I’m reorganizing my archive index, and are placing things in better-to-access groupings. This is a work in progress. Please do not be alarmed.
As I have repeatedly stated, we are in the middle of World War 3. We are at the plateau. Anything can happen at this stage.
Overall, however, things are well in hand by the “adults in the room”. Don’t worry too much. It’s gonna be middle bads at the worst.
Then it will be all gravy.
Let’s do today’ installment.
Was There An Explosion In The Great Pyramid In Antiquity?
With recent discoveries of “new” spaces or chambers behind the so-called “Gantenbrink’s Door” in the Southern Shaft and another “door’ in the Northern
Shaft of the Queen’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid, interest in the ancient monument continues to capture the imagination of many people in the world. Even Dr. Zahi Hawass, ex Chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, has remarked that the Great Pyramid has not yet yielded all of its secrets by any means.
In fact, the inner chambers of the Great Pyramid exhibit many anomalous features, which have never been adequately addressed or discussed by Egyptologists such as Hawass. In his landmark book, The Giza Power Plant (Bear & Co., 1998), engineer Chris Dunn made the suggestion there is evidence that the Great Pyramid may have experienced a cataclysmic event, an explosion some time in its distant past which ended its role as an active power plant, a machine, which is what Dunn proposes was its primary function in his book. I further advanced Dunn’s hypothesis of an explosion in the pyramid in my book, The Land of Osiris (Adventures Unlimited Press, 2001) due to investigations I made on site in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
My recent trip to Egypt enabled me to further pursue the hypothesis and gather even more evidence, not only in the Great Pyramid, but at other sites as well.
There are several features in the inner chambers of the Great Pyramid that cannot be explained by the structure merely being utilized as a tomb for a king, whether an actual or symbolic tomb. As mentioned in both my and Chris’s book, the King’s Chamber presents several anomalies. There are cracks in the granite beams on the southeastern ceiling of the room. I first noticed these cracks in 1992. Egyptologists have explained the cracks away as being the result of an earthquake, but there is no evidence of seismic damage in either the Descending Passage or Subterranean Chamber, which would have been closer to the epicenter. The SCA (Supreme Council of Antiquities) attempted to repair these cracks in 1998 but they are still evident today.
The walls of the King’s Chamber can be seen separating from the floor and seem to bulge out, suggesting that an explosion or powerful energy pulse acted upon them. Chris Dunn is also the only investigator to remark that the stone box in the King’s Chamber (erroneously referred to as a “sarcophagus”) is today a chocolate brown color, not the original rose color of the Aswan granite it is from. The color change could be due to tremendous heat, which could indicate it was chemically altered by an explosion or fire in the chamber in antiquity. If a sample of the box could be obtained, it could be tested to determine if this was so.
There are other anomalies to be found in the Grand Gallery. First discovered by Chris Dunn in May of 1999 when we were in Egypt together, the upper wall of the Grand Gallery, near the entrance into the King’s Chamber, is made of granite, not limestone. The entire wall shows deep dark stains that may be the result of being exposed to tremendous heat, perhaps from an explosion. Along the side ramps of the gallery are several rectangular holes or sockets, evenly spaced throughout the entire distance of the ramps. Some Egyptologists, such as Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass, have speculated that statues of Khufu, the supposed builder of the Great Pyramid, were situated in these holes, but no evidence of any statues has ever been found in the pyramid. Chris Dunn has speculated that some sort of devices, perhaps Helmholtz Resonators, may have been inserted in these slots to amplify the energy produced in the pyramid. There is evidence that these resonators, or some other devices, may have exploded during the proposed cataclysmic event that occurred in the pyramid as there are burn or scorch marks on the ceiling of the Grand Gallery directly above and corresponding to the slots on the side ramps. This also may be why no traces of the resonators have also ever been found.
In January of 2003, I discussed the possibility of an accident/explosion having occurred in the Great Pyramid in antiquity with my Egyptian teacher, indigenous wisdom keeper Abd’El Hakim Awyan. While not specifically mentioning an explosion in the pyramid, Hakim stated that his tradition does record (orally) that a cataclysmic event occurred thousands of years ago on a global scale, an event that may have been sparked by a cometary flyby, a meteor strike or some other celestial/geosynchronous activity. Although Hakim does not often deal with exact dates, I believe this event may have occurred around 11,500 years ago as stated by Barbara Hand Clow in her book, Catastrophobia (Bear & Co., 2001).
In my book, The Land of Osiris, I mentioned a series of sites in prehistoric Egypt, from Dahshur in the south to Abu Roash in the north, and including Sakkara and Giza. These sites were all interconnected and linked by stone masonry pyramids and temples, and were all erected over 10,000 years ago according to the indigenous wisdom keepers of Egypt. I mention that the site of Abu Roash, some five to eight miles north of Giza, once had a pyramid, which is all in ruins today. Egyptologists state that the pyramid was unfinished and therefore is insignificant, but my research indicated otherwise. Where I once thought the pyramid had been attacked and quarried by Arabs in the last few hundred years seeking stone to rebuild mosques damaged by earthquakes, I now speculate that the pyramid may have been destroyed in the same aforementioned cataclysmic event. Abd’El Hakim also believed that this was the case.
Recent investigations at the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur also revealed some possible evidence to support this explosion hypothesis. The northwest corner of the pyramid, also believed by Egyptologists to have been recently quarried, appears to have been blown away as if from an explosion. The pyramid shows uneven loss of stone, inconsistent with systematic quarrying. Most of the original casing stones are still intact, yet this one side seems to be blown off.
A cataclysmic event in antiquity, proposed by many authors as having occurred around 11,500 years ago, whether celestial as a comet or meteor strike, planetary near miss, or even an ancient global war as suggested by David Hatcher Childress and Zecharia Sitchin, may have affected all the stone masonry pyramids on the gridline that I have labeled The Land of Osiris, approximately 25 square miles from Dahshur to Abu Roash. The evidence presented that can be found in the Great Pyramid does indicate that the inner chambers of the monument were once subjected to great heat and/or an explosion which caused the great 70 ton granite beams in the ceiling of the King’s Chamber to crack. This evidence, obvious when carefully observed, cannot in any way be explained or accounted for by merely dismissing the monument as being a tomb for a king constructed 4500 years ago. There needs to be more independent holistic study by scientists and researchers of varied disciplines concerning these anomalies mentioned to determine, if possible, whether an explosion did indeed occur in the Great Pyramid in antiquity. There is enough evidence presently to bring into serious question the whole assumption of the pyramid being constructed as a tomb for a king in 2500 BC.
Transdneistria BANS Ukrainians from Entry Unless They Have Relatives in the enclave – Ukraine Military HIDING Equipment along border
The authorities of Transnistria have banned entry into the territory of citizens of Ukraine️ who do not have relatives among local residents.
The Ukrainian Armed forces are hiding their equipment near the villages of Topaly and Domnytsya, which are located near the Transnistria/Ukraine border, near the massive Arms Depot filled with 20,000 tons of Soviet-era weaponry, located in Cobasna, Transdniestria.
The fact that the Ukrainians are preparing a provocation is clear.
Tucker Carlson Given Unreleased Jan 6 Footage-Democrats FREAK OUT!
8 Guys Reveal What It’s Like To Be Good Looking
1. Everyone thinks I’m funny. People are always sneaking glances at me. Cashiers and waitresses and people like that are way nicer. People respect me when I haven’t given them a reason to. Women make excuse after excuse regarding why they fucked me on the first or second date and how they never do that. Thanks to dating apps, I can reliably get laid by Friday if I work on it starting Monday that week (though I am now dating).
But the biggest difference is just general day to day life and its impossible to describe. I used to be ridiculously ugly so I know the other side of the tracks. There is something unquantifiable – but everyone treats you differently. Everyone. Your parents will treat you differently. Your coaches, teachers, men, women. They probably don’t realize it but they definitely do.
2. On an everyday basis it’s easy to talk to strangers. Getting checked out by woman really does make me feel great, the more attractive the woman the better. When I’m nice to people it’s almost always reciprocated.
I’m a scientist and professionally it can be less stellar. I’m also pretty friendly and people often assume I am less intelligent. That can be a hurdle to get over for some people. In general people can be far more critical of my work or combative, often needlessly. This is especially true of around half of the women in my field and other men have noticed the same thing. As a result I get along much better with men and the other half of the women (who are great).
Socially it can be very difficult to remain friends wth single women. I’ve been with the same women for a third of my life. There has only been her (she’s freeking great). So I’ve had several relationships with women go sour when I’m not interested, or I don’t reciprocate feelings, or seemingly randomly.
3. I use to be unattractive a few years ago. Worked out, learned how to dress, became more social, have my own company, and get told quite a bit I’m cute,
- girls just open up more. When you smile at a stranger, she’s more likely to smile back.
- girls try to get your attention more. When I’m at a bar or a club, women will smile and make eye contact with me. Before I felt invisible.
- girls are less flaky when it comes to dates. If I’m having dinner with someone, I don’t get bullshit texts 5 mins before that she can’t make it
- way more options for dating, life’s just better
I wanna make one thing very, very clear. Any guy can become more attractive with some work. – workout – dress well – smile – be passionate about things in life
Looks do matter to girls, but not as much as it does to guys. Just dont expect your girl to be a 9 when you look like a 4, when u could easily be a 7 with some effort.v
Just kinda irks me when a guy says he’s forever alone but he’s 300lbs and stays at home all day surfing reddit and watching porn.
4. People are very trusting of you. I get asked for directions a lot on the street – far more than anyone I know. I live in Manhattan – but i’m talking 3 separate groups of women in 1 block. It’s almost silly sometimes, as if i’m famous.
People believe what you tell them, which is part of the reason I’ve been so successful in business. The flip side of that is you begin to believe that whatever you say is true. Then someone who doesn’t care that you are handsome ends up thinking you are just some arrogant cock bag.
Women hit on me all the time. For all their tough talk about how men are so weak, women are unbelievably arrogant around a hot guy. My wife and kids could be right next to me and they’ll still flirt with me. Very strange.
Tying into that last one, I get a lot of inappropriate advances too. I guess because there are proportionally fewer ‘hot’ guys around, women feel like the sexual harassment rules don’t apply. At work this can become awkward. When I was a teen/early 20’s I didn’t know how to handle this gracefully and so became a bit of a dick in these situations.
You tend to get invited places. Parties/events/friends etc – people just want to have you around a lot. This becomes very difficult to handle – and is one of the main reasons I don’t go out too much. With too many invites you must choose between friends, and that sucks. Those who you choose like you, and those who you overlook assume you look down on them. You cannot win.
Men have a 50/50 reaction to me – either they love me or hate me. It’s very easy to tell which guys are self confident and which are self conscious.
5. I have been told that I am attractive (I have a very beautiful wife, if that is any proof) and I am also very tall (6’5, I stand out in a crowd) so perhaps I have a little insight.
Remember the episode of 30 Rock with John Hamm as Liz Lemon’s boyfriend? He basically did whatever he wanted to do and nobody ever told him he was wrong; they just agreed and gave him whatever he wanted. It’s a little like that; people don’t obey my every command, but they are more accommodating. For example, if I make a suggestion to a group and someone who is considered unattractive also makes a suggestion I can almost guarantee that people will go along with my suggestion, even if it isn’t the best one.
One more thing: I catch people looking at me all the time. Women (and some men) will crane their necks or turnaround to look at me. Sometimes it’s a little flattering, most of the time it’s somewhat creepy.
6. Women stare at me quite a lot. Some stare like as if we are boxers staring at each other before the fight. Creepy as hell.
Older women tend to flirt a lot. Younger girls – less. Anyway, 75% of the interaction is light teasing and flirting. Girls at the office open and loud at the way I dress and look right in front of me, as if on purpose, sometimes I can hear “look at Sasha’s white shirt, omygawd” as I walk by. Also, I can get away with any shit when talking with woman, they may get upset for a moment, but never keep anything against me for long. Whenever I approach a woman, chance of her being mean or rude are less than 10%, I never heard stuff like “eew, get away from me” or something similar.
Here’s an example. I went slow dancing with the new girl at the office party last week, saw something like group of five-six other girls at the table staring at me like baby owls at the piece of meat. Later on, after the dance, they started acting out like I cheated on them or something. So I went to karaoke bar to escape the drama. Next time I saw them at the workplace some of them suddenly started to apologize that they did not dance with me at the party. That’s weird, to be honest.
7. 6’1″ 180 pound fit male who has been rated many times at “9-10”. I’ve had opportunities to do modeling and been asked to do several casting calls while in public. Not as great as you would think. I get groped and have my ass grabbed a lot, not by “hot” girls either. I’m still nervous and awkward around very attractive women, this doesn’t go away with good looks. Women stare ALOT and openly sexually harass you.
As far as being treated better by people: my female professors jumped through hoops to help me with anything, but my male professors were always uncomfortable/very standoffish before getting to know me well. Guys will take any chance to openly belittle you in front of anyone else. Probably an insecurity thing.
8. Black guy here. I’ve always known that i was considered cute/attractive by black women. I’ll say i am an 8/10, not tall, too skinny, but i almost always end up with attractive women.
I was never really able to read white and asian women, i grew up mostly surrounded by whites and asian so I actually didn’t get that much female attention, therefore i was a little unsure where i stood physically.
Fast forward to present day…
- I am pretty confident i can get with most black women. White and Asian women tend to approach me more when they have a little alcohol in them…usually looking for casual fun.
- I purposely avoid sexual relationships because it takes too much effort to end it
- I have pretty high standards and i can find someone willing to have casual sex on any weekend without trying too hard
- I’ve had a few awkward boyfriend is at the party but gf is sneaking around cornering and groping me
- Someone ditched her date and attacked me sexually at a bar while the date was just a few feet away. We barely made it around the block before she started giving me head. I actually felt bad about this but it ain’t my fault.
- Lots of failed public sexual encounters after bars and clubs close
- I have asshole-ish tendencies and it doesn’t seem to diminish attraction women have for me.
- Sex with one of my professor’s daughter in their garage during a christmas party (this is still one of my favorite sexual encounters)
Former Prime Minister of Malysia: World War 3 Has Begun
The former Prime Minister of Malaysia has now publicly warned World War 3 has begun; and it is the fault of Europe and the US.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad
@chedetofficial
WORLD WAR III
1. I hesitate to write this article. I may be accused of apologising for the Russians. I am not. I think the present war between Ukraine and Russia is caused by the Europeans’ love of War, of hegemony, of dominance.
2. Russia was the partner of the Western Europeans (including U.S. and Canada) in the war against Germany. The moment Germany was defeated, the west declared that Russia, their partner was their new enemy.
3. So they must prepare for war against Russia. And NATO was set up to form a military alliance against Russia. Russia then set up the Warsaw Pact. And a Cold war ensued. And the world had to choose between the west and the east.
4. After the Russians disbanded the Warsaw Pact and allowed the countries of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to leave the bloc, NATO did not disband.
Instead the countries freed from Russian hegemony were urged to join NATO as enemies of Russia. The pressure against the weakened Russia was heightened.
5. As the former socialist republics join NATO and the threat against Russia heightened, Russia rebuilt its military capabilities and confronted the powerful western alliance. Tension increased as NATO forces carried out exercises close to Russia.
6. Provoked, Russia pre-empted with the invasion of Ukraine. That invasion can be interpreted as the start of the Third World War. There is talk of using nuclear weapons. Already the world has to endure shortages of supplies due to sanctions against Russia and Russian retaliation
7. There is also provocation in the Far East. A visit by a high U.S. official to Taiwan caused an increase of tension between China and Taiwan. Both are arming and the U.S. has sold a lot of weapons to Taiwan, while China became more belligerent.
8. Even Malaysia is experiencing shortages and inflation. It is important that the country prepares contingency plans to deal with what may be the beginning of a Third World War.
DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
24 Feb 2023
Jeffery Sachs | We WILL NEVER KNOW PEACE AGAIN
https://youtu.be/9NoCbQqkay8
Feijoada (Black Bean Stew – Brazil)
Black Beans and Meat is the national dish of Brazil. Although usually involving several days for the preparation and traditionally calling for pig feet, ears and tail, this version is made with readily-available pork cuts. Serve this with hot white rice, sliced oranges and sliced white onion.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans
- Water (to cover beans)
- 6 cups water
- 1 pound boneless ham, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 3/4 pound hot Italian sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 3/4 pound smoked sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, stemmed
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/8 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large Dutch oven, combine beans, the 6 cups of water and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, skimming if necessary. Cover and transfer to oven. Bake 1 1/2 hours; remove cover and bake another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve immediately, with cornbread, if desired. Or allow to cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove any fat from surface. Reheat Feijoada slowly.
Serves 12.
Russia Halts Pipeline ** OIL ** Supplies to Poland
Russia has halted pipeline oil supplies to Poland. Unclear at this stage why and for how long.
It may come as a surprise to many that oil pipelines had NOT been shut off under the “Sanctions” imposed due to the Ukraine situation. In fact, Russia has continued to sell and ship oil to most countries in Europe despite their howling over Ukraine.
Now, OIL is being shut off.
This situation continues to get worse.
Is the Biden Administration completely brain dead?
Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons on all its ships. The US arrogantly told China not to support Russia or that they would impose sanctions on China as they have done with Russia. That is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Once you make such a public demand on China, they now MUST act against it or their leadership will lose face.
I have dealt with governments for some 40 years +. Warnings of this nature have ALWAYS been communicated privately – NEVER publicly for that is confrontational and will necessitate the opposite side to vote against your demand. I cannot imagine that even I know far more about diplomacy than anyone in the Biden Administration. That suggests to me that this is deliberate. They just cannot be this stupid. They seem to be deliberately moving Russia and China together against the arrogant West in the very same manner that resulted in the Peloponnesian War with Sparta taking down Athens for its arrogance.
As the world teeters on the edge of World War III between Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran against the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe, diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful settlement are seriously lacking. Europeans should be storming their own parliaments demanding the end to supporting Ukraine and honoring the Minsk Agreement to forestall a potential conflict the likes of which Europe has not seen since the end of the second World War and will certainly not survive.
The Biden Administration appears to be taking the advice of Adolf Hitler given the complete lack of any diplomacy whatsoever. China has offered a peace settlement but the Biden Administration wants war. China had no choice but to respond to Biden:
‘The US is in no position to tell China what to do’
It’s starting to come out…
OMG. United States military bio-labs…
Belarus Moving ISKANDER Missiles “for Combat”
Belarusian Ministry of Defense has relocated “Iskander” missile systems to a specified location in order to get them ready for combat. Video below.
Ensalada Criolla (Argentina)
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 onions
- 2 green bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut all the ingredients in small pieces, then add the dressing.
- Chill until serving time.
Serves 4 to 6.
Did Ancient Japanese Fishermen Reach South America 5,000-Years-Ago?
The notion that pre-Columbian cultures from Europe, Africa, or Asia sailed across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to discover America, is a popular theory backed by numerous books and television documentaries. While most of these claims seem baseless, one theory did gain some credibility, in that it was backed by a reputable archaeologist from the esteemed Smithsonian Institution, the so-called ‘Jōmon-Valdivia hypothesis’. Until recently, mainstream historians and archaeologists most often shunned ideas about ancient transcontinental oceanic travel and the entire notion was considered as pseudoscience. Even in the face of new findings around the world that support the idea that oceans were travelled by ancient peoples who had both the motivation, and means to do so, many archaeologists still refuse to engage with the term “ancient transoceanic voyage.” And this is not as dogmatic as one might at first think, for the history of the subject is infected with mistakes, misinterpretations, and hoaxes that have left trails of confusion in their wake.
A drawing of a raft (balsa) near Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1748. The drawing resembles the description given by 16th-century Spanish explorers of the rafts used by Indians. ( Public Domain )
Some theorists suggest that the lost tribes from Israel appeared in North America, or that Phoenicians made it to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, but no one story has left such a wake of confusion as the ‘Jōmon-Valdivia hypothesis’, a 50-year long archaeological delusion that suggested the ancient peoples of Ecuador did not develop their own culture, but that they inherited it from prehistoric fishermen from Japan around 3000 BC.
Final Jōmon dogū (土偶) earthenware figure (c. 1000 – 400 BC) ( CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Jōmon period in Japanese history extended from circa 14,000–300 BC and represents an epoch when diverse hunter-gatherer groups merged with early agriculturalists through a common Jōmon culture. The name ‘Jōmon’ means cord-marked, referring to the twisted cord impressions that decorate the iconic pottery from this time, which is generally accepted to be among the oldest decorated clay crafts in the world. The earliest pottery fragments in Japan were found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in 1998 and date back to 14,500 BC, and similarly dated pottery was later recovered from the Kamikuroiwa archaeological site, and from within the Fukui cave.
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Ashley Cowie is a Scottish historian, author and documentary filmmaker presenting original perspectives on historical problems, in accessible and exciting ways. His books, articles and television shows explore lost cultures and kingdoms, ancient crafts and artifacts, symbols and architecture, myths and legends telling thought-provoking stories which together offer insights into our shared social history . www.ashleycowie.com.
Top Image : Utagawa Hiroshige’s Sailing Boats at Arai ( Public Domain )
By: Ashley Cowie
“Porn Fashions”: Obscenely Tasteless Apparel From 1980s Adult Magazines
It’s become a cliched joke to claim you read Playboy for its articles; but, in all seriousness, the best place to find wicked wild 70s and 80s fashions are in vintage porn.
Sounds like a flimsy excuse, I know. But when you get a load of some of these magazine scans, you’ll be a true believer. There was something magical about the admixture of drugs, sluts, and alcohol. The already unique 80s sensibility was taken to spectacularly awful (or awesome, depending on your tastes) extremes. Here are some of the finest fashions 80s porn had to offer. Enjoy.
h/t: flashback, retrospace
Putin’s ‘civilizational’ speech frames conflict between east and west
In his Federal Assembly address, President Putin emphasized that Russia is not only an independent nation-state but also a distinct civilization with its own identity, which is in conflict and actively opposes the values of 'western civilization.'
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s much awaited address to the Russian Federal Assembly on Tuesday should be interpreted as a tour de force of sovereignty.
The address, significantly, marked the first anniversary of Russia’s official recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, only a few hours before 22 February, 2022. In myriad ways, what happened a year ago also marked the birth of the real, 21stcentury multipolar world.
Then two days later, Moscow launched the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine to defend said republics.
Cool, calm, and collected, without a hint of aggression, Putin’s speech painted Russia as an ancient, independent, and quite distinct civilization – sometimes following a path in concert with other civilizations, sometimes in divergence.
Ukraine, part of Russian civilization, now happens to be occupied by western civilization, which Putin said “became hostile to us,” like in a few instances in the past. So the acute phase of what is essentially a war by proxy of the west against Russia takes place over the body of Russian civilization.
That explains Putin’s clarification that “Russia is an open country, but an independent civilization – we do not consider ourselves superior but we inherited our civilization from our ancestors and we must pass it on.”
A war dilacerating the body of Russian civilization is a serious existential business. Putin also made clear that “Ukraine is being used as a tool and testing ground by the west against Russia.” Thus the inevitable follow-up: “The more long-range weapons are sent to Ukraine, the longer we have to push the threat away from our borders.”
Translation: this war will be long – and painful. There will be no swift victory with minimal loss of blood. The next moves around the Dnieper may take years to solidify. Depending on whether US policy continues to cleave to neo-con and neoliberal objectives, the frontline may be displaced to Lviv. Then German politics may change. Normal trade with France and Germany may be recovered only by the end of the next decade.
Kremlin exasperation: START is finished
All that brings us to the games played by the Empire of Lies. Says Putin: “The promises…of western rulers turned into forgery and cruel lies. The west supplied weapons, trained nationalist battalions. Even before the start of the SMO, there were negotiations…on the supply of air defense systems… We remember Kyiv’s attempts to obtain nuclear weapons.”
Putin made it clear, once again, that the element of trust between Russia and the west, especially the US, is gone. So it’s a natural decision for Russia to “withdraw from the treaty on strategic offensive weapons, but we don’t do it officially. For now we are only halting our participation to the START treaty. No US inspections in our nuclear sites can be allowed.”
As an aside, of the three main US-Russian weapons treaties, Washington abandoned two of these: The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty was dumped by the administration of former president George W. Bush in 2002, and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was nixed by former president Donald Trump in 2019.
This shows the Kremlin’s degree of exasperation. Putin is even prepared to order the Ministry of Defense and Rosatom to get ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if the US goes first along the same road.
If that’s the case, Russia will be forced to completely break parity in the nuclear sphere, and abandon the moratorium on nuclear testing and cooperation with other nations when it comes to the production of nuclear weapons. So far, the US and NATO game consisted in opening a little window allowing them to inspect Russian nuclear sites.
With his judo move, Putin returns the pressure onto the White House.
The US and NATO will not be exactly thrilled when Russia starts testing its new strategic weapons, especially the post-doomsday Poseidon – the largest nuclear-powered torpedo ever deployed, capable of triggering terrifying radioactive ocean swells.
On the economic front: Bypassing the US dollar is the essential play towards multipolarity. During his speech, Putin made a point to extol the resilience of the Russian economy: “Russian GDP in 2022 decreased only by 2.1 percent, estimates of the opposing side did not become reality, they said 15, 20 percent.” That resilience gives Russia enough room to “work with partners to make the system of international settlements independent of the US dollar and other western currencies. The dollar will lose its universal role.”
On geoeconomics: Putin went all out in praise of economic corridors, from West Asia to South Asia: “New corridors, transport routes will be built towards the East, this is the region where we will focus our development, new highways to Kazakhstan and China, new North-South corridor to Pakistan, Iran.”
And those will connect to Russia developing “the ports of the Black and Azov Seas, it’s necessary to build logistics corridors within the country.” The result will be a progressive interconnection with the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) whose principals include Iran and India, and eventually China’s mega-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
China’s plan for global security
It’s inevitable that apart from sketching several state policies geared towards Russia’s internal development – one might even compare them to socialist policies – a great deal of Putin’s address had to focus on the NATO vs. Russia war till-the-last-Ukrainian.
Putin remarked on how “our relations with the west have degraded, and this is entirely the fault of the United States;” how NATO’s goal is to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia; and how the warmongering frenzy had forced him, a week ago, to sign a decree “putting new ground-based strategic complexes on combat duty.”
So it’s no accident that the US ambassador was immediately summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs right after Putin’s address.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Ambassador Lynne Tracey in no uncertain terms that Washington must take concrete measures: among them, to remove all US and NATO military forces and equipment away from Ukraine. In a stunning move, he demanded a detailed explanation of the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, as well as a halt to US interference in an independent inquiry to identify the responsible parties.
Keeping the momentum in Moscow, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met with secretary of Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, before talking to Lavrov and Putin. Patrushev remarked, “the course towards developing a strategic partnership with China is an absolute priority for Russia’s foreign policy.” Wang Yi, not so cryptically, added, “Moscow and Beijing need to synchronize their watches.”
The Americans are doing everything to try and pre-empt the Chinese proposal for a de-escalation in Ukraine. China’s plan should be presented this Friday, and there’s a serious risk Beijing may fall into a trap set by the western plutocracy.
Too many Chinese “concessions” to Russia, and not as many to Ukraine, may be spun to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing (Divide and Rule, which is always the US Plan A. There’s no Plan B).
Sensing the waters, the Chinese themselves decided to take the offensive, presenting a Global Security Initiative Concept Paper.
The problem is Beijing still attributes too much clout to a toothless UN, when they refer to“formulating a New Agenda for Peace and other proposals put forth in Our Common Agenda by the UN Secretary-General.”
Same when Beijing upholds the consensus that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” Try to explain that to the Straussian neo-con psychos in the Beltway, who know nothing about war, much less nuclear ones.
The Chinese affirm the necessity to “comply with the joint statement on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races issued by leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states in January 2022.” And to “strengthen dialogue and cooperation among nuclear-weapon states to reduce the risk of nuclear war.”
Bets can be made that Patrushev explained in detail to Wang Yi how that is just wishful thinking. The “logic “of the current collective western “leadership” has been expressed, among others, by irredeemable mediocrity Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general: even nuclear war is preferable to a Russian victory in Ukraine.
Putin’s measured but firm address has made it clear that the stakes keep getting higher. And it all revolves on how deep Russia’s – and China’s – “strategic ambiguity” are able to petrify a paranoid west flirting with mushroom clouds.
(Republished from The Cradle by permission of author or representative)
Professor Richard Wolff: Dangerous Motives Behind US Aggression Toward Russia and China
Russia Engages GPS-JAMMING over Nuclear Weapons Facilities
Overnight, Russia implemented very strong GPS Jamming over and around its nuclear weapons sites; both missile and storage sites.
This is designed to thwart GPS-Guided precision missile strikes by causing the missiles to go severely off-course.
The image above shows the area being jammed (in red) in Russia’s far east, over a national-level-nuclear-weapons-storage facility.
More interestingly, Russia has also engaged GPS Jamming of Finland, Denmark, and Sweden.
There are three primary GPS systems in operation around the world, and Russia’s Electronic Warfare is JAMMING ALL THREE!
It should be noted that such electronic warfare jamming is not done routinely; it is __generally__ engaged when a country believes an attack is likely.
The big question then becomes, does Russia think it is going to be attacked first . . . OR . . . does Russia KNOW it is going to be attacked, perhaps because Russia itself is going to launch an attack first?
Amazing Vintage Photos That Show How Life Before AutoCAD Looked Like
Before the advent of AutoCAD and other drafting softwares, the engineering drawings were made on sheet of papers using drawing boards. Many equipments were required to complete a given drawing such as drawing board, different grade pencils, Erasers T-squares, Set square etc.
Almost 20 years ago, engineers and toolmakers used to draw all things on paper with the help of drafting tools and pencils. Drafting was indeed was tedious and time-consuming. Designing and putting everything on paper was a tough job, maybe that’s why the need of creation of AutoCAD software came up. The major disadvantage of paper based design was that, you can not actually change it after it’s been put on paper. So if design is changed, then start making sketches over!
AutoCAD and all that softwares are just tools which save us the time and give some more accurate designs. However initial designs are still done on paper which later converted to CAD design for better understanding!
h/t: vintag.es
Confessions Of A Retired Bank Robber
What made you get into bank robbery?
Bank robbery is the real American Dream. We make movies about it, and as long as innocent people aren’t hurt or killed, our society loves bank robbers.
Also, it seemed like a worthy challenge. I thought it would be quite an accomplishment if I could solve the puzzle and figure out how to get away with it.
Did you have a mentor of sorts that you learned from or did you have a community of bank robbers that you would talk to?
Only the Internet. I studied countless reports of other robberies that had gone wrong and people who were caught. I never told anyone what I was doing. One of the main things I learned from research was that an overwhelming number of people are caught because they didn’t do it solo. So I never let anyone (not even my wife or best friend) know what I was doing.
How much planning did you do before robbing a bank?
I researched for about five or six months prior to my first one. I studied mostly the things that people did to get caught, and I just tried to plan around those things. It’s hard to know how people get away since those details rarely make it to the news, but studying how people get caught was incredibly helpful in knowing what to avoid.
Once I did my first bank, very little planning was needed for subsequent banks. I never really scoped out a particularly location other than to make sure there was parking that was out of view from the bank.
Were any movies helpful or are they all too unrealistic?
Hollywood knows how to tell a story, but they don’t know how to rob a bank.
Could you walk us through the process?
Basic Outline: – Stand in line like a regular customer – Wait for the next available teller -Hand them an envelope and tell them to give me their $50s and $100s (usually this was written on the envelope rather than me verbally saying it) – Turning around and walking out like a regular customer
No gun. No threats. No Hollywood drama. No mask. No disguise. Nothing.
Just a regular customer. In and out in the same amount of time as if I was making a deposit.
I generally chose a time of day when I thought the cops were on shift change, which was usually around 3pm. Some cities actually publish that for whatever weird reason.
I usually went to Chili’s or somewhere to eat and chill out.
Doesn’t sound like a whole lot. How much would one teller even carry?
In their top drawer, it was usually less than $10k. I probably averaged around $5k per bank. But it was pretty low risk that way, so that was cool with me.
Why did you only want $50 and $100s?
I don’t know about today, but back then all of the marked bills, dye packs, and tracking stuff was in $20s, so I definitely didn’t want those. And $1s, $5s, and $10s were such a small denomination that they wouldn’t add up to much anyway. It wasn’t worth the extra time for them to get everything out of their drawer.
Also, if someone else noticed the teller clearing out their drawer, it might look weird and trigger some sort of response. Getting out a bunch of $50s and $100s, however, seemed to be the quickest way and drew no attention from other tellers.
Was there a threat involved? Or you just said “give me this money” and they did it?
No threat. I just told them what I wanted, and they complied. This is how it works in America because the amount of money a bank gives up ($5-$7k on average) per bank robbery is infinitely less than the amount of business they’d lose if shit got wild in a bank full of customers.
They just want to give you what you want and for you to get the hell out of their bank.
Why did the tellers give you the money if you had nothing to threaten them with?
Standard procedure at most banks.
Where did you look when the actual robbing was going on, did you stare at the teller in the eye, look down, just watch their hands?
Definitely stared at the teller’s eyes. You can see everything a person is thinking in that moment if you pay attention.
How did you get away? They would press some sort of alarm wouldn’t they?
Yes, and they always did. Button calls the alarm company. Alarm company calls 9-1-1. 9-1-1 dispatches an officer. An officer speeds to the bank. I’m out the door before all that happens.
Did you carry a weapon??
No. I strapped a hammer to my leg under my pants just below my knee in case I needed to break out of a locked door or something, but I never used a gun or anything like that.
There were no security guards at the banks?
I didn’t do banks with guards.
Would you have harmed someone if you found yourself in a position between that and getting caught?
That depends on the situation. If it was just some random guy trying to be a hero, I would have probably gone to any extreme necessary to get away because that’s a challenge. On the other hand, if it was a cop or a security guard of some sort, I would have probably let them win.
Did anything ever not go as planned?
Yes. The last one I did.
The teller freaked out as soon as I turned to leave the bank. She started screaming “lock the doors, lock the doors” but I ignored it and just kept walking like nothing was happening. I got out before the doors were locked, but a guy walking into the bank seconds later already found them locked. He was pissed, of course, because it wasn’t closing time, and he thought he had gotten there too late. He obviously didn’t realize the guy who had just walked out of the bank and past him had just robbed the bank.
Did you ever get one of those ink cartridges that blew up on you and the money?
No dye packs. Nothing like that.
How were you not found out with CCTV or anything without wearing a mask?
Imagine you’d never met me or read anyting about me. Now imagine if they sent you the video of the bank jobs I did. Would you be able to find me?
If all you have is a picture or video of someone, that’s not really useful. As long as I didn’t make it to the news, I was good to go. And nothing I did was newsworthy because nobody got hurt and I didn’t make a scene.
When you were robbing a bank was it intense or were you calm the entire time?
I was calm and controlled, but it was incredibly intense at the same time.
It’s like having sex while taking the SATs. You have to focus on both 100% even though that’s not totally possible, and that’s why it’s so rewarding when it works.
What’s the most memorable thing that someone has said to you while you were bank robbing?
One teller skimped out on me and didn’t give me all I had asked for, and I told her, “You can do better than that.” She just shrugged — palms up like a little kid — and said, “That’s all I got.”
Pretty ballsy on her part.
On a scale from 1-10, how fun or sacry was it?
I don’t think I would describe it as fun. It’s kind of like sex. Everyone will use a different adjective to describe it, but none of them are quite accurate. It’s just…aahhhhh. Ya know? It was scary the first time I ever went to do it, and I chickened out. I sat in my truck in the parking lot beforehand but couldn’t calm down, so I went home and came back the next day. Except for that one day when I backed out, I never experienced fear.
How many banks did you end up robbing?
I eventually stopped counting. I originally fessed up to one bank, but they didn’t believe me, so I gave them two more. I did time for those three.
What did you do with the money that you robbed?
I used the majority of it for charitable stuff like helping people in need or donating to worthy causes. I gave quite a bit of money to a local charity that helps out the families of first responders who are killed in the line of duty.
What made you turn yourself in?
I always figured prison was in the cards for me — even before I was doing crime — so it made sense to turn myself in and get it over with, but most of all, I became a father and wanted to just do my time while my son was a baby instead of the cops accidentally figuring out who I was and taking me to jail when my son was older.
How did the police react when you turned yourself in?
The police were very professional. They sent the SWAT team to the hotel where I told them to come get me, so that was pretty shit-your-pants scary, but they didn’t fuck me up or anything. Once I was cuffed and cleared and all that crap, they all talked to me like I was a rock star or something. It was really strange. They asked “why” and all that stuff, but it wasn’t like the cop style of “why.” It was more like a fascinated curiosity.
How much time did you serve?
Three years
How did you only get three years?
First time criminal, turned myself in, lots of crap like that. The judge just believed three years was enough. Who am I to disagree?
Are you and your wife still together even after she found out about the robberies?
No. We divorced while I was in prison for personal reasons not related to my crimes.
How did she take the whole robbery thing?
She thought it was crazy, but not totally unexpected either. I was a little wild back then.
And what was prison like?
Prison was like church camp without the girls or weird counselors. I played a lot of chess and read a lot of books. I also wrote a lot, of course. Mail is the highlight of anyone’s day in prison.
There are some pretty bad dudes there, but nobody really wants any trouble unless you just really fuck them over. There’s always trouble if you want it, but it’s pretty laid back most of the time. You learn the way of life pretty quick in there if you’re smart.
Prison is lonely and depressing, but it’s also a great place to really work on yourself if that’s what you want to do. Most men and women waste that opportunity. Thankfully, I didn’t.
Did you ever actually feel guilty about anything you did?
I never felt guilty because I never attacked or assaulted anyone. Under the circumstances, I was as nice as I could possibly be to the bank employees because I did feel a little sympathy for them.
Did you ever feel that the concept of stealing money was wrong?
I think morality is very subjective. I wouldn’t steal from an individual person because I’m not comfortable with that. The banks, however, consider this kind of theft an acceptable loss, so that was okay with me being part of the loss that they consider acceptable.
Part of my process did begin with how poorly I thought rich people handled their money. I’d always thought, “If I was that rich, I could change the world instead of just piling up cash.” I don’t use that to make bank robbery “okay” but that’s what made it okay for me at the time.
Did you keep the money?
I paid it all back.
If you could go back in time would you have still done it?
Yes. I still acknowledge what I’ve done, but the process and experience of going to prison and finding myself (as well as a purpose in life) has really made it all worth it, relatively speaking. It’s hard to regret something that has turned into something so good.
What do you do now for income?
I was working in the oil fields until recently. Now I stay at home with my boys, and I am trying to get a book published and turn that into some sort of career, if at all possible. I’ve been on a few shows, and people seem genuinely interested in hearing more, so that’s what I’ve decided to do.
How difficult was it to get a job after prison?
I got out of prison on a Tuesday and had a job on Thursday. It only paid $13/hr, but it was good work, and I was happy about it. I worked there for about 14 months (while steadily looking for something better) and finally found work in the oil fields making quite a bit more.
What’s the life lesson you can give from this whole experience?
I think generally, it’s important to embrace the shit you’ve done wrong and be accountable for the things you can change in your own life. I’m a big fan of just stepping up and admitting where I was at fault, and I take a lot of pride in accepting responsibility for the things I’ve done.
Romania Deploys Air-Defense Missiles Along Moldova Border
Overnight, Romania began deploying air-defense missile systems along its border with Moldova/Transnistria.
Tensions in the region are now at maximum, with Ukraine troops massing along their border with Transnistria/Moldova, just near a huge ammo depot filled with 20,000 tons of Soviet-era weapons and ammunition. If Ukraine can grab that weapons depot, it will supply their war effort against Russia for a full year.
Yesterday, this web site reported that Transnistria is now BLOCKING entry by Ukrainians unless they have relatives in the local area. Story HERE
Ukraine began massing 15,000-20,000 troops near Transnistria earlier this week. Story HERE
It is now coming out publicly that Russia may have to use TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS to make certain Ukraine cannot get its hands on that ammo depot. IT would serve to stop Ukraine and also serve the Russian military doctrine of “Escalate to De-Escalate” by showing adversaries that Russia is, in fact, willing to go all the way.
This is a flashpoint the world has never seen before, and it could happen within days.
Coconut-Raisin Pudding
(Dulce de Coco – Brazil)
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded fresh coconut
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups milk
- Dash of salt
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3 tablespoons rum
Instructions
- Heat coconut, sugar, milk and salt to boiling in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into eggs. Blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in raisins and rum.
- Serve warm or cold.
Yield: 6 servings