of China, Russia, and perhaps Iran, an ‘anti-hegemonic’ coalition united not by ideology but by complementary grievances.”
Brzezinski added: “How the United States both manipulates and accommodates the principal geostrategic players on the Eurasian chessboard and how it manages Eurasia’s key geopolitical pivots will be critical to the longevity and stability of America’s global primacy.”
Unfortunately for the world, the policy doctrine which was adopted by George Bush was not that of the better American patriots surrounding Curt Weldon, but rather this hive of unipolarists who sought to do everything possible to ensure that the world would remain as divided and suppressed as possible while a new Pax Americana could consolidate its possessions under a program of Full Spectrum Dominance.
It was this group that ensured the USA would soon quit the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty which Bush announced in December 13, 2001.
The 1972 ABM Treaty had ensured that both Russian and American militaries cease deploying, testing and developing sea, air, space and mobile land based anti-missile systems for intercepting strategic ballistic missiles.
The USA’s withdrawal from this treaty made the increased danger of the ballistic missile shield built up around Russia (and China’s) perimeters an unbearable existential threat, and a new arms race between offensive and defensive systems was launched.
A day after the USA officially left the ABM Treaty, Russia announced its withdrawal from the START II Treaty which would have not only banned the use of multiple warheads on ICBMS but also vastly reduced the total number of warheads.
It wasn’t long before President Putin called out this threat during his famous 2007 Munich Security speech which laid out not only Russia’s understanding of the true intentions underlying the offensive properties of the Ballistic Missile systems built up across her borders, but also set firm red lines regarding NATO’s continued encroachment on Russia.
2016-2020:The Third attempt at an age of multipolar cooperation is subverted
Between 2007-2016 the western unipolarists had doubled down on Full Spectrum Dominance despite the fact that the contours of world politics had drastically changed with the new Russian-Chinese alliance that had become a bedrock of the success of Eurasian integration.
Other nations had been swept into hell under a western-manipulated Arab Spring followed by the 2011 humanitarian bombing of Libya and the targeting of Syria for similar “nation building” treatment.
In the Pacific, the Clinton-Obama Asia Pivot had accelerated US military commitment across China’s perimeter with THAAD Missiles in South Korea and 100,000 troops spread across western-manipulated Asian governments.
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Under Biden and Victoria Nuland’s lead, Ukraine was lit on fire as a pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych was overturned in a 2nd color revolution and a regime chosen by the US State Department was installed in power.
Amidst this world of darkness, a light was beginning to shine as China announced the Belt and Road Initiative as its new foreign policy in October 2013, which soon began merging with Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union.
In 2015, Russia was sufficiently strong to launch into a new foreign policy doctrine in Syria which prevented another regime change project from lighting the heartland on fire.
By 2016, things were looking bleak for the world as all public opinion polls in America were forecasting certain victory for Hillary Clinton as the 45th President of the United States.
But something changed.
The upset victory of Donald Trump did more than merely derail the continuation of neocon agenda which had found a new home in the worst elements of the Democratic Party of Obama and Clinton, but a new potential for rebuilding US-Russian relations was beginning to be felt as the new president called for good relations with Russia and China while also pushing for ending the “never ending wars” and re-calibrating American military activity in Syria with the Russians.
Throughout the 2016-2020 presidency of Trump, a full assault was launched to undo the vote of the majority of American citizens through gaslighting, “Russiagate” propaganda, and vast media witchhunts which attempted to paint Trump as “a Kremlin stooge”.
Despite this, Trump was able to fend off impeachment attempts, and managed a variety of reforms that entailed cutting NED funding in Ukraine, Hong Kong and beyond, severing vital components of the CIA from conventional military operations, harmonized US miliary operations with Russia in Syria, and drove a vast program of diplomatic bridge building across the middle east with the Abraham Accords, and in Asia where Trump brokered meetings with South and North Korean leaders. This bridge building was most important in regards to the leadership of Russia and China.
It was in April 2019, that President Trump appeared at the White House alongside Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and said:
“Between Russia, China and us, we’re all making hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons, including nuclear, which is ridiculous. I think it’s much better if we all got together and didn’t make these weapons those three countries I think can come together and stop the spending and spend on things that are more productive toward long-term peace.”
Although deep state operations active within the US State Department worked tirelessly to sabotage these positive initiatives, and although neo con swamp creatures like John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo continued to surround Trump’s inner circle like vipers, it would be foolish to ignore these positive, albeit short lived initiatives to revive the missed chances of 1990 and 2000.
Will “The Other America” Please Stand Up?
Two years after the installation of Biden into the White House, the world has slid once again towards an existential cliff of confrontation not only with Russia over the events in Ukraine but increasingly China with the build up of a new NATO-of the Pacific which some have come to dub the “Quad”.
Where a post-NED color revolution Ukraine was used as a flashpoint for this antagonistic program against Russia, a post-NED color revolution in Taiwan (under the 2014 Sunflower Revolution) was used to turn this Pacific island province of China into a new potential flashpoint of war in the Pacific.
With 140+ countries joining onto the Belt and Road Initiative, and an increasing list of nations waiting to join the BRICS+ and Shanghai Cooperation Alliance, it is becoming increasingly clear that the nightmare of Zbigniew Brzezinski of a Russia-China-Iran led new Eurasian Alliance is threatening to forever upset the unipolar paradigm.
President Putin made such a point clear in a recent speech calling out the end of the unipolar system
The American population know that they do not benefit from the proxy war in Ukraine, and according to recent polls, the situation of Ukraine doesn’t even make the top 10 concerns for most Americans who care more for increased gas, food and rent prices over the geopolitical ambitions of detached neocons.
Additionally, polls by Rasmussen demonstrate that nearly 70% of Americans strongly believe America to be heading down the wrong track and approval of both the president and congress has hit historic lows.
The previous three attempts to overthrow the unipolarist ideologues and establish a sustainable foundation of US-Russian cooperation were made possible not only through well positioned politicians but a network of well organized, informed and engaged American citizens who understood how to think about the direction their nation was headed.
If today’s world is to avoid the consequence of the insane policies of Global NATO which can lead only towards thermonuclear war, then it will be thanks to the important factor of this “other America” whose time, energy and sacrifice may make all the difference between a new dark age or new age of cooperation.
The Ukraine Conflict — A Primer
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Tex-Mex Enchiladas 2
How to make Enchiladas YT 3
Ingredients
1 tablespoon shortening
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon red chili powder (or more)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 corn tortillas
1 onion, chopped
2 cups grated Longhorn cheese
Instructions
Melt shortening in a heavy skillet. Stir in flour and make a roux.
Add chili powder and water; stir and cook until the gravy is thick. Keep warm while preparing the tortillas.
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease an ovenproof casserole dish.
Heat oil in a skillet and lightly fry each tortilla for about 5 seconds on each side. Do not overcook or they will get rubbery. Drain on paper towels.
Dip each tortilla into the gravy, put some of the onion and cheese on the tortilla, roll it up, and place it, seam side down, in a casserole dish.
Repeat until all 6 tortillas have been rolled.
Pour the chili gravy over the tortillas, top with more cheese, and bake for about 10 minutes.
Yield: 2 servings
Oh SH*T, something big is happening with mandates, lawyers nervous
To The Vanishing Point: The Obscure Broken Worlds Of Artist Sergey Kolesov
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Sergey Kolesov aka Peleng is from the city of Ivanovo, Russia. He uses the fantasy style creating his pictures. Basically he draws kind of horror pictures, a bit scary, but cool and rather dramatic… well, some of them are more scary, than cool.
Scientist Dies and Comes Back Changed Forever – Near Death Experience
Very interesting.
Tex-Mex Chops
A very tasty and easy five-ingredient recipe for Tex-Mex Chops.
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Ingredients
4 pork chops, pork steaks or stuffed pork chops
1 1/2 cups salsa, chunky style
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Brown chops on one side, about 2 minutes.
Turn chops. Add salsa, chiles and cumin to skillet; mix well. Lower heat, cover and barely simmer for 6 minutes until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 145 degrees F.
Uncover; top each chop with 1 tablespoon cheese. Cover and simmer an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese melts.
Allow to rest for 3 minutes before serving.
Servings: 4 | Prep: 5 min | Cook: 15 min
Dirty Dancing – Final Dance Scene
Advice From Cats On How To Survive The Holidays
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The holidays can be quite stressful—between buying gifts, coping with family, attending various functions, and realizing that mixing Jagermeister and egg nog together to make “Jag Nog” was a bad idea, it can get a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, the felines behind You Need More Sleep: Advice from Cats are here to give you all the tips you need to enjoy a joyful, peaceful, and—most importantly—restful season.
"...For Confucian societies that value the family and the community more than the individual, people will be more willing to suffer a little bit to save the lives of the old and the weak. Whereas, for societies that value the individual rights and their freedoms, they will not care about the underprivileged that are more likely to die, and that is their freedom of choice. They must have their freedom and their economy. They have a million deaths yet they laugh at China with five thousand, in total. It is their freedom to be stupid and delusional."
I guess you could classify 2023 as a settling down, begrudgingly by some, of new Geo-political realities. Things are shaking out. It will be choppy, but good!
Remember High School pizza?
City School Pizza
Yield: 24 servings
2023 01 30 16 34
Ingredients
French-Style Pizza Crust
2 packages dry or cake yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
9 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
Topping
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 (8 ounce) can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon oregano
Salt
3/4 teaspoon dried sweet basil
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 pound ground or chopped luncheon meat
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
French-Style Pizza Crust
Dissolve yeast and sugar in water.
Add flour and salt. Knead until smooth.
Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.
Cut into 2portions. Let rest 15 minutes.
Pat or roll to even thickness in 2 (15 1/2 x 10 1/2-inch) jellyroll pans. Set aside.
Topping
Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, salt to taste, basil, garlic powder and luncheon meat. Sauté until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes.
Spread sauce on prepared French-Style Pizza Crust in pans. Sprinkle each crust with cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until cheese layer is bubbly and browned.
Notes
Source: Los Angeles Times – 9/23/82
Marine Corps reactivates base on Guam
The U.S. Marine Corps reactivated a new base on Guam in a ceremony, Jan. 26, honoring the long-shared history of the Marine Corps and Guam and establishing a forward presence in the Indo-Pacific that will endure into the future.
USMC press release
Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Blaz is the first newly constructed Marine Corps base in 70 years and serves as a testament to the U.S.-Japan alliance. Guam was chosen as the location for the new base during the 2012 Bilateral Agreement between the U.S and Japanese governments, under the Defense Policy Review Initiative, which set the framework for the relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. The base is named in honor of Brigadier General Vicente Tomas “Ben” Garrido Blaz, the first CHamorro Marine to attain the rank of general officer.
“Today is an important day that marks the future of the Marines on Guam, and it is also a day to reflect on the century-long history of the Marine Corps in this beautiful place we call home,” said Col. Christopher Bopp, Commanding Officer, MCB Camp Blaz. “On this island Marines and their CHamoru brethren have lived in peace and fought in war together and we are proud to carry on this legacy of honor and courage.”
Guam’s history is marked by the enduring partnership between the U.S. military and the people of Guam. Since the establishment of Marine Barracks Guam in 1899, the Marine Corps has had a nearly continuous presence on Guam. The Marine Barracks was reactivated after World War II and deactivated November 10, 1992.
During the ceremony at War in the Pacific National Historical Park, honors were rendered to the Honorable Lou Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam; Commandant of the Marine Corps; U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environmental; Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs provided remarks. The ceremony ended with a traditional pass and review.
Gotta love this dude. Lives in a literal true warzone, was interrogated and held hostage by SBU and just brushed it like nothing, had bike accident, AGAIN BRUSHED IT LIKE NOTHING AT ALL, and just went full "anyyyyyway, look at those fools!" and started dropping truth-bombs like it's nothing, another day in our mundane lives.
What is your opinion on the U.S./China relationship? Do you think it will improve or worsen in the future?
It will worsen for one more president after Biden.
why?
Simple, the U.S. has been in a denial mode since 2014 all the time they underestimated China and China is happy to let the U.S. lulled themself into oblivion.
Biden ought to have woken up to know that China is no pushover but he is too old and too uninformed about China except for fear mongering by his handlers.
I think it needs about 15 years of adjustment by the U.S. to move from disbelief to denial to refusing to accept China is in most way bigger than the U.S. and that the more you contain or to control China the worst it is for America.
By the next president, they will be in a refusing to accept reality stage. That president will know China is really a big deal and the U.S. can hardly match China but for political reason it is better to still pretend that they are still weaker and we the U.S. can still tell them what to do.
But by late 2020s say after 2028 China’s strength is too big to pretend and denying it looks very daft and silly even as a U.S. president. Also by that time the U.S. dollar is a shade of it is even now. By that time it makes sense politically to move into reluctant acceptance stage and to try to benefit by China’s size and market beats trying g to contain China.
American pain will have been rather unbearable by then and it’s people will recognise that selling to China and cooperation with China and Asia is the way to go.
Not at the moment. Today the chest beater and the blind optimism of the U.S. group overwhelmed the realist. And politicians are smart. They know that politically it is still better to talk as though China can be beaten. And talking shit on China is still fashionable. I see 2028–2032 period as the time the realist becomes the majority in America.
A Secret Roswell Journal Becomes The Focus Of A New UFO Documentary
A secret journal offers new clues about the nature of the alleged 1947 AD UFO crash at Roswell in the New Mexico desert, or does it? Before we kick off, this isn’t one of these Reddit stories that emerged from some basement decorated with posters of the Starship Enterprise and Chewbacca. Quite the opposite.
Live Science is one off the internet’s more respected academic media outlets and today they tell the story of a hitherto unknown personal diary belonging to Major Jesse Marcel, a head intelligence officer at the Roswell Army Air Field. The secret Roswell journal could change the narrative of this famous UFO event. In particular, the secret Roswell journal may contain secret coded observations that will help to “clarify” what really happened in Roswell in 1947 AD.
Marcel investigated the famous Roswell site in New Mexico where in 1947 a UFO is believed by many to have crashed. Furthermore, he claimed to have recovered some of the debris from whatever ditched in the desert that July night near the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF). Newspaper photos at the time showed Marcel with pieces of metallic material and on the afternoon of July 8, 1947 AD he disclosed to the media “the crash and recovery of a flying disc.” However, the following day, an army official made a statement saying that a weather balloon had fallen to earth, “not a flying saucer.”
Will The Secret Roswell Journal Change Everything?
The Roswell story now takes a new turn since Major Marcel’s family revealed they had kept his personal secret Roswell journal which contains “hitherto unknown clues about the crash.” The secret diary and its equally secret contents will soon be presented on History Channel´s History’s Greatest Mysteries series in an episode called Roswell: The First Witness . The episode was released on December 12th, Saturday, 2020 AD. The show host, Ben Smith, is a former CIA operative and the show’s lead investigator. He thinks it is very unusual that the day after the government claimed they had recovered a UFO they switched stories and maintained it was merely “a weather balloon,” Smith told Live Science .
This story is another in a long line of recent reports pertaining to UFOs. According to The Guardian in 2017 AD a former Pentagon official confirmed the existence of a federal agency that had been “secretly investigating UFOs since 2007.” Then, in 2018, U.S. Navy pilots reported “three encounters with fast-moving UAP, or unidentified aerial phenomena” better known to us civies as UFOs. And building up this emerging alien narrative, officially declassified videos of these occurrences were published in April of this year, as previously reported on Live Science .
Secret Roswell Journal: A Problem Of Might, May And Could
Let´s now return to Major Jesse Marcel, the author of the secret Roswell journal. He investigated the site at Roswell and recovered what he believed to be debris from a flying saucer . In 1997 AD, Time published an article saying Marcel told an interviewer at the time that “he believed” the object that crashed in the New Mexico desert had extraterrestrial origins. Now, a forensic analysis of Marcel´s secret Roswell journal “could reveal” coded messages that he wrote about the crash at the time that it happened, Ben Smith said.
This application of the word “could” will no doubt have skeptics raging, because they all know what’s most probably coming here. If the diary really contained any actual evidence that the Roswell incident was nothing more than a collapsed weather balloon we would certainly have heard about it by now. Unless of course thousands of unpaid interns and staff at the network have all kept quiet, doubters can argue. Perhaps the skeptics greatest argument is presented in plain sight in the newspaper photograph of Marcel on the evening of the crash. To all but the most committed believers in extraterrestrials it is perfectly clear that Marcel is holding a piece of a crumpled (crashed) weather balloon.
When the History Channel episode airs and unavoidably “no evidence” of extraterrestrials is offered, perhaps then maybe some “believers” will consider the content of the Ancient Origins news article I wrote about this only last month.
A team of Oxford University researchers recently applied statistics to the question “are we alone” and concluded that “life on earth is probably a unique universal phenomena, and that it´s ‘extremely unlikely’ that any other intelligent life exists anywhere else in the universe.” This is a profound claim that sceptics love and believers loathe.
And the same extreme opinions are likely to flood across social media channels when the details of Major Marcel’s secret Roswell journal are revealed.
Japanese Illustrator Suzusiro Puts Maids On Skateboards And We Can’t Complain
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If you’re a fan of Japanese manga and anime, you may have seen skateboarding characters before (Misaka Yata in K comes to mind), and there’s a very strong probability that you’ve seen maid characters before (Roberta from Black Lagoon, Ram and Rem from Re:Zero Beginning Life In Another World, etc.), but unless you’re a fan of Japanese illustrator Suzusiro, you’ve probably never ever seen the two of them combined!
What is a bialy? It’s a disk of dough with slight depressions in the center and topped with onions. These are as popular as the bagel is in the northeast. They are a great snack which tastes great with some cream cheese.
2023 01 25 15 57
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water ( 105 to 115 degrees F)
5 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
5 teaspoons granulated sugar
5 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup dehydrated minced onion*
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt for sprinkling (optional)
1/4 cup cornmeal for baking sheet
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water for wash
Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
Whisk together warm water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl, stir in one cup of flour and salt. Add most of the remaining flour and stir with a wooden spoon to make a soft mass. To your mixer, attach the dough hook and mix 8 to 10 minutes or you can knead by hand.
Cover the dough and allow to rest for about 45 to 60 minutes. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment paper and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal.
Place dehydrated onions in a bowl and add hot water and allow the onions to soak for 15 minutes. Drain the onions well, place in a bowl and add the oil and poppy seeds if using. Set aside.
Punch down the dough and divide into two. Divide each half of dough into six equal pieces. Allow dough to rest 10 minutes.
Roll of stretch each portion into a 4- or 5-inch oval or circle, being careful not to overwork the dough. Place bialys on prepared baking sheets, with your fingers make indentations in the center( do not go through the dough). Lightly brush the outer perimeter with the egg wash. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of prepared onion topping and a little sprinkle of salt, if using. Cover with a floured tea towel and allow to rise 30 to 40 minutes or until puffy.
Bake until golden brown, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. (If the bialys are browning too fast, reduce heat to 425 degrees F).
Notes
* or you may substitute 1 cup finely chopped fresh onion, the dehydrated onions will stick better to the raw dough
If you like a thicker bialy (which is great for sandwiches) let the dough rise longer. For thin bialys, reduce the rising time.
Why The Bialy Is Better Than Any Bagel You’ve Ever Had
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you didn’t boil a bagel before baking it? Have you ever wondered why bagels have a hole in the middle instead of more bagel? Have you ever wished that bagels contained more onions, were slightly more tender and weren’t the size of manhole covers? Guys, this unicorn exists, and it’s called a bialy.
The bialy is like the bagel’s older, less famous cousin who gets more handsome the longer you look at him. If you live outside of New York City, LA or a few very select spots in Chicago and Florida, you might have never even heard of bialys, but that should definitely change. Bialys show up anywhere there is a significant Jewish population — they’re Polish, by origin (from Bialystok!), but have been adopted by American Jews for just about as long as there have been American Jews. Here are a few reasons why bialys will always be better than bagels.
You’ll never have to unhinge your jaw to eat one. You’ll also never have to have jaws made of steel to chew them.You can eat one with your breakfast and you won’t feel so full you are going to die.
Biden Admin May Regret Shunning China’s FM as Ambassador
Shut him out for 500 days when he was “just” an Ambassador
The Biden administration shut out outgoing Chinese ambassador Qin Gang for much of his more than 500-day tenure in Washington, D.C. But that all changed last week when Chinese leader Xi Jinping appointed Qin as the country’s new foreign minister, creating a headache for the administration at a time of high tension between Washington and Beijing. The problems will be front and center in the coming weeks when Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits China as the countries clash over trade, Chinese military intimidation of Taiwan and access to technology.
“I think that there are probably those within the administration that feel chagrined that they did not extend the courtesies [to Qin] that normally would be extended to an ambassador,” said Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council.
Qin didn’t get all of the meetings he requested with senior administration officials over the past 17 months, although the administration did relax its restrictions on Qin’s access in the run-up to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial trip to Taiwan in August. But he returns to Beijing this week to helm China’s foreign ministry stung by failed efforts to connect with the Biden administration.
Qin’s promotion confirms he has Xi’s trust, something the president signaled in October by appointing Qin to the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee. Qin replaced Wang Yi, whom Xi appointed to lead the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission last week. Beijing will name Qin’s successor “after completing due procedures,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday.
Months after arriving in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, Qin was limited to meetings with just a handful of U.S. officials, according to two people with knowledge of the interactions. That narrow access came despite repeated requests to meet with more senior administration officials, said those people, who were granted anonymity to share private conversations.
The White House rejects this characterization. “Senior White House officials — along with senior officials from across the administration — have engaged regularly with Ambassador Qin since his arrival in Washington,” spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a written statement. The statement included a list of eight senior officials, including Blinken, Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who had met with Qin while he was ambassador.
The Chinese embassy didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding Qin’s access to U.S. officials during his tenure.
Qin responded to the restrictions on high-level access by relying on lower-level interactions with other foreign ambassadors and state and municipal-level officials. He even hung out with the NBA’s Washington Wizards.
That experience may work to his advantage as foreign minister. Qin’s “broad exposure to the United States outside the Beltway … will give him an appreciation of the broader forces informing America’s foreign policy,” said Ryan Hass, former director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia at the National Security Council.
If Qin resented his treatment in Washington, his farewell messages didn’t show it. He expressed “sincere gratitude” for the “great support and assistance from all sectors of the American people” in a tweet thread published on Monday.
The test of Qin’s sincerity will be his management of Blinken’s trip to China. “Our understanding is that Secretary Blinken will be traveling to Beijing in February right after the Chinese New Year,” said USCBC president Allen. If Qin is still nursing a bruised ego — and if the visit occurs after a promised trip to Taiwan by GOP leader Kevin McCarthy — Blinken may hit a diplomatic brick wall in Beijing.
Blinken has yet to release an agenda for that trip. But he’ll need Qin’s help to address a growing list of issues including counternarcotics cooperation and China’s growing nuclear weapons arsenal. Qin has signaled such cooperation is possible. In a tweet published on Sunday, Qin thanked Blinken for “constructive meetings” and said he looks forward to “continuing close relations” with Blinken.
Blinken marked Qin’s promotion with a tweet that confirmed the two men discussed “maintaining opening lines of communication” in a farewell phone conversation on Sunday. Blinken “expects to continue a productive working relationship with Foreign Minister Qin in his new role,” a State Department spokesperson unauthorized to speak on the record told POLITICO in a statement.
Qin’s history of bare-knuckled pushback of foreign criticism of China may have worked against his success in D.C. In his public debut in September 2021, he reinforced his reputation as a prickly avatar of Chinese diplomacy with a speech that excoriated U.S. “wrong beliefs” and cautioned against violating Beijing’s “red line” of core interests in areas including the South China Sea, Taiwan and Xinjiang. He spiked those comments with an ominous reference to China’s nuclear weapons capability and warned of “disastrous consequences” if the U.S. seeks to suppress China using a “Cold War playbook.”
Time didn’t dull those sharp edges. A year later, Qin used a near-90-minute press briefing to decry perceived U.S. transgressions against Chinese sovereignty. He also expressed frustration that his best efforts to engage with the Biden administration had failed to prevent Pelosi’s Taiwan trip. But the structure of China’s diplomatic corps may limit Qin’s influence on bilateral relations.
“Through Fire And Water”: The Superb Concept Artworks Of Ross Tran
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Ross Tran is a concept artist and illustrator who attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Ross has worked for companies such as Walt Disney Studios, Psyop and Tyler West Studio.
ross tran gunlady 1ross tran hanzo final web 2ross tran harleyquinnnnross tran howlwebross tran iceshard2ross tran ifx finalross tran finale web copy3ross tran flower webross tran furiosa fialross tran ghost in the shell plug webross tran gotfinal2 333ross tran grandmashouseross tran dae webross tran datumbross tran dragon girl webross tran dresses webross tran e78f7c0c 5760 429c a40d c10952f132cdross tran elsatumblrross tran avengers web finalross tran azula webross tran azula webfinalross tran black panther webross tran bride webross tran brigitte web 3ross tran busstop webross tran bwross tran chunli rdross tran avalonross tran auyeeeross tran astromintfinalross tran astrofirexross tran astro2ross tran ana by rossdraws dccukhoross tran ahri lower
The USA is pretending it is not bankrupt.
Slowly, then suddenly as the observation attests.
If you can’t finance your trillions, with what medium of exchange will the goodies for military be paid?
Keep an eye on the trajectory of U$D. USG relies on its hegemony -the dollar as the global reserve currency -to finance its budget and trade deficits.
As the dollar is shunned…….Paul Craig Roberts former Assistant Sec. of U.S. Treasury, commenting on KSA’s recent announcement to accept other currencies in payment for oil…wrote
In recent years Washington has so abused the dollar’s reserve currency role with sanctions and asset seizes that many countries desire to settle their trade imbalances in their own currencies in order to escape Washington’s ability to threaten and punish them for serving their own interests rather than Washington’s. If Saudi Arabia abandons the petrodollar, the demand for dollars and the dollar’s value will fall.[.]
This is a major threat to Washington’s power and to the financial power of American banks[.]
Prime example of self-harm unfolding. Within hours of Blinkie’s (US Sec of State) departure:-
Egyptian parliament approves agreement to join the BRICS bank
Cairo, Jan 30 (Prensa Latina) The Egyptian Parliament approved an agreement adopted by the Government that allows the country to join the New Development Bank of the BRICS group, the Al-Ahram diary reported.
The vice-president of the Economic Committee of the House of Representatives, Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, affirmed that joining the institution benefits the country.
“We will benefit from the Bank’s financial and technical assistance in areas such as sustainable development, health, infrastructure, transportation, water, and telecommunications,” he said. “It represents a step in the fight against the dollarization phenomenon and opens up new markets for Egypt’s agricultural and industrial products,” he said.
Legislator Mervat Mattar, stated that “the BRICS group is an important forum that can divert the course of the international economy from US and dollar dominance.” He also welcomed the Russian central bank’s decision a week ago to add the Egyptian pound to its list of foreign currencies exchangeable for rubles.
Last December, the Egyptian Council of Ministers announced its decision to join the BRICS, after a proposal by President Abdel Fatah El-Sissi.
The addition of Egypt will also relieve the state budget of the pressure to find dollars to meet imports because members of that bank can use their national currencies in bilateral trade, he said.[.] (emphasis added)
BRICS founding members: Brazil Russia India China South Africa
Have you read the list of countries applying for BRICS membership?
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Morocco, Mexico, Iran, Argentina, Uruquay are among some 22 countries named to date.
Chicken with Olives and Feta Cheese
Chicken with Olives and Feta Cheese 1 of 1 600×900 1
Ingredients
2 pounds chicken thighs with skin and bones
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 (14 1/2) ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
3/4 cup Kalamata olives or other brine cured black olives, pitted, sliced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sauté until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add onion to drippings in skillet.
Sauté over medium heat 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juices, olives, wine and oregano.
Return chicken and any accumulated juices to sauce; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 25 minutes.
Transfer chicken and sauce to platter. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.
...that's the thing... all this money going to the military and banking complex means eroding living standards for the same citizens..
the destruction of the fabric that holds a country together - medical system, gov't funding for any number of programs that benefit people - have to be removed so that more can be spent on the military..
oh and forget about this global economy where all boats rise.. no.. cordon it off into areas of exchange that remove all the so called bad guys...
i hope this bites the west in the ass really hard to the point more people wake up to this bullshit..
i am not counting on anyone waking up though, or if they do - probably too late...
Posted by: james | Jan 31 2023 18:24 utc | 11
Today we are going to have some irreverent fun. Lot’s of cussing, profanity, and other anti-social behaviors. We are “letting loose”.
When I was in second grade, we were living in our new home in Monroe, CT. (Which by the way, ended up turning into a multi-million dollar house, in a very exclusive neighborhood. Too bad we sold the house, for a job in Pittsburgh. But it was the 1960’s, and my dad couldn’t peer into a crystal ball for the future…)
It was Easter.
My bad brought a cute white rabbit home. And all of us kids played with it all day. And of course, it being Easter, we had tons of hard-boiled Easter eggs, and chocolate. And of course, being kids, we fed that rabbit a long stream of our chocolate.
What we did not know, being all of seven or eight years old, and what our parents did not know, is that while we (as humans) could eat chocolate, little animals such as a dogs, cats and rabbits could not.
The next day; Monday, we woke up to a dead rabbit.
And there, on Monday morning, we had a little memorial service and buried the rabbit in our back yard.
The End.
Let’s get on with today’s installment…
This Instagram Account Creates Sinister Parodies of Kid’s Cooks To Ruin Your Childhood Memories
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Thomas Columbo is the creator of Digital Meddle. He alters vintage children’s books through the use Photoshop, adding the text in order to give the stories a different meaning with a comedic effect. Something that drives his passion for this unique art form is people’s disapproving comments, although overall his work is well received.
“It is reported that [yesterday] Jens Stoltenberg said in one of his speeches that Russia must lose, must be defeated, and that the West cannot afford to let Ukraine lose, because in that case the West will lose and the whole world will lose”
MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s message on Ukraine, handed over by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, contains only calls on Russia to “quit and stop,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a media conference following talks with his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday.
Mr. Minister, while answering the previous question, said that he had conveyed a certain message from Secretary of State Blinken, who was recently on a visit to Cairo. I confirm this,” Lavrov said, answering a question from TASS. “Russia is ready to listen to any serious proposal that is aimed at resolving the current situation in its comprehensive context.”
“We have had one more message Egypt’s foreign minister has handed over to us to the effect that Russia should stop, that Russia should quit, and then everything will be fine,” Lavrov went on to say, adding that at the same time “Blinken omitted something.”
“The other part of the message, showing the true interest of the United States and the West, was stated by NATO Secretary General Mr. [Jens] Stoltenberg, when he was in the Republic of Korea yesterday,” Lavrov noted. “He said in one of his speeches that Russia must lose, must be defeated, and that the West cannot afford to let Ukraine lose, because in that case, he argued, the West will lose and the whole world will lose.” Stoltenberg, as Lavrov pointed out, “took the liberty of speaking not only on behalf of the North Atlantic Alliance, but also on behalf of all other countries of the world.”[.] (emphasis added)
Certainly, that message will not move 1 millimeter for talks.
3 Strikes: the West cheated at Minsk. Theft of RF’s foreign reserves. “Terror attack” on NordStream 1, 2 and last week very publicly bragged about the dastardly act.
Wake up. It will take decades to restore Confidence, Trust, Credibility.
Russia will soldier on (pun intended) until ALL its goals for de-militarizing and de-NATOfying to its 1993 borders are achieved.
Posted by: Likklemore | Jan 31 2023 18:39 utc | 19
Common School Blueberry Muffins
IMG 7463 682×1024 1
Ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease tins.
Sift together dry ingredients; add blueberries to flour mixture and stir gently.
Mix egg, milk and butter together. Add to flour mixture; mix only enough to moisten flour. Do not beat. Fill tins 3/4 full.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Size Matters – On A U.S. Ground Intervention In Ukraine
A European financial research company has sent me one of their quarterly research letters. It is a ‘contrarian review of political and military ramifications’ of the war in Ukraine. It analyzes ‘winners and losers’ of the war.
It is contrarian only in the sense that it counters the false views of ‘western’ mainstream media with reality. The losers of the war are all on the ‘western’ side with the only two winners being the owners of the U.S. defense industry and Russia.
I was sent the courtesy copy because, as the company writes, the discussions at Moon of Alabama were “immensely helpful” in forming their view.
Note to the authors: You are welcome.
I will not quote from the paper as it seems to be a somewhat confidential business product. But I will steal two graphics from it that will help to understand the size of the war in Ukraine and how it will NOT end.
There have been theories that Poland or some U.S. led coalition force would intervene with their troops on the ground in Ukraine to ‘kick the Russians out’.
The two graphics though dispel any hope for such an operation.
The following is an operational map of Desert Storm. The U.S. led operation in spring 1991 to kick Iraq out of Kuwait.
iukr1
biggerIt took the U.S. some nine month to assemble a forces of some 700,000 U.S. and 250,000 allied troops with all their equipment. Iraq had an estimated 650,000 troops in the theater. The U.S. first created total air superiority by destroying Iraq’s fighter aircraft and air defense forces. With that done it took only 100 hours of ground operation to destroy a third of the Iraqi forces. The rest of the Iraqi army retreated under fire towards Baghdad.
There are some 550,000 Russian troops in and around Ukraine. A hypothetical operation to ‘kick Russia out’ would thereby have about the same size as Desert Storm. But the geographic dimensions differ drastically.
The following is an operational map of Desert Storm from above overlaid in scale on the map of Ukraine.
iukr2
biggerThe map was turned to the left by 90 degree. North is to the left, east at the top and Crimea in the south to the right.
Russia occupies some 87,000 square kilometer of Ukraine. The Desert Storm theater around Kuwait was five times smaller.
A hypothetical U.S. coalition of the size of Desert Storm could probably cross the Dnieper and cut of Crimea. But it could do little more than that. The Donetz and Luhansk oblasts and Crimea itself would still be in Russian hands.
But there are many reasons why no such operation will ever be planned and executed.
The U.S. no longer has a force of the size it committed to Desert Storm. Nor do its allies.
The U.S. was able to create air superiority in Iraq because it could fly from nearby Saudi airfields and from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. Air superiority in eastern Ukraine could only be achieved with the destruction of long range air-defenses within Russia. The next safe air fields the U.S. could use are in Poland and Romania. No U.S. aircraft carrier will dare to enter the Black Sea. U.S. fighter planes to not have the necessary reach for combat missions in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian rail system is by now a mess. It is incapable of moving a large force from the west into east Ukraine.
Any attempt to move a large force through Ukraine would be subject to deep battle interdiction by Russian and Belorussian forces.
Iraqi equipment was badly maintained and Iraqi forces were barely trained. Russia has a well trained high tech army.
I could go on but you can certainly see the point.
No U.S. ground troops will move into Ukraine. It is ludicrous to think otherwise.
Posted by b on January 30, 2023 at 16:23 UTC | Permalink
Humorous Illustrations Blending Sarcastic Nature and Adopted Cat’s Attitude
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The Internet has been abuzz in recent years with the phenomenon of cats taking over, and now we have one more artist to add to their ranks. @st.aftercigs, an Instagram account with 190K+ followers, gives a whole new dimension to cat appreciation with their bold, humorous artworks inspired by the artist’s own adopted cat.
The artist behind the account expresses the stark contrast between cats’ sassiness, and their ability to be inspirational muses. By blending the artist’s own sarcastic nature with their cat’s grumpy cattitude, a unique and lively art style has been born. The artworks are a great reminder of the many nuanced personalities our cats possess and the joy they can bring to our lives.
The US only engages in direct conflict against a far weaker opponent.
It’s preferred method of controlling other states is to work in the shadows – propaganda and psy ops to turn people against their government, support of extremist factions, manipulation of elections, color revolutions, and sanctions.
All underhanded and sneaky.
The neocons were sure their toolkit would work in Ukraine.
The US government is committed to this as long as it doesn’t have to confront Russia directly.
The US public is committed to this as long as it doesn’t come down to thousands of boys coming back in body bags.
Otherwise it’s one big reality show to entertain.
There are descriptors to be used for people who act like the US acts, none of them complimentary.
World War 3 is proceeding. NATO and the United States are “throwing everything, including the kitchen sink at Russia”. At this point in time, details are trivial. Russia will eventually win, and the United States will sulk, but then “pivot to China”.
China is ready for this. And if they are not, then they deserve what will be coming.
Preventative efforts to minimize the “bads” from being big, to something more manageable are in process. But I have no “crystal ball” and cannot predict the future.
I, like you all, tire of war talk, covid talk and all the rest.
We all should be exhausted of this nonsense. But the evil son-of-bitches won’t stop. They are functionally evil.
Here, let’s take a light view of human relationships today. I’m throwing this post in the art section.
The Married Kama Sutra: The World’s Least Humorous Erotic Sex Manual
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For centuries, lovers have found inspiration and advice in the ancient text of the Kama Sutra. Now, Simon Rich – ‘one of the funniest writers in America’ (The Daily Beast) – and Farley Katz have unearthed a valuable new document – a guide to the positions most common after marriage.
From ‘the interrupted congress’ to ‘the beaching of the whales,’ here are the poses, positions, and games married lovers play to keep the spark alive – and the dishwasher properly loaded. Complete with four-color, full-page illustrations in the style of the original Kama Sutra, but with modern, domestic accoutrements: dirty diapers, TV remotes, and wine glasses aplenty.
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Bad news for US: there is no competition between US and China. US lost it already.
All those economic sanctions stuff against China have been like mending a broken fence after the horses gone.
US is inconveniencing China right now, but can US hinder Chinese people to innovate, to progress, to revenge, and so have the last word?
Nyet.
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Jan 27 2023 18:22 utc | 46
I read some disturbing things about where the United States is heading. Anyone who believes that the USA isn’t going to “start a war with China” is delusional. No matter what China does, good or bad, the United States is planning on fighting. And it is planning on a remote far-away war.
If China falls for this trap, it deserves what ever happens to it. No excuses.
Meanwhile the United States (and it’s proxies) are pushing, pushing, and pushing. These are dangerous times.
I need a drink.
How to Make a Whiskey Sour: Classic Whiskey Sour Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Dec 25, 2022
The Whiskey Sour is a structured and refreshing cocktail that can be drunk from the afternoon until late in the night.
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What Is the Whiskey Sour?
The Whiskey Sour is made with two parts rye whiskey or bourbon, to one part each of lemon juice and simple syrup. Classic sours typically call for two parts of a spirit, along with one-to three-quarter parts each of sweetener and acid. Some sour cocktails feature an egg white for a bit of froth and volume, which is optional for the Whiskey Sour. The acidic citrus in this classic cocktail brings levity to the spice and smoke of barrel-aged whiskey. The Whiskey Sour is shaken and served over ice in a rocks glass.
Ingredients
Combine the whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice cubes. Shake well for 30 seconds.
Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with the orange slice and maraschino cherry.
The United States / Israel (obviously) hit Iran because of shipments of weapons and drones to Russia. -MM
More than half a dozen explosions have rocked different cities inside Iran as of 7:17 PM eastern US time on Saturday, 28 January 2023. The explosions have all been hitting military industrial facilities. Micro Aerial Vehicles (drones) and hitting numerous targets throughout Iran.
In addition, reports are now coming in claiming the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is engaging in air attacks inside Syria, against allegedly Iranian targets.
This is happening right now. Details coming in, Check back for updates.
7:20 PM EST — 5-6 explosions reported in different provinces of Iran just now – Industrial Plants, Weapons Depot, Airbase, Military buildings targeted, – Drones/Quadcopters suspected
7:27 PM EST — The map below shows the locations of several attacks so far:
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***** BULLETIN *****
“Israel launches a special military operation inside Iran” – Al Arabiya News Network
More:
“The official goal of the Israeli army is the destruction of Iran’s military industry” – Al Arabiya
7:31 PM EST — Videos surfacing of Iranian Air Force scrambling
Russian and Iranian State Media is already claiming that the Drone Attacks on Military Facilities inside of Iran tonight are suspected to be from a NATO or NATO-Linked Country.
7:35 PM EST — There are rumors tonight that the Azerbaijani Embassy in the Iranian Capital of Tehran is currently being Evacuated with several trucks seen being loaded with Equipment and Documents from the Embassy.
TEHRAN NOW: GROUND DEFENSE SYSTEMS ARE RESPONDING TO AIR TARGETS OVER THE CAPITAL, TEHRAN.
7:37 PM EST — The Iranian National Security Council has convened an emergency meeting
7:39 PM EST — The strikes on Iran are extremely distributed all over the country. No less than 7 large cities have been struck.
The Iranian security council has been convened for an emergency session.
The Iranian Ministry of Defense: The air defense hit one of the drones that were trying to target the Isfahan Military Factory, and the other two planes fell into defensive traps and exploded.
7:42 PM EST — Explosion at the air base in the city of Dezful, Iran
Confirmed (locally) blast-incidents in the past hour in Iran:
1. Isfahan, #Isfahan Province
2. Khoy West Azerbaijan Province
3. Azarshahr East Azerbaijan Province
4. Karaj #Alborz Province
Multiple Middle Eastern Media Sources tonight are reporting that Israel has launched a Military Operation against Iran but so far nothing has been Officially Announced by the Israeli Government or Military.
7:47 PM EST — IT IS ALLEGED THAT SOME GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS IN IRAN WERE HIT. (UNCONFIRMED)
Reports indicate that there is an intense security situation in the routes leading to the ammunition manufacturing centers of the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan
8:07 PM EST — Blast in Hamedan, Hamedan Province of Iran. 4th one tonight Each incident site is at least a couple of hundred km far from each other.
8:13 PM EST — The flow of news out of Iran has just . . . stopped. Nothing coming through. Complete silence. Something is up . . .
ANALYSIS — The most peculiar part of the reporting above is that the Embassy of Azerbaijan, in Tehran, is being EVACUATED right now. So I found myself asking, WTF?
Then I recalled, Azerbaijan is having a tiff with Armenia (again) and the Iranians (Shia Muslims) are backing (Christian) Armenia. So I started wondering if tonight’s attacks inside Iran might actually have something to do with Azerbaijan?
I note as well, that both Russian and Iran state media are reporting, almost from gitgo, that tonight’s attacks “are suspected to be from a NATO or NATO-Linked Country.” Would that be Azerbaijan?
Just yesterday, the head of security at the Azerbaijan Embassy in Tehran was murdered. It is now being RUMORED (unconfirmed) that he was part of an operation to smuggle micro drones into the Embassy, and those drones might be what’s attacking inside Iran tonight. These RUMORS (again, unconfirmed) go on to claim that Iran found out what was coming, couldn’t do anything in time to prevent it, so they allegedly outright murdered the Head of Security for the Azerbaijan Embassy.
All very convoluted.
Still awaiting more info.
Toothpick Artist Takes Nine Months to Create Jaw-Dropping Replica of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia
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It has taken nine months and more than 35,000 toothpicks – but Stan Munro has once again proved he is a real stickler for detail with the unveiling of his latest masterpiece. The model-making maestro has recreated Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia out of nothing but tiny pieces of wood and PVA glue.
And the stunning construction is entirely faithful to Antoni Gaudi’s original design – with the Basilica’s nativity facade and highly detailed spires all visible.
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World Health Organization issues List of Medicines Nations Should Stockpile “In case of nuclear emergency”
In yet another indication that governments of the world are preparing for a coming nuclear war with Russia, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued instructions as to which medications nations must stockpile to deal with “nuclear emergency.”
The global health body issued guidance on how to survive a nuclear catastrophe in a new report today, warning against ‘intentional uses of radioactive materials with malicious intent’.
The report was published as the spectre of nuclear war looms over the world after the West supplied state-of-the-art tanks to Ukraine to the fury of Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin accused NATO of a ‘blatant provocation’ and threatened a ‘global catastrophe’ in response to the deal.
Today, Stefano Sannino, secretary general of the European Union’s European External Action Service, said Putin had ‘moved from a concept of special operation to a concept now of a war against NATO and the West’.
He went on to claim the EU is not looking to escalate hostilities but is ‘just giving the possibility of saving lives and allowing the Ukrainians to defend (themselves) from these barbaric attacks.
Dr Maria Neira, WHO Acting Assistant Director-General warned that many governments today are not prepared for a nuclear or radiation disaster.
She said: ‘In radiation emergencies, people may be exposed to radiation at doses ranging from negligible to life-threatening. Governments need to make treatments available for those in need – fast.
‘It is essential that governments are prepared to protect the health of populations and respond immediately to emergencies. This includes having ready supplies of lifesaving medicines that will reduce risks and treat injuries from radiation.’
WHO outlines that a national stockpile normally includes PPE, trauma kits, fluids, antibiotics and painkillers.
But the health body said: ‘Many countries, however, still lack the essential elements of preparedness for radiation emergencies.’
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said today the US holds the key to ending the war in Ukraine but refuses to use it.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Joe Biden of ‘pumping weapons into Ukraine’ when he could instead be instigating a ceasefire.
Cinnamon Chicken (Kota Kapama)
2023 01 29 10 09
Ingredients
8 pieces chicken
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon finely chopped or minced garlic
6 fresh garden tomatoes or 1 cup chopped, drained, canned plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 (4-inch long) cinnamon stick
Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Grind some sea salt and black pepper over the chicken pieces.
Heat the butter and olive oil over moderate heat in a sauté pan, and brown the chicken pieces. Transfer them to a plate.
Pour off all but a thin film of fat add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the onions are light brown. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Bring to a boil, and then return the chicken to the pan and baste it thoroughly with the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, basting occasionally, for about 30 minutes.
Serve with white or brown rice or pasta. Spoon the tomato sauce over the chicken and rice or pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.
‘My Gut Tells Me Will Fight in 2025’: US Four-star General Warns of War with China
A four-star US Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.
”I hope I am wrong,” General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members. ”My gut tells me will fight in 2025.”
The letter was dated Feb. 1 but had been sent out on Friday.
The general’s views do not represent the Pentagon but show concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military over a possible attempt by China to exert control over Taiwan, which China claims as a territory.
Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote.
”These comments are not representative of the department’s view on China,” a U.S. defense official said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing.
China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure in recent years on the self-governed island to accept Beijing’s rule. Taiwan’s government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.
Reuters reviewed a copy of Minihan’s memo, which was first reported by NBC News.
In response to a request for comment, Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement that military competition with China is a central challenge.
”Our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Greek Chicken with Artichokes
(Kottopoulo me Anginares)
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Ingredients
4 large chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup water
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
1 (14 ounce) can small artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 eggs
Instructions
Remove bones and skin from chicken breast halves. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet until hot. Cook chicken over medium heat until brown on both sides, about 15 minutes; drain fat. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic. Add water and bouillon. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add artichoke hearts. Cover and simmer until chicken is done and artichoke hearts are hot, about 5 minutes.
Remove chicken and artichoke hearts to warm platter with slotted spoon; keep warm. Beat lemon juice, cornstarch and egg in small bowl until smooth, using fork. Add enough water to pan juices to measure 1 cup. Beat into egg mixture, using fork. Return mixture to skillet. Heat to boiling over medium heat; boil and stir 1 minute. Pour sauce over chicken and artichokes. Sprinkle with minced parsley if desired.
Photographs Of Meals From Famous Novels
The photographs in this series, Fictitious Dishes, enter the lives of five fictional characters and depict meals from the novels The Catcher in the Rye, Oliver Twist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Moby Dick. Created by Dinah Fried.
Why do young Chinese have so little interest in democracy?
Maybe because they are very smart. Democracy in India made them 10 times poorer, Democracy in Philippines made them fall from 2nd biggest economy in Asia to a basket case in 3 decades!
They looked at the US and saw a million homeless living on tents, the watch people gunned down daily by random shooting, they know 64% of Americans living day to day on basic income and 35% have no health insurance and voted in a womaniser and con artist as a president and says we don’t want this shit.
They saw dilapidated infrastructure in America, witness police killing blacks for the slightest flaw, and know 25% of the world’s incasserated is in the US prisons and know 1% owns 90% of the US wealth and 99% share the balance 10% living with a double digit inflation and a 5 bucks gas a gallon, with empty supermarket shelves and they say thanks but no thanks!
But America says be democratic like us and you get to choose between 2 candidates chosen by the few rich and influential people once every 4 years and be proud of that. Chinese youth says go ahead and pretend you are free and have fun voting if Trump don’t steal the next election.
Scans Reveal Magic Amulets Inside Egyptian Golden Boy Mummy
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CT scans conducted during a recent study of the “Golden Boy” mummy, which was discovered in 1916 in southern Egypt, has revealed a hidden collection of 49 magical amulets, including many forged in gold. It is believed the amulets were “strategically” placed on the mummy’s body to “vitalize the dead body.”
The ancient Egyptians believed amulets, figurines, and charms held powerful supernatural energies, offering protection for both the living and the dead. As such, amulets were deposited on or inside bodies during mummification, which is exactly what happened in the case of the 2,300-year-old Golden Boy mummy.
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The outer coffin of the Golden Boy mummy on the left and inner wooden sarcophagus on the right, which shows that the boy was draped with a garland of ferns and wore a gold gilded face mask. (Saleem, Seddik and el-Halwagy / CC BY 4.0 )
Death Strategies in Ancient Egypt
Laid to rest inside two coffins, an outer coffin inscribed with Greek texts and an inner wooden sarcophagus, the Golden Boy earned his nickname because a fabulous gilded head mask was found in the mummy’s sarcophagus. And because the deceased’s wisdom teeth had not yet emerged, researchers know the person was about 14 or 15 years old when he died.
After its discovery in Nag el-Hassay in southern Egypt, the mummy was stored in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo without further inspection where it has remained ever since. Now, lead author of a new study Dr. Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at the Faculty of Medicine in Cairo University, has taken high resolution computed tomography scans, known as CT scans , of the mummy. The researcher has revealed 21 amulets in different styles, shapes and sizes placed strategically in and around the Golden Boy mummy.
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CT scans revealed a number of amulets, many of them made of gold, within the mummified remains known as the Golden Boy mummy. (Saleem, Seddik and el-Halwagy / CC BY 4.0 )
Prepped for the Afterlife with a Golden Tongue
The new study published in Frontiers in Medicine explained that the boy was discovered wearing a pair of sandals with a garland of ferns draped across his body. A two-finger amulet was discovered next to the boy’s uncircumcised penis, and the boy’s tongue was capped in gold.
While the boy’s identity is not clear, the vast collection of luxury grave goods discovered by the CT scans indicate that he was born into a family of high socio-economic status. According to EurekAlert!, the researcher concluded that this mummy served as a “showcase of Egyptian beliefs about death and the afterlife” during the Greek ruled Ptolemaic period which lasted from 305 BC to 30 BC.
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A series of images from the study, including CT scans that “digitally unwrapped” the Golden Boy mummy. Source: Saleem, Seddik and el-Halwagy / CC BY 4.0
The Human Soul Vs the Goddess’s Feather
Ancient Egyptian cultures believed that different stones, metals, and crystals provided essential life energies and that they affected the body in various ways. But amulets also served functional roles in the afterlife. Thus, the tongue of the teenage Golden Boy was capped in gold, “to ensure the deceased could speak in the afterlife,” and his sandals allowed him “to enable the deceased to walk and leave the tomb in the afterlife,” according to the Frontiers in Medicine study.
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The tongue of the teenage Golden Boy was capped in gold, “to ensure the deceased could speak in the afterlife – https://ctt.ec/0zuR0+
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Out of all of the artifacts identified by the CT scan, a golden heart scarab amulet found inside the boy’s torso cavity stood out to Dr. Saleem. The heart scarab is mentioned in a specific chapter of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead and it was considered important for the soul’s journey in the afterlife.
This particular magical device was needed during the judging of the deceased, when the heart was weighed against a goddess’s feather. Specifically, it prevented the deceased’s heart from speaking during judgment, therefore, it was placed inside the torso during mummification as a replacement for the heart.
3D Printing Ancient Artifacts
Dr. Saleem said this particular scarab was engraved with spells on its back, created by priests to protect the boy during his journey in the afterlife. And so fascinated was the researcher with this single piece that she used a 3D printer to recreate it. Saleem told Live Science it was “really amazing” to hold the ancient design in her hands.
Previous studies of the Golden Boy mummy, and the latest discovery of the hidden trove of amulets, have provided valuable new insights into ancient Egyptian ideas surrounding death and the afterlife. The amulets were placed on and around the mummy to protect the boy in the afterlife, and this new study provides valuable information about the socio-economic status of the mummy, and how elite Egyptians prepared for death and rebirth.
Resulting from these new findings, the Golden Boy mummy has been moved to the main exhibition hall at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo where it can be viewed alongside the CT images and a 3D printed version of the heart scarab amulet.
Top image: CT images of the mummy revealed amulets were placed on or inside the mummified body of the Golden Boy mummy, including a two-finger amulet discovered next to the boy’s uncircumcised penis. (Saleem, Seddik and el-Halwagy / CC BY 4.0 )
By Ashley Cowie
“Suburbia”: The Melancholic and Mythological Artworks by Carlos Barahona Possollo
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Degree in Painting, final mark of 18/20, from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Lisbon University. In 1995 Carlos Barahona Possollo accepted an invitation to teach at the Faculty. He had read Architecture at the Technical University of Lisbon from 1986 to 1989.
He was officially commissioned to paint the Portrait of the Portuguese president Cavaco Silva, shown at the Presidents’ Gallery permanent collection in the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, since 2016. Since 1995 he has been co-operating with the Portuguese Mail in the production of originals for the printing of stamps, notably their commemorative series of the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama’s arrival in India (1996-98), and also with the Portuguese edition of the National Geographic Magazine (first nine issues).
His works can be found in private collections in Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy – most notably, of many in this country, in that of Prince Jonathan Doria- Pamphilj – The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, U S A and Argentina. Also, in public collections such as the Vatican (IOR), The White House, the Bank of Portugal, the Portuguese Museum of Communications, The Setubal Museum, and the Union of Portuguese Speaking Capital Cities.
Video has emerged showing German “Leopard-2” main battle tanks and “Marder” Infantry Fighting Vehicles, on a train entering Poland, destined for Ukraine. These are the very weapons which Russia has said could trigger World War 3.
This train was seen earlier in northern Germany, and is shown above after having entered Poland.
Among the ammunition used by these weapons systems is Uranium-core shells; which Russia has already announced, “will be viewed as a dirty nuclear bomb being used against Russia, with all the ensuing consequences.”
REWARD OFFERED FOR FIRST KILL
A Russian Oil company has publicly announced it will pay a reward of five million Rubles, which equal fifty thousand US Dollars, for the “First Kill” by a Russian Soldier, of either a U.S. “M1” or a German “Leopard-2” Tank in Ukraine. Subsequent kills of such weapons systems will result in reward of five-hundred thousand Rubles, which equals five-thousand U.S. Dollars.
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Greek Fried Cheese (Saganaki)
A visit to a Greek restaurant anywhere in the world is likely to feature waiters setting this dish ablaze and parading it through the room, accompanied by an appreciative “OPA!” from the guests.
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Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg, well beaten
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 pound kasseri cheese*, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 tablespoons brandy
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
Heat the butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat.
Beat the egg and flour together, and dip the cheese slices into the mixture. Fry until well browned on both sides.
Remove from the heat and add the brandy. Carefully ignite the brandy with a match, and shake the skillet until the flame is extinguished.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the cheese, and serve from the skillet along with crusty bread.
Notes
* Available in finer supermarkets and Middle Eastern specialty shops. Parmesan or Romano cheese may be substituted.
A dramatic, overnight shift in U.S. policy is politically impossible—both domestically and with allies—and would be unwise in any case.
But developing these instruments now and socializing them with Ukraine and with U.S. allies might help catalyze the eventual start of a process that could bring this war to a negotiated end in a time frame that would serve U.S. interests.
The alternative is a long war that poses major challenges for the United States, Ukraine, and the rest of the world.
The various RAND reports are for insiders to read. If you know what to look for, these documents will be able to tell more of the real story than any news of propaganda.
While even sensible reports funded by the Defense Department and the military industrial complex call for an end to the endless war in Ukraine, even many self-proclaimed socialists are advocating adding more fuel to this war machine.
This can only be understood in terms of class struggle: without war to divert people’s attention, it is not easy for them to tolerate their declining standard of living and the subjugation of the perpetrators that led to it.
The American ruling class knows full well that their wealth today is built on looting rather than building. The Indians, the blacks and the third world countries they plundered still remember this.
Imagining a fictional conflict between Russia and China is like opium to the brain dead. It’s a clutching effort to grab that last drink before the bar closes, or to play one last round at the roulette table.
The United States is over, and any sensible entity should be devoting all their efforts to prevent the “leadership” from slamming the “game board” and tossing everything up in the air.
Ukraine – RAND Study Sees Risks In Prolonged War
RAND Corp is a government and industry financed large research institute. Founded shortly after the end of the second world war it mostly works for the Pentagon by developing policies and strategies.
In April 2019 RAND published a report about Extending Russia (pdf).
As the 2018 National Defense Strategy recognized, the United States is currently locked in a great-power competition with Russia. This report seeks to define areas where the United States can compete to its own advantage. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from Western and Russian sources, this report examines Russia’s economic, political, and military vulnerabilities and anxieties. It then analyzes potential policy options to exploit them — ideologically, economically, geopolitically, and militarily (including air and space, maritime, land, and multidomain options).
RAND developed policy options in those four fields. It then evaluated their benefit, cost and risks as well as their likelihood of success.
Here is their summary table for economic measures:
er1 s
biggerThe first three measures were implemented when the war in Ukraine was launched.
The geopolitical measures included an option of providing lethal aid to Ukraine. This would create the risk that Russia would respond militarily and eventually take more of Ukraine than the two Donbas republics:
Taking more of Ukraine might only increase the burden [for Russia], albeit at the expense of the Ukrainian people. However, such a move might also come at a significant cost to Ukraine and to U.S. prestige and credibility. This could produce disproportionately large Ukrainian casualties, territorial losses, and refugee flows. It might even lead Ukraine into a disadvantageous peace.
While they at times underestimate Russia’s capabilities RAND people are not dumb. They knew of the likely outcome of a war.
Other geopolitical measure RAND evaluated included more support for ‘Syrian rebels’, regime change per color revolution in Belarus, to exploit tensions in the southern Caucasus and to reduce Russian influence in Central Asia.
RAND’s summary for geopolitical measures:
er2 s
biggerThe Trump and Biden administrations both implemented the measures that seemed to have high benefits as well as high risks.
The use of ideological measures against Russia was seen as having rather low benefits.
There follow more options, mostly in military categories, that the RAND report developed and evaluated. They emphasize industry pork.
The Trump administration took some of the measures RAND provided but seemed not too enthusiastic about them. Its regime change attempt in Belarus failed. The Biden administration changed tact. He endorsed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the color revolution candidate that had failed the elections in Belarus. Biden also allowed for the delivery of more offensive weapons to Ukraine. The regime in Kiev was encouraged to retake the rebellions Donbas republics. The green light for that was given in early 2022 even as the White House knew that Russia would respond militarily. The consequences for Ukraine that RAND had predicted in 2019 ensued.
The U.S. aim for the war is, as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in April 2022, to ‘weaken Russia’:
A National Security Council spokesperson said that Austin’s comments were consistent with what the US’ goals have been for months – namely, “to make this invasion a strategic failure for Russia.”“We want Ukraine to win,” the spokesperson added. “One of our goals has been to limit Russia’s ability to do something like this again, as Secretary Austin said. That’s why we are arming the Ukrainians with weapons and equipment to defend themselves from Russian attacks, and it’s why we are using sanctions and export controls that are directly targeted at Russia’s defense industry to undercut Russia’s economic and military power to threaten and attack its neighbors.”
That, however, will take a very long time.
Letting the conflict extend longer, concludes a newly released RAND report, is itself a danger. The U.S. must avoid a long war:
The authors argue that, in addition to minimizing the risks of major escalation, U.S. interests would be best served by avoiding a protracted conflict. The costs and risks of a long war in Ukraine are significant and outweigh the possible benefits of such a trajectory for the United States. Although Washington cannot by itself determine the war’s duration, it can take steps that make an eventual negotiated end to the conflict more likely.
The study (pdf) argues that Ukraine’s retaking of territory Russia controls should not be relevant for U.S. plans. It has little benefits but high costs. Prolonging the war, while having some benefits for the U.S., has even more risk and costs attached to it.
Especially important to RAND seems to be that the war in Ukraine diverts the U.S. from starting a war with China:
Beyond the potential for Russian gains and the economic consequences for Ukraine, Europe, and the world, a long war would also have on sequences for U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. ability to focus on its other global priorities —particularly, competition with China— will remain constrained as long as the war is absorbing senior policymakers’ time and U.S. military resources.
…
And although Russia will be more dependent on China regardless of when the war ends, Washington does have a long-term interest in ensuring that Moscow does not become completely subordinated to Beijing. A longer war that increases Russia’s dependence could provide China advantages in its competition with the United States.
The U.S., says RAND, can take measures that make a quick end of the war possible. It can press Ukraine to start negotiations and to accept a bad outcome by threatening to stop financing the war. It can encourage Russia to enter into negotiations by offering substantial sanctions relief.
The reports final policy advice concludes:
A dramatic, overnight shift in U.S. policy is politically impossible—both domestically and with allies—and would be unwise in any case. But developing these instruments now and socializing them with Ukraine and with U.S. allies might help catalyze the eventual start of a process that could bring this war to a negotiated end in a time frame that would serve U.S. interests. The alternative is a long war that poses major challenges for the United States, Ukraine, and the rest of the world.
Start working on this now, says Rand.
It is likely not by chance that the previous call for an immediate start of negotiations to end the war came from the U.S. Chief of Staff Mark Milley. That he did so publicly was a sign that he had lost the internal White House debate on that issue. He probably asked for the RAND study to bolster his argument.
But the neocons, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, State Secretary Anthony Blinken and his deputy Victoria Nuland, who together wage their war against Russia, have Joe Biden’s ears and can control the information he gets. Milley and other realist will have a difficult stand.
Steady Russian progress in its campaign will be the best argument for them to win the internal war in Washington DC.
Posted by b on January 27, 2023 at 16:57 UTC | Permalink
Evidence For Reincarnation: This Kid Knows Things He Shouldn’t – He Survived Death –
This is really good.
Just incredible. You were correct young man. Those parents are top notch! Good job mom and dad. He came back so quickly after that life but for good reason, he found the right parents to help him heal.
Wash green peppers; cut and remove seeds. Fill peppers with meat mixture; place open side down in circle in roasting pan.
Combine remaining ingredients except potatoes; pour over peppers. Place potatoes in center of pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.
11,000-Year-Old Human Remains Found in British Cave
oldest northerner
An astounding discovery in the Heaning Wood Bone Cave in northern England has revealed the oldest human remains found in the region, dating back 11,000 years. A team from the University of Central Lancashire ( UCLAN), uncovered evidence of human activity in the early Mesolithic period, shedding new light on the technologies and cultural habits of our ancestors.
Lead archaeologist Martin Stables says the cave was inhabited in the early Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age) when Homo sapiens , or modern humans, were the only hominid species to roam in the British Isles.
The Heaning Wood Bone Cave in Cumbria was first excavated in 1958 by E.G. Holland and this limestone formation with a vertical shaft has developed into a complex karstic fissure system. The cave was found to contain the preserved skeletal remains of three adults and a juvenile dated to the Early Bronze Age. However, recent excavations by the UCLAN team has unearthed the true antiquity of the cave in a collection of human remains that date back 11,000 years.
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Excavations at the Cumbria cave uncovered human remains, animal bones, stone tools and beads, such as this shell bead. ( UCLan)
Deciphering and Dating Ancient Cave Bones
Prof. Martin Stables has been excavating this northern English cave since the summer of 2016. According to an article on Cumbria Crack , during his work Stables has recovered “animal bone, stone tools, prehistoric pottery and beads made from perforated periwinkle shells.” Included in the collection are the bones of “Bos, Sus and Canis,” reports Heritage Daily .
Furthermore, the archaeologists recovered “stone tools, pottery, and shell beads ” from the Cumbria cave. Of particular interest was a tiny periwinkle shell bead. This informed the researchers that the cave’s inhabitants had access to coastal marine resources.
Researchers from the University of Nevada and Pennsylvania State University studied the artifacts and bones. They determined that the cave was used for burials around 4,000-years-ago in the Early Bronze Age and also around 5,000-years-ago in the Early Neolithic. And while both of these dates were somewhat predictable, what came as a big surprise were human bones that carbon-dated to around 11,000-years-ago, in the Mesolithic period.
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Archaeologist Martin Stables exploring a cave. ( UCLan)
Traditional “Oldest Northerner” is Pipped at the Post
The discovery of these 11,000-years-old human remains doesn’t just serve as hard evidence of human activity in northern Britain after the end of the last Ice Age . The surrounding artifacts provide evidence for the technologies and cultural habits of people living 11,000 years ago. According to the BBC, the Cumbria cave remains belong to the “oldest northerner.”
The discovery of these 11,000-years-old human remains doesn’t just serve as hard evidence of human activity in northern Britain after the end of the last Ice Age. - https://ctt.ec/3b6de+
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Dr. Stable said that not in his “wildest dreams” did he ever expect to find anything like the “Early Mesolithic connection” in this cave. He added that after six years digging his research has “ended up in a place I never expected it to get to.”
In an article published in The Mail , the researcher said the dating of the bones and artifacts “are staggering,” adding that it is very difficult to imagine what life would have been like in the cave over 11,000 years ago.
Before this discovery, the earliest “northerner” was a 10,000-year-old burial from the nearby Kent’s Bank Cavern located on the north side of Morecambe Bay. Scientists from Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Nottingham analyzed some of these bones and discovered a fragment of human leg bone dated to just over 10,000 years old.
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Part of the tibia of an early human believed to be Homo heidelbergensis discovered at the Boxgrove archaeological site in West Sussex. ( Ethan Doyle White / CC BY-SA 3.0 )
Earliest Human Remains and Tools Discovered to Date in Britain
Earlier remains have been discovered in southern England and Wales but the destructive effect of past glaciations means such finds are exceptionally rare. However, deposited during the Middle Pleistocene, the Boxgrove fossils in Sussex included a fragment of tibia (shinbone) and two teeth from a mature well-built man. It is thought these belonged to the common ancestor of modern humans or Neanderthals, Homo heidelbergensis , who walked around 480,000 years ago.
While the Boxgrove fossils represent the earliest human remains ever discovered in Britain, the discovery of stone tools which date back more than 700,000 years from sites in Suffolk and Norfolk demonstrate that humans were living in Britain long before those from Boxgrove.
In 2010 The Independent announced that archaeologists excavating on a Norfolk beach, near the village of Happisburgh, unearthed more than 70 flint tools belonging to “the first-known prehistoric people to live in Britain.” These extraordinarily old tools, and technologies, were dated as having been made between 1 million and 800,000 years ago.
By Ashley Cowie
What Life Is Like Before And After You Get A Dog
I might have already posed this, but what the heck…
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If you decide to get a dog or any other animal as a pet, experienced owners have something to tell you. The owner of a golden retriever, John, shows how his life has changed after getting his pup Maimai — whom he describes as ’’a cute little furry devil’’.
As pup’s owner explains, everyone who has a dog soon starts feeling guilty that they don’t share their food or buy new toys for it. And you can forget about having a tidy apartment — ever again. But it’s all worth it. Because there’s no one else who’s happier than the person who sees their dog greeting them every evening in the hallway.
David Gilmour – Shine On You Crazy Diamond feat. Crosby & Nash (Remember That Night)
We remember and talk about so many great bands, sometimes comparing one against the other. But Pink Floyd is in a league of their own. There’s no other band to compare them to. They are the most legendary group of all time.
Doodle Diary Of A New Mom: An Illustrated Journey Through One Mommy’s First Year
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In 2012, Lucy Scott gave birth to her first baby. Despite her extensive pre-baby research, nothing prepared her for the momentous task of caring for this new little person.
Featuring dozens of funny moments like baby’s first lunch out to a forensic view of the living room, this charming doodle collection includes 120 two-color illustrations and is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, baby showers, or year-round fun. Also included are a few doodling prompts in the back of the book so moms can doodle their own first-year memories.
“Somewhere Somehow”: The Superb Dark and Surreal Photoworks of Lidija
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These photoworks take me in a mystical atmosphere of childhood fears. It’s very dark and surreal. Unfortunately, there is no information about the author, except that she is from Serbia.
Braised Chicken in Aromatic Tomato
Sauce (Pastitsatha)
This dish is one that evolved from Corfu to stretch scant supplies of meat. Consisting of chicken, turkey, beef or veal braised in tomato sauce fragrant with spices, it is served over thick tubular pasta from Corfu called “perciatellli” (if you can’t find it, use spaghetti). Kefalotyri is a nutty tasting hard cheese similar to Parmesan. It is available at Greek markets.
Freshly grated kefalotyri cheese or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.
Place chicken on platter. Add onions to Dutch oven; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spices; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and their juices and water. Return chicken to Dutch oven. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is very tender, about 35 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar, tomato paste and sugar to Dutch oven. Simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and more vinegar, if desired. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer pasta to platter. Top with chicken, sauce and cheese.
RAND has a follow up study…
I notice that the new RAND report makes risks more clear, and in red highlight.
Their previous concerns in the original report were mostly ignored, and that didn’t turn out so well.
It seems as though RAND now wants to make sure the US doesn’t start a nuclear war, and is a bit worried their concerns won’t be taken seriously, again.
Discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war in Washington is increasingly dominated by the question of how it might end.
To inform this discussion, this Perspective identifies ways in which the war could evolve and how alternative trajectories would affect U.S. interests.
The authors argue that, in addition to minimizing the risks of major escalation, U.S. interests would be best served by avoiding a protracted conflict.
The costs and risks of a long war in Ukraine are significant and outweigh the possible benefits of such a trajectory for the United States.
Although Washington cannot by itself determine the war's duration, it can take steps that make an eventual negotiated end to the conflict more likely.
Drawing on the literature on war termination, the authors identify key impediments to Russia-Ukraine talks, such as mutual optimism about the future of the war and mutual pessimism about the implications of peace.
The Perspective highlights four policy instruments the United States could use to mitigate these impediments: clarifying plans for future support to Ukraine, making commitments to Ukraine's security, issuing assurances regarding the country's neutrality, and setting conditions for sanctions relief for Russia.
In the 1980’s, newly married and laid off during the collapse of the American steel industry, my wife and I were living in a van and traveling to find work. This was after I left the Navy, and I was off in my period that I refer to as “lost in the wilderness”.
We left Pennsylvania and were on our way to California. It was Winter time, so we took a long circumambulating route though the Deep Southern states.
We were broken down, and waiting on a paycheck in the mail (that the manager was taking a long time to deal with) and just slowly starving in a broken down van sitting at the side of a rural road in Alabama.
When the police came over to investigate, we (my wife and I) were eating some old onions (that we found in the compost pile behind a house) with packets of yellow mustard that we got from the Rax fast food restaurant chain. We were eating it like you would eat an apple, and both of us were really thin. The police gave us five dollars for gas to get out of town and they escorted us to the next town, and deposited us at a private home for wayward souls, and they helped us get on our feet.
But, you know, I will never forget the look on the officer’s face when he peered inside and watched us eat old rotten onions with mustard.
Global Smartphone Shipments Plunge Most On Record
A new report via Massachusetts-based International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed worldwide smartphone shipments experienced the most significant quarterly drop on record over the holiday season as cooling consumer demand suggests trouble for smartphone manufacturers ahead of earnings releases.
Fourth-quarter global smartphone shipments plunged 18.3% year over year to 300.3 million units.
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The decline was the largest on record for one quarter and contributed to an annual reduction of 11.3%. 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped for the year, the lowest yearly total since 2013.
Russian Navy Ship Conducts SIMULATED Hypersonic Missile Launch off U.S. East Coast – Electronic Warfare JAMMED U.S. Radar, Phones, Internet for 34 seconds
A Russian Navy ship in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda, conducted a simulated launch of a ZIRCON Hypersonic Missile against a “nautical target 900km away.” The Simulated launch involved the use of Electronic Warfare that actually JAMMED U.S. radar, cellular phones in the Mid-Atlantic USA, and even disrupted digital internet traffic for 34 seconds!
The Russian Navy Frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” tested the strike capabilities of Russia’s much-hyped Zircon hypersonic missile in the western Atlantic Ocean.
People in the mid-Atlantic region of the US experienced electronic warfare jamming of civilian devices like cellular phones and Internet for 34 seconds.
One source reports via COVERT INTEL “In accordance with the training situation, the frigate practiced arranging a ZIRCON hypersonic missile strike against a maritime target at a distance over 900 kilometers away.”
The 2023 Military Strength Ranking
The 2023 Military Strength Ranking by Globalfirepower.com shows that the United States, Russia, and China have remained the world’s top military powers with China continuing its climb to the No.2 spot.
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Best Ever Biscuits
Best Ever Biscuits
Yield: 10 to 12 biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening or butter
2/3 cup milk
Instructions
In medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix well to distribute the baking powder and the salt.
Using a pastry blender or fork, cut shortening into flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you use butter, be sure it is chilled. (Mixing by hand softens the shortening, making the dough sticky and hard to handle.)
Gently push the flour-shortening mixture against the sides of the bowl, making a well in the center. Pour the milk into the well all at once. Using a fork, stir just until the mixture follows the fork around the bowl and forms soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 10 to 12 strokes.
On the lightly floured surface, pat the dough to 1/2-inch thickness (or roll it out with a lightly floured rolling pin, if desired). Sprinkle a little flour over dough.
Cut biscuit dough with a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, pressing the cutter straight down. Be careful not to twist the cutter or flatten the cut biscuit edges or you won’t get straight-sided, evenly shaped biscuits. Dip the cutter into flour between cuts to prevent sticking. If you do not have a biscuit cutter, use a straight-sided glass. Or, pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle and cut into squares or triangles using a sharp knife.
Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the cut biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet. For crusty-sided biscuits, place about 1 inch apart. For soft-sided biscuits, place biscuits close together in an ungreased baking pan.
Re-roll scraps of dough and cut into biscuit shapes. Try to cut out as many biscuits as possible from a single rolling of dough. Too many re-rollings of the dough causes biscuits to be tough and dry.
Bake biscuits in 450 degrees F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden on the top and the bottom.
Serve warm.
Ural Motorcycles: Break Out
Routine, boredom, office slavery and chains of marriage – this is not about people who ride bikes. Ural motorcycle sets you free. It helps you get away from all this, and gives you absolute freedom.
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Utah Plastic Surgeon Allegedly Destroyed COVID Vaccines, Gave Fake Shots To Children
A Utah plastic surgeon, along with three others, is facing charges for allegedly administering fake COVID-19 vaccines to children, destroying vaccines, and distributing falsified vaccine cards.
Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, the owner of the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah in Midvale, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to court documents (pdf).
Moore’s office manager Kari Burgoyne, receptionist Sandra Flores, neighbor Kristin Andersen, and the Plastic Surgery Institute are also charged in the case.
The defendants are accused of running a vaccine scheme out of the physician’s business.
Moore and Andersen were allegedly members of a “private organization seeking to ‘liberate’ the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest,” the documents state.
In May 2021, Moore signed an agreement with the CDC to administer COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination cards. Court documents claim that Moore and Burgoyne then ordered “hundreds of doses of COVID-19 vaccines,” which they began receiving at the plastic surgery center in October 2021.
Working the Plan
After receiving the vaccine doses, the doctor and three others started notifying “fraudulent vax card seekers” that they could “receive fraudulently completed COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards from the Plastic Surgery Institute without having to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” the documents state.
Those seeking fraudulent vaccination cards were required to pay $50 cash or make a $50 donation to Moore and Andersen’s private organization.
Burgoyne allegedly managed the “day-to-day logistics of the scheme,” while Andersen handled the screening process. Once a person was successfully screened and had made their $50 payment, Andersen would send them forms to complete.
“Flores and other employees would then provide the Fraudulent Vax Card Seekers with the completed COVID-19 Vaccine Record Cards without administering any COVID-19 vaccine to them,” the document reads.
The group also gave fake vaccines to children when requested by the minors’ parents.
“Dr. Moore, Burgoyne, and Flores also arranged, at times, to administer or have others administer saline shots to minor children at the request of their parents so that the minor children would think they were actually receiving a COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the document.
The names of the fraudulent vaccination card seekers were uploaded to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System.
Between Oct. 15, 2021, and Sept. 6, 2022, the Plastic Surgery Institute allegedly received about 2,200 doses of the vaccine and destroyed nearly 2,000 of them at a value of more than $28,000. The doses were destroyed “usually by drawing them from the bottle and then squirting them down the drain from a syringe.”
At least 1,937 fraudulent vaccination cards were allegedly sold at $50 each for a total of $96,850. The vaccination cards and the vaccine doses amounted to a combined value of nearly $125,000.
Undercover Agents
The scheme fell apart when an undercover agent managed to complete the “referral only” process and acquire a fake vaccination card.
A second agent went through the process and then asked Flores if his children could also receive a similar vaccine record card.
Flores “wrote on a Post-it note that ‘with 18 & younger, we do a saline shot,’ indicating that minors could receive saline shots and obtain the cards without receiving the vaccine,” the court papers say.
12,000-Year-Old Lost City Off New Orleans Coast or Imagination Gone Wild?
A self-proclaimed amateur archaeologist professes that mysterious granite stones found over the years by fishermen near the uninhabited Chandeleur Islands, located 50 miles east of New Orleans in the United States, are actually architectural artifacts from a 12,000-year-old lost city. Having visited the site 44 times, George Gelé, a retired architect, is convinced that he has found the remains of a submerged city predating the ancient Inca, Maya and Aztec civilizations of the Americas.
Even more startlingly, he claims that there is a pyramid in the granite city, which he has named “Crescentis”, that is related to the Great Pyramid at Giza ! The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , the Great Pyramid is located in Greater Cairo in Egypt. “What’s down there are hundreds of buildings that are covered with sand and silt and that are geographically related to the Great Pyramid at Giza. Somebody floated a billion stones down the Mississippi River and assembled them outside what would later become New Orleans ,” Gelé told CBS affiliate WWL-TV.
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George Gelé claims that the lost city located off Chandeleur Islands is related to the Great Pyramid of Giza, seen here. ( merydolla / Adobe Stock)
The Building Blocks of the Lost City of “Crescentis”
So what exactly has Gelé built his theory of a lost city on? While its foundations may be weak, the building stones are solid enough. Local fishermen have for years been talking about netting strange square rocks near the Chandeleur Islands. Granite in the area is certainly something that requires explanation, given that it isn’t found naturally in Louisiana or Mississippi, reports the Sun.
Gelé, who has taken 44 trips to the site over nearly 50 years, has produced underwater sonar images of what he is convinced are discernible ruins of major buildings. These, he claims, include a large pyramid. “All I know is somebody built a city 12,000 years ago and it’s stuck out in Chandeleur. Whether or not they had someone on their shoulder who flew in with a UFO, I don’t know. All I know is they left a whole lot of granite rocks out there,” he said according to WWL-TV.
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An aerial view of Chandeleur Islands. Louisiana, Chandeleur Islands, St. Bernard Parish. (NOAA Restoration Center / CC BY 2.0 )
Another Bermuda Triangle?
But that’s not all. According to Gelé, the pyramid, which he estimates is 280 feet (85 meters) tall, produces an incredible amount of electromagnetic energy . His claims are corroborated by local shrimper Ricky Robin who’s been out with him on four excursions.
According to Robin, the compass on his boat spun completely out of control as they neared the point which Gelé told him was the tip of the pyramid. “Everything will go out on your boat, all your electronics. Like as if you were in the Bermuda Triangle . That’s exactly what we got here,” he is quoted in the Sun as saying . He added that the granite slabs that fishermen found in the area at regular intervals had long been a topic of discussion and putting two and two together, he thought of them immediately as pieces of the pyramid since it was exactly where his compass went crazy.
Georges
George Gelé has spent almost 50 years studying the site where he believes a lost city is hiding underwater. (WWLTV / YouTube)
A Lost City? Or Are There More Mundane Explanations?
Though he has his adherents, many treat Gelé’s claims with skepticism, subscribing to explanations that are as of now less of a stretch of imagination than the theory of a submerged city near the Chandeleur Islands . And there are several of these rather more realistic explanations. One is from a late 1980s Texas A&M study which claims the granite blocks originate from old shipwrecks or ballast stones thrown overboard by Spanish and French ships to lighten their load as they entered shallow waters.
In fact, Gelé himself made a presentation in 2014 along similar lines. There he explored possibilities of the stone piles being from a construction dump or a build up from several shipwrecks. LSU archaeology professor Rob Mann told local newspaper the Advocate in 2011 that he believed the granite slabs originated from an abortive attempt to build an artificial reef. The state’s archaeologist told the same newspaper that while he agreed that barge loads of stones seemed to have been dumped there, the reasons were not clear.
The jury is still out on whether there is any substance to Gelé’s claims of a 12,000-year-old lost city, or whether the more commonplace explanations are closer to the truth. Certainly, Gelé’s hypothesis is more romantic. But until future dives, solar technology or satellite imaging help him put some proof out there, he will find it difficult to find serious scientific backing for his lost city ideas.
Top image: Representational image of a lost city at the bottom of the ocean. Source: diversepixel / Adobe Stock
By Sahir Pandey
Cast Iron Garlic Rolls
Cast Iron Garlic Rolls are a perfect addition to any weeknight meal.
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Prep: 10 min | Bake: 12 to 15 min | Servings: 10
Ingredients
10 Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
Spray a 10-inch cast iron skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley. Dip each roll into butter mixture, coating completely and arrange in skillet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.
Remove wrap and gently brush with remaining mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
Russia Throws Down Nuclear Gauntlet over M1, Bradley and other Offensive Weaponry to Kiev
This is FLASH TRAFFIC: Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of the Russia Delegation to the Organization for Security and Coorperation in Europe (OSCE) has just publicly thrown down the nuclear gauntlet to the collective west, in an official statement:
Gavrilov said that he has been instructed by his government to announce “We know that the Leopard-2 tank, as well as the Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, are armed with uranium-core armor-piercing projectiles, the use of which leads to [radioactive] contamination of the area, as happened in Yugoslavia and Iraq.
If such shells are delivered to Kyiv, we will consider this as the use of dirty nuclear bombs against Russia, with all the ensuing consequences.”
It is a fact that the US and NATO do have Depleted Beryllium and Depleted Uranium ammunition which is used as “armor piercing” and “bunker busting” projectiles. None of these projectiles causes a nuclear chain reaction, so there is no nuclear blast from them. HOWEVER, when these particular projectiles strike their target, the metal used to make the projectiles (Uranium and/or Beryllium) is so dense, that it punches through whatever it hits. AS THAT HAPPENS, layers of the projectile disintegrate into highly radioactive powder which then travels by air, polluting entire areas for decades.
In Afghanistan, when the US used such weapons against the hideouts of Osama Bin Laden, the projectiles went through hundreds of feet of rock in the mountains and shed layers of radioactive material as they penetrated. This radioactive powder then polluted the groundwater for miles inside Afghanistan, leading to contaminated wells, which then lead to horrifying birth defects in almost all pregnant women who drank the water.
These effects have been deliberately concealed from US citizens by a compliant US media, but they occurred AND ARE STILL OCCURRING to this very day.
Russia has just thrown down the nuclear gauntlet to the West.
The probability of a now-Nuclear exchange – and outright nuclear war — just got very, VERY, real.
Another use of depleted uranium is in kinetic energy penetrators, anti-armor rounds such as the 120 mm sabot rounds fired from the British Challenger 1, Challenger 2, M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams. Kinetic energy penetrator rounds consist of a long, relatively thin penetrator surrounded by a discarding sabot. Staballoys are metal alloys of depleted uranium with a very small proportion of other metals, usually titanium or molybdenum. One formulation has a composition of 99.25% by mass of depleted uranium and 0.75% by mass of titanium. Staballoys are approximately 1.67 times as dense as lead and are designed for use in kinetic energy penetrator armor-piercing ammunition. The US Army uses DU in an alloy with around 3.5% titanium.
Depleted uranium is favored for the penetrator because it is self-sharpening and flammable. On impact with a hard target, such as an armored vehicle, the nose of the rod fractures in such a way that it remains sharp. The impact and subsequent release of heat energy causes it to ignite. When a DU penetrator reaches the interior of an armored vehicle, it catches fire, often igniting ammunition and fuel, killing the crew and possibly causing the vehicle to explode. DU is used by the U.S. Army in 120 mm or 105 mm cannons employed on the M1 Abramstank. The Soviet/Russian military has used DU ammunition in tank main gun ammunition since the late 1970s, mostly for the 115 mm guns in the T-62 tank and the 125 mm guns in the T-64, T-72, T-80, and T-90 tanks.
The DU content in various ammunition is 180 g in 20 mm projectiles, 200 g in 25 mm ones, 280 g in 30 mm, 3.5 kg in 105 mm, and 4.5 kg in 120 mm penetrators. DU was used during the mid-1990s in the U.S. to make hand grenades, and land mines, but those applications have been discontinued, according to Alliant Techsystems. The US Navy used DU in its 20 mm Phalanx CIWS guns, but switched in the late 1990s to armor-piercing tungsten.
Only the US and the UK have acknowledged using DU weapons. 782,414 DU rounds were fired during the 1991 war in Iraq, mostly by US forces. In a three-week period of conflict in Iraq during 2003, it was estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 tons of depleted uranium munitions were used. More than 300,000 DU rounds were fired during the 2003 war, the vast majority by US troops.
The Chill And Retro Motion Pixel Art Of Motocross Saito
Pixel artist, designer, DJ and track maker Motocross Saito creates memorable GIF animations in a retro style, channeling ’80s and ’90s culture and music, with a focus on hip hop. Although he has been introduced internationally as the “loneliness GIF” artist, as Motocross Saito explains in this interview with CNN Japan, what he is really aiming for in his animated GIF pixel art is to “express a feeling that can soothe your mind, create a calming effect.”
Many of his animated GIF scenes feature a common character, perhaps his alter ego, a school girl with blue hair who seems to like hip hop, flips through LPs at record shops, makes music and DJs in her home studio surrounded by all kinds of electronic music equipment, and apparently lives with her pet German shepherd.
The People’s Republic of China has fired back at US criticism of its relationship with Zambia, arguing that Washington should address its own crisis first.A statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Lusaka on Tuesday has urged the US Treasury to focus on “solving the US’ own domestic debt problem."“The biggest contribution that the US can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries’ active efforts to solve their debt issues,” the statement blasted.However, the embassy added that “even if the US one day solves its debt problem, it is not qualified to make groundless accusations against, or press for, other countries out of selfish interests, because it cannot at all alleviate [the] US’ tremendous responsibility for the reason of the world debt issues, let alone the fact the US’ domestic debt problem is now worsening the world’s economic and financial stability.”
Yes, the reply came from the Embassy but you can bet it was formulated in Beijing. There’s more to the article I urge barflies to read. IMO, this incident marks the opening salvo of the 2023 Debt War that the Outlaw US Empire has no hopes of winning but acts as if it can behave as it did in the past when there was little international resistance, which isn’t the case today.
Muntean / Rosenblum Paint Dramatic Scenes of Contemporary Life
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Artist duo Muntean / Rosenblum use traditional Christian iconography and Baroque modes of seeing to create mystique around contemporary life. Typically set in landscapes distinct to the 21st century, such as nuclear plants and graffiti-ed railroad tracks, the paintings appear as documentary film stills or snapshots of our current reality. However, by contorting perspectives in a dramatic Caravaggio-esque manner and devising moments where pain or discomfort appear as main subjects, Muntean / Rosenblum cultivate the same aura of the unknown that is so captivating in paintings centuries old.
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To further enhance the strange, almost sinister quality of the works, the London and Vienna-based artists insert philosophical musings as captions. For example, “We imagine that we remember things as they were, while in fact all we carry into the future are fragments which reconstruct a wholly illusory past,” is scrawled under the image of a man looking down solemnly, while behind him, an ambush of armed-police crouches amid heavy smoke. With this written clue, one decodes the painting as a representation of memory.
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While Muntean / Rosenblum use a variety of recurring motifs, none is as strong as the use of naked skin to translate ideas of innocence and vulnerability. In the context of Muntean / Rosenblum’s paintings, shirtless sleeping boys in boxer shorts; topless teens helping a fallen comrade; and a naked young girl fresh from the pool take on the role of a pseduo-Jesus. Despite (or maybe because of) their youth and naïveté, they are posed to absorb the evils of the world surrounding them.
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Potsdam Agreement that ended World War 2 VIOLATED! Germany to send tanks to Ukraine
After weeks of pressure from Western allies, Germany on Wednesday announced it will send battle tanks to Ukraine in violation of the Potsdam Agreement that ended World War 2, as the Kyiv’s war with Russia wages on, a move that may spur the U.S. to do the same.
Germany is set to send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks and approve other countries’ requests to do the same, answering a longstanding call from Kyiv for the heavy combat vehicles.
Poland, in particular, was eager to supply Kyiv with the Leopard tanks — but Germany, which makes them, needed to sign off on the move before the tanks were sent to a country outside of the NATO alliance.
Former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton earlier this week knocked Berlin’s performance during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “incredibly disappointing” and a potential signal to Moscow of a weakness in the NATO front.
“NATO is a lot more fractured than some of its political leaders would like to let on,” Bolton said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely saw Germany as “the weak point in the alliance.”
The Biden administration could now move to send additional tanks, a reversal of its initial stance.
“The war started by [Russia] doesn’t allow delays. I can thank you hundreds of times – but hundreds of ‘thank you’ are not hundreds of tanks,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter over the weekend.
The Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned the military occupation and reconstruction of Germany, its border, and the entire European Theatre of War territory. It also addressed Germany’s demilitarization, reparations, the prosecution of war criminals and the mass expulsion of ethnic Germans from various parts of Europe. France was not invited in the conference but formally still one of powers occupying Germany.
Executed as a communiqué, the agreement was not a peace treaty according to international law, although it created accomplished facts. It was superseded by the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany signed on 12 September 1990.
As De Gaulle had not been invited to the Conference, the French resisted implementing the Potsdam Agreements within their occupation zone. In particular, the French refused to resettle any expelled Germans from the east. Moreover, the French did not accept any obligation to abide by the Potsdam Agreement in the proceedings of the Allied Control Council; in particular resisting all proposals to establish common policies and institutions across Germany as a whole, and anything that they feared might lead to the emergence of an eventual unified German government.
Overview
After the end of World War II in Europe (1939–45), and the decisions of the earlier Tehran, Casablanca and Yalta Conferences, the Allies assumed supreme authority over Germany by the Berlin Declaration of June 5, 1945.
At the Potsdam Conference the Western Allies were presented with Stalin’s fait accompli awarding Soviet-occupied Poland the river Oder as its western border, placing the entire Soviet Occupation Zone east of it (with the exception of the Kaliningrad enclave), including Pomerania, most of East Prussia, and Danzig, under Polish administration. The German population who had not fled were expelled and their properties acquisitioned by the state. President Truman and the British delegations protested at these actions.
The Three Power Conference took place from 17 July to 2 August 1945, in which they adopted the Protocol of the Proceedings, August 1, 1945, signed at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam. The signatories were General Secretary Joseph Stalin, President Harry S. Truman, and Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who, as a result of the British general election of 1945, had replaced Winston Churchill as the UK’s representative. The three powers also agreed to invite France and China to participate as members of the Council of Foreign Ministers established to oversee the agreement. The Provisional Government of the French Republic accepted the invitation on August 7, with the key reservation that it would not accept a priori any commitment to the eventual reconstitution of a central government in Germany.
James F. Byrnes wrote “we specifically refrained from promising to support at the German Peace Conference any particular line as the western frontier of Poland.” The Berlin Protocol declared: “The three heads of government reaffirm their opinion that the final delimitation of the western frontier of Poland should await the [final] peace settlement.” Byrnes continues: “In the light of this history, it is difficult to credit with good faith any person who asserts that Poland’s western boundary was fixed by the conferences, or that there was a promise that it would be established at some particular place.”
In the Potsdam Agreement (Berlin Conference) the Allies (UK, USSR, US) agreed on the following matters:
Establishment of a Council of Foreign Ministers, also including France and China; tasked the preparation of a peace settlement for Germany, to be accepted by the Government of Germany once a government adequate for the purpose had been established.
See the London Conference of Foreign Ministers and the Moscow Conference which took place later in 1945.
The principles to govern the treatment of Germany in the initial control period.
Post-war Germany to be divided into four Occupation Zones under the control of Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States and France; with the Commanders-in-chief of each country’s forces exercising sovereign authority over matters within their own zones, while exercising authority jointly through the Allied Control Council for ‘Germany as a whole’.
Reduction or destruction of all civilian heavy industry with war potential, such as shipbuilding, machine production and chemical factories. Restructuring of German economy towards agriculture and light industry.
This section covered reparation claims of the USSR from the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. The section also agreed that 10% of the industrial capacity of the western zones unnecessary for the German peace economy should be transferred to the Soviet Union within two years. The Soviet Union withdrew its previous objections to French membership of the Allied Reparations Commission, which had been established in Moscow following the Yalta conference.
All but thirty submarines to be sunk and the rest of the German Navy was to be divided equally between the three powers.
The German merchant marine was to be divided equally between the three powers, and they would distribute some of those ships to the other Allies. But until the end of the war with the Empire of Japan all the ships would remain under the authority of the Combined Shipping Adjustment Board and the United Maritime Authority.
The United States and Britain declared that they would support the transfer of Königsberg and the adjacent area to the Soviet Union at the peace conference.
The Three Governments have taken note of the discussions which have been proceeding in recent weeks in London between British, United States, Soviet and French representatives with a view to reaching agreement on the methods of trial of those major war criminals whose crimes under the Moscow Declaration of October 1943 have no particular geographical localization. The Three Governments reaffirm their intention to bring these criminals to swift and sure justice. They hope that the negotiations in London will result in speedy agreement being reached for this purpose, and they regard it as a matter of great importance that the trial of these major criminals should begin at the earliest possible date. The first list of defendants will be published before 1st September.
There should be a Provisional Government of National Unity recognized by all three powers, and that those Poles who were serving in British Army formations should be free to return to Poland. The provisional western border should be the Oder–Neisse line, with territories to the east of this excluded from the Soviet Occupation zone and placed under Polish and Soviet civil administration. Poland would receive former German territories in the north and west, but the final delimitation of the western frontier of Poland should await the peace settlement; which eventually took place as the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in 1990.
Conclusion on peace treaties and admission to the United Nations organization.
It was noted that Italy had fought on the side of the Allies and was making good progress towards establishment of a democratic government and institutions and that after the peace treaty the three Allies would support an application from a democratic Italian government for membership of the United Nations. Further
[t]he three Governments have also charged the Council of Foreign Ministers with the task of preparing peace treaties for Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary and Romania. The conclusion of Peace Treaties with recognized democratic governments in these States will also enable the three Governments to support applications from them for membership of the United Nations. The three Governments agree to examine each separately in the near future in the light of the conditions then prevailing, the establishment of diplomatic relations with Finland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary to the extent possible prior to the conclusion of peace treaties with those countries.
The details were discussed later that year at the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers and the treaties were signed in 1947 at the Paris Peace Conference
By that time the governments of Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary were Communist.
Territorial Trusteeship
Italian former colonies would be decided in connection with the preparation of a peace treaty for Italy. Like most of the other former European Axis powers the Italian peace treaty was signed at the 1947 Paris Peace Conference.
Now that hostilities in Europe were at an end the Western Allies should have a greater input into the Control Commissions of Central and Eastern Europe, the Annex to this agreement included detailed changes to the workings of the Hungarian Control Commission.
The Three Governments, having considered the question in all its aspects, recognize that the transfer to Germany of German populations, or elements thereof, remaining in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, will have to be undertaken. They agree that any transfers that take place should be effected in an orderly and humane manner.
“German populations, or elements thereof, remaining in Poland” refers to Germans living within the 1937 boundaries of Poland up to the Curzon line going East. In theory, that German ethnic population could have been expelled to the Polish temporarily administered territories of Silesia, Farther Pomerania, East Prussia and eastern Brandenburg.
Because the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany were under great strain, the Czechoslovak government, the Polish provisional government and the control council in Hungary were asked to submit an estimate of the time and rate at which further transfers could be carried out having regard to the present situation in Germany and suspend further expulsions until these estimates were integrated into plans for an equitable distribution of these “removed” Germans among the several zones of occupation.
Allied troops were to withdraw immediately from Tehran and that further stages of the withdrawal of troops from Iran should be considered at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in London in September 1945.
The city of Tangier and the area around it should remain international and discussed further.
The Black sea straits.
The Montreux Convention should be revised and that this should be discussed with the Turkish government.
International inland waterways
European inland transport conference.
Directives to the military commanders on allied control council for Germany.
Use of Allied property for satellite reparations or war trophies
These were detailed in Annex II
Military Talks
Annex I
Annex II
Moreover, towards concluding the Pacific Theatre of War, the Potsdam Conference issued the Potsdam Declaration, the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender (26 July 1945) wherein the Western Allies (UK, US, USSR) and the Nationalist China of General Chiang Kai-shek asked Japan to surrender or be destroyed.
Aftermath
Already during the Potsdam Conference, on 30 July 1945, the Allied Control Council was constituted in Berlin to execute the Allied resolutions (the “Four Ds”):
The northern half of the German province of East Prussia, occupied by the Red Army during its East Prussian Offensive followed by its evacuation in winter 1945, had already been incorporated into Soviet territory as the Kaliningrad Oblast. The Western Allies promised to support the annexation of the territory north of the Braunsberg–Goldap line when a Final German Peace Treaty was held.
Post-war, ‘Germany as a whole’ would consist solely of aggregate territories of the respective zones of occupation. As all former German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line were excluded from the Soviet Occupation Zone, they were consequently excluded from ‘Germany as a whole’.
EXPULSIONS
In the course of the proceedings, Polish communists had begun to suppress the German population west of the Bóbr river to underline their demand for a border on the Lusatian Neisse. The Allied resolution on the “orderly transfer” of German population became the legitimation of the expulsion of Germans from the nebulous parts of Central Europe, if they had not already fled from the advancing Red Army.
The expulsion of ethnic Germans by the Poles concerned, in addition to Germans within areas behind the 1937 Polish border in the West (such as in most of the old Prussian province of West Prussia), the territories placed “under Polish administration” pending a Final German Peace Treaty, i.e. southern East Prussia (Masuria), Farther Pomerania, the New March region of the former Province of Brandenburg, the districts of the GrenzmarkPosen-West Prussia, Lower Silesia and those parts of Upper Silesia that had remained with Germany after the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite. It further affected the German minority living within the territory of the former Second Polish Republic in Greater Poland, eastern Upper Silesia, Chełmno Land and the Polish Corridor with Danzig.
Though the Potsdam Agreement referred only to Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, expulsions also occurred in Romania, where the Transylvanian Saxons were deported and their property disseized, and in Yugoslavia. In the Soviet territories, Germans were expelled from northern East Prussia (Oblast Kaliningrad) but also from the adjacent Lithuanian Klaipeda Region and other lands settled by Baltic Germans.
IRS Alerts Taxpayers They Must Answer a New Question On Tax Forms Or Face Consequences
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued an alert to taxpayers on Tuesday,reminding them that they must report all digital asset-related income and answer a new digital asset question on their 2022 federal income tax return or face consequences such as delayed refunds or even penalties.
The IRS said in a Jan. 24 release that a key change on 1040 forms this year is that the agency has replaced the term “virtual currency” with “digital assets,” in addition to some other modifications to the wording.
The “Yes” or “No” question, which was expanded and revised this year to update terminology, reads as follows:
“At any time during 2022, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, gift or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?”
“All taxpayers must answer the question regardless of whether they engaged in any transactions involving digital assets,” the agency cautioned.
It is a legal requirement to accurately report all income, including income from digital assets, on federal income tax returns. Failure to do so could result in non-compliance with tax laws and possible penalties.
The IRS has provided a detailed explanation of what constitutes a digital asset, which includes such things as stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cryptocurrencies.
Taxpayers need to check the “Yes” box if they:
Received digital assets as payment for property or services provided;
Transferred digital assets for free (without receiving any consideration) as a bona fide gift;
Received digital assets resulting from a reward or award;
Received new digital assets resulting from mining, staking, and similar activities;
Received digital assets resulting from a hard fork (a branching of a cryptocurrency’s blockchain that splits a single cryptocurrency into two);
Disposed of digital assets in exchange for property or services;
Disposed of a digital asset in exchange or trade for another digital asset;
Sold a digital asset; or
Otherwise disposed of any other financial interest in a digital asset.
Those who tick the “Yes” box must also report all income related to their digital asset transactions on relevant forms. For instance, an investor who sold cryptocurrency during 2022 would use Form 8949, Sales and other Dispositions of Capital Assets.
Taxpayers should check the “No” box if they merely owned digital assets but didn’t engage in any transactions involving them in 2022.
They should also tick “No” if they merely transferred digital assets from one wallet or account they own or control to another one that they own or control, and if they bought digital assets using real currency like the U.S. dollar.
Many Americans Will See Smaller Tax Refunds
The IRS has warned that many taxpayers should expect a smaller refund this tax season because of tax law changes including the expiration of pandemic-related stimulus payments that would otherwise have boosted refund balances.
“Due to tax law changes such as the elimination of the Advance Child Tax Credit and no Recovery Rebate Credit this year to claim pandemic-related stimulus payments, many taxpayers may find their refunds somewhat lower this year,” the IRS said in a press release on Jan. 23, the day the agency began tax returns for 2022 earnings.
Not all tax filers will see lower refunds as individual circumstances vary; many will see smaller checks.
The Recovery Rebate Credit was a way for millions of Americans to receive pandemic support if they did not receive their full amount via stimulus checks.
This credit was available for missing amounts from the first, second, and third round stimulus checks, and could only be claimed on 2020 and 2021 tax returns.
The stimulus checks were discontinued in December 2021 and the missing third-round amounts could only be claimed on a 2021 tax return filed in 2022.
However, people who may have missed the opportunity to claim missing third-round stimulus payments can review their 2021 tax return and consider filing an amended return.
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) for 2022 tax returns has been reduced to $2,000 per child, down from the expanded amount of $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children between 6 and 17 in 2021.
Some taxpayers may be eligible for an Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which would allow them to receive up to $1,500 of the CTC as a refund on their tax return.
Also, a tax credit that working parents can use to help cover child care costs or that people with adult dependents can use for the same purpose is lower in 2022.
Double Orange Scones with Orange Butter
Double Orange Scones with Orange Butter
Ingredients
Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/3 cup butter
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
Orange Butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
Instructions
Scones: Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well.
Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
Add oranges, milk and egg, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface, and knead lightly 4 or 5 times.
Pat dough into a 6-inch circle on a greased baking sheet.
Cut into wedges; separate wedges slightly.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serve warm with orange butter.
Orange Butter: Combine butter and orange marmalade in a small bowl, stirring well.
Man Dies In Car Crash; Taught About Creation And The Quantum World (NDE)
I feel that I am not worthy. Have you all ever felt that way? Sometimes I feel like I am all talk and no action. Because when I look back in my life, and I encounter something new, I seem to make the WRONG decision. Why is that? I sincerely want to do the “right” thing,
Is it me? Or, is it part of the limitations of my template?
This is certainly something to think about.
Pepe Escobar
January 24, 2023
The New Silk Roads, or BRI, as well as the integration efforts of BRICS+, the SCO and the EAEU will be on the forefront of Chinese policy.
Liu He studied economics at Renmin University in China and got a Master’s from Harvard. Since 2018, he’s one of China’s Vice Premiers – along with Han Zheng, Sun Chunlan, and Hu Chunhua. He’s a Director of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and heads the China Financial Stability and Development Committee. Anyone around the world who wants to know what will drive China’s economy in the Year of the Rabbit must pay attention to Liu He.
Davos 2023 has come and gone: an extended exercise in Demented Dystopia with peaks of paroxysm. At least a measure of reality was offered by Liu He’s address. A limited but competent analysis of what he said is infinitely more useful than torrents of barely disguised Sinophobic “research” vomited by U.S. Think Tankland.
Liu He pointed to some key numbers for the Chinese economy in 2022. Overall 3% growth may not be groundbreaking; but what matters is value-added for high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing going up by 7.4% and 5.6% respectively. What this means is that Chinese industrial capacity continues to move up the value chain.
Trade, predictably, reigns supreme: the total value of imports and exports reached the equivalent of $6,215 trillion in 2022; that’s an increase of 7.7% over 2021.
Liu He also made it clear that improving the wealth of Chinese citizens remains a key priority, as enounced in the 2022 Party Congress: the number of middle class Chinese, by 2035, should jump from the current 400 million to an astonishing 900 million.
Liu He pointedly explained that everything about Chinese reforms revolves around the notion of establishing “a socialist market economy”. This translates as “let the market play a decisive role in resources allocation, let the government play a better role.” That has absolutely nothing to do with Beijing privileging a planned economy. As Liu He detailed, “we will deepen SOE [State-Owned Enterprises] reform, support the private sector, and promote fair competition, anti-monopoly and entrepreneurship.”
China is reaching the next level, economically: that translates as building, as fast as possible, an innovation-driven commercial base. Specific targets include finance, tech, and greater productivity in industry, as in applying more robotics.
On the fin-tech front, a resurgent Hong Kong is bound to play an extremely important role starting by 2024 – most of it in consequence of several Wealth Management Connect mechanisms.
Enter, or re-enter the key role of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – one the key development nodes of 21st century China.
What is known as the Greater Bay Area’s Wealth Management Connect is a set up that allows wealthy investors from the nine mainland cities that compose the area to invest in yuan-denominated financial products issued by banks in Hong Kong and Macao – and vice-versa. What this means in practice is opening up mainland China’s financial markets even further.
So expect a new Hong Kong boom by 2025. All those dejected by the collective West’s morass, start making plans.
Dual circulation hits Eurasia
As expected, Liu He also referred to the key Beijing strategy for this decade: “A new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.”
The dual-circulation strategy reflects the Beijing leadership’s emphasis on simultaneously boosting China’s self-reliance and its vast export market footprint. Virtually every government policy is about dual circulation. When Liu He talks about “spurring of China’s domestic demand” he’s sending a direct message to global exporters – Eastern and Western – focusing on this ever-growing, gigantic mass of Chinese middle class consumers.
On the geopolitical and geoeconomic Big Picture, Liu He was diplomatically circumspect. He just let it filter that “we believe that an equitable international economic order must be preserved by all.”
Translation: the New Silk Roads, or BRI, as well as the integration efforts of BRICS+, the SCO and the EAEU will be on the forefront of Chinese policy.
And that brings us to what should become one of the key stories of the Year of the Rabbit: the renewed drive along the New Silk Roads.
Few better than the Chinese, historically, understand that from Samarkand to Venice, from Bukhara to Guangzhou, from Palmyra to Alexandria, from the Karakoram to the Hindu Kush, from deserts that used to engulf caravans to gardens of secluded harems, a formidable pull of economic, political, cultural and religious factors not only linked the extremities of Eurasia – from the Mediterranean to China – but determine and will continue to determine its centuries-old history.
The Ancient Silk Roads were not only about silk but also spices, porcelain, precious tones, fur, gold, tea, glass, slaves, concubines, war, knowledge, plagues – and that’s how they turned into the symbol of Eurasia-wide “people to people exchanges”, as Xi Jinping and the Beijing leadership extol it today.
These processes involve archeology, economics, history, musicology, compared mythology; so, keeping up with the past, the New Silk Roads also mean all manner of exchanges between East and West. The perpetual history of non-stop trade, in this case, is only the material base, a pretext.
Before silk there was lapis lazuli, copper, incense. Even if China may have only opened itself to the outside world on the 2nd century B.C. – because of silk – Chinese tradition, in the oldest Chinese novel, The Chronicle of the Son of Heaven Mu, tells the tale of Emperor Mu visiting the Queen of Sheba already in the 10th century B.C.
The exchanges between Europe and China may have started only in the 1st century B.C. The men who actually traversed the Eurasian immensities were actually few. It’s only in the year 98 that the Chinese ambassadorship of Gan Ying departs for Da Qin – that is, Rome. He never arrived.
In the year 166, the Antoninus Pius ambassadorship, allegedly sent by the Emperor himself, finally hits China; but in fact that’s just an adventurous merchant. For 13 centuries there was a huge exploratory void.
Despite the prodigious advances of Islam and the omnipresence of Muslim merchants since the 7th century, it’s only in the 13th century – at the time of the last Crusades and the Mongol conquest – that Europeans picked up again the road towards the East. And then, on the 15th century, the Ming emperors succeeding the Mongols totally closed China to the outside world.
It’s only due to a certain extent to the Jesuits in the 16th century that a meeting finally happened – 17 centuries too late: Europe finally started to acquire some knowledge of China, even as it dreamed about it over and over again, since chic Roman patricians were enveloped in transparent silk robes.
It’s only around 1600 that Europeans seem to have become aware that Northern China and Southern China are on the same continent. So we may conclude that China really became known in the West only after the “discovery” of the Americas.
Two worlds ignored each other for so long – and still, all along the watchtowers in the middle of the steppes, trade kept moving from one side of Eurasia to another.
Now it’s time for another historical push – even as a discombobulated Europe is kept hostage by a cabal of imperial Straussian neo-cons and neoliberal-cons. Duisburg, in the Rhur valley, the world’s largest inland port, after all remains the key Iron Silk Road hub across BRI, linked by endless railways to Chongqing in China. Wake up, Young German: your future is in the East.
Why We Should Stop The Reincarnation Cycle & More!
Why is China going through a period of stagnation?
Don’t worry about China. Chinese are the biggest savers in the world at 22%. America spends before your dollars ink is dried. And today it has exceeded the debt limit and by June you cannot pay interest anymore. Basically US is a bankrupt. Stop worrying about China. China is top of the class, US is the last. Get your priorities right.
Lasagna Soup
lasagnia soup
Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 package Lasagna Dinner Mix (Hamburger Helper)
5 cups water
2 cans corn, undrained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
3 small zucchinis, chopped
Instructions
Brown sausage with onion and drain. Add lasagna sauce mix (not noodles), water, tomatoes, corn and cheese. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add noodles and zucchini. Cook for 10 more minutes or until zucchini is done.
Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese.
The Most Egregious Mistake
The U.S. government is hostage to its financial hegemony in a way that is rarely fully understood.
Alastair Crooke
January 23, 2023 | Featured Story
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It is the miscalculation of this era – one that may begin the collapse of dollar primacy, and therefore, global compliance with U.S. political demands, too. But its most grievous content is that it corners the U.S. into promoting dangerous Ukrainian escalation against Russia directly (i.e. Crimea).
Washington dares not – indeed cannot – yield on dollar primacy, the ultimate signifier for ‘American decline’. And so the U.S. government is hostage to its financial hegemony in a way that is rarely fully understood.
The Biden Team cannot withdraw its fantastical narrative of Russia’s imminent humiliation; they have bet the House on it. Yet it has become an existential issue for the U.S. precisely because of this egregious initial miscalculation that has been subsequently levered-up into a preposterous narrative of a floundering, at any moment ‘collapsing’ Russia.
What then is this ‘Great Surprise’ – the almost completely unforeseen event of recent geo-politics that has so shaken U.S. expectations, and which takes the world to the precipice?
It is, in a word, Resilience. The Resilience displayed by the Russian economy after the West had committed the entire weight of its financial resources to crushing Russia. The West bore down on Russia in every conceivable way – via financial, cultural and psychological war – and with real military war as the follow-through.
Yet, Russia has survived, and survived relatively handsomely. It is doing ‘okay’ – maybe better, even, than many Russia insiders were expecting. The ‘Anglo’ Intelligence services however, had assured EU leaders not to worry; it’s ‘slam dunk’; Putin cannot possibly survive. Rapid financial and political collapse, they promised, was certain under the tsunami of western sanctions.
Their analysis represents an Intelligence failure on a par with the non-existent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. But instead of critical re-examination, as events failed to provide confirmation, they doubled down. But two such failures are just ‘too much’ to bear.
So why does this ‘failed expectation’ constitute such a world-shaking moment for our era? It is because the West fears that its miscalculation might well lead to the collapse of its dollar hegemony. But the fear extends well beyond that too – (bad as ‘that’ would be from the U.S. perspective).
Robert Kagan has outlined how external forward motion and the U.S.’ ‘global mission’ is the lifeblood of American internal polity – more than any equivocating nationalism, Professor Paul suggests. From the founding of the country, the U.S. has been an expansionary republican empire; without this forward motion, civic bonds of domestic unity come into question. If Americans are not united for expansionary republican greatness, by what purpose Professor Paul asks, are all these fissiparous races, creeds, and cultures in America, bound together? (Woke culture has proved no solution, being divisive rather than any pole around which unity can be built).
The point here is that Russian Resilience, at a single stroke, shattered the plate-glass floor to western convictions about its ability to ‘manage the world’. After the several western debacles centred on regime-change by military shock-and-awe, even hardened neo-cons – by 2006 – had conceded that a weaponised financial system was the only means to ‘secure the Empire’.
But this conviction has now been upended – and states around the world have taken notice.
This shock of miscalculation is all the greater because the West disdainfully had taken Russia to be a backward economy, with a GDP on a par to that of Spain. In an interview with Le Figaro last week, Professor Emmanuel Todd noted that Russia and Belarus, taken together, constitute only 3.3% of global GDP. The French historian questioned therefore, ‘how then is it possible that these states could have shown such resilience – in the face of the full force of the financial onslaught’?
Well, firstly, as Professor Todd underlined, ‘GDP’ as a measure of economic resilience is wholly “fictional”. Contrary to its name, GDP measures only aggregate expenditures. And that much of what is recorded as ‘production’, such the over-inflated billing for medical treatment in the U.S.’ and (said, tongue in cheek) services such as the hundreds of economists’ and bank analysts’ highly-paid analysis, are not production, per se, but “water vapour”.
Russia’s resilience, Todd attests, is due to the fact that it has a real economy of production. “War is the ultimate test of a political economy”, he notes. “It is the Great Revealer”.
And what is it that has been revealed? It has revealed another quite unexpected and shocking outcome – one that sends western commentators reeling – that Russia has not run out of missiles. ‘An economy the size of Spain, the western media ask, how can such a tiny economy sustain a prolonged war of attrition by NATO without running out of munitions?’.
But, as Todd outlines, Russia has been able to sustain its weapons-supply because it has a real economy of production that has the capacity to maintain a war – and the West no longer does. The West fixated on its misleading metric of GDP – and with its normalcy bias – is shocked that Russia has the capacity to outpace NATO’s arms inventories. Russia was billed by western analysts as a ‘paper tiger’ – a label that now seems more likely to apply to NATO.
The import of the ‘Great Surprise’ – of Russian Resilience – resulting from its real economy of production vis á vis the evident weakness of the hyper-financialised western model scrabbling for sources of munitions has not been lost on the rest of the world.
There is old history here. In the lead-up to WW1, the British Establishment was concerned that they might lose the coming war with Germany: British banks tended to lend short-term, in a ‘pump and dump’ approach, whereas German banks invested directly in long-term real-economy industrial projects – and therefore were thought to be able to better sustain war materiel supply.
Even then, the Anglo élite had a quiet appreciation of the inherent frailty to a heavily financialised system for which they compensated by simply expropriating the resources of a huge Empire to finance preparation for the coming Great War.
The backdrop then, is that the U.S. inherited the Anglo financialising approach which it subsequently turbo-charged when the U.S. was forced off the gold standard by ballooning budget deficits. The U.S. needed to attract the world’s ‘savings’ into the U.S., by which to finance its Vietnam war deficits.
The rest of Europe from the 19th century outset had been wary of Adam Smith’s ‘Anglo-model’. Friedreich List complained that the Anglos assumed that the ultimate measure of a society is always its level of consumption (expenditure – and hence the GDP metric). In the long run, List argued, a society’s well-being and its overall wealth were determined not by what the society can buy, but by what it can make (i.e. value coming from the real, self-sufficient economy).
The German school argued that emphasizing consumption would eventually be self-defeating. It would bias the system away from wealth creation, and ultimately make it impossible to consume as much, or to employ so many. Hindsight suggests List was correct in his analysis.
‘War – is the ultimate test – and Great Revealer’ (per Todd). The roots to an alternative economic view had lingered on in both Germany and Russia (with Sergei Witte), despite the recent preponderance of the hyper-financialised Anglo-model.
And now with the ‘Great Reveal’, the focus on the real economy is seen as a key insight underpinning the New Global Order, differentiating it sharply in terms both of economic systems and philosophy from the western sphere.
The new order is separating from the old, not just in terms of economic system and philosophy, but through a reconfiguring of the neurons through which trade and culture travels. Old trade routes are being bypassed and left to wither – to be replaced by waterways, pipelines and corridors that avoid all the choke points by which the West can physically control commerce.
The north-east Arctic passage, for example, has opened an inter-Asian trade. The untapped oil and gas fields of the Arctic eventually will fill the gaps in supplies resulting from an ideology that seeks to end investment by western oil and gas majors in fossil fuels. The North-South corridor (now open) links St Petersburg to Bombay. Another component links waterways from northern Russia to the Black Sea, the Caspian and from thence to the south. Yet another component is expected to pipe Caspian gas from the Caspian pipeline network south to a Persian Gulf gas ‘hub’.
Look at it in this way, it is as if the neural connectors in the real economic matrix are, as it were, being lifted up from the west, and are being set down in a new location to the East. If Suez was the waterway of the European era, and the Panama Canal represented that of the American Century, then the north-east Arctic waterway, the North-South corridors and the African railway nexus will be that of the Eurasian era.
In essence, the New Order is preparing to sustain a long economic conflict with the West.
Here, we return to the ‘Egregious Miscalculation’. This evolving New Order existentially threatens dollar hegemony – the U.S. created its hegemony through demanding that oil (and other commodities) be priced in dollars, and by facilitating a frenetic financialisation of asset markets in the U.S. It is this demand for dollars which alone has allowed the U.S. to fund its government deficit (and its defence budget) for nothing.
In this respect, this highly financialised dollar paradigm possesses qualities reminiscent of a sophisticated Ponzi scheme: It pulls in ‘new investors’, attracted by zero-cost credit leverage and the promise of ‘assured’ returns (assets pumped ever upwards by Fed liquidity). But the lure of ‘assured returns’ is tacitly underwritten by the inflation of one asset ‘bubble’ after another, in a regular sequence of bubbles – inflated at zero cost – before being finally ‘dumped’. The process then, is ‘rinsed and repeated’ ad seriatim.
Here is the point: Like a true Ponzi, this system relies on constant, and ever more, ‘new’ money coming into the scheme, to offset ‘payments out’ (financing U.S. government expenditure). Which is to say, U.S. hegemony now depends on constant overseas dollar expansion.
And, as with any pure Ponzi, once ‘money in’ falters, or redemptions spike, the scheme collapses.
It was to prevent the world quitting the dollar scheme for a new global trading order that the signal was ordered to be promulgated, via the onslaught on Russia, to warn that to quit the scheme would bring U.S. Treasury sanctions upon you, and to crash you.
But then came TWO game-changing shocks, in close succession: Inflation and interest rates spiralled, devaluing the value of fiat currencies such as the dollar and undermining the promise of ‘assured returns’; and secondly, Russia DID NOT COLLAPSE under financial Armageddon.
The ‘dollar Ponzi’ falls; U.S. markets fall; the dollar falls in value (vis á vis commodities).
This scheme might be felled by Russian Resilience – and by much of the planet peeling away into a separate economic model, no longer dependent on the dollar for its trading needs. (i.e., new ‘money in’ to the dollar ‘Ponzi’ turns negative, just as ‘money out’ explodes, with the U.S. having to finance ever bigger deficits (now domestically)).
Washington clearly made a stratospherically bad error in thinking that sanctions – and the assumed collapse of Russia – would be a ‘slam dunk’ outcome; one so self-evident that it required no rigorous ‘thinking through’.
Team Biden thus has painted the U.S. into a tight Ukraine ‘corner’. But at this stage – realistically – what can the White House do? It cannot withdraw the narrative of Russia’s ‘coming humiliation’ and defeat. They cannot let the narrative go because it has become an existential component to save what it can of the ‘Ponzi’. To admit that Russia ‘has won’ would be akin to saying that the ‘Ponzi’ will have to ‘close the fund’ to further withdrawals (just as Nixon did in 1971, when he shut withdrawals from the Gold window).
Commentator Yves Smith has provocatively argued, ‘What if Russia decisively wins – yet the western press is directed to not notice?’ Presumably, in such a situation, the economic confrontation between the West and New Global Order states must escalate into a wider, longer war.
The U.S. government is hostage to its financial hegemony in a way that is rarely fully understood.
It is the miscalculation of this era – one that may begin the collapse of dollar primacy, and therefore, global compliance with U.S. political demands, too. But its most grievous content is that it corners the U.S. into promoting dangerous Ukrainian escalation against Russia directly (i.e. Crimea).
Washington dares not – indeed cannot – yield on dollar primacy, the ultimate signifier for ‘American decline’. And so the U.S. government is hostage to its financial hegemony in a way that is rarely fully understood.
The Biden Team cannot withdraw its fantastical narrative of Russia’s imminent humiliation; they have bet the House on it. Yet it has become an existential issue for the U.S. precisely because of this egregious initial miscalculation that has been subsequently levered-up into a preposterous narrative of a floundering, at any moment ‘collapsing’ Russia.
What then is this ‘Great Surprise’ – the almost completely unforeseen event of recent geo-politics that has so shaken U.S. expectations, and which takes the world to the precipice?
It is, in a word, Resilience. The Resilience displayed by the Russian economy after the West had committed the entire weight of its financial resources to crushing Russia. The West bore down on Russia in every conceivable way – via financial, cultural and psychological war – and with real military war as the follow-through.
Yet, Russia has survived, and survived relatively handsomely. It is doing ‘okay’ – maybe better, even, than many Russia insiders were expecting. The ‘Anglo’ Intelligence services however, had assured EU leaders not to worry; it’s ‘slam dunk’; Putin cannot possibly survive. Rapid financial and political collapse, they promised, was certain under the tsunami of western sanctions.
Their analysis represents an Intelligence failure on a par with the non-existent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. But instead of critical re-examination, as events failed to provide confirmation, they doubled down. But two such failures are just ‘too much’ to bear.
So why does this ‘failed expectation’ constitute such a world-shaking moment for our era? It is because the West fears that its miscalculation might well lead to the collapse of its dollar hegemony. But the fear extends well beyond that too – (bad as ‘that’ would be from the U.S. perspective).
Robert Kagan has outlined how external forward motion and the U.S.’ ‘global mission’ is the lifeblood of American internal polity – more than any equivocating nationalism, Professor Paul suggests. From the founding of the country, the U.S. has been an expansionary republican empire; without this forward motion, civic bonds of domestic unity come into question. If Americans are not united for expansionary republican greatness, by what purpose Professor Paul asks, are all these fissiparous races, creeds, and cultures in America, bound together? (Woke culture has proved no solution, being divisive rather than any pole around which unity can be built).
The point here is that Russian Resilience, at a single stroke, shattered the plate-glass floor to western convictions about its ability to ‘manage the world’. After the several western debacles centred on regime-change by military shock-and-awe, even hardened neo-cons – by 2006 – had conceded that a weaponised financial system was the only means to ‘secure the Empire’.
But this conviction has now been upended – and states around the world have taken notice.
This shock of miscalculation is all the greater because the West disdainfully had taken Russia to be a backward economy, with a GDP on a par to that of Spain. In an interview with Le Figaro last week, Professor Emmanuel Todd noted that Russia and Belarus, taken together, constitute only 3.3% of global GDP. The French historian questioned therefore, ‘how then is it possible that these states could have shown such resilience – in the face of the full force of the financial onslaught’?
Well, firstly, as Professor Todd underlined, ‘GDP’ as a measure of economic resilience is wholly “fictional”. Contrary to its name, GDP measures only aggregate expenditures. And that much of what is recorded as ‘production’, such the over-inflated billing for medical treatment in the U.S.’ and (said, tongue in cheek) services such as the hundreds of economists’ and bank analysts’ highly-paid analysis, are not production, per se, but “water vapour”.
Russia’s resilience, Todd attests, is due to the fact that it has a real economy of production. “War is the ultimate test of a political economy”, he notes. “It is the Great Revealer”.
And what is it that has been revealed? It has revealed another quite unexpected and shocking outcome – one that sends western commentators reeling – that Russia has not run out of missiles. ‘An economy the size of Spain, the western media ask, how can such a tiny economy sustain a prolonged war of attrition by NATO without running out of munitions?’.
But, as Todd outlines, Russia has been able to sustain its weapons-supply because it has a real economy of production that has the capacity to maintain a war – and the West no longer does. The West fixated on its misleading metric of GDP – and with its normalcy bias – is shocked that Russia has the capacity to outpace NATO’s arms inventories. Russia was billed by western analysts as a ‘paper tiger’ – a label that now seems more likely to apply to NATO.
The import of the ‘Great Surprise’ – of Russian Resilience – resulting from its real economy of production vis á vis the evident weakness of the hyper-financialised western model scrabbling for sources of munitions has not been lost on the rest of the world.
There is old history here. In the lead-up to WW1, the British Establishment was concerned that they might lose the coming war with Germany: British banks tended to lend short-term, in a ‘pump and dump’ approach, whereas German banks invested directly in long-term real-economy industrial projects – and therefore were thought to be able to better sustain war materiel supply.
Even then, the Anglo élite had a quiet appreciation of the inherent frailty to a heavily financialised system for which they compensated by simply expropriating the resources of a huge Empire to finance preparation for the coming Great War.
The backdrop then, is that the U.S. inherited the Anglo financialising approach which it subsequently turbo-charged when the U.S. was forced off the gold standard by ballooning budget deficits. The U.S. needed to attract the world’s ‘savings’ into the U.S., by which to finance its Vietnam war deficits.
The rest of Europe from the 19th century outset had been wary of Adam Smith’s ‘Anglo-model’. Friedreich List complained that the Anglos assumed that the ultimate measure of a society is always its level of consumption (expenditure – and hence the GDP metric). In the long run, List argued, a society’s well-being and its overall wealth were determined not by what the society can buy, but by what it can make (i.e. value coming from the real, self-sufficient economy).
The German school argued that emphasizing consumption would eventually be self-defeating. It would bias the system away from wealth creation, and ultimately make it impossible to consume as much, or to employ so many. Hindsight suggests List was correct in his analysis.
‘War – is the ultimate test – and Great Revealer’ (per Todd). The roots to an alternative economic view had lingered on in both Germany and Russia (with Sergei Witte), despite the recent preponderance of the hyper-financialised Anglo-model.
And now with the ‘Great Reveal’, the focus on the real economy is seen as a key insight underpinning the New Global Order, differentiating it sharply in terms both of economic systems and philosophy from the western sphere.
The new order is separating from the old, not just in terms of economic system and philosophy, but through a reconfiguring of the neurons through which trade and culture travels. Old trade routes are being bypassed and left to wither – to be replaced by waterways, pipelines and corridors that avoid all the choke points by which the West can physically control commerce.
The north-east Arctic passage, for example, has opened an inter-Asian trade. The untapped oil and gas fields of the Arctic eventually will fill the gaps in supplies resulting from an ideology that seeks to end investment by western oil and gas majors in fossil fuels. The North-South corridor (now open) links St Petersburg to Bombay. Another component links waterways from northern Russia to the Black Sea, the Caspian and from thence to the south. Yet another component is expected to pipe Caspian gas from the Caspian pipeline network south to a Persian Gulf gas ‘hub’.
Look at it in this way, it is as if the neural connectors in the real economic matrix are, as it were, being lifted up from the west, and are being set down in a new location to the East. If Suez was the waterway of the European era, and the Panama Canal represented that of the American Century, then the north-east Arctic waterway, the North-South corridors and the African railway nexus will be that of the Eurasian era.
In essence, the New Order is preparing to sustain a long economic conflict with the West.
Here, we return to the ‘Egregious Miscalculation’. This evolving New Order existentially threatens dollar hegemony – the U.S. created its hegemony through demanding that oil (and other commodities) be priced in dollars, and by facilitating a frenetic financialisation of asset markets in the U.S. It is this demand for dollars which alone has allowed the U.S. to fund its government deficit (and its defence budget) for nothing.
In this respect, this highly financialised dollar paradigm possesses qualities reminiscent of a sophisticated Ponzi scheme: It pulls in ‘new investors’, attracted by zero-cost credit leverage and the promise of ‘assured’ returns (assets pumped ever upwards by Fed liquidity). But the lure of ‘assured returns’ is tacitly underwritten by the inflation of one asset ‘bubble’ after another, in a regular sequence of bubbles – inflated at zero cost – before being finally ‘dumped’. The process then, is ‘rinsed and repeated’ ad seriatim.
Here is the point: Like a true Ponzi, this system relies on constant, and ever more, ‘new’ money coming into the scheme, to offset ‘payments out’ (financing U.S. government expenditure). Which is to say, U.S. hegemony now depends on constant overseas dollar expansion.
And, as with any pure Ponzi, once ‘money in’ falters, or redemptions spike, the scheme collapses.
It was to prevent the world quitting the dollar scheme for a new global trading order that the signal was ordered to be promulgated, via the onslaught on Russia, to warn that to quit the scheme would bring U.S. Treasury sanctions upon you, and to crash you.
But then came TWO game-changing shocks, in close succession: Inflation and interest rates spiralled, devaluing the value of fiat currencies such as the dollar and undermining the promise of ‘assured returns’; and secondly, Russia DID NOT COLLAPSE under financial Armageddon.
The ‘dollar Ponzi’ falls; U.S. markets fall; the dollar falls in value (vis á vis commodities).
This scheme might be felled by Russian Resilience – and by much of the planet peeling away into a separate economic model, no longer dependent on the dollar for its trading needs. (i.e., new ‘money in’ to the dollar ‘Ponzi’ turns negative, just as ‘money out’ explodes, with the U.S. having to finance ever bigger deficits (now domestically)).
Washington clearly made a stratospherically bad error in thinking that sanctions – and the assumed collapse of Russia – would be a ‘slam dunk’ outcome; one so self-evident that it required no rigorous ‘thinking through’.
Team Biden thus has painted the U.S. into a tight Ukraine ‘corner’. But at this stage – realistically – what can the White House do? It cannot withdraw the narrative of Russia’s ‘coming humiliation’ and defeat. They cannot let the narrative go because it has become an existential component to save what it can of the ‘Ponzi’. To admit that Russia ‘has won’ would be akin to saying that the ‘Ponzi’ will have to ‘close the fund’ to further withdrawals (just as Nixon did in 1971, when he shut withdrawals from the Gold window).
Commentator Yves Smith has provocatively argued, ‘What if Russia decisively wins – yet the western press is directed to not notice?’ Presumably, in such a situation, the economic confrontation between the West and New Global Order states must escalate into a wider, longer war.
“Unpopular Culture”: Artist ‘Uncovers’ The Disturbing Behind-The-Scenes Of Popular Characters
Pop culture is always changing and never stops evolving. There are different movies, music genres, songs, and characters that shape our culture and they change every year, if not every month. However, certain characters stay with us for a long time. Like Disney, Pokemon, Dragon Ball, and many others. Artist Alex Solis decided to take these well-known characters and add a weird and even disturbing twist to them.
He calls this series “Unpopular Culture” and it will probably damage, maybe even ruin your childhood. However, if you like dark humor, puns, and unexpected twists, these comics are for you.
This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a27990135 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a29408f4b 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a27753ca2 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2956df06 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a296ed745 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a287c5525 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a284d4e0e 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a280e083a 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a272d052a 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a29e27731 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a28a28c9c 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a27d39967 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a26fe559b 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2c85580a 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2c54b920 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2bcb6a38 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2b461467 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2af04a55 880This artist explores an alternate reality of iconic pop culture characters New Pics 6093a2a45541a 880
Stupid Cat Drawings On Daily Basis
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How to draw a cat? Easy! There are several cat drawing tutorials below and you can take bits and pieces from each of these tutorials to creatively design your own kitty cat cartoon.
At day’s end, gamers, streamers and forward looking companies and governments will choose Chinese technology over America’s technologically challenged bullies.
There are, alas, several pertinent and inter-related problems with 5G. The first of these is that Chinese company Huawei is far and away the world leader in this field, with Finnish firm Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson’s taking up the distant rear and with no other company, American or otherwise, in the race.
This is a problem as 5G’s technology is such that it allows the provider, Huawei, Nokia or Ericsson, pry into their customer’s business, should they so wish, and thereby give them a massive competitive advantage in that and other, related ways.
Because that is a situation up with which the CIA will not put, the U.S. true to form, has been intimidating all and sundry and warning them of the dangers China, their ultimate nemesis, presents. It was for this reason that Canada, one of the U.S.’ more despicable colonies, arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wangzhou and held her for four years, on the CIA’s orders, on trumped up charges before being forced to release her.
Quite why we should fear Chinese spying, when the U.S. are the world’s leading Peeping Toms spying, as they do, on friend and foe alike, is anyone’s guess. Ditto the great auto companies of Japan and Germany, who are no strangers to the U.S. stealing their technology; the U.S., after all, only first took off by stealing England’s industrial trade secrets and they robbed them of every military edge they had in the early stages of the Second World War. The American track record is such that the thieving magpie, rather than the bald eagle, should be their national emblem.
But, as our American friends would proclaim, all that was then and now is now. The U.S. feels that Nokia and Ericsson are no real problem as, if they cannot be intimidated into handing over their technologies, they can be bought off with a fat CIA check. But there is a problem with that. Although the CIA can write all the dud checks it likes, even for them, it is a case of caveat emptor, buyer beware.
Finland and Sweden are two relatively small American satraps run by coked up women who, for reasons best known to themselves, want to have an all-out war with neighboring Russia which, whatever its merits, would not do much for investor confidence.
Add to that the fact that both Ericsson and Nokia are multinationals which, whilst trying to retain Swedes and Finns as the key decision makers, are dependent upon international finance and huge armies of Indian engineers to stay in business. Those engineers are the jewels in the crown and there is no guarantee that India or some other nation might not entice them with a better offer and leave the CIA with nothing but redundant Finnish and Swedish executives, together with Greta Thunberg and a bunch of second-hand saunas full of coked up, war-mongering women to show for their efforts.
And then there is China, the literal elephant in hi tech’s room. One does not have to like China, approve of China or dis-approve of China but one must know what China is. China is a colossus that can throw 100 engineers at a problem for every one engineer its Scandinavian competitors can. They cannot be hemmed in.
Japanese companies warned Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) not to give China their bullet train technology but MHI went ahead, taught the Chinese, who proved to be keen students and keener engineers. Chinese bullet trains are now popping up globally, making the CIA look foolish as it plays at hack a mole, Chinese bullet trains and other Chinese advances to be more precise, such as those in 5G, which are popping up everywhere and showing the world there is an alternative to Pfizer, Coca Cola and the U.S. Marine Corps.
Although 5G conceivably should, like packs of cigarettes, come with a government health warning about the dangers of buying Chinese, there is a different and much more traditional way of looking at China’s technological advances. China, no more than Microsoft or any other CIA controlled Silicon Valley company, is merely a rent-seeker, instituting a 5G system that will yield it increased and steady dividends and, if Chinese prowess means the end of American hegemony, the CIA will have to accept that, just as the Romans had to accept their own demise by the death of a thousand technological cuts.
Though the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia can sponsor all the scary meetings on 5G it likes, at day’s end, gamers, streamers and forward looking companies and governments will choose Chinese technology over America’s technologically challenged bullies. And, taking the long view and irrespective of what negative externalities China’s ascent may bring with it, the fall of the American Empire has to be as welcome as that of all the other blood soaked empires that went before it.
4 Extremely Disturbing Interviews With EVIL People
Interview With A Serial Killer | Real Stories
Childhood Of Tomorrow: The Incredible Surreal Art Of Simon Stålenhag
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It does not take many words to describe the art of Simon Stålenhag, Swedish artist whose works speaking for themselves. Landscapes of a future perfect straight out from the covers of the sci-fi volumes, modern machines but not too rarefied spaceships, space poetry. But even dinosaurs found, nature (almost) pristine, the firm search through a great color palette of a surreal but true…
2 eggs, beaten (reserve 1 tablespoon of egg white for brushing on top)
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 (16 ounce) can blackberries, well drained
2 teaspoons coarse sugar
Instructions
In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt until thoroughly blended.
Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Stir in eggs and cream to make stiff dough. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead lightly until dough sticks together.
Divide dough into four parts. Roll each part out to make a circle about 6 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange 2 circles on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Spoon 1/2 the berries on each circle leaving about 1 inch all the way around. Cover with the remaining two circles and pinch around the edges to seal in the berries. Score the top of each round into quarters with a knife.
Brush with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
When I was in fifth grade, I lived a normal boyhood in a small town in Western Pennsylvania. There, everyday, we would sit at a formal dinner that our mothers had prepared for us. My mother would cook roasts, and other fare that varied from Chicken to fish, and all manner of vegetables as sides.
Being a traditional household, my father sat at the head of the table, with my mother at the other end, and us kids sat in the middle.
Now for some reason, my father was stressing out at work for some reason or the other, and today’s story is about how it manifested when he came home.
He, in a completely asshole move started to pick on me (as I was the oldest son), and started to accuse me of blinking my eyes too much.
Yeah. I’m what? Nine years old.
He’d scream at me at the dining table “Stop blinking your eyes”! Or if I was reading a book in the living room, or watching television. Or riding my bicycle. I must have heard that demand “Stop blinking your yes” over ten thousand times.
Anyways…
Long story short. Eventually he stopped accusing me. And I learned to stay hidden from him. As an older man, I can now clearly see that he was under stress and neuroses were developing, but at that time, I just “took it”.
As we get older, we view our past experiences with the eyes of experience, and learn what is good and what is bad, in ways that we can understand and learn from.
Let’s get on with today’s post…
Meme’s about the United States are everywhere…
2023 01 24 11 39
Unlocking the Secrets of the Holloways: An Exploration of England’s Sunken Labyrinths
holloways England
Natural England is embarking on a journey to uncover hidden gems known as holloways tucked away in the English countryside. These paths, also known as sunken lanes, have a rich historical and cultural value that is waiting to be discovered.
According to the BBC, experts are conducting 3D surveys at Shute’s Lane, a picturesque holloway near Bridport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. They are also studying the 300-year-old Hell Lane, a path that winds its way through Symondsbury and North Chideock. The goal is to create a map that will showcase the locations of these mysterious sunken lanes all across the UK.
What is a Holloway?
A holloway is tunnel-like road, lane, or path that has become naturally sunken over centuries of repeated use. According to Atlas Obscura , in some places, the holloways in Dorset have receded as much as 20 feet below the land on either side.
The pathway is typically surrounded by tall trees that grow out of the banks on either side. They may have intertwined their branches forming a canopy over the road, creating the appearance of a tunnel through the dense foliage.
Hell
Hell Lane, near Symondsbury, Dorset. (Mike Faherty / CC BY-SA 2.0 )
The Long History of Sunken Roads
The English name “holloway” is derived from the Old English “hola weg” meaning a sunken road. Many of these ancient paths date back centuries, with some dating as far back as Roman times or earlier, with an age range of 300 to 3,000 years old. Holloways can be found all over the world and are often considered to be important cultural and historical landmarks.
The tunnel-like paths are formed over time by the movement of people, animals and carts along routes with soft ground, which causes the path to become deeply indented or “sunken” into the surrounding landscape.
Today, most holloways are no longer in use due to their narrow width and slow pace, which makes them unsuitable for modern modes of transportation. Additionally, they are too deep to be filled in and repurposed for farming. As a result, these paths have become a labyrinth of wildness, surrounded by heavily farmed countryside.
In England, most of these sunken lanes have become overgrown with nettles and briars, making them impassable and unexplored for decades. They offer a unique and integral part of the English landscape, providing a glimpse into a time long gone.
Holloways
Holloways have been used for centuries, and many feature carvings. (Natural England)
Ancient Holloway ‘Graffiti’
These paths are not only steeped in history but are also adorned with ‘graffiti’ carved into their banks, depicting ghouls, gargoyles, and Celtic patterns that add to their allure. The carvings hint at a deeper purpose to the pathways – some experts maintain they were not only used as transportation routes, but also as sacred pathways, which were believed to have spiritual or magical properties.
Digitizing the Magic of Holloways
The 3D survey will provide detailed measurements and create a digital visualization that captures the mystery and magic of these holloways. Mr. Jefferies said, “Nobody knows the full extent of them right across the UK – so we are trying to collect them and create this map.”
The initial project is set to be completed by the end of March and a report of the findings will be published through Natural England. But you don’t have to wait until then to get involved, Natural England is inviting you to share pictures and details of your local holloways via Twitter using #sunkenpaths.
Man Dresses Up Every Sunday To Take His Grandmother To Church
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By now most of the legends have already been debunked and sorted out. Except maybe for the one of the mysterious Sunday Man from Baltimore, Maryland.
The USA will support the transfer of F-16 fighter jets by allies to Ukraine – the American ambassador to the OSCE. Michael Carpenter, confirmed today.
Washington will agree with the idea of partners to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Answering the question whether the administration of US President Joe Biden is ready to allow the Netherlands to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, the ambassador said: “We have long been of the opinion that what our allies supply is their business. And we support the countless contributions (to defense) that our allies have made for Ukraine.
This has been true from the very beginning of the war, when we discussed legacy Soviet systems, to the present period, when we discuss main battle tanks and more sophisticated air and missile defense capabilities and systems. And so I expect there will be broad support in the United States for our allies to continue to increase their contributions,” Carpenter said.
Earlier it became known that the Netherlands is ready to consider the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, if a request comes from the Ukrainian authorities.
At the same time, during an address to the participants of Ramstein meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the partners to discuss the possibility of sending the F-16 at the next meeting.
Beef and Mushroom Casserole
Depositphotos 57609027 xl 2015 1
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (5 1/2 ounce) package risotto mix with garden vegetables
1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Instructions
Prepare risotto mix according to package directions.
Meanwhile in large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef, mushrooms, bell pepper and garlic over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef up into small crumbles.
Get things moving by preheating your oven to 180C, and really seasoning your beef chunks well with salt and pepper. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan, and brown your beef in batches for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the meat to a stew or casserole dish.
Second
Add the remaining oil, and soften the onions over a medium heat for 5 minutes. You want them to be lightly browned before you remove them, add them to the casserole dish, and sprinkle them with the flour and the herbs.
Third
Into the casserole dish goes the red wine, the stock, the bay leaf, and the tomato puree. Stir it all well, and place on the hob. Cook over a medium heat until you get to a gentle simmer, then transfer to the oven, and continue to cook covered for 1.5 hours.
Fourth
Once 1.5 hours have passed, remove the casserole from the oven, and stir in the carrots and forest mushrooms. Season again to taste, then cook for a further 45 minutes. Serve with mashed potato and your favorite greens.
French Video
This 30 minutes long video (in French but English subtitles are available) is simply miraculous.
A Frenchman capable to explain China’s foreign policies with clarity, fairplay and his explanations are buttressed with facts.
Also miraculous is his capacity to see reality and expounding it quite well and not the usual Kool-Aid from the Western presstitutes.
In French, there is a perfect word for the presstitute MSM : Merdias.
Harlech Castle is a medieval castle located in Harlech, in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The castle was built during the 13 th century by the English king, Edward I, as part of an ‘iron ring’ of castles aimed at the subjugation of Gwynedd. As a defensive structure, Harlech Castle played an important role in the region’s history in the centuries following its construction. By the 17 th century, however, Harlech Castle lost its military function, and fell out of use. Nevertheless, it received a new lease of life in subsequent centuries, as it began to attract tourists. Today, Harlech Castle is a tourist destination, and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the ‘Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd’.
The Tragic Legend of Princess Branwen
Harlech is located in Gwynedd, in the northwestern part of Wales. It lies on the coast, to the north of Cardigan Bay, and is situated within the western edge of Snowdonia National Park. Although Harlech Castle was built during the 13 th century, locals associate the site with the legend of Branwen , a Welsh princess. This Welsh legend is found in the second of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. This is a set of four distinct but interconnected stories originally written in Middle Welsh. The tales were compiled between the latter half of the 11 th century and the early 13 th century. This makes them the earliest prose stories in British literature.
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Branwen, on the left, is one of the most tragic figures from Welsh mythology, is associated with Harlech Castle. ( Public domain ) Right; The Four Branches of the Mabinogion are a collection of Medieval Welsh mythological which include the story of Branwen ferch Llŷr. (National Library of Wales / CC0)
The main character of the legend is Branwen ferch Llŷr (Branwen, daughter of Llŷr). Branwen was the sister of Bendigeidfran (Bran the Blessed), the giant King of Britain, and was given in marriage to Matholwch, the King of Ireland. At the wedding feast, however, Efinisien, Branwen’s half-brother, mutilates the horses given to Matholwch as a dowry, since he was furious that he was not consulted about Branwen’s marriage. This infuriates Matholwch, but Bendigeidfran is able to calm him down by presenting him with more gifts. After the wedding, Matholwch and Branwen return to Ireland, and the latter gives birth to a son. Nevertheless, the mutilation of the horses by Efinisien had not been forgotten, and the king was urged to avenge this insult.
As a result, Matholwch banishes his wife to his kitchen, where she is forced to work as a servant. Branwen suffers further humiliation by being slapped by the butcher every day. The princess manages to tell her brother of the terrible treatment she was receiving by sending a bird to him. Consequently, Bendigeidfran assembled his army, and attacked Ireland. The Irish were defeated, and Matholwch tries to make peace by offering the throne to their son, Gwern. In fact, he was plotting to kill the Britons at the coronation feast. The plot, however, was discovered by Efinisien, who foils it by throwing Gwern into the fire, thus causing the Irish and Britons to fight once more. In the end, only seven Welshmen survived, and Branwen returns to Wales with them. The princess’ heart was broken at the thought that two kingdoms were destroyed on her account, and she dies soon after.
Edward, the Vindictive King
Although Harlech is associated with the legend of Branwen, there is no evidence that there was a castle at the site before the 13 th century. In 1272, the English king, Henry III, died, and was succeeded by his son, Edward I . At the time of Edward’s ascension, much of Wales was under the rule of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd , the Prince of Wales . Edward, however, was determined to reduce Llywelyn’s power. The prince’s persistent evasion of his duty to pay homage to the English king was used by Edward as a convenient excuse to conduct a military campaign against Wales. Thus, in 1277, Edward invaded Wales, defeated the Welsh, and forced Llywelyn to sign the Treaty of Aberconwy. Although the Welsh leader was allowed to keep his title ‘Prince of Wales’, he lost much territory, and was left only with the western part of Gwynedd.
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Edward I was determined to reduce the power of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and invaded wales in 1277. ( Public domain )
In 1282, the Welsh, who were dissatisfied with English rule, rebelled. Initially, there were only sporadic outbreaks of resistance. Soon, however, it turned into a united uprising, and Llewelyn eventually became the leader of the rebellion. Under Llewelyn’s leadership, important castles were captured, and the English army was defeated. In response, Edward assembled his army, and invaded Wales again. The Welsh used guerrilla tactics against the much larger English army, and enjoyed some success. At the Battle of Irfon Bridge, however, Llewelyn was slain. This was a heavy blow to the Welsh, but they continued their resistance under Dafydd, Llywelyn’s brother. The resistance crumbled in 1283, when Dafydd was captured, tried, and executed.
Master Architect of Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle was built at the time of Edward’s second Welsh campaign. Construction of the castle began in 1283, and was completed in 1290. It was meant to be part of an ‘iron ring’ of castles that surrounded the coastal fringe of Snowdonia. This ‘iron ring’ included Conwy Castle and Caernarfon Castle, and the entire project was placed in the hands of James of Saint George, a master architect from Savoy. Like Conwy and Caernarfon Castles, Harlech Castle was designed to have access to the Irish Sea. This was meant to ensure that the castle’s defenders would be able to obtain supplies and reinforcements in the event of a land assault. Unlike the other two castles, however, Harlech Castle is situated in place of little strategic importance. It has been suggested that the Edward deliberately constructed this formidable castle in such a remote location as a display of his power to the Welsh.
Harlech Castle was built to be a mighty fortress, and the genius of its architect reflected in its design. For a start, James chose the edge of a prominent cliff as the site to build the castle. This meant that any would-be attacker would be forced to approach the castle from the east. As already mentioned, the castle has direct access to the Irish Sea, which is reached via a gated, fortified stairway. Harlech Castle is a concentric castle, which means that relied on curtain walls, rather than a keep, as its main system of defense. Therefore, Harlech Castle has two rings of walls, each reinforced by towers.
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The gatehouse of Harlech Castle. ( hipproductions / Adobe Stock)
On the eastern side of the castle is a massive gatehouse, which would have served to intimidate any would-be-attacker. The gatehouse was not merely a defensive structure, but also the castle’s main private accommodation. The first floor of the gatehouse would have served as personal residence of the castle’s constable or governor, whilst its top floor would have been reserved for visiting dignitaries. It may be added that this was also the case for the corner towers, i.e. that they were not only used for defensive purposes, but also provided accommodation for the castle’s residents.
Although Harlech Castle is defended by massive curtain walls, its inner ward is considered to be somewhat smaller than what one might imagine. Nevertheless, it contains all the amenities that the castle’s inhabitants may need. These include a kitchen and great hall against its western wall, a chapel and bakehouse against its northern wall, and a granary and another hall against its southern wall. Interestingly, this hall, which is known as Ystumgwern Hall, is believed to have originally belonged to Llywelyn. It was located to the south of Harlech, and after the Welsh prince’s defeat, was dismantled, brought to the castle, and reassembled there. It seems that Edward did a similar thing at Conwy.
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The inner walls of Harlech Castle. ( Fulcanelli / Adobe Stock)
Turbulent Times for Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle saw much action in the centuries that followed. In 1294, not long after the castle was completed, the Welsh rebelled once again. This time, they were led by Madog ap Llywelyn, one of Llywelyn’s distant relatives. Harlech Castle was deep in Welsh-held territory. Nevertheless, its defenders were able to hold on to the castle throughout the rebellion, which lasted until 1295. One of the primary reasons for this was the castle’s access to the Irish Sea. In 1404, the Welsh revolted once again. This time, Harlech Castle, which was defended by a small, poorly-equipped garrison, fell to the Welsh after a long siege. The Welsh leader, Owain Glyndŵr , was proclaimed Prince of Wales, and made the castle his main residence and military base. Additionally, a parliament is believed to have been held in Harlech Castle by Owain in 1405.
In 1408, Harlech Castle was besieged by Henry of Monmouth, the future Henry V, and his commander, Edmund Mortimer. The English brought artillery with them, and it is thought that the southern and eastern parts of the outer walls were destroyed during this siege. Nevertheless, the Welsh defenders continued to resist, and only surrendered to the English in February 1409, due to lack of supplies and exhaustion. But, it was not too long before Harlech Castle saw action once more. The Wars of the Roses broke out between the House of Lancaster and the House of York in 1455. Five years later, Margaret of Anjou, the wife of the English king, Henry VI, sought shelter at Harlech Castle, thereby turning it into a Lancastrian stronghold. As the civil war progressed, the castles of the Lancastrians fell to the Yorkists one by one. In the end, Harlech Castle was the last main fortress that the Lancastrians controlled. The castle had been under siege since 1461, but its defenders were able to survive thanks again to its access to the Irish Sea.
In 1468, Edward IV ordered William Herbert to capture Harlech Castle. After a month-long siege, the castle’s defenders surrendered to the Yorkists. It has been suggested that the courage of the castle’s defenders during this siege inspired the song Men of Harlech . Alternatively, it has been speculated that the song is actually associated with the Welshmen who defended Harlech Castle against the English in 1408. In any event, after the siege of 1468, Harlech Castle was abandoned. Records from the 16 th century show that the castle ‘s defensive and domestic equipment had been removed. The towers’ interiors were in ruins, whilst the chapel and hall were left roofless. Furthermore, Harlech Castle was repurposed as a debtors’ prison.
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Harlech Castle has borne witness to a violent history of war and rebellion. ( Public domain )
Harlech Castle regained its defensive function during the 17 th, when the English Civil War broke out between the Royalists and Parliamentarians. A royal army took possession of Harlech Castle, and its commander, William Owen, had the castle repaired. Harlech Castle was besieged again in June 1646, four years after the war started. By this time, it was the last castle on the mainland in the hands of the Royalists. The siege lasted until March 1647, when its garrison of 44 men surrendered to the Parliamentarians under Thomas Mytton. Following its capture, Parliament ordered Harlech Castle to be demolished, so as to prevent it from being used by the Royalists in the future. Fortunately, the order was only partially carried out, and hence much of the structure was spared.
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Harlech Castle, Gwynedd, Wales ( valeryegorov / Adobe Stock)
Time for Peace at Harlech Castle
The siege of 1646 was the last time Harlech Castle saw action. In the next centuries, the castle was abandoned once again. The 19 th century saw the transformation of Harlech Castle into a tourist destination. The violent history of the castle seems to have faded away. Instead of armies, the site was now visited by artists, who were drawn there by the scenic natural landscape. The popularity of Harlech Castle amongst artists of that period is evident by the many paintings, drawings, and engravings that were made of the castle and its surrounding area. Harlech Castle has maintained its role as a tourist destination till this day. Harlech Castle has been restored during the 20 th century, though these works were minimal so as to preserve the castle’s pristine state.
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Harlech Castle became a popular destination for artists from the 19th century, attracted by its beauty and the surrounding landscape. Watercolor of Harlech Castle by Copley Fielding (1855). ( Public domain )
Today, in addition to being a tourist destination, Harlech Castle is also an important piece of cultural heritage. Although parts of Harlech Castle have been destroyed by the passage of time, and by human hands, it is still considered to be one of the best-preserved castles in Wales. Internationally recognition for the site’s significance came in 1986, when the castle was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , as part of the ‘Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd’. Apart from Harlech Castle, the group includes three other Welsh castles – Beaumaris, Conwy, and Caernarfon Castles.
Top image: It may not seem like it today, but Harlech Castle is Wales has witnessed Welsh rebellions, the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. Source: Darren Tennant / Flickr
Saudi Arabia Is Breaking Away From The Dollar System – Shock In Davos!
Turkey Stuffing Soup
Don’t let a bit of that tasty Thanksgiving meal go to waste. Everyone will love this delicious soup.
2023 01 23 09 15
Ingredients
1 roasted turkey carcass, broken into pieces
10 cups cold water
3 carrots, thickly sliced
3 celery stalks with leaves, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
2 1/2 cups leftover turkey stuffing or dressing
2 cups turkey gravy
Salt
Instructions
Combine turkey carcass, water, carrots, celery, onion, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, stuffing, gravy and salt in a stock pot pot. Place over medium heat and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Stir and break up all clumps of stuffing. Simmer, covered, about 1 1/2 hours.
Remove carcass, saving any meat that can be stripped, and add up to 1 1/2 cups water if necessary to replace evaporation.
Adjust salt to taste.
Let simmer for 10 more minutes.
Serve hot.
Cat meme
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Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay by Liz Fosslien
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Liz Fosslien (previously featured) is the co-author and illustrator of the book Big Feelings and the Wall Street Journal best-seller No Hard Feelings. Liz is an expert on how to make work better.
She regularly leads interactive, scientifically-backed workshops about how to build resilience, help remote workers avoid burnout, and effectively harness emotion as a leader. Her work has been featured by TED, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Economist, and NPR.
“We all experience unwieldy feelings. But between our emotion-phobic society and the debilitating uncertainty of modern times, we usually don’t know how to talk about what we’re going through, much less handle it. Over the past year, Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy’s online community has laughed and cried about productivity guilt, pandemic anxiety, and Zoom fatigue. Now, Big Feelings addresses anyone intimidated by oversized feelings they can’t predict or control, offering the tools to understand what’s really going on, find comfort, and face the future with a sense of newfound agency.”
So, are you getting your daily fix of the “hot air” balloon? Yeah. All the American and Western media is a-blaze over it.
Yeah. The non-stop 24-7 flood of disinformation is pummeling the readership, and this can only mean one thing…
It’s a DISTRACTION.
Meteorological balloons floating out over other nations is a normal occurrence. It’s not like it has never happened before.
Launched from the ground, radiosondes are meteorological devices that are used to measure temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction in the upper atmosphere. A weather balloon filled with hydrogen or helium gas carries the radiosonde into the upper atmosphere.
Depending on the size of the balloon, the expansion that takes place as it rises into lower pressure causes the balloon to burst and the instrument will fall back to Earth to where you found it in this case. During the radiosonde’s flight, it constantly transmits atmospheric temperature, humidity and pressure data to automated receiving ground equipment. This equipment, called a sounding system, processes and converts the data into meteorological weather messages that are sent to the global weather network (WMO GTS network).Radiosondes are launched by our various customers such as the national weather institutes, environmental and research organizations. Typically our customers equip the radiosondes with instructions how to dispose or return the radiosonde.The Vaisala Radiosonde you have found poses no danger to you. If there are instructions on the radiosonde cover for returning the device, please follow them. If you want to keep the radiosonde, please remove and recycle the batteries. If there are no instructions for returning the device and you do not want to keep it, please dispose of it by following your country’s guidelines for disposal of electrical waste. Remnants of the balloon itself, if there are any, can be disposed with household waste.
So why now? Why such a “big deal”?
So many coincidences.
The nation of Turkey is an important “player” in the United States / NATO alliance. They are blocking Sweden’s entry into NATO, which disrupts the war plans to destroy Russia. To this end, all of the “alliance” are freaking out.
Here’s a quick summary of the situation…
NATO issues RED ALERT!
Anyways, the USA is throwing everything at Turkey.
And then suddenly “an act of God” creates two “earthquakes” that flattens homes, and building throughout Turkey, and causes great pain.
Earthquakes?
One thing I've learned from my studies of oligarchical methods is that what is put out as messaging into the public domain are either 1) limited hangouts which avoid the essence of the crimes and agendas of the empire or 2) overblown testaments to capabilities they don't have. They do this all the time and it's just a form of tricky shamanesque witchcraft that induces the plebs to think they have powers of the gods. Just watch Harari's hackable humans speeches or Musk's musings on AI to get a sense of this. It's just a headfake.
For Haarp: it deals with EM fields (mostly microwave) that influence the ionosphere.
For earthquake precursors: the increased density of electrons within the ionosphere are one of several known precursors that occur hours or days in advance (radon gas emissions from ground water, and spikes in infra red emissions are also other em/chemical precursors).
I have seen zero evidence that any of these are causal but rather simply useful precursors several degrees or more removed from the causal nexus which appears to be much much much more driven by solar system/planetary critical geometries which in turn have a big influence on the harmonics of the nested magnetic fields, filtering of interstellar cosmic radiation, etc which in turn are the drivers of climate change, ice ages, storms, volcanism and other "planetary' phenomenon we barely understand.
Earth's crust is 60 km on avg. This far we have barely been able to penetrate 16 km. So much we dont know
-Jeff Brown
Along the American-occupied Syrian-Turkey boarder.
M7.8, 7.5, 6.0 and 120 more Earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria in one day!
Now…
Let me SUGGEST that the placement of large nuclear weapons underground can do the same thing.
If there is one thing that I know; it is this. There is NEVER something known as “coincidence”. There’s always a reason, and you must look for the connections between events.
It is a strong possibility that the United States placed nuclear weapons designed to generate those earthquakes to punish, and “suppress” Turkey to abide to it’s demands. After all, the United States has PERFECTED this technology.
6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Simulated by Underground Nuclear Explosion
A desperate United States is becoming more and more unhinged every day.
My Quora statement
The balloon is a DISTRACTION. These meteorological balloons cross into other nations all the time. To that that it is a frequent norm is an understatement. Yet, all of the Western press, and social media is filled with this “hot air”. (Pun included intentionally)
The REAL reason has to do with the major Geo-political events taking place RIGHT NOW. And the balloon is a distraction away from the nasty elements of it; in effect shielding the American people from the horrific “events” that the United States is involved in.
Turkey.
Yes, this NATO member is not cooperating with the United States. They are not “rubber stamping” the entry of Sweden into NATO, and that really disrupts (throws a “monkey wrench”) the assault phase of the Ukraine proxy war against Russia.
You can believe this to be the case or not. I don’t give a fuck.
[1] The Chinese Weather Balloon is a distraction
Weather balloons often cross national boundaries. They have been doing so for many years. It’s well understood and well known.
The Chinese Weather Balloon is a distraction.
You can identify it as a distraction by the volume of articles. Distractions have profiles. By observing events, and then comparing the way they are reported, one can determine whether it is a distraction or not.
Other examples of distractions include…
Y2K
Hamburgers made of of worms
Ebola
Mad Cow
Toilet paper shortage
[2] Why have a distraction now?
There are many things that the United States is desirous of distraction. Inflation, organized crime, woke movement, the flow of commodities globally, the Ukraine losses, Geo-political alignments, and so on and so forth. But for something to warrant such a large outlay of disinfo, the issue must be significant.
The most significant Geo-political event at this fractional moment in time is the break-up of NATO.
This is being led by Turkey.
To this end, there has been “considerable pressure” put on Turkey to “toe the line”, and follow the plan to “suppress Russia”.
Of which the “big ticket” issue is the refusal of Turkey to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO.
[3] What event regarding Turkey is worthy of a distraction?
When the United States and the EU threatened Turkey, they did so in force. They did so quietly, in smoky backrooms, and then publicly. But Turkey refused to move from it’s position. The “on-line community” has been whispering about the detonation of Turkey-Russian oil pipelines, and terror attacks out of American-held Syria. But it’s all just talk.
Then, Turkey experienced a massive series of earthquakes. These are horrific. Check out the you-tube videos linked above. Skyscrapers collapsed, and thousands were killed.
[4] Quite a coincidence
It’s quite a COINCIDENCE that this “act of God”; that this “random occurrence” happened right after the compliance deadline set forth by the United States and NATO. No wonder that many neocons believe that God is on their side.
[5] Can an earthquake be created artificially?
Keep in mind…
The United States has the (demonstrated) ability to generate earthquakes at will.
This is a mature technology.
And this is all that I am saying.
[6] Things that will make your life easier
So, with that summary, let me present some truths. If you understand these truths, it will go a long way to help you understand things in this crazy world that we are no a part of.
There is no such thing as coincidence.
A coincidence is how a series of events line-up in an array of data sets, when you are not privy to the full background of the data.
So, when you see an alignment of events, and it appears as a coincidence, know that something BIG is happening, and you don’t have all the information to find out why the events are lined-up so perfectly.
Take a look at the center / source of the earthquate
The earthquakes were traced by Geo-location to originate at the below area. Note the unusually round / circular debris fields in the image. Then compare that to what the ground looks like after an underground nuclear explosion below.
Exclusive: Chinese satellite captures images of Turkey earthquake epicenter, revealing extent of geological disaster
By Xu Yelu Published: Feb 07, 2023 04:23 PM
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After the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Nurdagi of Gaziantep Province in southern Turkey on Monday, the Changsha-based Spacety Co Ltd immediately arranged the Chaohu-1 satellite to conduct emergency imaging of the earthquake zone, the Global Times reporters learned on Tuesday. The radar remote sensing images of the surrounding area of the epicenter were obtained at 11:05 am local time on Monday.
After the earthquake first jolted the area, at least 185 aftershocks have been recorded in the southeast of the country and surrounding areas. With the situation in the disaster zone unclear and aftershocks continuing, remote sensing satellites have become the main means of obtaining information on the earthquake, experts said.
According to Spacety China, the Chaohu-1 satellite adopts a strip mode, with an imaging area covering about 8,878 square kilometers. Researchers from the company compared the images of the epicenter with previously published optical satellite images before the earthquake. A residential area about three kilometers from the epicenter was apparently damaged.
More than 2,000 deaths and thousands more injuries have been reported as of the press time following the earthquake, reports said.
The Global Times learned that the weather in the epicenter of the earthquake was inclement with thick clouds surrounding the area, which made it difficult for optical satellite imaging. The company’s synthetic aperture radar, which can work all day and in all conditions, is an important means to obtain the panoramic images of the quake-stricken area. Spacety will continue to follow the situation in the earthquake zone and provide satellite image support for the relief work in the quake-hit areas, the company said.
Compare that to the images of underground nuclear explosions
Now, for comparison purposes, let’s look at the debris fields of other earthquake centers… Notice that there are no circular debris fields. NONE.
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Finally…
Every time that I publish this info, or concept on Quora, or other social media… they all collapse. They shut down. Even my You-tube video is somehow lost in twirly-twirly land…
In the mid-1980’s, my wife and I were living in North Carolina. Were we worked for a spell at a factory that made a off-brand “smores” health food snack. There, we had befriended a couple, older than us, by maybe ten years. And we started hanging out with them, and drinking beer with them every night.
They owned a house in Mebine, and a farm outside of Vanciville. And I want to relate a little story.
At the farm, which was about 40 wooded, and hilly acres with a small cabin, and some old cars, was their dogs. They allowed these dogs to run freely over the farm, and they were a boisterous bunch. With perhaps one old dog named Maggie, and two Dobermans.
One of the Dobermans got pregnant, and had a gaggle of puppies. Perhaps 30 or so! I didn’t even know that dogs could have that many puppies, but there you have it.
Anyways, the puppies were roaming the woods and were going feral. They wouldn’t allow any of us to come near them, but at night, as we sat around the campfire, they would sneak up and steal food from our hands, and snap at our feet.
At this point they were starting to be large puppies, and were not controllable.
So one day, Tom (my friend who owned the property) with his wife Bonnie collected poisonous mushrooms from the woods. These were the large white mushrooms that you see often enough in the woods.
And, one day, as I came to the farm from work, we saw Tom take raw hamburger, and put a slice of the mushroom in the hamburger and threw the little meatballs to the puppies to eat. We (at that time) didn’t know what was going on. But we watched him feed all the puppies that way until all the hamburger was all used up.
Two weeks passed.
We forgot about that particular event. And life moved on.
One day we went to the farm, and when we arrived it looks like some kind of mass killing. Dead puppies were everywhere. Some on the hardened ruts in the road, some on the porch to the cabin. Some near the bases of tree. Some out in the open under the sky. Some near the stream, and some on the numerous rocks that lined the property.
Tom explained, after the massive clean up, that if he didn’t do something about the dogs now, then they would become a large pack of dangerous dogs, and aside from the personal headaches it would cause, it would also get his neighbors angry and a dog catcher and police would have to come to his property, and he did not want that. As he was a very private person, don’t you know.
I just remembered this story, as there are so many instances where it is important to take care of problems when they are small, instead of putting them off. Because if you do so, the problems can get worse, fester and turn into big bad problems.
let’s start with today’s posting…
Uh Oh . . . Chase Bank to Close Some ATM’s Outside of Business Hours in NYC (Crime)
New Yorkers looking for some last-minute cash to grab a midnight slice won’t have access to some Chase ATMs in New York City.
The bank announced this week that the around-the-clock ATMs will close at the same time as the branches, which is around 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., due to “rising crime and vagrancy,” the bank said in a tweet.
“Our apologies. We decide to close several ATM vestibules at 5 PM or 6 PM, aligning the hours of service to that of the normal branch hours, due to rising crime and vagrancy that occurred in these previously 24/7 vestibules,” the tweet said.
The lockdowns may be temporary, according to a Chase spokesperson. It remained unclear which locations would be affected by the shutdown.
“For the safety of our customers and employees, we may temporarily close some ATMs overnight,” the spokesperson said. “We can’t confirm how many ATMs are affected because it changes constantly.”
Some Chase customers were irked by the inconvenience and fired back at the bank’s announcement on social media.
“If ATMs aren’t available when the bank is closed, what’s the point??” an irate customer said in a tweet.
“Are you going to refund the ATM fees to customers when we get ripped off to use a bodega ATM to pay for our late-night slice of pizza because you can’t provide a basic service to account holders? I didn’t think so,” another customer tweeted.
The bank’s customer support service acknowledged in a tweet this would be an inconvenience for the company’s clients.
“I know this outcome wasn’t ideal, but your experience is still very important to us,” the customer support account said in response to one of the customers.
Hal Turner Commentary Opinion
This doesn’t look good on many levels. First, the rise in violent crime in New York City is something I can attest to, because I live in the area. The crime has gotten horrifying and I have repeatedly warned people to “stay away from New York City” because I perceive it is so dangerous.
So on its face, what CHASE Bank is saying, is truthful. The crime is very bad.
Yet, I cannot shake this suspicion there is something ELSE going on.
I am of the view that Banks have been in very real trouble for quite awhile now, and I can’t shake the feeling that this ATM closure might be related to that.
Moreover, if the general public starts getting accustomed to no ATM’s at night, that’s just one more way to slam everyone by surprise if banks actually collapse in one fell swoop.
We ought to watch carefully over the coming weeks to see if other banks start doing this and if it starts happening in areas where there is little to no crime. If the low or no crime areas start being shut down as well, then we have our answer about banks being in serious trouble.
EPORTS: Germany to ALLOW Leopard-2 Tanks to Ukraine
Reports are now coming in claiming Germany will ignore the Potsdam Agreement that ended World War 2, and allow German Leopard-2 Tanks to be transferred to Ukraine to fight Russia.
German Minister: Germany Won’t Object To Poland Giving Ukraine Leopard Tanks: Russians Whine
Ukraine’s supporters pledged billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine during a meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, though the new commitments were overshadowed by a failure to agree on Ukraine’s urgent request for German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks.
The issue appeared to move close to a resolution late Sunday when Germany’s top diplomat said her country would not object if Poland decided to send some of its Leopards to Ukraine.
French TV channel LCI posted clips from an interview with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in which she said her government has not received a formal request for approval from Warsaw but added “if we were asked, we would not stand in the way.”
Earlier Sunday, the speaker of the lower house of Russia’s parliament, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, said that governments giving more powerful weapons to Ukraine could cause a “global tragedy that would destroy their countries.”
“Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe,” he said. “If Washington and NATO supply weapons that would be used for striking peaceful cities and making attempts to seize our territory as they threaten to do, it would trigger a retaliation with more powerful weapons.”
A cool mutation
I have 2 lenses in my right eye, so it focuses like binoculars. My doctor wrote a paper about it. Mostly blinded as a baby in my left eye. Dr suspected my right lense split then healed as 2 distinct lenses. Better than 20/20 in my right eye.
Buckaroo Cornbread Casserole
2023 01 23 09 34
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 green bell pepper, diced, or 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cans Ro*tel tomatoes, drained
1 can Ranch Style beans, seasoned pinto beans or chili beans
2 packages cornbread mix*
1 can cream-style corn
1 cup shredded cheese of choice
Instructions
Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Season the ground beef and brown along with the bell pepper and onion.
Drain and add drained Ro*Tel and Ranch style beans (or pinto beans or chili beans). Simmer for 10 minutes.
Mix both boxes of cornbread per directions. Add a can of cream-style corn to cornbread mix. Toss in shredded cheese and stir.
Pour half of cornbread mixture into the bottom of the pan, cover with all of the meat mixture, top with more shredded cheese, then pour remaining cornbread mixture on top.
Bake at 350 degrees F or until cornbread is done.
Serve with a simple green salad.
Notes
* Use either regular or Mexican-style.
I have six toes…
What?
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The Good, the Bad, the Mischievous: Cool Illustrations by Max Grecke
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Max Grecke is a Swedish freelance artist and master of 2D and 3D painting. Mostly Grek just draws funny cartoons and strikingly flamboyant and slightly crazy illustrations, but sometimes he takes on serious commercial work as well, as well as recording tutorials on Youtube.
Grecke’s style is truly New Year’s Eve – wild in its lines, motley in its colors, and invariably mischievous in general.
“From ages 6 to 14, I spent all of my time in a pitch black, cold and locked basement, only leaving for school and never letting anyone (outside the family) know.”
About the Bolt
This is a weird one but I promise you, no b******t.
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I had a metal screw/bolt roughly an inch and a half long stuck in my right lung from age 2-17. I must have put it in my mouth as a toddler and it got in got there somehow.
Anyway, The unsettling bit is that I always knew there was something seriously wrong with my body, because my whole life I would have instances in which I coughed uncontrollably, many times coughing up blood. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. But I never told anyone. Dad was neglectful and mom was always working, so it was relatively easy to hide. If it happened at school I’d excuse myself to the restroom until it stopped. No one ever showed concern those 15 years so I guess I kept it to myself well enough.
I never told anyone, because even as a small child I was very unhappy with life and wanted it to be over. I guess I figured my mystery illness would get me eventually, so I kept it a secret so I wouldn’t get treated.
It all came to a head at 17 when playing ball at the park with my parents, siblings, and some friends. I got a decent hit and ran around the bases when I started coughing. After sitting back down I tried to hold it in but I couldn’t… and this time it was too bloody to hide and no bathroom to go to. So my step uncle noticed after a minute or two, everyone is crowded around me while I’m coughing up a s***load of blood in and around a trash can. My little brother told me after that they actually sent guys in hazmat suits to clean it up because they didn’t know if whatever was wrong with me was contagious.
But anyway, got to the hospital got the X-ray which showed the screw lit up like Christmas imposed over my rib cage. Doctor guy just went “Well there’s your problem!” I guess he was trying to lighten the mood since everyone was understandably freaking the f**k out.
Two weeks of surgery, three total, and it was out. I still have breathing issues, but the cough is gone now. I made the screw into a necklace which I wear sometimes because I find it oddly comforting to be reminded of my own mortality. I know that’s weird but it’s just sort of how I am all things considered.
I never told my family I knew there was something wrong with me, because telling them would mean admitting to them that I wanted to die the whole time.
I still struggle with mental health c**p for this and many, many other reasons I won’t get into, but things are a lot easier than they used to be.
But anyway, if you actually took the time to read about my weird little life I appreciate your time and hope your day is pleasant.
Beef King Ranch Casserole
This is a beef version of a Texas classic developed by Chef Matt Martinez.
2023 01 23 09 33
Ingredients
5 1/2 cups shredded beef or fully cooked brisket (shredded) or fully cooked shredded beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh jalapeno, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
12 ounces canned evaporated milk
1 can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 can condensed beef broth
8 ounces grated Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
12 corn tortillas
Instructions
Add oil to large heated skillet and sauté onion, peppers and jalapeno.
Mix in all spices and cook until onion is translucent.
Add milk, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
Stir in beef and cheese.
Cut tortillas into quarters and placed half into a greased 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Top with half of the beef mixture. Repeat layers, ending with beef mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Money!
I inherited a lot of money from my grandmother about 2 years ago that no one in my family knew existed. I still don’t know where it came from, her lawyer wouldn’t tell me, but it’s in the upper 7 figures.
My father, her son, got the flat she owned and we all thought that was everything she had. Apparently it wasn’t but I havent told anyone about it and I dont plan on doing so either.
I just work a normal 8-5 desk job, rent a flat downtown of the City i live in (nothing expensive) and live a normal life on my own. No partner or children, no expensive vacations, I don’t even have a car lol.
I just don’t feel comfortable sharing this secret and the longer I keep it the stranger it would get telling it.
TLDR: I’m a millionaire because my grandmother died and no one knows about it.
Edit: I’m trying to answer to as many people as possible but as I said I still have a normal job so here are the answers to the most asked questions/Suggestions.
1. What do you want to do with the money?
I dont know yet, for now its safe where it is and I will either use it or invest it once I think its time. Maybe in a week, maybe never.
2. Can you give me X amount of money?
No, it wouldnt be fair to give it to one person and deny it another. I also dont really care about your tragic stories in my DMs, I read them and just get depressed so please dont.
3. Can I be “in your life”?
No I also dont want to adopt you/get to know you or be in a relationship with you (except for big tiddie goth GFs)
4. You have to invest in bitcoin/real estate/stocks/your friendly neighbourhood pyramid scheme!
No, f**k off.
I know most of you are genuine, nice people but I dont want your advice. If this makes me sound like a douche I’m fine with that, it’s just a lot right now.
Nine year old boy
Less scary and more shocking, but when I was 9 years old I survived a home invasion where I was [injured] 6 times. I played dead on the floor until the man left and called 911 and in my adrenaline rush I thought they couldn’t find my house so I crawled with my left are swinging the wrong way and my right leg limp from nerve damage, all the way to the front door when he broke in from the back of the house.
I lived with only my mother who unfortunately didn’t survive. I vividly remember picking out the guy in a photo line up while recovering in the ICU.
I am very lucky to have kept my left arm, I have 32 pins and screws to make up for my shattered elbow. My left leg has permanent nerve damage and I now have “drop foot”. Despite my physical injuries and PTSD, I am doing very well.
Simple Illustrations Reveal Endearing Moments of Love in Life’s Everyday Moments
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Being in love with someone is more than just grand romantic gestures and celebrating milestones—it’s about the little moments, too. Illustrator Nidhi Chanani captures these small occasions in her endearing ongoing series titled ‘Everyday Love’. The charming images demonstrate that it’s the ordinary things that bring us closer to our partner, like cooking together, enjoying the sunset, and, of course, laughter. Each illustration acts as a reminder to appreciate all of them.
I have unusually good night vision, extra cones/rods (I forget which is for low light) which means I walk around in what other people consider complete darkness, able to see just fine. Add onto that I’m 6’10” and very large, basically a cryptid
Were Vikings in South America Over 400 Years Before Columbus?
Here is presented the widely dismissed account that probably sometime in the mid-11th century, Danish Vikings from Schleswig and the Danelaw (as ascertained from runic rock inscriptions) arrived at Santos in Brazil and proceeded inland to Paraguay. From a fortified hill near the Brazilian border, they occupied a defensive position for some part of two centuries, keeping watch on a nearby small mountain. It has been reported that in the 20th century, beneath the mountain under observation, was discovered a large area whose walls and roof are built of concrete unknown to science and cannot be opened but are believed to conceal a network of tunnels. The following unravels the story presented by just a few advocates, of Vikings in South America. Like so many of these tales, it needs further investigation to enable verification, but nonetheless, it provides food for thought.
The Vikings in South America
Academic historians generally do not admit the presence of European visitors to South America until after the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Therefore for them, all talk of Vikings travelling anywhere south of Nova Scotia before 1492 AD is not even hypothetical but pure fiction. In order to maintain this pretense, historians have found it necessary to discard what might be to others common sense and replace it with a preposterous theory. The best example of this is: The Case of the Bundsö Sheepdogs .
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Were Vikings in South America before Christopher Columbus? Pictured: posthumous portrait of Christopher Columbus. (Sebastiano del Piombo / Public domain )
It was the custom of the pre-conquest Incas to be mummified with their dogs. A variety of dogs found in graves at Ancon, Chile, by Professor Nehring in 1885 was analyzed by two French zoologists in the 1950s who determined that this variety could not be descended from the wild dogs of South America. They matched them to Canis familiaris L.patustris Rut of which numerous skeletal remains have been discovered, all at Bundsö on the Danish island of Als/Jutland.
The anatomical coincidence being deemed perfect, the difficulty then lay in accounting for how these Danish dogs got to South America before the Spanish Conquest . The French scientists got their heads together and decided that: “the Danish Vikings must have given some of their Bundsö sheepdogs to Norwegian Vikings who took them to Vinland. When the Norwegians were ejected from Vinland by the natives, the dogs must have been carried from Vinland to modern Canada where they must have been passed from hand to hand ever southwards by tribes which did not want them, involving travel by land and sea and then climbing mountains into Peru where they were adopted by the Incas.”
This nonsensical explanation was the only scientific theory available, that is, that would fit with the accepted history of the finding of the Americas. But if that account were wrong, a more common sense explanation might be that the Danish Vikings brought the dogs with them when they sailed to South America from Europe in the eleventh century.
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Depiction of a Viking and his men heading to land. (Frank Dicksee / Public domain )
The Viking Protectorate in Paraguay?
In 1085 AD, King Knut II had 1700 ships for the “western expansion”. For the greater distances involved, a special type of woolen sail, which had been developed for greater speed and sailing much closer to the wind, as proved in experiments by Amy Lightfoot with the Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde. Strangely for Europeans so far from home in the 11th century, the Danish-Schleswig Vikings in this account seemed to know exactly where they were heading.
They came ashore at Santos, Brazil, found the path which had been long previously prepared, and made their way on foot to uplands located at Amambay, 25 kilometers (16 mi) south-east of the modern town of Pedro Juan Caballero in Paraguay.
The Cerro Corá is a ring of three small mountains five kilometers (3 mi) across. Three kilometers (1.9 mi) north of this ring is the mountain Itaguambype , which means ‘fortress’. Long before the supposed arrival of the Vikings, it had been hollowed out to make one, hence its name.
The anthropologist who investigated the area in the 1970s, Jacques de Mahieu, was a French – Argentinian anthropologist and leader of the Spanish neo-Nazi group CEDADE, who has proposed various Pre-Columbian contact theories, and claimed that certain indigenous groups in South America are descended from Vikings. Through his observations, he decided that, at some indefinite time in the past, the construction’s purpose must have been some kind of military observation post large enough for a settlement or a refuge.
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Cerro Corá national park in modern day Paraguay, the site where the Danish Vikings in South America were once believed to hold a settlement. (Christian Frausto Bernal / CC BY-SA 2.0 )
The low mountain Itaguambype lies on a north-south axis. It is two kilometers (1.2 mi) in length and one hundred meters (328 ft) high. The ex-fortress is a section cut off at the south end, 300 meters (984 ft) long with a 20-meter-wide (66-ft) opening for access. The sides are of natural rock, a quarter of the way up from the ground with above it blocks of unequal-size, stone tailored to fit together perfectly smoothly in the manner similar to anti-earthquake walls in Peru and Bolivia.
Along the crest a 3-meter-wide (10-ft) flat path runs; at the southern extremity is a platform with the ruins of a round lookout tower raised 5 meters (16 ft) above the crest for a panorama of the entire territory but particularly Cerro Corá. The fortress would have been abandoned either in about 1250 AD, when a native rebellion succeeded in expelling the Vikings, or earlier, once it had served its true purpose.
Of additional interest in the area is the Norse temple at Tacuati excavated in the 1970s, and the fact that the total of engraved runic inscriptions in Paraguay runs in the thousands and exceeds that of all Scandinavia: 71 have been translated from the South American Futhorc dialect. One 5-letter runic inscription was found inside Itaguambype but has defied translation.
700 Years Later – Fritz Berger Investigates
Fritz Berger was a 50-year-old mechanical engineer, a native of what was then the Sudetenland. He admitted that he suffered mental disturbances from time to time. He wandered South America doing odd jobs, and during the War of the Chaco between Paraguay and Brazil in 1932-1935 served the Paraguayan Army in one of their workshops reconditioning captured enemy weapons. From 1935 until 1940 he stated that he prospected unsuccessfully for oil deposits in the Brazilian State of Paraná, but more likely in this period he gathered the information leading to the investigation which followed.
In February 1940, Berger crossed into Paraguay at the Pedro Juan Caballero border post and contacted the Army of Paraguay. Simply as a result of what he told them, they agreed to form a company with him known as Agrupación Geológica y Archaeológica (AGA). A clause in the agreement stipulated that the treasure trove was the property of Paraguay. The Paraguayan signatory was Major Samaniego, later the Paraguayan Minister of Defense.
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Major Samaniego of Paraguay pictured in 1948, the military official who helped Fritz Berger in his investigation of Vikings in South America . ( Public domain )
At the heart of this contract was the Legend of the White King of Amambay. The tradition relates:
“In those days there reigned in this region a powerful and wise king called Ipir. He was white and wore a long blond beard. With men of his race and Indian warriors loyal to him, he lived in a community situated on the crest of a mountain. He possessed fearsome weapons and had immense riches in gold and silver. One day however he was attacked by savage tribes and disappeared for ever. That is what my father told me, who had heard it from his father.”
The reader should note here that King Ipir was never identified, and his followers “disappeared” and there is no suggestion that they were massacred.
Berger had a female correspondent in Munich to whom he wrote occasionally describing the developments in Paraguay, possibly for passing on to the German government, and copies of these letters passed into the possession of de Mahieu much later for inclusion in his book. In May 1940 Berger wrote to Munich mentioning that he knew of tunnels in the Cerro Corá area “130 kilometers long” (81 mi). By October 1941, he had drawn up a plan of the subterranean installations and sketches of four tunnels, including careful measurements but insufficient information to identify the locations of the various entrances.
The Mysterious Bald Mountain and Impenetrable Slab
On another day in 1940, based on mysterious information he probably brought with him from Brazil, Berger “happened to notice” a great rock forty meters (131 ft) in height in the direction ten kilometers (6 mi) south-south-east of Cerro Corá. The rock was in two parts and covered in dense vegetation halfway up. For this reason the natives called it Yvyty Pero – “Bald Mountain”.
Berger’s secret reasons for wanting to dig there convinced Major Samaniego to set up a permanent military encampment with wooden houses within twenty meters (66 ft) of Bald Mountain, and he also renamed the range of hills “Cerro Ipir”. Once his sappers began excavating, to their surprise they reportedly found “a piece of gold in a triangular shape, which appeared to be the broken corner of a table” and “a walking stick with a gold head.”
After that the rainy season set in, impeding progress by flooding: the excavation was suspended once all explosives available could not damage a great slab of reinforced concrete encountered at the level of the mountain floor eighteen meters (59 ft) down. At this point, de Mahieu leaves us guessing what happened next in the year from “the end of 1941” until “the end of 1942” during which time the Third Reich became involved and appears to have agreed to send to Paraguay a special kind of pneumatic drill. We know this because in November 1942, US agents reported to their naval attaché at Montevideo the arrival of a German U-boat at the Argentine naval base of Bahia Blanca and this coincided with the unexplained visit there by Major Pablo Stagni, Commander-in-Chief of the Paraguayan Air Force, known to the Americans as the German agent “Hermann.”
Following this ‘coincidence’, according to Berger, in December 1942 work at Bald Mountain resumed. The Paraguayan sappers worked into the mountainside obliquely to connect with the vertical shaft. At 23 meters (75 ft), they encountered again the huge slab of concrete, which could not even be scratched by the drill or explosives and was now described as “a definitely artificial material harder than reinforced concrete and unknown to science.” After further attempts in 1944 were thwarted for the same reason, the excavation was abandoned. Fritz Berger died in Brazil in 1949. This part of Amambay is inaccessible today as a military area.
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Viking ship from the Ship Museum in Oslo. (Alex Berger / CC BY-NC 2.0 )
Conclusion
So, to tie together this theory, using legend, possible runic evidence, and Nazi involvement, long before the 11th century, the rich and powerful white king Ipir and his followers, unknown to the world’s historians, inhabited the crest of the mountain fortress Itaguambype. When attacked by an overwhelmingly superior force of natives, Ipir and his court retired to safety below Bald Mountain. Perhaps the Vikings were sent to Amambay later to protect and oversee the installation of the impenetrable concrete roof and sides over the portal below Bald Mountain.
What is interesting about this story is that all the main actors are hiding something. All academic historians and scientists, some knowingly, adhere to the apparent lie that no European reached southern America before Columbus in 1492. Therefore, “no Vikings could have been there”. Fritz Berger never revealed the source of his information about Bald Mountain and the network of tunnels extending cross-country from beneath it, but when he crossed into Paraguay from Brazil he knew for sure exactly where he was going and so did the Paraguayan Army.
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Depiction of the first Vikings arriving in the Americas. (Christian Krohg / Public domain )
The author, anthropologist/archaeologist Jacques de Mahieu, an outcaste from the scientific fraternity for having been an officer in the French Waffen-SS Division, perhaps revealed much ‘hidden history’, they would prefer he had not mentioned. Decades after the war, the SS oath he had sworn bound him, and there were still official German secrets with regard to which he was obliged to remain silent. Therefore in his book, he omitted any mention of the year 1942 and details of where the pneumatic drill had come from.
The Third Reich was in the middle of a major war, which it was already in danger of losing. Its outcome depended on the Battle of the Atlantic, yet they could spare a U-boat to detour to Argentina with a pneumatic drill for an archaeological dig in Paraguay. Probably they did not care two hoots for King Ipir and so their interest was in two things:
(i) They needed the tiniest chip of the reputedly impenetrable concrete roof and walls of the underground refuge for scientific analysis to obtain the formula.
(ii) They needed to know where the tunnel beneath Bald Mountain led? Was the mountain one of the portals into the Vril world or similar?
Yay for mutations!
I’m one of the lucky few with the CCR5-delta-32 mutation. Why is that relevant? It makes me immune to HIV and a handful of other pathogens, most notably the Bubonic Plague.
Beefy Cheesy Casserole
2023 01 23 12 28
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 bay leaf
1 package egg noodles, cooked
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
6 green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Brown beef over medium heat. Drain fat.
Add garlic to skillet and cook until soft.
Add tomatoes, honey, salt, pepper, bay leaf and Tabasco. Lower the heat to simmer for 30 minutes.
Combine the cooked noodles with the cream cheese, green onions and sour cream.
Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan and alternately layer noodle mixture, tomato mixture and grated cheese, ending with the cheese on top.
Bake covered, in a preheated 350 degrees F oven, for 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.
I do not have enough time to devote myself to the needs of my little daughter. She (at her age) is 24-7, and I am working multiple jobs and multiple projects. But, you know, I always try to give her priority. So, I have these little events. One of which is an occasional movie with her and myself. I try to do it weekly.
Our time.
Give her momma a break.
So we sit down on the sofa, and watch a movie. Given her age, and my activity schedule, we usually break the movie down into two segments,; the first half on one day, and the the rest on another.
During the movie, we eat a snack. Mostly being a small bag of potato chips, or some crunchy “kid snacks”, and we sit down and watch the movie. I like “American style” Lays (yellow bag) potato chips. We set the bag down, and using scissors, cut a big hole on the side so it forms a kind of disposable tray.
I also make sure that she went to the bathroom before we get started.
Mostly we watched downloaded movies in torrent format, then saved on the drive. I just pull them up and we watch uninterrupted.
The movies that I select are based on things that I want her to concentrate on…
Love
Tenderness, compassion
Independence
Winning over adversity
And so my list is not going to be the average fare that you find on the internet. In fact, you might be surprised in the lack of Disney films (though some are included), and the high concentration of Studio Ghibli films (all in English over dub animation).
Most of the videos you can find easily on the internet with a little bit of sleuthing. Since my child is bilingual (English and Chinese) versions of the movies in these languages are fine, and interchangeable. However, we seek out English versions (say for example) the Japanese movies.
Here’s my preferred videos, in no particular order…
A delightful fantasy that will bring out the child in anyoneHave you ever wished that you could escape your dull and stressful life at school or work and go on a magical adventure of your own, with one of your closest friends at your side, facing all sorts of dangers and villains, and unraveling the mystery of a lost civilization that's just waiting for someone to discover all its secrets?
Even if you're not quite that much of a fantasy-lover, have you ever wished you could simply experience what it's like to be a kid again, and not have a care in the world, for just a couple of hours?
This is exactly what Miyazaki's "Castle in the Sky" is all about.
Pazu, a young but very brave and ambitious engineer, lives a rustic life in a mining town until one day, a girl named Sheeta falls down from the sky like an angel and takes him on a journey to a place far beyond the clouds, while all the while they have pirates and military units hot on their trail.
Simply put, it is just the incredible adventure that every kid dreams of at one point or another, and I can't help but feel my worries melt away every time I see it.
An English dub of this film was produced by the Walt Disney Company in 1999 (originally intended to be released that same year), but wasn’t released on DVD until 2003. The English dub shortens the title to “Castle in the Sky,” removing the word “Laputa,” since it means “the whore” in Spanish.
Cat Woman (2004)
A adult film, not an animation. Talks about a strong woman, transformation, change, righting wrongs, and being a cat.
I want my daughter to be strong, and tough. When we watch this movie, she loves the scenes of cats, and how “cat woman” behaves. For days afterwards, she acts a little cat-like in her walk, talk and playing ball. LOL.
2023 02 05 11 57
Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is a visual artist who is stuck working in the advertising division of a large beauty product manufacturer, Hedare. When she acquires information that could potentially put the company out of business, they try to dispose of her. Because she had previously, unwittingly passed a "test", however, she is saved by a group of cats and transformed into a Catwoman.First, let me note that I loved this film. It's a 10 out of 10 for me. Since I'm well aware that most critics, professional and amateur alike, have trashed this film, I'll focus on why I thought it was so good. Maybe this will help some new viewers consider giving it a look, and possibly encourage some reevaluation by those who have already seen the film.The script immediately drew me into the film, and although I'm male, I identified with Patience. I'm also a visual artist. I have also worked for a company similar to Hedare in the past (although a much smaller and less nefarious beauty product company). I lived in an apartment that looked, on the outside, almost exactly the same as Patience's apartment complex. I also had neighbors who night after night played loud music or television until three or four a.m., while I first tried to block out the sound in any way that I could, then asked politely for them to turn the music down, and so on, until I finally called the cops on them so I could get some sleep.Not that I need to identify with a character to like a film, but that made this one have extra resonance with me in the beginning. Additionally, I was immediately drawn in by the fantastic cinematography and set design. Those kinds of things are just as important in a movie as the story is. Film is a visual and aural artform. The whole package is important. Creative, attractive visuals such as those in Catwoman are part of the package.The script, including the subtexts, worked well for me. Catwoman is a film about discovering identities, peeling away literal and metaphorical masks, and the difference between various stages of public versus private "faces". That the plot is centered on a beauty product manufacturer, then, is perfect. These themes permeate every aspect of the film. For example, Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt) is continually peeling away the appearances of Patience, throughout the length of the film, and Patience is doing the same for herself--discovering her "true self". I can't think of a scene that doesn't touch on this theme in some way. That's very clever and thought-provoking scriptwriting, and it doesn't end there. There are also themes about femininity cleverly woven through the film, for example.I thought the cast did a fantastic job. Berry is great as a Catwoman, and subtly referenced most of the previous screen Catwomen. She also incorporated a lot of crafty cat-like behavior. I enjoyed the supporting cast, especially Alex Borstein as Patience's friend, Sally. The effects worked well for me, and at times they were also very subtle and clever, such as Catwoman's whip representing a tail in many shots (most of this was achieved via digital effects). I was also impressed with the creativity and different approach of many of the fight scenes. It was nice to see Brazilian martial arts incorporated for a change.Some of the negative criticism probably stems from a kind of purism that is disproportionately found among comic book fans when it comes to comic book films. I'm not much of a purist, but in any event, for anyone paying close attention, you'd note that Berry's character isn't supposed to be Selina Kyle. In the mythology of as presented here, "Catwoman" isn't a lone token, but a type. Patience is just another instantiation of a long line of catwomen. So departures from previous portrayals of Selina Kyle aren't relevant, even if we believed that filmmakers were obligated in some way to previous depictions of the "same" fictional characters (which I don't believe, not being a purist).Catwoman is worth a (second) chance if you can leave some of your preconceptions at the door and if you're prepared to think a bit about a comic book film.
2023 02 05 11 57d
Epic (2013)
Shrinking to the size of ants, and inhabiting a huge ancient forest; with a mad-scientist father… it’s stuff that kids just eat up. The parade scenes, and all the interplay is mesmerizing to my daughter. She just cannot keep her eyes off it.
2023 02 05 12 09
I didn't think I'd like this movie, but I took my 10-year-old cousin to see it anyway, and I really loved it.I've heard this film compared to everything--FernGully, The Borrowers, Avatar, etc., and while it is another film in that genre and it may be a little cliché, it does create its own fascinating world and tell its story in a unique way. Its themes are heavy (family and belonging, the balance between growth and decay/life and death) but are handled in a successfully child-friendly manner.The animation and design are gorgeous. I love the cute fairy-like flower and leaf people; I even love the design of the goblin-like bad guys (the Boggan). I want to see more stories set in this incredible little world. I also appreciate how much care went into animating that forest.While the characters are pretty familiar, they're still delightful. I thought the choice of voice actors was particularly good. I liked Amanda Seyfried as the main character, M.K. (Mary Katherine), I looooved Colin Farrell as Ronin, and I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised by Beyonce as Queen Tara. She has a voice just like honey, which fits the queen's sweet, playful personality. Queen Tara emerges as one of my favorite animated characters of all time (and NO, I do not find her voice "too ghetto." I don't appreciate people sniffing down their noses at others that way) because she carried so much of the movie with what turned out to be really minimal role. Plus, I always love to see people of color portrayed positively in children's films.I would definitely take kids to see this again, although it might be too scary for kids younger than 6 and too slow for kids older than 12. Folks have to admit, this is a fun movie to watch, and highly imaginative kids especially will love it.
2023 02 05 12 03
Free Guy (2021)
Just fun. Modern. Interfaces clearly with social media usage by children. Totally relatable, with deep messages…
…strong woman character. Nice guy.
A message of helping others…
2023 02 05 12 13e
One glance at FREE GUY, the newest big budget offering from Hollywood's favorite action-star/comedy master Ryan Reynolds, will cause most to approach with valid skepticism.
The plot seems like a cheap knockoff of films like Ready Player One or even The Matrix, but made in a crude fashion to make more money at the box office.
The actual movie, however, could not be further from the worst estimates.
Not only is FREE GUY constantly hilarious due to Reynolds and an inventive screenplay, and not only is this possibly the feel-good event of the summer, but it also has a considerable amount of thought put into the meaning of its premise and places a mirror in front of modern-day video game culture.To put it simply, perhaps the main reason this movie comes together so well is because of Ryan Reynolds' constant charisma and hilarity. Most of his dialogue is clearly either written by him or created by him on the spot (I have no idea how he hasn't received a screenwriting credit for this and the Deadpool movies), and the film is that much better as a whole because of it. He also interacts with the other actors in the film very well, including Jodie Comer and Joe Keery, two underrated actors who prove here that they aren't just one-time stars from their respective television shows (Killing Eve and Stranger Things). The ensemble combines to create the most consistently funny movie of 2021 so far.However, this movie isn't just hilarity and crazy antics, although it could easily get by on those aspects alone.
FREE GUY has tons of heart and authenticity despite its virtual reality-based plot, and is about very human emotions such as disillusionment, the feeling of being trapped, and, of course, love.
There are times where the heartwarming aspects of this film resemble a charming romantic comedy and others where it gets so existential that it almost feels like The Truman Show.
It never dives quite as deep as the latter film, but the fact that it even has the guts to include these themes made this easygoing big-budget movie a far better watch for me.
Sure, the last thirty minutes are very cheesy and contain a lot of clichés, but the buildup is so solid that it earns some dumb rom-com moments near the end.FREE GUY is worth going to see because it is one of the few quality films right now that increases one's faith in human nature.
Lately I feel as though I have lost my faith in humanity with all that is happening in the world, so it is refreshing to get a movie that feels confident in the human experience.
Maybe I'm looking too deep into the message of FREE GUY and maybe it was conceived just so Ryan Reynolds could screw around for two hours, but either way the price of admission is well worth it for an amazing time at the theater.
2023 02 05 12 13
Home (2015)
A fun adventure about an independent girl searching for her mother (a big hit with my young daughter) and her cat. It teaches to face face your fears, friendships, promises, and handling adversity. All to a fun soundtrack.
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...there's something so utterly sweet and innocent about Home that it zooms by with an enchanting charm.
When people tell you to calm down by going to your happy place, it probably looks something like this.
It's arguably the most child-centric movie Dreamworks have produced for a few years too.
The adult-targeted humour is kept to a minimum and the physical comedy is amped up to levels that is normally irritating but here works an absolute treat.
Its success can be attributed, in a big way, to the lovable alien Oh (Jim Parsons). A clumsy go-getter with endearing optimism, cuddly colour-changing looks, and amusing speech patterns, Oh steals the spotlight whenever he is on screen, which is about 95% of the time.
As his plucky partner in adventure, Tip, Rihanna's precocious human child is fairly stock standard, whilst Steve Martin's dim-witted leader of Oh's Boov race lands a few hilarious moments among some dull ones. Vibrant, energetic and with an unexpected tear-jerking finale, Home falls on the right side of simple.
2023 02 05 12 28
Here’s the Music Video, with scenes from the video.
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
In a time of war and falsity here it is a dancing poetry from Japan against all the cruelty and pain.
The moving castle leads us to a magic place where life has a strong value and elderly people have an important role to play. Also in an apparent hostility or in a scarecrow, Hayao Miyazaki gives us the chance of finding a friend and not letting the dream go down.
2023 02 05 13 51x
The perfect technique and the emotional stream are in complete harmony. If the jury of the Venice Film Festival had been more far-seeing, it would have given a more prestigious prize to this masterpiece.
2023 02 05 13 51
Kikis Delivery Service (1989)
One of our favorites. A young girl leaves home with her cat to begin her start as a young witch. Calm, peaceful and enchanting. My little girl loves the imagery, pace and feeling of the movie.
2023 02 05 13 56
One of the greatest children’s films ever made
This ranks up there with Pinocchio as the greatest movie for children ever made. One huge problem with most animated children's films are that the plots are so conventional and often contain very 1950s ideals for society that they become detrimental to society.
One's childhood is the most impressionable time in their life, so movies that are directed towards them teach them what places different sorts of people play in society.
There is a very humorous, but also very serious bit of dialogue in a film called The Last Days of Disco where characters discuss the effects Lady and the Tramp could have on little girls, depicting a young female dog falling for a vagabond Tramp.
This, they muse, sets young women up to fall for rebellious men later in life.
This may seem like a humorous idea, but it's absolutely true.
Even good Disney movies give children these standards. As nice as The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves may be, they basically teach that it is the woman's place to grow up and get married, prefereably to a handsome rich man (perhaps the rich part is never said, but both the main male characters in these films do happen to own castles).
The writers of these films probably had no idea that that is what they were doing, but it is.
That is why Pinocchio is the best Disney movie. It is probably the only Disney animated film that I can think of that actually concerns the predicament of its target audience: children. I can hardly think of a single (American) animated film besides it that has a child as its main character (oh, the Jungle Book, which is also excellent).
Then comes Kiki's Delivery Service.
It is an absolutely perfect movie about a young girl out on her own trying to handle the responsibilities of life. It is, in my opinion, the best movie that a child can watch.
And not only will it teach children, it is also marvelously animated, directed, and written.
There is a plethora of great characters, exciting moments, and imaginative situations. It should also expand a child's mind, not only because of the imagination involved, which will help to break children away from conventions in their film experience, thus making them more intelligent, but because it comes from another culture.
It doesn't overtly show its Japaneseness, unless you count the imagination involved (though you should count that as a credit towards Hayao Miyazaki, who is the greatest genius of animation as far as I'm concerned). But it may spark an interest in children old enough to understand that someone from another country made it. Also, for younger kids, Miyazaki's fantastic, equally good My Neighbor Totoro. 10/10
(ps: I have only seen the English dubbed version of this film. I find it perfectly acceptable and great.
Nothing made me cringe, anyway. I think Kirsten Dunst did a very good job characterizing Kiki, a much better job than Claire Danes did characterizing San from Princess Mononoke.)
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Labyrinth (1986)
A kids’ movie. I remember watching this on Betamax in the late 1980’s. But my daughter absolutely adores it.
2023 02 05 14 0g3
Labyrinth was directed by Jim Henson of the Muppet and The Dark Crystal fame. It was produced by George Lucas and featured David Bowie as the villain Goblin King. It's also one of Jennifer Connelly's first films. And it just might be the best live-action Alice in Wonderland film ever made.
Sarah (Connelly) is a proud cloudcuckoolander, someone whose head is permanently stuck in the clouds and who can very easily lose entire days playing make-belief in the parks. And then she's given the unenviable task of looking after her baby brother while her parents go out on a date. And of course the kid gets kidnapped by goblins within fifteen minutes. Top notch job there, Sarah.
To Sarah's credit, she's obviously distraught by this and does everything she can to get her brother back. Nevertheless, her character is a bit tough to get behind most of the time. You can see that her heart is in the right place, but otherwise she's a brat. Not helping the matter is Connelly's acting. It's atrocious, especially in the early scenes. As the movie progresses, she does get better, but she's not going to be winning any Oscars anytime soon. (Which is ironic because fifteen years later she did just that with her role in A Beautiful Mind.)
2023 02 05 14 0d3
But, putting that aside, the film is otherwise a whole lot of fun. David Bowie is an absolute blast, although the songs he's given to sing could have been better. Jim Henson's puppet work is also on full display and is easily the best part of the film. Furthermore, the story has that mad, no logic whatsoever dream quality to it, which makes it enjoyable to watch, and the characters aside from Sarah are very enjoyable.
Mars Needs Moms (2011)
This plays upon the “must save momma” theme that my daughter is a big fan of. Her eyes are glued to the video, and he’s hopping up and down as they race to save “momma”. It’s one of our favorites.
2023 02 05 14 11
I wasn't going to watch this movie at all because of the terribly low score (4) on IMDb. Luckily, my kids talked me into it, and I was very pleasantly surprised indeed.I am amazed that this movie scored so low. Yes, granted, its nothing groundbreaking; there are plenty of well-worn formulas applied. But its far from unusual in this regard, and the story is full of fun situations and characters.Visually, its very nice to look at, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying the time I spent watching it. So did my kids, 8 and 10, who both thought it was great! I don't usually review movies here, but I often check the ratings before watching films. In this instance, I am amazed at the low rating this film received, and feel its unrepresentative of the actual quality.
2023 02 05 14 09
I wasn't expecting this at all. I really wasn't. I hadn't read the bad reviews, however I saw the trailer and figured it would be quite cheesy and probably lame. Oh no aliens took my mother and I have to stop them! Sounded like a cheesy cartoon which would involve shooting aliens and running around to find his mom and save her, yada yada yada.Well... boy was I surprised.The movie started out with the whole alien world and because I knew the title was Mars needs Moms it implied the aliens were looking for moms. I watched them show two moms who's kids weren't listening, then it showed a third one who minded his mom. Satisfied by this result, it shows the boy and his mom and how the boy is in that age where he doesn't know why he should listen to his mom. Before they go to bed he says he wishes he didn't have a mom. The emotion from that makes you feel so bad.Now many scenes later the mom got abducted by the aliens, and the boy managed to hitch a ride and meets some new friends and learns a lot. By the time the ending comes you really hope he can save his mom.
The emotions I felt were amazing.
More amazing though was the fact that I eve got some tears near the end. I won't say what happens, but it was very emotional and powerful to me.So I would recommend this movie to anyone. And I'm 18 for your information, so hearing that a young adult got tears from a movie like this must be something.
Meet the Robinson’s (2007)
“Keep on moving forward”
Lewis is an 12-year-old orphan who is always inventing things. However, in a science fair, he meets Wilbur, a 13-year-old boy from the future who is chasing after a Bowler Hat Man who came to the past to steal Lewis' invention, a machine that shows memories. When he steals it, Wilbur takes Lewis to the future, as Wilbur explains he is chasing the villain due to him stealing a time machine. This would lead to an adventure where Lewis meets Wilbur's family, The Robinsons, and stop The Bowler Hat Man from changing the future.
This is a horribly underrated film.
The characters are actually enjoyable, especially the members of Wilbur's family, from Uncle Art, the galactic pizza delivery guy voiced by the late Adam West, to Tiny The T-Rex, each character has an unique personality and talent.
Also, the film is beautifully animated and teaches a lesson: keep going forward, despite your failures.
This is worth checking out.
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Moana (2016)
Just fun, and a great happy movie with depth.
Wow, what a great great movie! The visuals in this movie are breathtaking!! They are so gorgeous! But, besides the visuals there is such a heart and imagination and creativity to this movie. Moana is such a likable, smart, and relatable person. the voice work for Moana is so sweet and so good. The chemistry between Moana and Maui is so great and so natural. The songs in this movie are so charming, catchy and fun! But, How Far I'll Go is such an emotional song and it has such heart...I dare say I like it a little more than Let It Go! The way Moana sings it and you can feel it!! Wow, I just looved this movie and it is great for kids and adults. I will always love it and I wanna see it again!
2023 02 05 15 44
My Neighbor Totoro aka Tonari no Totoro (1988)
This is our all-time favorite movie to watch. If you are a father, and you want to spend an afternoon with your daughter, this is perfect. Track down the English version. I got mine via a torrent.
2023 02 05 15 50
This is the movie I watch to restore my faith in humanityI first saw "My Neighbor Totoro" when I was maybe seven.At the time, I thought that it was really boring(that was still when I liked Disney movies). Years later, when I discovered "Princess Mononoke" I learned that MNT was by the same director and watched it again. And I find that I appreciate this film a whole lot more now then I did when I was seven.
The animation is absolutely stunning(as with all Miyazaki films)and the story is deceptively simple, told with patient, subtle attention to detail. The best example IMO is the scene where Mei falls asleep on Totoro's stomach.It's fruitless to try and describe it;you have to see it for yourself.
2023 02 05 15 51
I absolutely agree with Roger Ebert who called "My Neighbor Totoro", "One of the most beloved of all family films".
Its colorfully bright and sparkling animation is enchanting.
It is incredibly realistic and at the same time makes us along with two main characters, the young sisters ready for a miracle to happen any minute.
The gentle story is touching, uplifting, funny, and tender without being overly sentimental or didactic.
The film takes place in the early 50s, when 10-year-old Satsuki and her baby sister, curious and energetic 4-year-old Mei spend one summer in an old house in the country side with their University professor father while their mother recovers from a serious illness in the nearby hospital.
The great master Hayao Miyazaki remembers well what it is like to be a child, to see magic in the everyday life and be always ready to encounter it.
This ability usually disappears as the child becomes adult but it stays forever in a few chosen, and they become the visionary Artists - just like Miyazaki himself.
The film is partially autobiographical for the writer/director/storyboard artist. "When Miyazaki and his brothers were children, his mother suffered from spinal tuberculosis for nine years, and spent much of her time hospitalized.
It is implied, yet never revealed in the film, that Satsuki and Mei's mother also suffers from tuberculosis.
He once said the film would have been too painful for him to make if the two protagonists were boys instead of girls." (From the IMDb film trivia)
Totoro of the title is an adorable funny blue forest spirit who lives in the nest beneath a huge tree and makes the trees grow and the winds blow.
Totoro becomes the friend and protector of the sisters and one day he sends them on the bus journey that is like nothing they and the viewers could ever imagine.
I wish I could ride that cat bus.
What a wild and kind imagination an artist should have to create it.
How much happier we all are knowing that Hayao Miyazaki exists and makes his amazing films at the Studio Ghibli for which King Totoro is the mascot.
Spirited Away (2001)
No only a classic, but a movie about a young girl who is trying to get her parents back. There’s magic, dragons, friends, and so many details to mention that it boggles the mind.
2023 02 05 15 56
This is a wonderfully imaginative and fantastical children's fantasy. It is easy to see why it was perhaps the critical hit of 2002. The film is glorious to look at. It is a testament to old fashioned animation techniques that seem to be resigned to foreign animations. Of course there is some use of computer imagery for certain shots but they blend seamlessly and the overall artistry involved is superlative.
2023 02 05 15 57
This is the first Hayao Miyazaki film I have seen and I will certainly watch his others. The story plays on many elements successful with kids films, that transport you back to your own childhood and also allows the young audience to connect with the themes in the movie too. The story centres around Chihiro, a young girl about to move into a new place and who feels insecure about the new environment she will be living in. These fears become a part of her encounter with a strange abandoned amusement park that she and her parents find when they reach a dead end in their car. At the park they find that their is a stall that is seemingly open, with glorious displays of mouth watering food. There are no people about but Chihiros parents decide to gorge themselves on this bounty and pay later. As Chihioro explores she comes across a strange boy who warns her to get out before dark. It is too late however, because as night falls, ghosts are awakened, and then by the time she gets back to her parents they are turned into pigs. She then finds that the route she came from is gone and she is now trapped in this place, her only allie being the boy she met earlier. She is told to get a job at the centre piece of the park, a bath house run by Yubaba, an evil power mad witch. This is a bath house for the spirits and Chihiro has to find a job there before she is found and turned into an animal herself, then unable to save her parents.
2023 02 05 15 5s8
The story is imaginative and the characters and animations endlessly unique and strange. This is just so much more creative than Hollywood. The characters are likeable and we become engrossed with Chihiros adventures inside this bathhouse, and the characters she comes into contact with as she tries to get her parents back as humans and whilst trying to get back to the human world. What I also loved in this film is that the animation gives it a real sense of cinematography, the drawing makes the film stand out in a way that American animations rarely do. Another film I think of that looked really good was Bellville Rendezvous. Another great point in fact the best part of it, is the fantastic score. It really is uplifting and very original. This is just great film making.
2023 02 05 15 58
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
2023 02 05 16 04c
Oh, the dog; Snowy makes this movie fun for the young kids, it’s really fun for the entire family. Treasure, adventure, high-seas adventure, planes, desert, and so much more…
2023 02 05 16 03x
As you may know Tin Tin is a very old character and there has been books and TV programs made about his great adventures by his inventor Hergé.
This new film has been voted the best animated film and once you've seen this film you'll know why.
The film is well paced out and there's never a dull moment in this film. The 3D in this film is spectacular and it's well worth seeing this film in 3D if you can.
The film is around 1 hour 47 minutes long and in this time Steven Spielberg manages to squash in a good few adventures into one in this film.
This makes it much more exciting and you really get to know how Tin Tin and Captain Haddock were in the old days.
As a projectionist, I've seen this film about 6 times now and I still don't get bored watching it.
Absolutely brilliant film, I really recommend going to see this film as soon as you can.
Hope the review helps your thoughts on the film. Thanks for reading, I'll be making more reviews on the films that I see at my cinema so you can get the latest thoughts from me on the films. Thanks again BPH projectionist
One of my daughter’s favorite movies. Cats, kids. School. And magical adventure. The English dub version is just lovely.
2023 02 05 16 08s
After the wild but fully justified furore surrounding Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli's next production is a much lower key affair, clearly aimed at a younger market. Having said that, this cynical thirty-something loved it to bits. Ghibli purists seem to be somewhat snobbish about the studio's output, but If this is an example of one of their films designed more for harmless family entertainment, I can stand to see a lot more of it.
This is a wonderful fantasy film, cute and funny, and full of remarkable and memorable characters. The animation is solid and detailed, occasionally even breathtaking, and the soundtrack is gorgeous. The brisk running time ensures the light story doesn't outstay its welcome. In fact, I could easily have watched more, and I'm already looking forward to Ghibli's or Miyazaki's next flight of fantasy.
2023 02 05 16 08
Up (2009)
There are many more that I can add, but I really want to add this masterpiece. It is well known, but should never be over-looked if you want to share some time with your daughter….
How is the US economy doing? Well,It depends on who you ask.
.
According to the White house, the economy is entering a short-lived, controllable period of temporary inflation. However, everyone is employed, the stock market is soaring, and a “new American century” is starting under the bright military leadership of President Biden. Russia is going to collapse any day now, as the Ukraine war is ending. And China’s electronic industry has been set back 100 years or more.
According to the American mainstream news media, things appear to be worse than they really are. The stock market is climbing. The GDP of America is growing. People have tons of disposable money to watch Hollywood movies, and while there are some rumblings of discontent, it’s really overblown. Inflation isn’t really that bad.
According to American bloggers, a civil war is on the horizon. Prepper sites are all the rage and a nuclear war is a real concern. Inflation is far worse than what is reported. President Biden has dementia, and the government is run behind the scenes by a cabal of neocons.
According to both Russia and China, the world is in a state of change. The uni-polar global governance (led by the USA) is ending. The Untied States is collapsing, and the rest of the world needs to step up and try to manage the collapse of the United States so that only the West hurts itself.
I am going to “throw in my two cents”. It’s only my opinion as an American living OUTSIDE the USA, peering through the veil.
According to myself, it appears that the United States is unraveling. It appears that Strauss and Howe’s “Fourth Turning” is really manifesting and coming true right on schedule. It appears that the CIA remote viewing of 2025 (back in 2008) and reported in the Deagal Report, is right spot on , and on target.
Typically, for the last 100 years, the United States has bounced back and forth from one extreme to the other, but lately the period of bounce has been accelerated. The blatant store robberies, the in-you-face murders, the hate-hate-hate narrative in most social media, and the suppression of voices of all types are signs of a collapse of society. Car jackings. Closed malls and main-street store-fronts. Police activity and inactivity. It’s all worrisome symptoms.
I can only conclude…
The USA government functions on a trivial level. It appears to work, but it’s completely broken.
Society has collapsed, people realize this, but do not realize the extent of it.
The military as powerful as it appears, is not up for the many conflicts that President Biden is initiating.
Most Americans are pessimistic of the future, and they have good reason to be concerned.
What can be done?
It’s not my place any longer. But I would advise that everyone let the scenarios fester, and allow the old to rot and decay. Then allow a new, in what ever form is best for the participants, to grow and nurture for the good of all Americans, as well as for the good of the world.
But that’s just my opinion.
25 Rare And Cool Polaroid Prints Of Teen Girls In The 1970s
This soup is hearty and delicious. Mixed vegetables and mini beef meatballs make for a perfect casual dinner.
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Cook’s Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (80% to 85% lean)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 to 14 1/2 ounce) can ready-to-serve beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons water
3 cups frozen vegetable blend (such as green beans, corn and peas)
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Combine tomatoes, broth and 1/2 cup water in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile combine ground beef, bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons water in medium bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 48 small meatballs.
Add meatballs and vegetables to broth mixture; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Yield: 4 servings
The World of the Wild (and Not-so-Wild) West: A Paintings by Morgan Weistling
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Morgan Weistling is an American painter who paints the everyday life and characters of the Wild West. An accomplished painter, Weistling is skilled in both paint and printmaking, creating truly inspiring paintings of beauty and danger. Weistling’s paintings have won multiple awards and been purchased for permanent display by major museums.
Artist Imitators Thrive in China’s Famous Oil Painting Village
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An artist working on his painting outside a gallery at the artist village on June 12, 2014 in Shenzhen, China. The Dafen Artist Village in Guangdong province, China, is home to thousands of artists who reproduce some of the world’s most iconic paintings as well as create their own works. The village, on the outskirts of Shenzhen, is becoming a major center for original Chinese art.
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Chicken Soup Mexicana
All of your favorite Mexican flavors mix together in this soup while the canola oil and avocado supply healthy fats. ¡Muy delicioso!
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup/250 mL)
4 celery stalks, sliced (about 1 cup/250 mL)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 0.5 mL
2 teaspoons cumin 10 mL
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 5 mL
8 cups low-sodium chicken stock 2 L
2/3 cup lentils 150 mL
1 (19 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped 540 mL
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup/ 250 mL)
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup/75 mL)
1 cup frozen peas 250 mL
1 small avocado, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 cup/125 mL)
Instructions
In Dutch oven, heat canola oil. Add garlic, onion and celery. Sauté until vegetables are tender.
Season with black pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes.
Add chicken stock, lentils, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
Add chicken, zucchini and peas. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender.
Garnish with avocado slices.
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 50 min | Yield: 10 (2 cup) servings
LiDAR Reveals Massive Mobilization of Labor Needed to Build Maya Site
Maya site
Scientists have uncovered a massive 2,000-year-old Maya site hidden under a Guatemalan rainforest, comprising of nearly 1,000 urban settlements interconnected by 160 km (100 miles) of causeways across 1,700 square kilometers (650 square miles). LiDAR technology is revealing unknown details about the history of the Maya, long believed to be one of human history’s most sophisticated cultures.
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LiDAR technology of Maya site has revealed nearly 1,000 settlements hidden beneath the rainforest in Guatemala. (Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0 )
Evidence of Advanced Society Revealed by LiDAR Technology at Maya Site
Light detection and ranging aerial scanning technology, with its remote sensing pulsed-laser mechanism, is able to penetrate through the densest of ecosystems and vegetation. The laser light bounces off surfaces to create a digitally reconstructed map, based on the time taken by the pulses to return to a receiver. Some of these LiDAR finds in the Central American rainforests have revealed vital details and information about the sheer sophistication of urban Maya society.
These finds, published in the December 2022 edition of the research journal Ancient Mesoamerica , reveal a site hidden below a rainforest which dates to the Middle (1000 to 400 BC) and Late (400 BC to 250 AD) Preclassic period. This time frame is contemporaneous with the sack of the ancient Elamite capital of Susa by Assyria, the destruction of the Temple of Solomon by the Babylonians, and the Greco-Persian Wars .
Several large platforms and pyramids, along with canals and reservoirs used for water collection, are part of the discovery by renowned historians and geologists, including those from the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala. “Many of these settlements demonstrate a political/social/geographical relationship with other nearby settlements, which has resulted in the consolidation into at least 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages with identifiable site boundaries,” write the researchers in the paper.
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Photographs of MCKB inter-site causeways revealed thanks to LiDAR scans of the Maya site in Guatemala. (Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0 )
Why the Did Maya Settle Here?
The densely packed Maya settlements in and around the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) has shown that some of these buildings packed residential homes, sports courts, religious, ceremonial and civic centers, along with the aforementioned networks of causeways and canals that linked these together.
The MCKB had the ideal balance of uplands for settlement, as well as lowlands for agriculture. The uplands contained limestone, the primary core of the building material, and enough dry land to live on. The lowlands, seasonal swamps called bajos, were spaces where wetland agriculture and terraced agriculture could be practiced, owing to the sheer fertility of the soil.
These settlements were built for the proverbial rainy day, as the Maya were believed to be experts in mitigating times of drought and flood and their architecture and constructional ideology displayed this. In all probability this is indication of a centralized kingdom-like state, revealing a sense of shared common identity and socio-political ideology. “When I generated the first bare-earth models of the ancient city of El Mirador, I was blown away,” explained Morales-Aguilar when discussing the Maya site. “It was fascinating to observe for the first time the large number of reservoirs, monumental pyramids, terraces, residential areas and small mounds.”
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LiDAR scans of the Maya site have revealed a complex network of settlements and causeways hidden under the Guatemalan rainforest. (Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0 )
Maya Site Reveals Massive Mobilization of Labor
The LiDAR analysis showed “for the first time an area that was integrated politically and economically, and never seen before in other places in the Western Hemisphere,” study co-author Carlos Morales-Aguilar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin, told Live Science by email. “We can now see the entire landscape of the Maya region” in this section of Guatemala, he added.
The vastness of the Maya site and the sophistication of its architecture would have required the mass mobilization of labor and workers, including specialists. Specialists would include those in the pre-industrial assembly line of production, such as lime producers, mortar and quarry specialists, lithic technicians, architects, and legal enforcement and religious officials, according to a press release published on Science Alert .
This is also corroborated by the consistency in architectural forms and patterns, ceramic ware, sculptures, apart from the unified causeway constructions. Analysis of the Maya site reveals that centralized political, social, and economic solidarity existed among the occupants. The researchers wrote that this likely culminated into the coalescing of 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages, which had “identifiable site boundaries.”
Over the past four decades, traditional excavations revealed 56 sites in the MCKB, including the lost city of El Mirador , which contains the largest stone pyramid in the history of the Maya, La Danta , discovered to date. Larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza , it likely required anything between 6 and 10 million days of labor and was built using 205,506 limestone blocks.
“Collectively, we argue that the development of infrastructure demonstrates the presence of complex societies with strong levels of socio-economic organization and political power during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods,” conclude the researchers when discussing the Maya site .
Top image: Complex of pyramids identified at Maya site using LiDAR technology. Source: Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0
By Sahir Pandey
Croque Monsieur Soup
A twist on the classic French bistro sandwich – creamy cheese soup with ham, topped with a thick slice of cheesy French bread – Ooh la la! Croque Monsieur roughly translates to “Mister Crispy,” a traditional French ham and cheese sandwich with toasted bread, covered with a béchamel sauce and more cheese, baked or fried.
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The long, slow cooking of the onions gives this soup its rich caramelized-onion flavor and color.
Gruyère cheese is a rich, nutty, buttery-tasting form of Swiss, without the holes.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
2 large sweet onions, cut in half and thickly sliced (4 cups)
In 5 quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat until sizzling. Cook onions in butter for 13 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are light golden brown.
Stir in garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour on onion mixture; cook and stir constantly 1 minute.
Slowly stir in chicken stock. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cook uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in cream cheese; stirring constantly with whisk until smooth.
Stir in Half-and-Half until blended. Slowly add 2 cups of the cheese, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until cheese is melted.
Stir in ham, 2 teaspoons of the Dijon mustard and the salt; cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through.
Meanwhile, set oven control to broil. Place French bread slices on ungreased cookie sheet. Spread remaining 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard evenly on cut sides of bread. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Broil with tops 5 inches from heat for 1 to 2 minutes or just until cheese is melted and golden brown. Watch carefully so cheese does not burn.
Serve soup topped with bread slices and cornichons, if using.
Prep: 30 min | Servings: 8
Archaeological Treasure Trove! 21 Royal Han Tombs Unearthed in China
Han tomb
Archeologists exploring a mountainside in China have discovered 21 tombs dating back 2,000 years. The presence of luxury artifacts and a rare “couple’s grave” suggests this was an ancient royal burial site.
The discovery of the 2,000-year-old royal tombs was made at the Changsha archaeological site, which is located just over 665 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Shanghai. Located in the present-day Hunan district, the ancient Changsha Kingdom was founded in 203 or 202 BC and represented the largest and longest-lasting kingdom of the Han Empire of China.
The discovery of the 21 tombs was announced earlier this week by a team of archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology , at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Located along a remote mountainside, the researchers said the tombs have laid buried for two millennia and that they “potentially held regal past, but not anymore”.
21 Vertical Pits Loaded with Ancient Artifacts
The imperial Han dynasty of ancient China was established by Liu Bang around 200 BC and was subsequently ruled by the House of Liu. This dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty , and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period from 220 to 280 AD, which represented the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei , Shu Han, and Eastern Wu.
On Tuesday this week, via China’s state-affiliated news outlet, Xinhua, the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences announced that a team of archaeologists have excavated “21 vertical pit tombs containing over 200 artifacts.” One particular tomb was filled with pottery grave goods that dated back 2,000 years to the Western Han Dynasty, which the team of researchers said flourished during the earlier half of the Han dynasty, from about 200 BC to 25 AD.
The archaeologists said they grouped the 21 tombs into two types: “tombs with passageways and tombs without.” Many of the tombs were found side-by-side; at one end of the site, three tombs were found in a row, while at the other end four further tombs were lined up together. One of the 21 tombs unearthed in Changsha held the remains of five decaying pillars and outer coffins shaped like “Ⅱ” or like double ‘I’s, according to the press release.
The researchers said this type of double layered tomb “is rarely found in the Hunan province.” In this tomb, excavators recovered “two iron relics, walls covered in glaze and a mineral known as talc and a tan-colored talc disk (or bi) with a rhombus and circle pattern.” Furthermore, it is thought that the rare “pair of tombs” may have accommodated the joint burials of a husband and wife.
After studying the assemblage of 21 tombs, which are all of a similar age, the archaeologists concluded they likely belonged to “a royal family buried together in an ancient mausoleum”.
Looking To Ancient Chinese Texts for Answers
The Lunheng is a wide-ranging classical Chinese classic text written by Wang Chong around 27-100 AD, containing detailed essays about ancient Chinese mythology , natural science, philosophy, and literature. These texts describe Western Han imperial burial practices as having involved “sacrificial offerings” at ancestral temples, which accounts for the amount of pottery vessels and grave goods discovered among the 21 tombs.
Well-known examples of Western Han tombs have been excavated in the past, including Mawangdui and the tombs of Liu Sheng , prince of Zhongshan and his wife, Dou Wan. The tomb at Mawangdui was a nested tomb and the “paired tombs” of Liu Sheng and his wife, Dou Wan were cave tombs . It is known that “couple burials” emerged as the standard form of royal burial during the late Han period, along with the pairing of male/female motifs in the styling of the tombs. This is why the archaeologists point towards their discovery of a rare “paired tomb” as the smoking gun for this being the burial site of a Han “royal” family.
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The ornate jade burial suit of Liu Sheng and his wife Dou Wan, the first undisturbed Western Han tomb ever discovered ( Public Domain )
Top Image: 21 ancient Han tombs have been discovered, including a rare 2,000-year-old double-layer burial tomb. Source: Xinhua
By Ashley Cowie
Budweiser Adapts Its Sexist Ads From The 50s And 60s To 2019
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In honor of the International Women’s Day, Budweiser, in collaboration with VaynerMedia, decided to revisit some of their some of their advertisements from the past era, that had some rather sexist remarks. The ads implied that anything women did was supposed to please men, with little attention to themselves. However, thanks to the efforts of feminists everywhere, that is no longer the case and women are free to be themselves without looking for male approval – and Budweiser decided to showcase just that.
Back in the middle of the last century, women were expected to conform to certain gender roles when growing up. And these types of sexist advertisements only helped reinforce them. Even though nowadays these gender roles are implied less and less, there’s still a long way to go to fully get rid of them.
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The perfect woman back in the 1950s was expected to be a great mother that took care of the household and dedicated all of her time to please her husband. Many advertisements of the day reinforced this stereotype – especially beer and cigarette ads.
Budweiser decided to distance themselves from this type of behavior and with the help of illustrators Heather Landis, Nicole Evans and Dena Cooper redesigned the ads to show a family where both parts are equal, free of the assigned gender roles.
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Sexist slogans like “She found she married two men” were replaced with more empowering ones, like “She found she has it all”. Also, the ads no longer imply there being a ‘man of the house’ – it’s a family that solves their problems together, as a team.
Events since 1939 have given the contemporary right-wing paranoid a vast theatre for his imagination, full of rich and proliferating detail, replete with realistic cues and undeniable proofs of the validity of his suspicions. The theatre of action is now the entire world, and he can draw not only on the events of World War II, but also on those of the Korean War and the Cold War. Any historian of warfare knows it is in good part a comedy of errors and a museum of incompetence; but if for every error and every act of incompetence one can substitute an act of treason, many points of fascinating interpretation are open to the paranoid imagination. In the end, the real mystery, for one who reads the primary works of paranoid scholarship, is not how the United States has been brought to its present dangerous position but how it has managed to survive at all.
The paranoid style is not only used on the right-wing side of policies. Adam Schiff’s action during ‘Russiagate’ applied plenty of it. The paranoid style applies to internal U.S. politics as well as to foreign policies against this or that favorite enemy of that time.
It makes the story below, which otherwise just laughable, somewhat dangerous.
Furor Over Chinese Spy Balloon Leads to a Diplomatic Crisis The Pentagon called the object, which has flown from Montana to Kansas, an “intelligence gathering” balloon. Beijing said it was used mainly for weather research and had strayed off course.
As some 80+% of all Pentagon intelligence comes from open sources the ‘intelligence gathering’ statement may well include a weather research system. Weather research and weather prediction are important for all kinds of military operations. But they are also important for many civil operations from agriculture, food availability prediction to drainage planning in cities.
The story’s opener:
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Friday canceled a weekend trip to Beijing after a Chinese spy balloon was sighted above the Rocky Mountain state of Montana, igniting a frenzy of media coverage and political commentary over a machine that the Pentagon said posed no threat to the United States.Mr. Blinken called the Chinese surveillance an “irresponsible act” and a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law.”
China’s “decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have,” he said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
Blinken is of course wrong. Balloon drift planning is difficult if not impossible. There was likely no Chinese intent behind this.
The NYT also writes that this is not the first time that such a balloon is passing over the United States. The difference now the addition of paranoid panic. Balloon similar to those one sighted over the U.S. have been seen over Japanand India in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Both flew in directions from China that are different than the current balloon drifting from China over to the United States. That is because the direction of the wind decides where a balloon flies to.
These balloon have cross like arms hanging below them with the two horizontal arms carrying solar panels. There are three gondolas at the ends of the horizontal and vertical structure. The gondolas could carry instruments, motors or both.
An estimate said that the diameter of the balloon is equivalent to the length of three school buses. It means that the air resistance and wind sensitivity of the balloon is huge. Winds in the upper atmosphere, like the Atlantic jet stream, are strong:
For instance, flying from London to New York takes just over eight hours, while the reverse journey is often under seven.
A few electrical motors depending on solar power are unlikely to be for propulsion propellers that would make this balloon steerable. But a Google company once used a machine learning system that found out how to tack a balloon like a sail ship which enabled it to follow its planned course faster than previously predicted. But it did not make it steerable. The Goggle balloon were ‘steering’ by changing their flight levels just like low fling hot air balloon do:
A solar-powered pump adds or subtracts air from the balloon. That air makes the balloon heavier or lighter, allowing it to ascend or descend in altitude. Rather than fight against the wind at one altitude, the balloon moves up or down until it finds a favorable wind current. By repeating this thousands of times over the lifespan of a balloon, we can drift on the winds to get to locations around the world.
It is likely that the Chinese balloon can use similar technics. But it will inevitable still depend on the ever changing and often unpredictable prevalent direction of the wind.
Blinken is also wrong with regards to international law. The space between the highest level jet fighters can fly (18 kilometer or 60,000 feet) and outer space were satellites fly is legally somewhat undefined. There are no treaties, international laws or even rules for that mostly unused space.
In the 1950s the U.S. flew ‘weather balloon’ over the Soviet Union for surveillance. But satellites has since replaced balloon surveillance as they can get more data with way more precision. China has satellites. It does not need balloon to check U.S. air fields or missile sites.
To use the balloon as an excuse for canceling the China visit shows that U.S. claims of wanting to lower tensions with China are not serious.
Brian Tycangco 鄭彥渊 @BrianTycangco – 9:09 UTC · Feb 4, 2023If a wayward balloon is enough to make the US Secretary of State cancel a potentially crucial meeting with China to resolve standing differences & avoid potential armed conflict, it speaks very poorly of how serious he is about doing his job.
Some republicans have used the balloon and the paranoid style to attack the Biden administration. The Biden administration should have staid course by calling the overflight a non-event. Blinken’s reaction only adds to the anti-China hate.
Posted by b on February 4, 2023 at 18:11 UTC | Permalink
Selected Comments…
This incident demonstrates that there’s a significant balloon gap between the US and Communist China! Unless congress immediately allocates an additional trillion dollars to the pentagon for balloon research and development, the next CPC balloon won’t just be carrying surveillance equipment, but also a biological or nuclear payload. Clearly, we’re witnessing a watershed moment in armaments history. Hypersonic missiles were clearly just a short-lived fad — whoever achieves balloon superiority, controls the battlefield of the future.
It doesn’t matter whether Blinken canceled his visit, because based on all the previous interactions with China the US was merely going to bullshit the Chinese some more, then do the opposite of what they said would do, especially with regard to Taiwan.
So the whole visit might as well never happened.
The US wants a war with China. It’s that simple. And China will give it to them, eventually. And the US will lose. Hopefully, as with Ukraine, it won’t escalate to WWIII.
Gonzalo Lira has a good analysis of the hysteria. (I am reposting this from the previous Ukraine thread.)
Ukraine … losing … The U.S. knows that Ukraine’s army is not able to hold the current defense line in its east. The fear is that it will run away when the line is breached… The Ukrainian death toll in the city must be extremely high… The result is that the battle is believed to have produced horrific troop losses for … Ukraine … emergency medical units provide urgent care to battlefield casualties… Russia has increased the intensity of the fight… Russia has no lack of artillery ammunition… Russian artillery is firing several times more shells per day than Ukraine’s army can provide… Artillery is the big killer in this war…
Ever since the Military coup in November 1963 (President Kennedy Assassination) the United States became a military empire. It is run by wealthy oligarchs associated with the military-industrial complex. By the very nature of this situation, the United States serves the interests of the hidden cabal, and ignores the needs of the citizenry. And it shows.
To keep the system running, the United States must be constantly engaged in war; feeding the military-industrial complex.
The United States, over the decades has become a nation of raw plunder, manipulation, and shadow activities to feed the handful of wealthy oligarchs.
But all that is now coming to an end.
The military empire model that the United States is built upon is not a sustainable model. You can only destroy so much, and steal so much, and pillage so much until limits are reached. Now, with much of the world plundered of it’s materials and products, a new competitor has entered the world; the re-awakened giant dragon; China.
As China flexes its muscles and sharpens it’s claws, other nations are flocking to China for support, aid, assistance and protection. Leaving the corrupt, inept, and tarnished American military to go elsewhere. And the American stature is shrinking as a result.
The smart thing for the hidden leadership to do is to accept the change in global stature and adapt to it. But, that is not what is going on. They wish to clutch onto what they have in some mistaken belief that their plundering, rape, robbery, and theft was ordained by God.
And with this belief is the idea that the United States military can actually fight China, defeat it, and then plunder it like it has so many times in the past.
It’s a fantasy.
The world has changed.
And that is why the United States is constantly trying to provoke a Gulf of Tonkin incident with China over the South China Sea and Taiwan. It is an attempt to change the developing world order back to one when a military dictatorship can rule the world.
royal tomb
Breaking: Ancient Royal Tomb Discovered in Egypt
Egyptian authorities have announced that a never-before-seen royal tomb has been uncovered in Luxor, Egypt, dating back around 3,500 years. Archaeologists believe it belongs to a royal of the 18th Dynasty of Pharaonic Egypt (1550 BC to 1292 BC), but it has not yet been revealed who and what is inside.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri , General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the tomb was unearthed on the west bank of the Nile River, where the famous Valley of the Queens is located.
Valley of the Queens
The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim, is a valley in Luxor, Egypt that was used as a necropolis for the wives and children of pharaohs during the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties of ancient Egypt. The valley contains around 75 tombs, including the tomb of Nefertari, the wife of Pharaoh Ramses II, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful tombs in the valley. The tombs in the valley are known for their well-preserved paintings and inscriptions, which provide valuable insights into the lives and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.
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The location of the newly-discovered tomb on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
A Royal of the Thutmosid Lineage?
Phys.org reports that Piers Litherland of the University of Cambridge, head of the British research mission, said the tomb could be of a royal wife or princess of Thutmosid lineage.
The Thutmosid pharaohs include some of the most famous kings of ancient Egypt, such as Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, and Tutankhamun. During their reign, the Thutmosid pharaohs expanded the territory of Egypt through military campaigns, built monumental architectural projects such as temples, tombs and statues, and promoted the arts, literature and religion. They also increased the power and wealth of the central government and the royal court. The 18th dynasty was considered a golden age for ancient Egypt and it was the most powerful and prosperous dynasty in the New Kingdom. The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated, as it will shed new light on the cultural heritage of this era.
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A photo taken from inside the entrance of the tomb looking out. The tomb has been secured with a metal gate to prevent looting. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Damage from Floods
The joint Egyptian-English mission between the Supreme Council for Archaeology and the Modern State Research Foundation of Cambridge University, led by Dr. Fathi Yassin, is continuing its excavation and documentation of the cemetery. However, it is in poor condition due to ancient floods, which filled the tomb with sand and limestone.
Recent discoveries in Egypt are playing a crucial role in reviving the country’s vital tourism industry. The highlight of these efforts is the highly anticipated opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, located at the base of the iconic pyramids.
Top image: The royal tomb discovered in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
By Joanna Gillan
Chart of the week
trade with russia
Thessaloniki Metro Construction Reveals Unimaginable Treasures
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The construction of local metro facilities in the ancient Greek port city of Thessaloniki have uncovered a massive stash of thousands of archaeological treasures from different periods of Thessaloniki’s history. This booty includes a decumanus (an east-west oriented road, one of the primary highways of the time), along with a Byzantine avenue.
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Construction site of Thessaloniki’s Metro seen from the inside of a tunnel. (Konstantinos Stampoulis / CC BY-SA 3.0 GR )
Thessaloniki’s Tryst with Momentous Greek and Roman Heritage
There are architectural remains of many 15th to 17th century buildings built on top of the remains of Hellenistic and Roman buildings – a nymphaeum, a marble paved square, a bathhouse heated by an underfloor hypocaust system and a large mosaic with intricate geometric patterns. There is even a paved road with colonnades and a line of Byzantine period shops and workshops. Stunning images of the same have been released by Attiko Metro SA .
The metro follows the path of the ancient decumanus, which now serves as the main historical avenue cutting through Thessaloniki, reported Arkeo News . The ancient road begins at the famed Golden Gate ( Porta Aurea ), the contemporaneous Vardario Square, all the way to Kassandriotik Gate, known today as Syntrivani Square. Currently, the excavation of Thessaloniki is the largest in northern Greece and covers an area of as much as 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 sq mi).
According to Arkeonews, over 300,000 artifacts have been uncovered so far, dating to the 4th century BC, excavated from six of the twelve station sites currently under construction. This figure is likely to increase immensely as the rest of the sites are excavated. The unearthed artifacts are likely to be exhibited at the stations where they were uncovered, as well as two new museums set to be created before the end of the year.
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The images released of the Thessaloniki metro excavations show the sheer scale of the project. ( Attiko Metro SA )
The Thessaloniki Metro Excavation that Keeps on Giving
Owing to its strategic placement along the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, Thessaloniki received a fair bit of human traffic throughout its history. Located in the Macedonian region, it is Greece’s second largest city today and new finds from various phases of its history keep popping up at frequent intervals, including the declaration of Thessaloniki as a “Byzantine Pompeii” during 2013 metro excavations.
In 2012 a pre-Cassandrian small town from the 4th century BC was discovered in Pylaia during excavations of the main line of the metro. It led to an ensuing 31-acre (125,000 sq m) excavation in the area, with part of the city being laid out according to the Hippodamian grid plan – an urban planning system along the line of the great cities of Macedonia, Olynthos and Pella.
In 2018, the statue of Aphrodite was discovered at the Hagia Sophia station, named after one of the oldest churches in the city, revealing an entire fountain complex around the area. Meanwhile, a Roman cemetery (2nd to 4th century AD) was discovered within the confines of Fleming Station, revealing previously unidentified settlements on the outskirts of ancient Thessaloniki.
In the same area, a 3 kilometer (1.86 mi) cemetery basilica with mosaic floors was discovered on the site of a previous structure, revealing thousands of funerary monuments from the Hellenistic to Late Antiquity period. The tombs were of all kinds – pit-shaped, box-shaped, pot burials, altars, altar-shaped constructions, single and double vaulted, clay and glass vessels, silver and gold jewelry, and all kinds of coins.
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Centuries of history has been unearthed thanks to the construction of a metro line in Thessaloniki. ( Attiko Metro SA )
Thessaloniki: A Checkered History of Power and Prestige
These finds are not surprising – after all, Thessaloniki was known as Symvasilévousa or the co-reigning city of the Byzantine Empire , alongside Constantinople. Prior to that too, Thessaloniki had a strong economy and established socio-political structures and institutions, with the greatest development occurring in the second half of the 4th century.
In 315 BC, Kassandros founded the city, though it was briefly abandoned after the fall of the Kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC. It regained its prestige and importance with the emergence of Rome as a trading hub with a vital highway running through it, known as the Via Egnatia, connecting Byzantium with Dyrrachium.
Thessaloniki reinvented itself as a seat of power away from Rome in the second half of the 5th century AD, after the fall of Rome and with the emergence of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, explained Heritage Daily . It was sacked again in 904 AD in a naval attack led by Byzantine converts to Islam led by Leo of Tripoli, and finally passed out of Byzantine hands three centuries later during the Fourth Crusade .
Top image: Thousands of artifacts and architectural remains have been uncovered during metro excavations in Thessaloniki. Source: Attiko Metro SA
By Sahir Pandey
What is the U.S.A. doing to prevent China from becoming a superpower?
What is the (ridiculously named) United States of America doing to ‘knee-cap’ or ‘hamstring’ China’s recovery from Euro-American/Japanese colonial ruination — a recovery which, given China’s share of humanity’s global population, naturally makes it a ‘superpower’? To the end of (to the American consensus) “keeping the Chinese ‘in their place’”?
Everything in their power.
The ‘running total’ ‘bottom line’ return on the (lol) ‘United’ States of America’ effort to handicap the PRC?.
Less. Than. Nothing.
Less than nothing? Yes. Less than nothing. Their every effort has worked to bouy-up China’s good global reputation — and to both justify and grow its defensive resolve.
The American consensus lives in gob-smacking denial re: how near to universal … let’s call it the ‘global antipathy’ towards America is — despite the evidence — and despite how indisputably earned thus reasonable that global contempt is. Perhaps a picture might help. (A long shot … but hey . . .)
Here, to use the American vernacular, is the map of “The New World Order” as of 1/1/2023:
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Green hue nations are committed members of at the least one China-fostered strategic community. The deeper the green the more such cooperative arrangements.
Blue hue represents nations drinking out of the American kool-aid well. They comprise America, the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada — and (sort of) Mexico. Think ‘5 Eyes’ and ‘AUKUS’ plus Japan.
‘Europe’ is purple-hued. Well, sort of. Here’s the close-up of Europe as of 1/1/2023:
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All of those purple w/green stripes nations are ‘committed’ to BOTH the EU AND Belts & Roads Initiative. Europe’s in a complex and increasingly fragmenting situation.
Here’s another world map to obviate how far the global majority have come in feeling empowered to shrug an “and these are the f___s we have to give you” in America’s bossy face.
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The blue hue represents the nations who are now investors in the Belts & Roads Initiative’s primary funding agency — the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank). Notice how America has only managed to “ahem” Japan to shunning the AIIB. Every nation with the capital to invest is doing so. Already this year Africa’s Mauritania has begun the paperwork in a trend that’s seeing borrowers empowered to become investors.
So. Why is America — the planet’s only ‘power projecting’ superpower — a status that it’s held for well over a generation — 30+ years — why’s it been increasingly powerless to sabotage China’s recovery and success? Why has America failed to isolate China? Why have America’s efforts to undermine China proved so . . . impotent?
Here it comes . . . another map. This one is of an organization improbable in its members’ ethnic, spiritual, cultural and political diversity. And why that community has thrived for 60 years. Here’s the map:
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The Non-Aligned Movement was born and grew to include 120 of the world’s 195 nations. It did so because those 120 nations (plus observers) had no desire to ‘fall in line’ behind any power.
At the outset that meant America or Russia. By 1990 it was clear the only superpower they need fear was America. By 1992 there was zero room to doubt that America was the only hegemonic superpower threat. Russia having unilaterally, voluntarily, relinquished all its authority over the Warsaw Pact — followed by all the non-Russian republics of the USSR. Russia then having made nothing other than verbal responses to American (‘NATO’) exploitation of Russia’s de-militarization of the entire central ⅓ of the European continent for a full generation — 25 years.
No sooner had Russia retired from seeking to be a global hegemonic rival to America than the US began manufacturing ‘legitimacy’ to bombard to smithereens then invade — “Shock & Awe” they called it — assorted nations. The message made clear “If we can starve then smite into rubble Iraq imagine what we can do to you”.
Without Russia as a constraining counterbalance America’s 11 Carrier Battle Groups were free to ‘Commodore Peary’ swagger into any port they felt the urge to. Thru that full generation America doubled-down on its neo-colonialist ‘crusade’. (Hell, Bush Jr. called it a crusade. A blitzkrieg undertaken on what we’re clearly false pretenses . . . a ‘crusade’. Not even a mumbled “oops, our bad”. Americans in general revealed themselves such a**-holes they didn’t rush out and buy all The Dixie Chicks albums in contrition and compensation.
The world watched and weighed and judged — and found Americans wanting. Found America wanting. 1850 ‘gunboat diplomacy’ steroidally bloated to battle group diplomacy.
Decades of unrepentant self-righteous gunboat bullying shrugged off by Americans as perfectly okay left zero doubt America was the greatest threat to their sovereignty and success. China? Zero global ‘projection of power’.
Instead of the 11 super-carrier battle armadas gunnels-full with freedom-killing F-22s, F-35s, and missiles? China’s ‘blue-water fleet’ boasts equally massive bulk carriers heaped full of a cargo of capital and container ships filled and mounded high with 20,000 each of rail-cars of affordable life-enhancing consumer goods.
So. While China has treated its global villager neighbours with respect? America’s done little other than condescend — and coerce.
America simply by being its same old self doing the same old disrespectful things has stood in a stark contrast to China — making the choice of so easy.
She had been lying there, on the cold ground for two weeks, but no one seemed to have seen her
This Artist Created Cartoons That Are Too Relevant To Anyone Who Likes Alcohol, Sex And Being An Idiot
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Iamnotanartist_ is an illustrator who creates comics about the stupid things that happen to him. The (not an) artist says the inspiration comes from their nights out with their mates: “Fortunately for me, they are degenerates and are really easy to write about.” From drunk abilities to life’s great mysteries, everyone who likes to have a pint (or five) once in a while will relate.
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup/75 mL)
1 cup frozen peas 250 mL
1 small avocado, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 cup/125 mL)
Instructions
In Dutch oven, heat canola oil. Add garlic, onion and celery. Sauté until vegetables are tender.
Season with black pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes.
Add chicken stock, lentils, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
Add chicken, zucchini and peas. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender.
Garnish with avocado slices.
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 50 min | Yield: 10 (2 cup) servings
Nutrition per serving: Calories 270 Total Fat 6 g Saturated Fat 1 g Cholesterol 75 mg Carbohydrates 17 g Fiber 6 g Sugars 5 g Protein 35 g Sodium 170 mg Potassium 571 mg
Vietnam’s ‘mini-China’ days may be numbered
President Phuc’s likely forced resignation could signal a less reform-friendly direction in one of Asia’s hottest economies
With so many headwinds zooming Vietnam’s way, now seems an incredibly inopportune moment for Hanoi to carry out a major political shakeup.
That’s precisely the dilemma global investors faced this week as pro-market President Nguyen Xuan Phuc suddenly resigned.
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Government officials claim that the unparalleled purge led by Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong was all part of an anti-corruption effort in the halls of Vietnamese power.
Investors, though, can’t help but wonder if Phuc’s departure is more of an internecine Trong power grab that will delay urgently-needed economic reforms in one of Asia’s hottest economies.
Phuc has been president since April 2021 and was prime minister from 2016 to 2021. Generally speaking, he significantly strengthened Hanoi’s ties with the US and European Union.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement signed in 2019 was emblematic of Phuc’s determination to internationalize the economy and an example of why he garnered considerable gravitas in global market circles.
It’s worth noting, too, that Phuc’s ouster follows recent news that numerous technocratic and Western-leaning officials have been shown the door as Trong centralizes power.
As such, notes Zachery Abuza, professor at the National War College in Washington, Phuc’s comeuppance is “good for China and Russia” and a sign that “Trong has effectively won the war against technocrats.”
Poor Deaf Cat Abandoned In The Street With Unknown Fate
Planning the move…
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Do you think an armed conflict between the USA and China is close?
If China and the US are persons. Here is the conversation.
USA: I hate you, commie bastard.
China: I don’t like you, too. Imperialist scum.
USA: You treat millions of your Uyghur people brutally, setting up Firewalls to contain your people from accessing cyberspace outside your turf, and you are stripping off the autonomy of Hong Kong, you don’t allow anyone to criticize your governance and make fun of “The Party”, and criminalize religious people and dissidents. You’re such a totalitarian dystopia, your people would be happy if you adpot democracy.
China: You are lynching a lot of African-American people, many streets in your cities are infested with homeless and gangsters, your cops are enforcing law by violence, let your people own guns to kill each other, you’re deporting a lot of Latino parents from their children and drugged them, bombing other countries that made a lot of refugees and terrorists in the world, and making my people turn against me by indoctrinating them by your so-called “freedom” and “human rights”. Your media is making a lot of lies and baseless accusations about me, and keep sticking your nose into other people’s businesses. You can only make your living from wars and conflicts. You are the source of chaos in this world.
USA: South China Sea is not your belonging, it belongs to everyone, douchebag.
China: South China Sea is not your pond in your backyard, get the hell out of there, jerk.
USA: I won’t afraid of you cuz your navy still sucks though you can build carriers.
China: Yeah, come to take it if you dare. My DF-21D supersonic anti-ship missiles would send billions worth of your carrier battle groups into Davy Jone’s Locker.
USA: You are enslaving a lot of 3rd countries by kicking them into your debt trap, a$$hole.
China: Oh, better than what you did to the Native Americans a century ago, you murderous dickhead.
USA: You plagiarized and stole all my hi-tech stuff! Unless you pay me the copyright licensing fee then I will let you make them!
China: Those stuffs were figured out all by myself! I don’t need to steal them from you! And why must I pay you for those?
USA: I’m selling weapons to Taiwan! Protect their democratic government!
China: And I’m buying those stuff from Russia!
USA: I’m putting more sanction and tariffs to you!
China: Bring it on! I still got a lot of friends would like to do businesses with me!
USA: You’re an eyesore, China! I’m just want to keep this world in order, but you are always standing in my way!
China: You’re a prick in my heart, America! I am just want to make this world a better place but you are always messing things up!
USA: I wanna destroy you but I can’t.
China: Yup, we are going down each other if we really flipped out.
USA: I will think the other ways to stop you from rising above me, just you wait. I will show you who’s the boss!
China: Come on, you know I’m not interested to preveil you as the “Big Brother” of the globe, there’s no need to be confrontational, we can sort this out together. However, if you are still being so worked up against me, then so be it. I got thousands of “ancient Chinese secret” techniques to put you on knees and don’t complain that I didn’t warn you.
“The Way We Fall”: Eerie Illustrations Of An Apocalyptical World By Yuri Shwedoff
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Whether we imagine the world as a futuristic dystopia or a charred wasteland, post-apocalyptic images weigh heavily on our cultural imaginations. In a stunning series of illustrations, Russian artist Yuri Shwedoff has created an intensely atmospheric vision of the “end of days,” one that blends fantasy imagery with science fiction. Among his scenes are sword-wielding warriors, blasted roads, alien architecture, and falling skies; as vestiges of the lost world, animals seem to take on a symbolic significance, communing with the human figures in moments of intensity and reflection. Pulled between oscillating states of violent destruction and quiet despair, Shwedoff’s images are bound together by a powerful atmosphere that emanates from the brooding, ash-filled skies.
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While many of Shwedoff’s artworks feature otherworldly phenomena — such as the telekinetic gladiator — what makes them most evocative are their ties to the world we know. The space shuttle, for example, sits dormant on its launch pad, embedded in dust and waste. Perhaps it was prepared to escape the world; now, it becomes aged scenery for the lone horseman who regards it on his journey. Similarly, the alien pods in “Cradle” suggest a landing with no escape plan; now, the structures are merely shelters for those who survive. Instilled with imagination and emotion, Shwedoff confronts us with powerful images of a lost humanity that has surpassed its technological limits and reached an inevitable end.
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You can view more of Shwedoff’s work on Behance, Facebook, and Instagram. He also has a page on Patreon where you can make pledges in exchange for artwork, undersketches, and process videos.
Lost kitten crying in the cold rain, God please protect this poor kitten.
https://youtu.be/TlUCkxnYWVE
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
All the ingredients for chicken pot pie – the chunky chicken and vegetables and the savory broth – are in this soup. A crisp crouton stands in for the pie crust.
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
8 thin bread slices
1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
Mix rosemary, thyme and garlic powder in small bowl. Reserve 1/2 teaspoon.
Heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add mushrooms, carrots and remaining seasoning mixture; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from saucepan. Set aside.
Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in saucepan on medium heat, stirring to release browned bits from bottom of skillet. Sprinkle with flour; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until flour is lightly browned.
Gradually stir in broth until well blended. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
Add vegetable mixture, chicken, pearl onions and peas; simmer for 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut bread into rounds with 3 inch cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet. Brush bread with oil and sprinkle with reserved seasoning mixture. Bake for 10 minutes or until toasted.
To serve soup, ladle into soup bowls and top each with 1 crouton.
Yield: 8 (1-cup) servings | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 25 min
I remember my mother cooking for us kids back in the 1960s. She had this thing (as all our moms did) with BIG hair. She would wear these curlers in her hair all day, and they were enormous round things too. And when she would cook, she would have this long ashy cigarette in her mouth, or held in her long fingernailed hand while she would cook on our olive green stove.
We had a yellow (Ma Bell) telephone on the wall. It had a rotary dial, and a long cord so that you could talk in the other room if you wanted some privacy.
We had numerous ashtrays in the house. One had a beanbag on the bottom, so that it can be used on the sofa.
My mother would light her cigarette on the electric stove, by using the burner. And when she was finished she would toss it in the garbage disposal unit in the sink.
Our kitchen had olive appliances; olive refrigerator, stove, and this enormous Sears microwave that sat up on the red countertop of our yellow metal cabinets. We had the ceramic his and her salt and pepper shakers that looked like a boy and girl kissing, a macramé plant holder near the window, an old picture of a sad clown on the wall, and (near the TV room) two paintings of big-eyed beatnik boy and a girl. The boy had a guitar, and the girl had a tambourine in her hands.
I guess you never see that these days, a mother cooking with a cigarette in one hand and frying bacon in the other. But I’ll never forget the scene.
China’s CPC has an instruction manual to prevent USA organized color revolutions:
China has put it’s foot down and said NO NO NO MORE. And it will no longer allow, permit or tolerate efforts at “color revolutions” instead of war in it, or it’s aligned nations.
Persevere in Placing Political Security in the Predominant Position
坚持把政治安全放在首要位置
Introduction
For China’s first generation of communist leaders, revolution meant baptism by smoke and gunpowder. Their path to political power snaked through battlefields and prison cells littered with the bodies of dead comrades. Only narrowly did their party escape total annihilation.
Decades spent shadowed by death instilled a keen awareness of peril in the psyche of the cadres who survived. Neither political power nor battlefield victory ever soothed away this sense of threat.
However, the Party’s successful seizure of power did change which danger its leaders perceived as most threatening.
Mao Zedong would label this peril the threat of “peaceful evolution.”1 Though warnings of peaceful evolution are still issued, contemporary party documents, such as the translated material presented below, more often frame the danger in terms of “political security” [政治安全].2
Both phrases articulate a fear that hostile foreign powers seek to leverage dissent in China to subvert or overthrow communist rule of China.
Translated below is an authoritative discussion of this threat as party leaders perceive it.
It was originally published as the sixth chapter of The Total National Security Paradigm: A Study Outline 《总体国家安全观学习纲要》a 150 page textbook created jointly by the Office of the Central National Security Commission and the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China.
The Study Outline was released on April 14th, 2022 and subsequently distributed to party committees at all administrative levels as an “an important and authoritative auxiliary text for the broad mass of cadres” to include in their group study sessions.3
Published shortly after the creation of the PRC’s National Security Strategy [国家安全战略] and concurrently with a bureaucratic expansion of the state security complex to the local administrative level,4 the book is designed to provide an accessible and unclassified overview of the security doctrine millions of cadres are now expected to implement.
At the center of these ideas is the Total National Security Paradigm, a set of concepts that party sources describe as Xi Jinping’s signature contribution to Chinese security theory.
The textbook’s publication was carefully timed to coincide with the eighth anniversary of the meeting where Xi first introduced this paradigm.
In that meeting Xi instructed party cadres to “pay attention to both traditional and non-traditional security, and build a national security system that integrates such elements as political, military, economic, cultural, social, science and technology, information, ecological, resource, and nuclear security.”5
Threats to “traditional security” include those that can be handled through normal military means; “non-traditional security threats” comprise the rest of Xi’s long list—a list that has only gotten longer in the years since, as terms like “food security” and “biosecurity” have been added to the catalog.
Yet not all non-traditional fields of security are created equal. In that same 2014 speech Xi informed the Party that “political security is our fundamental task.”6
This judgment is echoed in the structure of the Study Outline, where it is the only field of security—including the traditional military sort—to be given its own chapter length discussion.7
The Study Outline makes clear why political security deserves such high priority. “Political security,” it instructs, “means safeguarding the ruling position and leadership status of the Chinese Communist Party and safeguarding the institution of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.”
The manual describes Socialism with Chinese Characteristics as “a rigorous, comprehensive, and scientific system of institutions” whose institutional integrity guarantees China’s return to national greatness. “If institutions are stable, so is the state.”
On the other hand, if “political security cannot be guaranteed, the state will inevitably disintegrate like a sheet of loose sand.”
The Study Outline warns that this “is a real and present danger.” China is engaged in an “institutional competition,” the “most fundamental type of competition between states.”
Arrayed against the Chinese system are powerful “hostile forces” who “persistently seek to ferment a ‘color revolution’ within our state, vainly attempting to subvert the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the socialist institutions of our state.”
Party members should not be fooled by periods of tranquility or moments of détente: these hostile forces “have never abandoned their subversive intent to Westernize and divide our state.
They do not rest, not even for a moment.” Nor is compromise or concession a workable solution. “In the realm of ideological conflict,” the Study Outline instructs, “we have no way to compromise and no place to retreat to. We must obtain total victory.”
The Study Outline views ideology as the primary battlefield of institutional competition: Those who “sow chaos and subvert sovereign power often begin by piercing a hole in the realm of ideology and sowing chaos in the thoughts of the people.” The ideological realm must be defended, for “once the defensive line in thought has been breached it is difficult for other defensive lines to hold.”
The Study Outline directs cadres to pay special attention to three domains where the defensive lines must hold: on the internet, in the schools, and among China’s religious and ethnic minorities.
In all three domains the Study Outline describes events that Western observers tend to depict as spontaneous reactions to government policy as incidents carefully orchestrated by party enemies.
When viral outrage leads to mass protests, cadres can be assured that such events are “intentionally chosen, follow a plan, and are organized and contrived ahead of time” by hostile forces.
If university students have learned to “bite the hand that feeds them and kick the wok that fills them” it is because the hearts of “our youth are the territory that hostile forces spend the most effort fighting for.” If the “ethnic consciousness” of minority groups is not “subordinate to and serving the common Chinese national identity” this is because “hostile forces at home and abroad use ethnic problems to carry out separatism, infiltration, and sabotage activities.”
Though “disintegration of sovereign power” may “begin in the realm of thought,” the enemies and weapons faced in that realm are just as dangerous as those faced in the more tangible world of blood and bullets.
The Study Outline’s assertion that “the disintegration of sovereign power often begins in the realm of thought” presents a sharp contrast with Mao’s famous argument that “sovereign power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”
Underlining Xi Jinping’s Total Security Paradigm is the recognition that not all problems can be solved by gun barrel. But that recognition is not new. Mao himself reached the same realization when he credited the de-Stalinization of Europe to ideological subterfuge, fearing that a similar combination of internal sabotage and external pressure might derail China’s revolution. Deng Xiaoping reached a similar conclusion following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the protests at Tiananmen Square. The United States and its allies “engage in peaceful evolution,” Deng declared. Their strategy is to “wage a world war without smoke or gunpowder.”8
The dangers Mao and Deng feared in their twilight years dominated Xi formative ones. Xi Jinping does not believe the threat has abated: the close attention he pays to the Party’s political security has been a defining thread of his rule. Manuals like this Study Outline signal his determination to overcome the threat of peaceful evolution.
They are a survival guide to wars waged without smoke or gunpowder.
—THE EDITORS
1. The label was inspired by U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles’s 1958 judgment that “internal pressures are bound to alter the character of the communist regimes,” thus American foreign policy should seek to “accelerate [this] evolution within the Sino-Soviet bloc” through peaceful means: John Foster Dulles, Policy for the Far East(United States: Department of State, 1958), 10-11.
Bo Yibo provides an insider account of Mao’s reaction to Dulles’ speech and his subsequent understanding of the ‘peaceful evolution’ threat; it is translated into English in Qiang Zhai, “Mao Zedong and Dulles’s ‘Peaceful Evolution’ Strategy: Revelations from Bo Yibo’s Memories,” Cold War International History ProjectBulletin (Winter 1995/96), issue 6/7, pp. 228-232.2. The evolution of these concerns between the Mao and Xi eras is traced by Matthew Johnson in “Safeguarding Socialism: The Origins, Evolution and Expansion of China’s Total Security Paradigm,” Sinopsis (Prague: AcaMedia z.ú., June 2020) and “Securitizing Culture in Post-Deng China: An Evolving National Strategic Paradigm, 1994–2014.’ Propaganda in the World and Local Conflicts, 4, no. 1. See also Russel Ong, ‘Peaceful Evolution’, ‘Regime Change’ and China's Political Security, Journal of Contemporary China (2007), vol 16, issue 53, 717-727.
3. Taken from “Zongti Guojia Anquan Xuexi Gongyao: chuban faxin 《总体国家安全观学习纲要》出版发行” [The Total National Security Paradigm: A Study Outline is Published]Renmin Wang 人民网 [People’s Daily Online], 16 April 2022. In Chinese the passage reads 广大干部群众学习贯彻总体国家安全观的重要权威辅助读物。4. For a concise overview of these developments, see Jude Blanchette, “The Edge of an Abyss: Xi Jinping’s Overall National Security Outlook,” China Leadership Monitor, 1 September 2022.
For a broader discussion of the Total National Security Paradigm, also see Sheena Chesnut Greitens, "Internal Security & Chinese Strategy," hearing on "The United States' Strategic Competition with China" § Senate Armed Services Committee (2022); Joel Wuthnow, "Transforming China’s National Security Architecture in the Xi Era” hearing on CCP Decision-Making and the 20th Party Congress” § U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hearing (2022); Samantha Hoffman, “Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security,” PhD diss, University of Nottingham (2017).5. Xi Jinping, The Governance of China, vol 1 (Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 2014), 221-222.6. Ibid., 222
7. Three prominent scholars associated with one of the leading state-controlled research centers on the Total National Security Paradigm note that the first chapters of the manual present broad, general principles that apply to all fields of security; the later chapters deal with specific applications, with the chapter on political security intentionally placed at the head of this second section. They further note that this organization of the material is an intentional echo of Xi Jinping’s own presentation of the subcomponents of the Concept as he presented them in a December 2021 speech. An English translation of this speech can be read in Xi Jinping, Governance Of China, vol 4 (Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 2022), 453-456
For the observations on the manual see 陈向阳, 董春岭, 韩立群 [Chen Xiangyang, Deng Chunling, and Han Liqun], “Shenru Xuexi Xuanzhuan Guanche Zongti Guojia Anquan Xuexi Gangyao 深入学习宣传贯彻《总体国家安全观学习纲要》[Deeply Study, Publicize, and Implement Total National Security Concept: A Study Outline]”, Qiushi 求是 [Seeking Truth], 22 August 2022. Available here
8.邓小平 [Deng Xiaoping], Deng Xiaoping Wenxuan《邓小平文选》 [Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping], vol 3 (Beijing: People’s Press, 1993), 325.
There’s something funny I want everybody together discuss.
——————-
I am fond of comparing China’s reform now with Shang Yang’s reform more than 2,000 years ago that enabled the State of Qin to conquer all other states and unify China.
China’s reform now is similar to Shang Yang’s in giving play to people’s talents and diligence. Then there is the question: Will the reform make China so strong as to conquer the world?
Germany tried to conquer the world when it became the strongest but suffered disastrous defeat. Will China be so stupid?
Chinese scholars believe that of all the ancient civilizations, Chinese civilization is the only one that has survived for more than 4,000 years because China has never tried to conquer the world or been fond of war.
However, a despot did emerge in China who wanted to conquer the world with his ideology called Mao Zedong Thought. Fortunately, China is poor and backward at that time. Otherwise, the human race will suffer more serious disasters than World War II as Mao was even willing to fight a nuclear war for his ideal communism.
Can we be sure that no despot like Mao will emerge when China is strong enough to conquer the world?
The US has tried hard to contain China, but can it stop China’s tremendous economic growth? No. what it has been doing and wants to do only facilitated China’s economic growth, for example, removal of Chinese state-owned sector’s monopoly and privilege.
What about containing China militarily? Stopping Israel export of early warning aircrafts, Canada’s export of 1,300 kW engines to deprive China’s WZ-10 armed helicopter of powerful engine and removal of the inner partitions of the hull of aircraft carrier Ukraine sold to China.
Did all those containing efforts work?
No. China has developed on its own early warning and control aircrafts with better functions than the most advanced American one and 1,500kW engine for WZ-10 and designed and installed partitions in the hull on its own to turn the hull into an operating aircraft carrier.
Instead of making great efforts to develop new weapons to maintain military superiority, the US uses the excuse of China stealing its technology to catch up with it.
Now, China has surpassed the US in anti-satellite (ASAT), anti-ASAT, hypersonic glide vehicle, drone, amphibious landing craft, etc. and is catching up and will soon surpass the US in midcourse ICBM interception, aerospace plane, conventional and nuclear submarines, stealth fighter jets, destroyers, frigates, ballistic and cruise missiles, etc. US will soon have nothing worth stealing by China. What excuse will the US have for lagging behind then?
It is a pity that American people are not much interested in history; therefore, they cannot learn the historical lessons.
Before World War II, Germany exploited its people’s patriotism and mindset for retaliation of its defeat in World War I to give play to its scientists and engineers’ talents. As a result, when World War II broke out, it had much better weapons than other countries. Even at the end of the war, its new tanks remained the best in the world.
The situation is being repeated now. China is using Chinese dream and the history of China’s past misery of being bullied by world powers to rouse people’s patriotism and give play to its scientists and engineers’ talents and diligence in developing advanced weapons. That is why China can catch up with and surpass the US so quickly.
I have described that in my post “Why Can China Surpass the US in Weapon Developments?” on July 26. Recently, Chinese media has published National Defense University’s report on how private enterprises are encouraged to make contribution to China’s weapon development. I give my summary of the report below:
National Defense University issued on July 25 a report titled “Report on China’s Joint Military and Civil Development”. The report says that over the past few years China has gradually formulated and perfected a full set of laws, rules and regulations related to private enterprises’ participation in development of national defense. Private enterprises are conscientiously undertaking the tasks of research, development and production of weapons and equipment for Chinese military. They have taken part in such major projects as Shenzhou X’s travel to space, Chang’e Lunar program and the commissioning of the Liaoning aircraft carrier.
According to the report, encouraging and supporting private enterprises taking part in development of national defense is an important part of the work to promote joint military and civil development. At present, a three-in-one framework for such development has initially taken shape. It consists of the governing laws and regulations, measures of implementation and the formulation of a catalogue of jobs to be taken by private enterprises.
China faces an increasing number of threats to its security due to the development and changes in the situation at home and abroad, There have been more demanding new requirements for national defense and military modernizations. Under such circumstances, private enterprises are conscientiously undertaking the tasks of research, development and production of weapons and equipment for Chinese military and doing their best to satisfy the urgent needs for the development of weapons and military equipment.
By May 2013, there had already been more than 500 private enterprises in China that have obtained licenses for research, development and production of weapons and military equipment and more than 1,000 civil technologies had been applied in research and development of equipment.
The report points out that over the past few years, due to the encouragement through a series policies and measures the number of private enterprise taking part in development of weapons and equipment for the military has kept on growing. The scope of the work they do has gradually extended from components, parts through entire equipment and master equipment.
For example, private enterprises have developed a certain light attack vehicle that can carry various kinds of light weapons, is equipped with GPS navigation system and has great cross-country capability and a certain crawler-mounted robot able to travel on rugged land such as sand, rocks and tidal flat.
Some local governments conscientiously encourage, support and guide the application of superior civil technologies to serve the need for national defense and military modernizations. For example, some private enterprises in Hebei Province have undertaken jobs in major projects for Shenzhou X, Chang’e spacecraft, the commissioning of the Liaoning aircraft carrier, National Day military parade, etc. Jiangsu Military Command jointed hands with local relevant enterprises in successful achieving over 100 technological innovations, including the “Artillery Operation Command Quick Response System”, “cross-wall surveillance radar” that have been widely used in troops’ war preparations and training.
Source: military.people.com.cn “National Defense University report says private enterprises participated in major projects such as the Liaoning aircraft carrier and Shenzhou X rocket” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)
The Incredible REINCARNATION STORY of Sunny Ray
Amazing story!
The One Night House: Squatters from Welsh Folklore
one night house
The story of the one night house, or tŷ unnos, is something heard from a friend or relative. The Welsh custom is a quaint tradition with interesting roots. Oral history is keeping the concept alive, although it’s now more legend than reality.
What exactly is a one night house? It’s a dwelling built by squatters in one night. Work would start at dusk, and come daybreak, the home would be standing in what had previously been a vacant spot. There are parallels in the folklore of other countries that might explain where it came from and how it worked.
A Story Passed On Through the Generations
Folklore is any custom preserved among the people by retellings or reenactments, and the one night house certainly fits that description. There’s very little written or recorded about tai unnos , the plural of tŷ unnos. However, thanks to stories told by parents and grandparents to the next generation, some information about the custom survives.
The last one night houses were thought to have been built by squatters more than 100 years ago. The evidence that remains about the Welsh tradition suggests that it was first practiced in the 17th century and went on for the next two hundred years.
During that period, many of the small holdings on larger estates were thought to have come from that tradition. As well as inheriting the tŷ unnos, families took on the tradition. The task was handed down to the next generation, who would go out as the light faded to build their own one night house.
Since the building of one night houses no longer occurs, the idea is fading. Lovers of folklore and history are hoping to keep the tale alive. For the memory of the custom to survive among its people, it needs to be researched, discussed, and told as part of stories.
Poor
Poor folk in Wales and elsewhere have squatted on land to claim it for centuries. In Welsh folklore, if you could build a one night house without being detecting – it was yours! ( Public Domain )
A British Tradition
Although the custom is mostly talked about as a Welsh one, there are other tales of one night houses from the land bordering Wales and from other parts of the British Isles . It was a time of population expansion in those parts, and many families were in need of a dwelling.
There were more conventional routes to take to have a home, although many families shared, with the older and younger generations all under one roof. It’s thought that poverty was a driving factor for someone to build a one night house.
Many landowners had fenced off their property for other purposes, and taxation also played a role. It’s no coincidence that the Hearth Tax was levied in 1662 and was later followed by the Land Tax, which acted as a general tax.
Land ownership was a touchy subject throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Much of the land used by commoners was enclosed by the gentry and aristocracy during this time. Based on the evidence in Scottish records , it’s thought that only 3% of the population owned land in the 18th century.
Community Effort
Just because one night houses come from legend doesn’t mean they didn’t get built. As you can imagine, building a house in the dark and in a limited amount of time was no easy thing. The squatters didn’t work alone; they would often gather their friends and relatives to help them work through the night to get the modest dwelling built.
The stories usually start with the squatter and their community gathering materials. They would bring them to the site at dusk, ready to start work as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon. According to tradition, the work would go on all night until the house was finally built.
At daybreak, a fire should be lit in the hearth, so that smoke could be seen coming from the chimney as dawn arrived. Only a build that followed these customs was thought of as a one night house.
Unwritten Rules
It’s not clear why the house had to be built during the night, although, as squatters, the process had to be a secret one. The housebuilder didn’t technically have any rights to the land, after all. It was a generally accepted custom that to complete the work in that short space of time and have the fire burning gave the squatter their rights.
It could also be assumed that if no one noticed the house popping up overnight, then the new homeowner could pretend it had been there all along. Planning law and planning permission didn’t arrive in Britain until the 20th century.
Building a house in one night didn’t grant the squatter permission to live on the land, however; there’s no record of the practice being permitted in Welsh law, or English common law , as it was under at the time. Little is known about whether the squatters succeeded for long and if there were any legal consequences.
Architectural Style
Since there aren’t any authentic examples of a one night house remaining, it’s not possible to know what they looked like. However, there are a few clues to paint a rough picture. In the tales, there wasn’t a specific design to work to, and it’s not known how many people would live in a one night house, but many believe that they weren’t large buildings.
Remains 13
Remains of a ty-unnos or one night house at Maen Dewi The standing stone has been used as the central support to the overnight house that was thrown up by squatters several centuries ago, with the byre on the left and the domestic dwelling room on the right where the garden furniture is. (Bob Helms / CC BY SA 2.0 )
More often than not, they were one-story and one-room dwellings. The site for the build was usually wasteland or a small plot out of the way. Some stories also include the custom that the land around the house was included in the squatters’ rights. Legend has it that the amount of land was measured by seeing how far the squatter could throw an ax from the threshold.
The rules stated that four walls, a fireplace, a roof, and a door was necessary, with additional features, like windows, being added later where possible. Building materials weren’t cheap, but they weren’t scarce either.
Many one night houses are thought to have been built with found materials, usually stone and wood, from the area. Since it involved the work of several people with stones and logs of different sizes, it’s said that the finished article often had an irregular and unusual appearance.
In fact, it was the lack of uniformity in architectural style and the strange appearance of these houses that made them recognizable to others. Thanks to the customs and stories, parents would point out tŷ unnos to their children, and so the tradition lived on.
simple
A simple home in Cardiff resembling a one night house of years past ( Public Domain )
Folklore Revival of One Night Houses
In 2017, a Welsh designer at the Arts Council of Wales teamed up with the community around the National Botanic Garden to build a one night house. The project was commissioned by Common Ground for the Woodland Trust.
His aim was to keep the stories and knowledge of tŷ unnos alive. The project was also designed to connect art with the community and link it all to the local environment and folklore. He didn’t claim his squatter’s rights, though, and the space is used by the community.
The act captured the element of the one night house that’s most relatable. It’s thought to have come from traditions of dares and wagers, where people did something in one night just to prove that they could.
There are a few of reproductions of tai unnos that can be seen today. St. Fagans National Museum of History near Cardiff has Llainfadyn Cottage, which was built in 1962 based on a 1762 example in Gwynedd. Alternatively, a visit to Snowdonia will reveal the Ugly House (Tŷ Hyll), a quaint 19th-century cottage inspired by the tradition.
Llainfadyn
Llainfadyn Cottage, St Fagans Museum, Cardiff, a reproduction of a one night house (David Hallum Jones / CC BY SA 2.0 )
Inspiring Tales
Besides reproductions and recent one night house projects, folklore has inspired other creative endeavors. There are records suggesting that the last known tŷ unnos was built in 1882 in Flintshire. There’s a fictionalized written account of the adventure in the novel Mushroom Town by Oliver Onions, written in 1914. In the book, the practice is referred to as hafod unos , meaning a summer dwelling of one night.
As with the community project, it’s clear that the attraction lies in the connections and feelings a one night house brings. Folklore is more than just nostalgia; it’s the people’s interactions with their surroundings, especially if they were night owls!
Top image: Tŷ Hyll ( The Ugly House) near Betws-Y-Coed, inspired by the one night house tradition Source: Steve Daniels / CC BY SA 2.0
By Lex Leigh
4 Out Of 10 Americans Delaying Medical Care Over Costs
“Life is Peachy”: The Superb Brightful Girly Characters by Igor Lomov
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According to an artist: “Hi, I am Igor and my nickname is Blik_47. I am a certified art teacher, used to work as a graphic designer for many years but my true calling is to create digital art. I post things on social media (always as Blik_47) in both Russian (my native language) and English.
I create original artwork and I never pass other people’s work off as my own. However, I occasionally engage in social media promotion events and repost the work of my followers (with full credit).
I am just about to finish the development of my own cyberpunk board game. It is in a sleek transportable box. The card design, game mechanics, packaging and instructions are all developed only by me. This game has cards and tokens. It can be played by 2-4 players at once. There are two main game modes – “deadly match” and “survival” (cooperative mode against the boss). Both Russian and English versions of the game will available.”
8 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
8 ounces ground beef
2 red onions, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 tablespoons Real California unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon pepper, or more to taste
3 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups Real California Half-and-Half (can use evaporated milk)
3 cups shredded Real California sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small tomato, cut into 1/4 inch dice
Instructions
In a large saucepan or small stockpot over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 7 to 9 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Add beef to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate.
Set aside about 1/3 cup of onions. Add remaining onions and butter to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 to 9 minutes.
Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add broth and Half-and-Half or milk and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add mustard, Worcestershire and 2 1/2 cups of cheese, stirring to melt cheese. Stir in about 3/4 of the bacon and 3/4 of the beef. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve soup garnished with remaining cheese, remaining bacon, remaining beef, reserved onions and tomatoes.
Prep: 30 min | Cook: 35 min | Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Man Shocked by What He Saw His Pets Doing in Heaven
Great. Just Great! Look at what our $$ millions for each tank gets us . . . .
You want to see first hand how we’ve been getting bilked by the military-industrial complex? Our Abrams tanks . . . you know, our main battle tanks . . . can’t go up hills in the snow. They skid and slide backwards.
M1 AbramsPrice
This is what Six to nine MILLION DOLLARS EACH buys us?
With weapons systems like this, would be even be able to defend our own country . . . in the winter????
Fall is officially here. Now is a great time to try out some hearty autumn dishes like chicken and wild rice soup. Our recipe is rich and creamy. You can serve it as an appetizer if you want, but it’s filling enough to stand on its own as an entrée. This recipe stands out from the rest because it calls for freshly roasted chicken, plenty of delicious vegetables, and a nice dollop of plain Greek Yogurt. Adding yogurt, instead of cream, for example, helps to make this soup extremely flavorful but also relatively light, calorie-wise.
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Ingredients
1 deli-roasted chicken, about 2 1/2 pounds
6 cups water
2 medium carrots, ends trimmed and cut into chunks
1 small rib celery, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/3 cup uncooked wild rice*
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Cabot 2% Plain Greek Yogurt or Cabot Plain Greek Yogurt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
* You can reduce the cooking time with “quick-cooking” wild rice, which is done in about 15 minutes, or substitute another flavorful rice, such as brown basmati.
Instructions
Pull off meat from chicken, placing skin, bones and any hot or solidified juices in large saucepan. Dice 2 cups of chicken meat, saving rest for another use, and set aside in refrigerator.
Add water, carrots, celery, peppercorns and bay leaf to saucepan; bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cover pan and cook broth for one hour.
Pour broth through strainer set over large bowl, pressing on solids to extract all broth. Discard solids.
Melt butter in empty saucepan. Add onions and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until onion is tender and just beginning to brown.
Pour in strained broth. Add wild rice, bring to simmer and cook covered for 40 to 50 minutes or until rice is tender.
In small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, yogurt and cornstarch until completely smooth with no small lumps; stir mixture into pot and continue stirring until soup thickens and returns to simmer. Add thyme, salt, pepper and 2 cups of reserved diced chicken.
Taste soup, adding additional salt and pepper if needed. Stir until heated through and serve.
Yield: about 6 cups for 4 servings
The UNEXPLAINABLE REINCARNATION of Chuck McMurray
“I Will Never Forget The Look On Her Face”: Woman Swaps Sugar For Salt In her Drink To Catch The Office Thief
As the workday drags on, the minutes going slower than a snail up a tree and the clicking of the keys on the keyboards turning into a semi-soothing white noise, you can’t help but think back to that amazing sammich waiting for you at lunchtime. But a pang of fear strikes your heart ever so silently—what if someone steals it?
Workplace thieves are not as rare as they should be, their long fingers tingling with the craving of ruining someone’s day to fuel their selfish desires. Therefore, it’s always satisfying when these people get their just taste of karma, and in this case, it’s extra salty. A woman decided to share her story on r/PettyRevenge, and I think you may know where this is going.
Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below, sharing any similar stories you may have. And if you’re craving more after this one, Bored Panda has got another article for you right here. It’s a juicy one as well—pun intended. Now let’s get into it!
There’s nothing more frustrating than leaving your food and drinks in the work fridge only to find them all gone when lunchtime comes around
The taste of karma is a delight for those watching justice unfold, but for the troublemaker—it’s nauseating at the very least. A very clear lesson from this story—don’t take things that aren’t yours to take! But why are these stories so commonplace? Are we predisposed to stealing?
As noted in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “kleptomania is exceedingly rare, whereas shoplifting is relatively common.” Kleptomania occurs in approximately 0.3–0.6% of the general population, yet there’s something about the work environment that just triggers a surge of wanting to own your coworker’s things.
According to Art Markman, human behavior is focused on doing things that feel right in the short term rather than things that feel right in the long term. The consequences of one’s actions feel more distant compared to the urge to eat or have a tasty drink. Art believes that to decrease small thefts in the workplace, we need to start by making it harder for people to do the wrong thing, but that may be easier said than done.
The key to this puzzle may lie in the motives for stealing in the first place. Brianna Morton shared the insights she gathered from those who’ve been workplace thieves themselves. Some of the reasons for their nefarious actions included seeking revenge on another thieving individual, desperation, and wanting to be a nuisance on purpose.
It’s sad to say, but stealing can become an addiction. According to WebMD, when your brain’s opioid system is unbalanced, you develop strong urges to steal, accompanied by anxiety, arousal, and tension. After stealing, you get a sense of pleasure and relief. Sometimes, you may feel guilt or remorse after the act, but you’re still unable to control the urge.
However, no pleasure should come at the expense of another person, and being stolen from is rarely on anyone’s bucket list. So, all those who are stealing for any other reason than the absolute need for their longevity and survival can get a bunch of salt running down their throat.
We hope that the original poster got their just deserts and they were never stolen from again. And that the lady doing the stealing learned a very valuable lesson.
Anti-Fascist Action (ANTIFA) is engaging in riots, looting and arson attacks in the city of Atlanta Saturday night. Numerous stores have been looted, several vehicles, including police cars, have been set ablaze.
Mayor Andre Dickens “Many of these protesters are not from Atlanta, and many are not even from the state of Georgia. The Mayor stunned assembled media outlets when he revealed, during a Press conference, some of those arrested “have been found to have explosives on them.”
As most readers readily know, Protesters don’t destroy property and hurl explosives at police, those would be Rioters
The Mayor clearly stated “These people mean harm to people and to property.”
Atlanta is on fire tonight, but @cnn reporters @DavidPeisner & @PamelaBrownCNN are reporting Atlanta police officers, NOT protestors, are committing violence for tackling & arresting these thugs burning and destroying a police cruiser and store front windows.
This is a developing story. More as I get it.
UPDATE 10:19 PM EST —
and:
Violent Antifa protectors are calling for a ‘Night of Rage’ against police officers after a raid of ‘Cop City’ left an activist dead and a state trooper injured.
Georgia State Patrol troopers swooped on the autonomous zone at the site of the future $90million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in a ‘clearing operation’ on Wednesday.
In a press conference, Georgia Bureau of Investigations director Michael Register confirmed that the shooting was in self-defense, with the protestor opening fire ‘without warning’ at the trooper.
But activists are now calling for a ‘Night of Rage’ and bloodshed against the police following the shooting – threatening to enact ‘reciprocal violence’ against the authorities.
Japanese Artist Paints Hyperrealistic Paintings That Are So Precise You Might Confuse Them With Photos
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This time, I want to present an incredible gallery of pictures of… paintings. Although it might be hard to believe these were actually painted by a human hand, this is a true representation of the beauty and power of talent and hard work.
Japanese painter Kei Mieno creates painstakingly detailed and realistic paintings that can be easily mistaken for photographs. Let’s admit, the kinds of photographs not everyone would be able to take. Colors, lights, shadows, contrasts, texture—everything comes together to create incredibly lifelike artwork. The remarkably skillful artist, who celebrates his 36th birthday today, uses oil to bring his hyperrealistic ideas to life.
Scientist Clinically Dead For 6 Minutes; Leaves Earth And Is Shown The Afterlife (NDE)
Beef Stroganoff Soup
beef stroganoff soup
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound beef sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups beef broth (low-sodium or regular)
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dried egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Snipped fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper.
In a Dutch oven, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook steak one-half at a time, in until browned. Set beef aside.
Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to Dutch oven. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
Stir in beef, broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste; bring to boiling. Cover, and reduce to a simmer; cook for 45 minutes until beef is tender.
Add noodles; boil gently, uncovered, for 6 to 7 minutes until noodles are tender.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream and flour. Add to soup, and cook, stirring until bubbly.
During 3 Week Coma; Woman Is Shown The Reason We Come Here (NDE)
Remember who you are.
This event sounds more like she was tapping into the collective consciousness via prayers rather than a full-on NDE.
The end of the USD to pay for oil is destined to erode the value of it. So what this means is that there’s going to be some amazing global changes coming soon to all of us. The reserve currency status of the USD is coming to an end.
“…Xi stressed that the greatest truths are the simplest, and hard work is the key.
The new journey is a long one full of glories and dreams where there is no shortcut, but hard work.
We should come down to earth, work hard, and do not fall into fantasies or distractions.
We should be honest and studious, respect the reality, do not act against rules or work recklessly.
We should seek truth and be pragmatic, focus on actual effect, and do not make superficial work or show.
Those who work will succeed, and those who walk will arrive at destination.
A person of action will leave a good name in history.
We created a glorious past with hard work, and we will create a better future in the same way…”
Have a great day, and enjoy this post.
Let’s start here…
Don “No Soul” Simmons complete (“Blacks without Soul”, from the film Amazon Women on the Moon)
https://youtu.be/G_IkJnTus6Q
Some Democratic Senators in the United States are questioning the need to sell nuclear submarines to Australia.
Interesting development.
This, as well as other actions, such as the war games about great losses over Taiwan, suggest a strong Democratic push to pull away from adoption of the Neocon anti-China narrative championed by Mike Pompeo, Tom Cotton, and John Bolton.
The excuses are rather weak, but present never-the-less. As such they are suggestive of a reordering of American force-projection.
KEY POINTS
Australia is expecting to buy at least eight nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS
But two U.S. senators think a “sober assessment of the facts” is needed
It is the first time members have expressed significant misgivings about AUKUS
Two key U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns regarding the supply of nuclear submarines to Australia under the troubled AUKUS trilateral pact, warning that the deal could stress America's shipbuilding capacity to a "breaking point" while ignoring "contemporary realities," according to Breaking Defense."Over the past year, we have grown more concerned about the state of the U.S. submarine industrial base as well as its ability to support the desired AUKUS SSN [nuclear sub] end state," Sens. Jack Reed, (D-R.I.), and James Inhofe, (R-Okla.), noted in a Dec. 21 letter sent to the White House, the outlet reported.The trilateral AUKUS deal refers to the security pact for the Indo-Pacific region announced in September 2021 between the U.S. the U.K. and Australia. The key highlight of the deal is the sharing of highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology with Australia, enabling Canberra to receive American Virginia-class subs.
Illustrator Repaints Disney Princesses In Her Unique Style
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If you spend your days surfing the never-ending Instagram feed, you might’ve already heard of a freelance illustrator called Isabelle Staub, who rocked the platform with her fresh reimaginings of classic Disney Princesses. What you might not know, though, is that this series also helped the artist to get out of a serious creative block.
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Very cool discovery
2023 01 21 10 04
OMG ! I Try to help bad condition kitten.attack by dog and sent by the owner with taxi to clinic !
Texas Chicken-Fried Steak with Cream Gravy
2023 01 12 19 05
Ingredients
Steak
3 pounds round steak, 1/2-inch thick
2 cups all-purpose white flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Vegetable oil (corn, peanut, safflower oil) for frying*
* Beef suet, lard or solid vegetable shortening are traditionally used for cooking chicken-fried steak
Cream Gravy
1/4 cup pan drippings
1/4 cup all-purpose white flour
3 cups warm milk
Salt
Black pepper
Instructions
Steak: Trim the fat off the meat, remove the bone and cut the meat into 6 equal-size pieces. Use a meat mallet to pound the steaks on both sides, until they are 1/4-inch thick. Then cut each pounded piece of steak in half (making 12 pieces total).
Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl. Beat the eggs and milk together well in another large shallow bowl.
Dredge the steaks in the seasoned flour, coating them well on both sides. Then use the meat mallet to pound the flour into the steaks. Dip the steaks in the egg-milk mixture, then dredge them again in the remaining flour. Set the steaks aside in a single layer on a large piece of wax paper.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees F.
Pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch into 2 or 3 large heavy-bottom skillets (iron skillets are best). You will have to cook the steaks in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the number of skillets you have. Set the skillets over medium heat. The oil will be hot enough for frying when it pops when you sprinkle a few drops of water on it.
Carefully put the steaks in a single layer in the hot oil and cook over medium heat until the bottom side of each steak is golden brown (about 7 to 8 minutes).
Turn the steaks over, cover the skillets, reduce the heat to low and cook until the bottom sides are golden brown and the steaks are tender (about 8 to 10 minutes).
Transfer the steaks to a heatproof platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the remaining steaks and prepare the cream gravy.
Cream Gravy: Pour the remaining oil out of one large skillet into a heatproof bowl or measuring cup, but leave in the skillet any particles of batter that stick to the bottom of the pan.
Return 1/4 cup of the oil to the skillet and stir in 1/4 cup of flour. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, but don’t let the mixture brown.
Slowly add the warm milk to the pan, stirring with a fork or wire whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the gravy is smooth and thick.
Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Serve the chicken-fried steaks with the cream gravy poured over them.
Yield: 6 large servings (2 steaks each)
Meticulous Miniature Handcrafted Meals
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When the sense of detail is pushed to its limits, it gives birth to incredible miniature works such as these diverse meals handcooked by Kimberly Burke and created at a scale of 1:12. On the menu today: chicken, bread, fruits, cake, fried eggs or fajitas.
If Russia intends to make a major move to win the war in Ukraine, it needs to do it very soon.
As you will see below, representatives from over 50 different nations will gather this week for a historic meeting in Ramstein, Germany.
The goal of that meeting will be to implement a plan to absolutely flood Ukraine with tanks and missile systems in an attempt to turn the tide of the war. At the moment, the Russians have regained the initiative and the Ukrainians are steadily losing territory in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainians are hoping to buy enough time for the next massive influx of military aid to arrive, because it could potentially change everything.
Most of you have probably not heard about the meeting that will be held in Ramstein, Germany on Friday. The following originally comes from the Wall Street Journal…
Representatives of more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine are set to gather in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss provisions for Kyiv and pledge fresh supplies later this month. The U.S.-led assembly, known as the contact group, includes all countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and allies, including Japan, South Korea and Australia, offering lethal and nonlethal aid.
Ukraine is expected to receive Patriot missile systems, which Ukrainian officials say would hobble Russia’s missile attacks that have wreaked havoc on Ukraine’s civilian and critical infrastructure. Some Western officials also said that the first-ever shipment of Western-made main battle tanks could also be announced at the Friday meeting in Ramstein.
The only way that the Russians will be able to stop all of this equipment from getting to Ukraine would be to launch an enormous new invasion from the north that completely cuts off the flow of aid from the western powers.
Russia has been moving troops and equipment into Belarus for months, and many believe that such an offensive will soon happen.
Russia and its ally Belarus launched a series of air-force exercises Monday along the border with Ukraine in an effort to boost cooperation ahead of what Ukrainian officials and military analysts believe could be a fresh effort by Moscow in the coming months to retake battlefield momentum.
Throughout history, military exercises have often been used as a cover for major military operations.
But that doesn’t mean that the Russians will pull the trigger in this case.
Perhaps the Russians are just bluffing and are simply trying to hold a large number of Ukrainian forces along the northern border as the main push happens in the east.
At this point we just don’t know.
But many analysts in the western world do believe that the Russians will launch some kind of new offensive in the coming months…
“The Kremlin is likely preparing to conduct a decisive strategic action in the next six months intended to regain the initiative,” said a note from the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank that publishes daily reports on the war in Ukraine.
Actually, I think that if the Russians are going to make a move it will happen soon.
When the mud returns in the spring, it will be much more challenging for Russian tanks to move around efficiently.
So if a major offensive is going to take place, it will almost certainly be conducted within the next several weeks.
One of Vladimir Putin’s allies has claimed World War Three has already started as he called for Russia to launch a nuclear missile strike on Britain, France and Poland.
TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov told Russians that Moscow should target the West to disrupt NATO countries from sending supplies to Ukraine.
You don’t hear this sort of talk on television here in the United States.
In fact, at this point most Americans still believe that the risk of nuclear war is extremely low.
But they see things very, very differently inside Russia.
These remarks by Solovyov were in response to reports that NATO powers are getting ready to ship large numbers of tanks and armored vehicles to Ukraine…
It comes as Britain is poised to supply Challenger II main battle tanks to Kyiv, in the first such move of the war.
France is shipping French AMX-10 reconnaissance vehicles, Germany is sending 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and the US is promising 50 M2 Bradley fighting vehicles.
Both sides just continue to escalate matters, and that has brought us dangerously close to nuclear conflict.
Earlier this month, Dmitry Medvedev made headlines all over the globe when he “threatened the United States of America with hypersonic cruise missiles”…
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev threatened the United States of America with hypersonic cruise missiles and compared the American government’s policies to that of Nazis in a Thursday Telegram post in response to a US embassy appeal to Russian citizens for peace.
“The main gift of the New Year was the arsenal of Zircon missiles that went yesterday to the shores of NATO countries,” said Medvedev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who currently serves as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council.
The nuclear warhead-capable Zircon missiles were reported by Reuters Wednesday to have been placed on the frigate Admiral Gorshkov to be deployed to the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
By the way, we have absolutely no way to defend against those hypersonic cruise missiles.
If the Russians launch them, they will hit their targets.
If our leaders were sane, they would be trying to find a peaceful way out of this mess while there is still an opportunity to do so.
Sadly, that window is rapidly closing.
If the Russians launch another massive invasion of Ukraine from the north, there will be no going back.
Both sides will just keep escalating the conflict until someone crosses a line that will never be able to be uncrossed.
On Russian television, they are already talking about the inevitability of a nuclear conflict.
Hopefully people will start to wake up before it is too late, because the clock is ticking.
Sybil Danning, Amazon Women on the Moon
https://youtu.be/2GZDsVzdQcI
Arrowhead
2023 01 21 10 09
Saudi Arabia continues to move away from petrodollar
The trend to stimulate worldwide anti-American sentiment or enflame what already existed was evident from that first China/US undiplomatic summit in Alaska. It has been a steady slope down from there.
Original San Antonio Chili
2023 01 12 19 03
Ingredients
2 pounds beef shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup suet
1/4 cup pork fat
3 medium-size onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart water
4 ancho chiles
1 serrano chile
6 dried red chiles
1 tablespoon comino seeds, freshly ground
2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
Salt to taste
Instructions
Place lightly floured beef and pork cubes in with suet and pork fat in heavy chili pot and cook quickly, stirring often.
Add onions and garlic and cook until they are tender and limp.
Add water to mixture and simmer slowly while preparing chiles.
Remove stems and seeds from chiles and chop very finely.
Grind chiles in molcajete and add oregano with salt to mixture. Simmer another 2 hours.
Remove suet casing and skim off some fat.
Never cook frijoles with chiles and meat. Serve as a separate dish.
Alternative …
Ingredients
Requires a blender and a dutch oven
2 each ancho and guajillo chiles, reconstituted
1⁄2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems 125 mL
2 tbsp pure lard or oil 30 mL
1 lb 500 g each trimmed boneless stewing beef and stewing pork, cut into 1⁄2-inch (1 cm) cubes and patted dry
2 onions, thinly sliced on the vertical
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp each ground cumin and dried Mexican oregano 15 mL
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
6 green onions (white and green parts), very thinly sliced (optional)
Crumbled Mexican cheese,such as soft cotija
Instructions
1. Transfer reconstituted chiles with liquid to blender. Add cilantro and purée until smooth. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in Dutch oven, melt lard over medium-high heat. Add beef and pork, in batches, and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate as completed and set aside. Reduce heat to medium.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Add sliced onions to pan and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Return beef and pork to pan. Add reserved ancho and guajillo chile mixture and stir well. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to preheated oven. Bake until meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
4. Ladle into warm soup plates. Garnish with serrano pepper (if using) and green onions (if using). Sprinkle with cheese.
Notes
To reconstitute dried chiles, remove the stems and place in a heatproof bowl. Add 2 cups (500 mL) boiling beef stock and soak for 30 minutes, weighing the chiles down with a cup to ensure they remain submerged.
If you want to make a version of this dish that is similar to the one made by former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, substitute venison for the beef. You can also cube a beef chuck roast and use it in place of the stewing beef.
Moreover …
The very first San Antonio chili contained neither tomatoes nor beans, making it reminiscent of some South American adobos. This probably isn’t surprising, because the “chili queens” certainly had Hispanic roots. This is my slightly amended version of the recipe that is held in the research library of the Institute of Texan Cultures.
Amazon Women on the Moon (First Chapter)
Now You Can Touch A Niceballs To Relieve The Stress At Work
Imaginarte, the communications agency, has developed a prosthetic accessory that makes it possible. Holidays are the perfect excuse for doing the things that daily life normally gets in the way of: going to the same beach as every year, cremating steaks on the barby, taking up trekking without having a clue what that is, monging out watching a 9 hour monster session of that series you read the spoilers for months ago. Or simply sitting around playing with your balls.
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It doesn’t matter whether you have them or not. There are moments when we all, men and women alike, just need to play with our balls. So, what’s the problem? Returning to work after our much-needed holidays invariably means we just haven’t got the time for it.
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”Amazon Women on The Moon’ (1986) Deleted scenes & Bloopers.
Been a cleaning up fireworks debris from the house porch, and tidying up for the new year. I’m tightening up things, sweeping and cleaning up things and working to settle a calmer life by clearing out the debris of the last.
Let’s all have a great new year!
Yay!
Politics back in the day…
Why talk to the dog, when you can talk with the master?
2023 01 21 10 39
What Is It Like To Become Poor After Being Wealthy?
The global financial crisis destroyed me in 2008. The years immediately after were some of the worst years of my life. I lost everything; or at least I thought I did.
As it turns out, I didn’t lose much at all (assuming you don’t count approximately $3 million in real estate equity and a couple of hundred thousand dollars in cash, as “much”).
I was in Vegas when Lehman Brothers folded… It was my birthday … and it was the first time I’d ever lost big there. I should have known something wicked was coming, but I didn’t. So when my consulting contract didn’t get renewed, I didn’t panic. I kept doing business as usual. When my tenants defaulted on rent, I kept paying mortgages. A year later, I still had $50,000 plus in the bank … enough of a cushion.
I suppose at this time I should make you aware that I was not exactly a low-profile person. I was (and am) in luxury goods and hospitality, and I consulted with companies catering to high-net worth individuals. I helped them design sales and business strategies to keep their clients happy in the short and long term. Needless to say, the luxury sector was massacred, and is still clawing its way out of the muck and mire, at least in the United States.
So, with enough money to float for six to ten months, I kept looking for work in my field.
And looking, and looking … nothing.
Any kind of business consulting … nothing. (Six more months go by).
Any kind of sales … nothing. (Six more months … This was where it got scary).
Bear in mind that up until this point, I had never even gone a month without a job since I was 12 years old.
My confidence was shot – I mean decimated. I was a shell of the man I had been only two years previously.
I had the stink of failure all over me.
A friend of mine owned a couple of car-washes. He offered me a job. It was outside work, taking orders when people drove in to the wash. “Would you like the undercarriage done?”
It was winter in Colorado.
I declined.
I was sharing a huge house at the time with my best buddy and his new girlfriend, who became his fiancé, and we were ALL broke. It was brutal. I don’t think I would have made it without them. I was depressed and miserable. I’m lucky they didn’t bury me in a snow bank and leave me there. I’m sure there were times they wanted to.
“Cocky” doesn’t do failure well.
My buddy with the car-wash called again a few weeks later. I said no again. Not just because of the embarrassment. Not just because of the cold weather and the elements, or standing on my feet for 10 hours a day on concrete without Wi-Fi.
It was because of my father.
Almost every good father has a catch phrase that he uses to motivate his sons to do better than he did. Typically, it’s the threat of being stuck doing any minimum-wage job that no teenager from the Gekko era would ever aspire to. For some reason, the example that my father chose was “car wash”. We’d go through Towne Auto Wash after Little League and he’d always point to that guy who asks, “Do you want a regular wash, or deluxe?” and then hands you that little piece of paper.
“Mickey” He’d say. “You have to save some money/get better grades/quit chasing girls/do your homework. You don’t want to end up like that guy, working in a car-wash, do you?” The last time I heard the speech was around 1996. The words, however, hung in the air for years to come.
So, you can see my quandary. To me, working in a car-wash was the ultimate admission of failure. Not losing all my assets. Not selling my watches and cars. Not letting go of a few rugs and some art.
I was living with friends, driving a 17-year-old car, had less than $200 in the bank with no idea where the next $200 was coming from, and I was worried about being seen as a failure.
A little deluded?
Perhaps, but reality kicked in when I didn’t have money for a niece’s birthday present.
So I called my friend back and asked if I could still have the job at the car-wash. My utter failure as a human being was complete, my humiliation final -or so I thought.
On my third day of dragging myself in to work, the raven-haired stunner that I’d hired as my assistant five years previous pulled in – driving a brand new Lexus.
NOW my humiliation was complete.
There was nowhere to run, no place to hide.
And yet … just as I was about to die from shame, something happened that literally changed my life. She smiled, jumped out of her car, pointed her Louboutins right at me, ran over and gave me a hug. We chatted for about 10 minutes while her car was getting done. She said she was happy to see me, that I’d been a great boss, and that she was glad I was working. “Sooooo many” of her friends(able-bodied twenty-somethings) were unemployed, and at least I wasn’t trapped behind a desk.
I realized that I’d been beating myself up needlessly, and saw how lucky I truly was.
In that instant, I decided that instead of just showing up until I could find something better, I would use all my skills to increase my friend’s business, and I did. Over the next few months, something amazing happened to me. Something I never saw coming, and something that impacted my life and made me a better man.
I saw hundreds of people every day and none of them thought I was a failure, and it energized me. I smiled. They smiled back. I was happy and engaging, and I sold about a gazillion deluxe washes. But also, my worst fear morphed into something I started to look forward to. I got my confidence back, and it was obvious. I saw DOZENS of people I knew – clients, old customers, friends I’d lost touch with, and every single one of them said something positive.
They respected me.
They held me in higher esteem for seeing me in the cold, wearing a red nylon jacket with a car wash logo on it. Nobody made fun of me or called me names. Nobody laughed.
There was even an article in a local lifestyle magazine about me.
They respected me for doing what had to be done (I’m sure a few were secretly happy that I’d been taken down a few pegs … but hey, we’re all human, right?)
The truth of my situation was laid bare for the world to see … there’s no way to spin a story when you are asking people if they want the basic or deluxe wash. There’s no amount of charm of polish or bullshit that can hide the truth.
I was working in a car wash – and nobody thought I was a failure. Not even my father.
Then, about 6 months later, one of my old clients called. He needed some help setting up a new luxury club. We put a deal together and when I resigned from the car-wash, my friend was genuinely sad, saying I was the best employee he’d ever had.
I approached that new consulting contract with a vigor and zest for life I hadn’t felt for years! A few months after that, another contract took me to Asia, and I’ve been consulting over here ever since.
So, my worst fear turned out to be my salvation.
It gave me confidence, paid my bills for a while and put me in a position to move my company to Asia and have access to an abundance of new cultures and growing markets.
Sure, I’m not quite back to where I was that day 9 years ago in Vegas, but I have a red nylon jacket with a car wash logo on it that reminds me that for my version of success, I don’t have to be.”
– Michael Aumock
The US Dares Not Fight With China, Why?
A very good video.
Its a dangerous time we are living in. On the one side, you have the US, who believes they are entitled to rule the world, for eternity. On the other side, you have rising China, Russia and India - China being the closest rival. The issue moving forward is whether the human race have learnt the lessons from WW1 and WW2. If we haven't learnt anything, then we are destined to repeat it, until all of us are destroyed. Lets hope sanity prevails and we find a way to co-exist and prosper, regardless of our differences.
Place chicken in a resealable bag and season with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken bouillon powder, ginger, garlic, white pepper, thyme, paprika and green onions. Seal the bag and thoroughly mix chicken until they are well coated. Set aside in the fridge and marinate for at least an hour or preferably overnight.
When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the bag. Make sure to remove any particles like the onions and garlic so they do not burn when cooking.
Heat a large pot with the oil over medium-high heat.
Brown the chicken for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until chicken is a golden brown; remove and place on a plate. Drain any excess oil from the skillet but make sure to leave about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil.
Deglaze the pan with about 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and return the chicken back to the pan. Add the second cup of water if you find there is not enough water.
Cover and cook on medium to low heat for about 20 minutes, until chicken the chicken has cooked through and the sauce thickens, slightly. Adjust the taste adding more salt as necessary.
A legislator in the German Bundestag addressed the House today regarding the effort to supply German tanks to Ukraine, to use against Russia.
Holy Sh*t did he strike a nerve; other Legislators openly gasped in horror!
Watch the 30 second video with translation below:
Cool discovery
2023 01 21 10 16
The Point: Are China and the U.S. going down the rabbit hole?
Splendid Vintage Snaps Of Young Girls With Very Big Hair In The 1980s
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The 1980s can be categorized as a decade of excess. The new generation of young people placed a heavy emphasis on individuality, materialism and consumerism, all of which was reflected in the popular fashions and hairstyles of the time. As usual, the music, television and, for the first time, computer industries played a prominent role in determining what styles and trends took off across the country.
While certain hair styles, such as androgyny, voluminous locks, long hair on men and the Jheri Curl were all born during the previous decade, the looks became more exaggerated and more extreme during the 1980s. When it came to hair, bigger was always better.
In the mid-1980s, rising pop star Madonna also had big hair when posing for Time Magazine photographed by Francesco Scavullo. Soon, many women emulated her look, making her one of the most iconic celebrities in 1980s fashion.
thought I’d add this chart from PISA( program of International Student Assessment) to add some perspective.
the US isn’t even mentioned, that should tell you something.
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Caribbean Roast Chicken with
Pineapple and Sweet Potatoes
caribbean roast chicken
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, giblets and neck removed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons Caribbean Jerk Seasoning spice mix
3 fresh limes
8 sprigs cilantro
1 (20 ounce) can chunk pineapple, drained reserving 1/2 cup of liquid
3 sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
1/4 cup dark rum (or chicken stock)
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In small bowl, combine brown sugar and jerk seasoning. Rub mixture all over outside of chicken. Cut one lime into quarters; insert into chicken cavity. Add cilantro sprigs to chicken cavity. Place chicken in roasting pan and surround with pineapple chunks. Place in oven and roast for 45 minutes.
While chicken is roasting, juice two remaining limes. Remove chicken from oven; add sweet potatoes, rum, chicken stock and lime juice to pan. Return to oven and roast for another 45 minutes to one hour, or until internal temperature in thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F.
Remove chicken from oven and place on sheet pan. Tent with foil to keep warm. Remove pineapple and sweet potatoes from pan and reserve. Pour sauce in pan into serving dish; add chopped cilantro.
To serve, carve chicken or place whole chicken on platter. Surround with sweet potato/ pineapple mixture and pass with sauce.
Japan building new island base to guard against China
Mageshima Island base will mitigate risk of a China attack on Okinawa and could eventually host US long-range missiles
Japan has decided to start construction of a military base on Mageshima Island, a project that aims to reinforce Japan’s defenses in the nearby Ryukyu Islands and provide a backup airbase in case an enemy attack takes out Okinawa, according to multipleJapanesesources.
Mageshima, an eight square kilometer uninhabited island located 12 kilometers from inhabited Tanegashima Island, was chosen in 2011 as a candidate for relocating US field carrier landing practice, which is currently conducted on Iwoto Island, 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo.
Construction work began last Thursday (January 12) and is expected to continue for four years, with reported plans to install two runways, a control tower and an explosives depot. Nippon.com mentions that apart from hosting US carrier landing practice runs, Mageshima will serve as a supply and maintenance hub for the defense of the Nansei Islands.
Asia Times has noted the strategic importance of small islands, as they have a “suction effect” on great powers because they can be logistics staging points, protective barriers, forward operating bases and geographical markers to extend maritime claims.
Yen notes that Mageshima is located northeast of the Ryukyu Islands, which China’s naval vessels must pass through to reach the Pacific Ocean. He also says that Mageshima is an uninhabited island, which reduces concerns about aircraft noise and safety.
Furthermore, Yen mentions that Mageshima has flat terrain, which makes airfield construction easier. Moreover, Yen notes that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) only have a limited number of bases in the Nansei Islands and that the completion of Mageshima will enable Japan and the US to conduct a defense in depth against China.
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Japan’s plans to set up Mageshima as an island airbase may also be part of a larger military strategy. In an April 2022 article for Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), Felix Chang notes that Japan’s island bases point toward a strategy intended not only to stop China from taking over the Senkaku Islands but also to frustrate its larger naval ambitions.
Asia Times has previously reported on Japan’s plans to base long-range cruise missiles on its Southwest Islands and Kyushu to improve its counter-strike capabilities against China. Given that, Japan may also opt to base long-range missiles on Mageshima.
Meanwhile, the US may seek to place its long-range missiles on Mageshima. Asia Times has reported on US plans to build a “missile wall” in the First and Second Island Chains.
This strategy is based on the perceived advantages of land-based missile launchers, which include increased survivability compared to ship-based systems, the ability to provide a constant presence in contested areas, and an attack on land-based missile launchers on allied territory marks a significant escalation of hostilities.
The joint Japan-US basing project on Mageshima also likely aims to reinforce the US basing posture in the Pacific. In an April 2021 article for War on the Rocks, Wallace Gregson and Jeffrey Hornung note that Japan is no longer the sanctuary it was for US forces, as China and North Korea have developed long-range strike capabilities and satellite surveillance technologies that threaten US and allied forces stationed in the region.
An October 2022 documentary by ABC News shows that in the event of a Taiwan-China war, China would most likely initiate a pre-emptive missile strike on the military base at Okinawa, aiming to destroy US and Japan airpower on the ground.
Given that threat, Gregson and Hornung note that the US must harden its facilities against attack, disperse and distribute forces across a wider area and improve missile defense capabilities. Thus, the Japan-US base on Mageshima may be a logical step in that direction.
However, some parties have expressed reservations over military construction at Mageshima. In an August 2021 editorial, The Asahi Shimbun mentions that noise from military activity on Mageshima will impact daily life on nearby islands.
In addition, the editorial notes that construction work will significantly impact water quality, marine life and fisheries around the area, depending on whether the project will involve land reclamation.
It also says that the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD) has withheld concrete details about the project and only released an environmental assessment on January 12.
The Mainstream Media Admits That We Are Facing “The Worst Food Crisis In Modern History”
People on the other side of the planet are dropping dead from starvation right now, but most people don’t even realize that this is happening. Unfortunately, most people just assume that everything is fine and dandy. If you are one of those people that believe that everything is just wonderful, I would encourage you to pay close attention to the details that I am about to share with you. Global hunger is rapidly spreading, and that is because global food supplies have been getting tighter and tighter. If current trends continue, we could potentially be facing a nightmare scenario before this calendar year is over.
Pakistan is not one of the poorest nations in the world, but the lack of affordable food is starting to cause panic inside that country. The following comes from Time Magazine…
Last Saturday in Mirpur Khas, a city in Pakistan’s Sindh province, hundreds of people lined up for hours outside a park to buy subsidized wheat flour, offered for 65 rupees a kilogram instead of the current, inflated rate of about 140 to 160 rupees.
When a few trucks arrived, the crowd surged forward, leaving several injured. One man, Harsingh Kolhi, who was there to bring a five kg bag of flour home for his wife and children, was crushed and killed in the chaos.
We are seeing similar things happen all over the planet.
Just because you still may have enough food to eat doesn’t mean that everybody else is okay.
Yet the world is still in the grips of the worst food crisis in modern history, as Russia’s war in Ukraine shakes global agricultural systems already grappling with the effects of extreme weather and the pandemic. Market conditions may have improved in recent months, but experts do not expect imminent relief.
That means more pain for vulnerable communities already struggling with hunger. It also boosts the risk of starvation and famine in countries such as Somalia, which is contending with what the United Nations describes as a “catastrophic” food emergency.
Sadly, it isn’t just in Somalia where the food crisis has reached “catastrophic” proportions.
According to Reuters, the entire continent is now dealing with the worst food crisis that Africa “has ever seen”…
Across Africa, from east to west, people are experiencing a food crisis that is bigger and more complex than the continent has ever seen, say diplomats and humanitarian workers.
Please go back and read that statement again.
Do you remember all those years when Sally Struthers was begging us to feed the starving children in Africa?
Well, the truth is that conditions are now far worse than when she was making those commercials.
“Sometimes mothers bring us dead children,” said Farhia Moahmud Jama, head nurse at the paediatric emergency unit. “And they don’t know they’re dead.”
Weakened by hunger, camp residents are vulnerable to disease and people are dying due to a lack of food, said Nadifa Hussein Mohamed, who managed the camp where Isak’s family initially stayed.
“Maybe the whole world is hungry and donors are bankrupt, I don’t know,” she said. “But we’re calling out for help, and we do not see relief.”
UN officials are doing what they can to help, but the truth is that they are being absolutely overwhelmed by the scope of this crisis.
Over the past 12 months, the number of Africans that are dealing with “acute food insecurity” has absolutely exploded…
The number of East Africans experiencing acute food insecurity – when a lack of food puts lives or livelihoods in immediate danger – has spiked by 60% in just the last year, and by nearly 40% in West Africa, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
Sadly, a lot of Americans are simply not going to care about what is going on over there as long as we have enough food over here.
Of course food supplies continue to get tighter on our side of the planet as well.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, our corn harvest this year was the smallest in 15 years…
Last year was a bad year for corn — the latest US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report shows drought conditions and extreme weather wreaked havoc on croplands.
USDA unexpectedly slashed its outlook for domestic corn production amid a severe drought across the western farm belt. Farmers in Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas were forced to abandon drought-plagued fields.
The agency estimated farmers harvested 79.2 million acres, a decline of 1.6 million acres versus the previous estimate — the smallest acres harvest since 2008.
That wouldn’t be so bad if our population was still the same size that it was back in 2008.
Other harvests have been extremely disappointing too, and that is one of the factors that has been steadily driving up food prices.
As inflation continues to decimate the budgets of American families, the December report from Moody’s Analytics showed that families are spending an estimated $72 more on food per month than they were a year ago.
That figure is pulled out of a report that says the typical US household is shelling out $371 on goods and services more than they were a year ago.
I recently came across an article about one small business owner that is now paying three times as much for eggs as she once did…
It just seems like the cost of everything is going up these days and that includes egg prices, which are affecting local businesses. “We used to buy 15 dozen eggs from Sam’s for 23 dollars. They are now 68 dollars,” said Cindy Gutierrez, the owner of Creative Cakes. “Now it’s about 63-ish for 15 dozen and it’s also hard to get 15 dozen,” said Caitlyn Wallace, the owner of Catie Pies.
The prices for eggs have surged three times their original price. According to the consumer price index, egg prices increased by 10% in October 2022 and that increase has continued to rise. This is causing a domino effect for restaurants, businesses, and bakeries who use eggs.
Economic conditions are changing so rapidly now, and nothing will ever be quite the same again.
Beetleburgers could soon be helping to feed the world, according to new research. The creepy crawlers’ larvae — better known as mealworms — could act as a meat alternative to alleviate hunger worldwide. The process uses a fraction of the land and water and emits a smaller carbon footprint in comparison of traditional farming.
To make this a reality, French biotech company Ynsect is planning a global network of insect farms, including nurseries and slaughterhouses. A pilot plant has already been been set up at Dole in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region of France.
Doesn’t that sound yummy?
Of course these “beetleburgers” will just be a drop in the bucket.
No matter what the global elite try, they will not be able to stop “the worst food crisis in modern history” from getting a whole lot worse.
So I would encourage you to stock up while you still can.
Global food supplies are getting a little bit tighter with each passing day, and I have a feeling that 2023 will have lots of “unexpected surprises” for all of us.
Helmet
2023 01 21 10 12
These Fairytale Felted Houses For Cats Are A Must Have
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It’s likely that if you’re a cat owner your feline companion(s) will have a favorite bed, house or spot to sit, sleep and play in. If you feel that maybe their existing love spot is getting a bit tattered and battered, and your cat wouldn’t be traumatized by a replacement, maybe you might be interested in upgrading to one of these awesome fairytale houses! Created by Yuliya Kosata from Ukraine, the felted houses come in a huge range of designs and color schemes. Take a look below to find out more and see what you think!
Three hours of real-deal madness. Jesus H. Christ!
https://youtu.be/B2WVEla34Tk
If China had to defend against a US invasion and could pick 1 nation who would fully back them, what country would be their best choice?
China don’t need any help. First China will do everything the U.S. do. It if invade China. Then China would invade the US. It will reciprocate equally. You kill a million Chinese they will kill a million Americans. You drop a nuke in Shanghai they will drop a nuke in New York.
They will wiped off all the 12 aircraft carriers within a day. Everywhere in the world. If the bomber comes from Japan. God help Japan. There are at least a hundred and fifty countries out of the 195 nations that will volunteer to do shit on US, UK and its fellow parasite nations.
But China need no one.
3 Women Describe What’s It Like To Be Ugly In A Superficial World
1. I’m not a pretty woman and it shows in everyday life and it hurts.
As much as being hit on and catcalled is scary and I’m SO sorry to those it happens too, I get the opposite. All I ever see are posts on being catcalled and I just wanna talk about my experiences. I get moo’d at and barked at like a dog and vomit noises. We have a creepy old regular where I work that’s calls all the girls beautiful but is disgusted by me and has made negative comments on my appearance and literally told me to get out of his field of vision.
People act super awkward and their eyes dart all over the place trying to avoid making eye contact when I talk to them. Other times people are just straight up MEAN and dismissive of me, but treat everyone else with respect.
I’ve been bullied and called ugly my whole life. Ever since I was 5 years old. Kids singled me out and were mean, and even the moms in my Girl Scout troop treated me differently.
I remember in high school these two guys were sitting behind me and one just loudly asked the other if he would fuck me. The answer was a loud resounding “HELLLLL NAWWWW.” Of course if the answer had been the opposite, anyone would be creeped out and feel unsafe, but this moment still sticks with me and hurts for some reason.
I’m physically in shape now but my face is just fucking weird. It’s so unsymmetrical and disproportionate and you can see every single little blood vessel in my face and I have genetic dark circles I can’t seem to conceal. Even with regular dentist appointments and good dental hygiene, I just have shit teeth that crack and break. My forehead is huge and I have a double chin that won’t go away and my eyebrows are wildly different from each other. My nose has been broken twice so you can only imagine what that looks like now.
I don’t take selfies. I hate pictures of myself and even still it hurts how friends and family don’t want to take any pictures with me. I do have a son and the whole reason I spiraled into typing this post was I have a photographer friend who offered to do valentines portraits of me and my son as a gift. I accepted FOR MY SON, not for me, and I’m not looking forward to it and it’s making me so sad. Every picture I see of myself I get super depressed.
I have good hygiene. I bathe and smell good. I dress nice. I AM nice. But the few friends I have and even my mother have admitted I’m not exactly the most attractive woman so that just confirms everything else.
I’m sorry for this post and I don’t mean to invalidate anyone else’s feelings or experiences. I just really wanted to rant.
2. I’m ugly. I know I’m ugly. I have known that I am ugly since I was twelve years old.
Before then I thought I was simply fat, and that when I lost all that fat, that I would be beautiful and valuable. When I was twelve I lost two stone, and realised I was simply, irretrievably, ugly.
My most prominent feature is my long, hooked, nose. My eyes are tiny and so close together I can only use children’s glasses. I am twenty one and still constantly get large, red spots.
My hair is a thick, brown mess of frizz. I have a wide ribcage and broad hips, which leave me with a very broad figure no matter how much weight I lose. I have very small breasts, which, coupled with my wide hips leave me perpetually pear-shaped.
To top it all off I am tall, 5′ 10″ in stocking feet, so there is never an option of blending into the crowd. I am always seen, and always ugly.
The world of an ugly woman is different to that of a beautiful woman in so many ways I could not begin to explain it all. I can, however, briefly sketch the strange differences I have observed between how society treats ugly women, and how society treats beautiful women.
My sister is beautiful. I have many beautiful friends. I live in the same world as beautiful women. I am not one of them. They are celebrated, remembered, asked after. People are good to beautiful women, even when beautiful women are indifferent, hostile or even cruel in return. People remember my sister’s name and instantly forget me. When we are introduced to new people together, nine times out of ten if I meet that person again they will immediately ask where my sister is, how she is, what she is doing. I am never asked about myself and she is never asked about me.
My beautiful friends are photographed by friends and acquaintances. I am silently left out of the records of social events. I am erased from history because I am too ugly to be photographed. Strangers compliment my sister and my friends, strangers insult and ridicule me.
Men might think that perhaps they live in the same world that I do, but they don’t. Even ugly men live in a different world to me. I have never seen, or heard of, a man experiencing the same level of public condemnation for their looks that I have faced. The most recent example I can think of is the man who stopped in the street last week to tell me that I shouldn’t be wearing tinsel on my head like my friends (we were going for Christmas drinks) because I was so ugly. This is not rare for me and this is not new. This has been my life since I was a young teenager.
When I see discussions about catcalling I want to scream at the people who tell women that they should be complimented. What should I do when someone yells at me, unprovoked, that I am an ugly minger? I know I am ugly. There is literally nothing I can do about it. I’m trying my best already!
There is hope for ugly men in popular culture. We celebrate the story of the ugly, or at least not conventionally attractive male, who finally gets his, inevitably beautiful, female crush to realise how much he is worth on the inside and how worthy he is of her love. That story never happens in reverse. There are just no famous actresses that are anything other than conventionally beautiful.
Nobody writes books about ugly women. No one makes films or plays, or songs or art of any sort about ugly women. In fact, we’re not there at all. In popular culture, and culture stretching back as far as human memory goes, ugly women are not there. We don’t exist and nobody talks about us. Beautiful women are the only women we see or hear about, and most crushingly, the only women we remember. The ugly ones, no matter what they do, seem to be simply invisible. Invisible or evil and bad.
We shouldn’t be surprised by this, though, we tell children stories of the good, beautiful princess and the evil, ugly witch. We make this happen.
I am ugly. I will not be remembered. I will never be the protagonist of any story told. I hate being ugly. I hate myself. The end.
3. Every morning when I wake up, I want to go back to sleep. Not because I’m tired, but because I can’t face the world like this. I dress myself up as best as I can manage, and I do my hair by physical memory. I avoid the mirror.
Whenever I look in the mirror, I want to throw up. I want to rip my eyes out and never see again. I wish I could go to the store and return the parts of my face. Tell them: “This wasn’t what I ordered. I need a refund”. Get a replacement and finally love myself.
It’s hard to love yourself when no one loves you. A guy asks you out because of a dare. Just when you think you finally got someone to like you, they laugh at you and call you names. “Squidward”, “witch without the wart”, “forehead higher than my grades”, stuff you wish was a joke. It never is.
I have a crush now. We talk all the time. Sometimes about life, sometimes about our hobbies, sometimes about nothing really. I would definitely say we’re close. When I confessed, I admit I was kind of hopeful. I thought ‘maybe this time will be different. Maybe he would at least consider it’….But of course I was rejected. He wants his beautiful friend, not me. That kind of stuff always happens when you’re ugly. I couldn’t get someone to go out with me if I paid them.
See, as a woman, it doesn’t matter what other merits you have. It doesn’t matter that I’m a hard worker, people seem to think I’m funny, and I have some of the best grades in my entire school. It doesn’t matter that I read and research topics for a better understanding, and that I like having conversations about them. It doesn’t even matter that I have many skills. I’m ugly, therefore I am worthless. I’m ugly, so no one will ever want to date me.
When you’re ugly, you start considering the options. You look to plastic surgery because you know it’s the only way out. But plastic surgery is uncomfortable, it’s expensive, and it might not even work. God dammit.
I don’t believe in god, but I’m starting to think I should. Maybe some magical space man can make my face beautiful. Maybe some fairy in the sky can get someone to love me. Then I’d be happy. Even if it’s just for a little while.
‘World War 3 has already started’ between US and Russia/China, argues French scholar
A very realistic analysis of our global economy.
Why is America a declining superpower?
All empires eventually collapse. This has been proven throughout history.
America’s time has come.
The reasons are manifold:
Internal political corruption, mostly from runaway capitalism.
Massive national debt, currently at over $30 trillion.
Endless money printing which is unsustainable.
Extreme economic inequality which is causing massive discontent among the population.
Over-reliance on global militarism which causes enormous financial strain.
Numerous domestic issues such as gun violence and mass shootings, systemic racism, mass incarceration, homelessness, unaffordable health care, etc.
Loss of credibility around the world, for example, most countries refuse to follow USA’s sanctions against Russia, OPEC refuses to increase oil production at USA’s request, SE Asia refuses to join USA in a coalition against China, and so on.
BRICS is creating an alternative reserve currency to the US Dollar. That means no more sanctions.
A polar bear killed a woman and boy Tuesday afternoon in the Northwest Alaska community of Wales, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers received a report of a polar bear attack around 2:30 p.m., troopers said in an online report. According to initial accounts, a polar bear came to the village and chased several residents, troopers said.
The bear killed a woman and a boy, troopers said. Another Wales resident shot and killed the bear “as it attacked the pair,” troopers said.
The two people who were killed in the mauling weren’t identified in the report, and troopers said officials are working to notify their next of kin.
Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said troopers are coordinating with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as they try to send personnel to Wales as soon as the weather allows.
Wales — a predominantly Inupiaq village of fewer than 150 people — is located on the far western edge of the Seward Peninsula bordering the Bering Strait, just over 100 miles northwest of Nome.
In winter, polar bears can be found as far south as St. Lawrence Island, occasionally traveling even farther south, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Subsisting primarily on a diet of marine mammals, males can grow to be up to 1,200 pounds, females up to 700 pounds, with no natural predators beyond humans.
Fatal polar bear attacks are extremely rare in Alaska. In 1990, a polar bear killed a man in the North Slope village of Point Lay. Biologists later said the animal showed signs of starvation. In 1993, a polar bear burst through a window of an Air Force radar station on the North Slope, seriously mauling a 55-year-old mechanic. He survived the attack.
Escape Into The Glass Rivers And Lakes Of These Beautiful Wood Tables
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If getting lost in a coffee table sounds improbable, you may change your mind once you see these beautiful furnishings. Artist and designer Greg Klassen transforms reclaimed wood into mesmerizing works of art embedded with glass rivers and lakes. Klassen’s newest works include a variety of coffee tables of different sizes and shapes, as well as wall hangings.
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What a find!
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Overworked Employee Quits Because He Wasn’t Getting A Fair Wage, Costs The Company $40 Million
Not paying your employees a fair wage can have disastrous consequences for the company’s bottom line. Some business owners realize this only when it’s far, far too late.
Redditor u/slw_motion_trainwrck opened up about how he quit his low-paying, exhausting IT job at a major multinational company… and how the day after he left work, the business lost $40 million. In three very extensive posts on r/antiwork, the redditor detailed exactly how this happened, and the read is absolutely riveting.
Scroll down for the full story and more details about why exactly the manufacturing company that makes components for the automotive industry lost as much money as it did, dear Pandas. It’s definitely worth your attention. You’ll see just how low companies go and how far from every promise is worth listening to if it’s not in writing.
“The best way to gauge if you are underpaid is to ask your colleagues and other people in your industry what they are getting paid. They might be hard-pressed to reveal their figures at first. Therefore, you can ask for a range and also volunteer your wage and ask for their guidance. Getting average wages for your job based on online websites is not too helpful given their numbers are averages and all over the place,” he told us that employees should ask around to see if they’re being paid a proper wage.
According to financial expert Sam, a good employee knows their value. “The more an employee is irreplaceable, the more valuable the employee is. Therefore, if you know that your business will run just fine without you for one month or longer, you may not be as valuable as you think,” he said. “On the other hand, if you feel your business will suffer if you’re out longer than a week, then you are considered more valuable. No manager wants to lose a valuable employee because it takes a lot of time to find and train a new employee.”
An IT specialist, who was very overworked and incredibly underpaid, decided that he wanted better work conditions
However, the multinational company was less than friendly, and drove itself into a huge financial mess as a result. Here’s the full story
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“The Trains of Silence” (1965)
Just discovered this fabulous series.
Great scripts. Famous actors. Tight direction. Great settings. Luscious color. Way ahead of any thing today.
Cool discovery