One thing that I do enjoy is the smell of pine. I used to live in Hattiesburg Mississippi and the pine forests were huge. During the Spring, if you were not careful, you would get one heck of an allergy attack, though. But pines are nice, and dare I say it, magical.
Of course, being a PA boy, I like hard-woods, but pines are easy to walk through and magical on snowy nights. It’s an exercise in white and black. Quite and experience. You all should try it some time. If you live in the Northern climes, please take the time to make your nights during Winter magical.
Take care everyone.
Todays…
Why is Bill Gates visiting China now?
Simple we’re meeting the real leaders of the USA.
What you thought your votes meant anything? The USA is a corporate dystopia owned and run for the mega corporations.
The president the government are simply going through the motions and most people can’t see through it.
China supports Palestinian people’s just cause of restoring legitimate national rights — Chinese FM
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki in Beijing on Tuesday.
Al-Maliki is accompanying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on his state visit to China from June 13 to 16.
President Abbas is the first Arab head of state to be hosted by China this year, which speaks volumes about the special friendship between the two countries and China’s support for the just cause of Palestine, Qin said.
He said he believes the two heads of state will plan the future development of bilateral relations and advance the traditional friendship to a higher level.
China has always firmly supported the Palestinian people’s just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights and will continue to support peace talks between Palestine and Israel and contribute wisdom to resolving the Palestinian question, Qin said.
Al-Maliki said China is a trustworthy, reliable friend, and Palestine appreciates the proposals pushed forward by China’s head of state for resolving the Palestinian question.
He added Palestine follows the one-China policy and will continue to support China on issues concerning China’s core interests.
10 REAL Cases Of Time Travel That Cannot Be Explained
Interesting, but don’t get too caught up on this kind of stuff. Who knows how valid any of this is. All I know is that time is our own PERSONAL experience record. Time travel isn’t really something that can exist, but rather a hopping or jumping upon the template.
POLAND SAYS BORDER TROOPS “FIRED UPON FROM BELARUS”
The government of Poland has just issued a statement claiming its Border Guards were “fired upon from the territory of Belarus.”
No further details have been released at this hour, 5:28 PM EDT. Check back for Updates.
What were wills that you do not see every day?
In June 1948, farmer Cecil George Harris accidentally put his tractor in reverse.
The tractor overturned, trapping Harris’ left leg under the rear wheel.
His wife didn’t find him until 10:30 that night, and he died at the hospital.
When neighbors investigated the accident scene days later, they found that Harris had carved an inscription into the tractor’s fender with his work knife.
It read:
In case I die in this mess, I leave everything to my wife. Cecil Geo Harris.
The courts ruled that this was a valid will.
The fender was kept in the Kerrobert courthouse until 1996.
Today it and the knife are on display at the University of Saskatchewan Law Library.
This story reminds me of a Tuscan friend of mine who overturned his tractor and died.
Working a field with a tractor in mountains and hills is very difficult and dangerous, even though it looks easy to us who are just watching.
Lots of people die under a tractor every year.
Southern Pineapple Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups Crisco
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cream sugar and shortening.
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Add flour and salt gradually.
- Stir in vanilla extract and pineapple.
- Bake in a greased and floured tube pan at 350 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours. Or bake in two greased and floured loaf pans for about 1 hour.
What is your opinion on the U.S.’s strategy to outcompete China?
It’s a pretty useless strategy. It’s failing badly.
It’s based on dirty tricks, typical Tonya Harding-style tactics.
The USA has no hope of restoring the semiconductor industry, nor general manufacturing, in the country. Labour is too expensive. The populace is too far behind in education. The populace is too fat and lazy. The population is shrinking, and for a population that is already a quarter the size of China’s, that’s a real problem.
The Amazing United States
He Spent a Year in 3906 | This is what Paul Amadeus Dienach saw
This is very interesting.
The entire diary has been transcribed in a book titled “Chronicles from the Future”. There is all sorts of names, histories, places and stories worthy of review in the book. This you-tube video is simply just an overview. I am providing the full PDF of that book HERE for your reading pleasure.
A change in Mindset
The USA’s technology base is still the best in the world. Is that so, Mr. Zakaria?
According to a recent ASPI report, China leads the world in 37 out of 44 technological fields.
China has the finest infrastructure engineering in the world. That’s why it has spectacular bridges, high-speed rail, airports, seaports, dams, etc.
China is the world’s leader in green energy production, EV and battery production, thorium molten salt reactors, etc.
China has a spanking brand new space station, while the ISS is suffering leaks and is due to be decommissioned by 2030 with no replacement in sight.
China is the first and only nation to land on the far side of the moon.
China leads the world in 5G and 6G.
Despite US tech sanctions, China is rapidly creating its own semiconductor manufacturing chain with a number of major breakthroughs.
The USA is trying to spread good values? Perhaps that’s so but at what cost?
Over the past seven decades the USA has fought many dozens of wars and caused massive death and destruction everywhere (by some estimates, millions of civilian deaths). Is this worth the good values America is spreading? Please answer me, Mr. Zakaria.
Let’s be honest, the USA has no moral legitimacy.
The bad relation between Australia and China was Australia’s doing, sticking its nose into China’s domestic affairs.
India and China have had a long-standing border dispute. This can hardly be Xi Jinping’s fault. There’ve been border clashes for decades.
Vietnam and China still have positive economic relations, so I don’t know what Mr. Zakaria is talking about. Ditto for South Korea and China.
Moreover, China has vastly improved its relations with nearly every country in the Global South, including in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. What about BRICS, RCEP and SCO?
By contrast, the USA’s diplomatic relations around the world have fared far worse. US sanctions have driven a wedge between them. The USA alienated Saudi Arabia, esp. with the Khashoggi affair. When the USA went to Saudi Arabia pleading for increased oil production, Saudi Arabia dismissed them and did the exact opposite — cut oil production! Most of the world is massively de-dollarizing.
Why did China decide not to talk to the Americans? Consider this: for years, the USA has been demonizing China, sanctioning China, antagonizing China in Chinese waters, interfering in Taiwan, saying one thing and doing the exact opposite, and generally being a pain in the ass. Is it any wonder China is sick and tired of this crap?
The USA has proven itself to be duplicitous and dishonest. Is this a foundation for dialogue? Please answer me, Mr. Zakaria.
The USA needs to show China that it is willing to deal with China sincerely and consistently.
The choice between the US technology bloc and the Chinese technology bloc comes down to what each bloc has to offer. The US bloc offers military and security promises. The Chinese bloc offers peaceful economic promises.
If you have the mindset that says the world is after you and all is not safe, then the US bloc is the natural choice.
If you have the mindset that says the world can be peaceful through cooperation and common prosperity, then the Chinese bloc is the natural choice.
What is your mindset?
The United States returns to Africa BIG TIME
- This is how the United States will counter China in Africa
- AND ensure that America will reigned supreme into the next millennium
Watch speech by President Biden
- that is one incoherent incomprehensible mumbo jumbo
The Most Convincing Time Traveler Story
He ended up in a mental hospital…
Israel Just Smashed Themselves . . .
Israel confirms it will give Ukraine 200 Merkerva Tanks.
Stabbed Russia right in the back.
7 Mind Bending TRUE Time Travel
What is a meal you cannot recreate, even if you tried?
When I was a kid, we rented a house in the country. We had access to wonderful locally produced food. Our landlord had two Guernsey cows as well as chickens. We bought from him amazing whole milk with a very high butterfat content. The milk was not homogenized. The eggs were from free range hens. My mother grew vegetables and berries in a large garden. It was apple country so apples were very reasonable. My aunt canned vegetables and pears from her garden and kept a few hens. The meals I ate could not be duplicated since many of the heirloom fruits and vegetables are no longer available. The number of free range Guernsey cows is quite low in the US (which has mostly Holsteins). Modern homes tend to treat hard water but we drank the pure well water.
Many of the meals my mother cooked could not be duplicated but I will use the example of breakfast. I drank a large glass of whole milk (from a cow I was fond of). The toast was made from my mother’s home made bread. The bread was made using unbleached flour and water from the well which was in a limestone aquifer. The butter was locally made. The jam was jarred by my aunt. The eggs came the from chickens we saw every day behind our house. My mother squeezed the orange juice herself. We did not have bacon often but when we did it was locally sourced. We even had country style entertainment at breakfast – just before we ate, my mother would feed the wild birds at the stone porch ledge outside our kitchen window. We always had a wide variety of birds to watch while we ate.
We ate high calorie meals but we were very active. The local farmers lived to ripe old ages and could heft big feed bags even when elderly.
I was very fond of foraging in my mother’s garden and ate a lot of vegetables right in the garden. I would go into the fields and eat sun warmed berries. We gathered our own beechnuts and hazelnuts.
My mother and aunt were both excellent cooks who rarely bought premade food.
UH OH! BANKS IN AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCE WITHDRAWAL LIMITS
From August 20th 2023 Westpac Bank Australia customers will be prohibited from withdrawing more than $1000 from their accounts per day.
Other Banks will follow.
Access to your own cash . . . . SEVERELY LIMITED.
Still think Banking troubles are about a computer Virus?
Then, there’s THIS:
One needs only wonder why, if Australian Banks are owned mostly by U.S. financial firms, the people of Australia will be limited to their own money? Since it is U.S. Firms that __seem__ to be affecting withdrawal limits in Australia, then wouldn’t it be logical to believe they might try the same thing here in the US or over in Europe?
Forewarned is forearmed. Act accordingly.
Australia Approves Mandatory (Bill Gates) mRNA Vaccines for ALL Agriculture
Australia has announced plans to inject Bill Gates’ mRNA vaccines into all livestock destined for people’s dinner plates.
According to reports, the Australian government plans to make the vaccine rollout mandatory for all animals, regardless of whether cattle farmers agree or not.
On May 2, 2023, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) announced funding for a project to ‘test mRNA vaccines that can be rapidly mass-produced in Australia in the event of a lumpy skin disease or other exotic disease outbreak’.
The Manager for Animal Wellbeing, released a statement declaring:
‘This project will develop a mRNA vaccine pipeline initially for LSD, but potentially for other emergency diseases. This will enable capacity for rapid mass production of a vaccine for LSD in the event of an outbreak. No LSD vaccines are registered for use in Australia yet. While some vaccines exist overseas, the path to registration in Australia for traditionally-produced [vaccines] is longer than that of an mRNA vaccine.’
Spectator.com.au reports: Why are traditional vaccines, which have safety records that outstrip mRNA vaccines, subject to longer approval periods than mRNA vaccines? That sounds like a significant structural failure within Australia’s health body that, instead of being fixed, has the potential to be exploited by manufacturers looking to cash in on mRNA.
mRNA vaccines are quick to produce and ‘nimble’, which is why pharmaceutical companies like them – but that doesn’t mean that they are safe, effective, or suitable for consumers whether those are humans or livestock.
A 2022 article in PubMed Central notes: ‘Recently, the successful application of mRNA vaccines against Covid has further validated the platform and opened the floodgates to mRNA vaccine’s potential in infectious disease prevention, especially in the veterinary field.’
Do you feel mRNA has been ‘validated’ over the last three years?
No doubt this is why we keep hearing bleatings of ‘emergency’ and ‘outbreak’ in the same breath as mRNA, as if to remind us of the mantra used during the Covid era to embark on what the former Health Minister referred to as the ‘largest clinical trial – the largest global vaccine trial ever’. Look how that turned out.
The fall-out of Covid mRNA vaccines is likely to continue for the best part of a century as a percentage of vaccinated individuals ‘die suddenly’ or suffer from long-term debilitating illnesses. These are quickly becoming a burden for the health industry and state finances after vaccine manufacturers hand-waved responsibility because it was an ‘emergency’. Most nations are setting up compensation pools of cash to cope with the growing list of individuals who claim to have been harmed.
Another excuse used to feather the nest of mRNA vaccines is that they are thought to provide the solution for influenza-style viruses which traditional vaccines have proven ineffective against. Everyone wants to see an effective vaccine against respiratory viruses, but it’s almost as if the doe-eyed vaccine industry has put on a blindfold for the last three years. mRNA Covid vaccines did next to nothing to combat or control the influenza-style Covid and do not, based on what we have seen, offer any advantage to traditional vaccines for this problem beyond the feel-good marketing headlines. There is a strong argument that for the majority of the population, they did more harm than good.
Instead of suspending all mRNA vaccines until we understand what went wrong, they are being given priority treatment by regulators and championed by manufacturers who love the competitive edge of speed their production offers. Governments, particularly the (broke?) Victorian state government, are funneling tens of millions into mRNA development to keep capitaliZing on the political popularity they enjoyed during the Covid era.
MLA note that mRNA vaccines should be ready for use within two years and while everyone is busy stressing that this will be a ‘voluntary’ option for the farming community, vaccines inside the agricultural industry rarely are if a producer wishes to sell their product into domestic and international markets. If we go down the mRNA vaccine production line, it is extremely likely that Australians will be eating mRNA-vaccinated livestock within a couple of years with very little understanding of what this will mean health-wise.
Anyone who criticiZes mRNA vaccines or their potential future within the agricultural industry are paraded through the press as ‘conspiracy theorists’ with publications quick to send out the fact-checkers to insist that it’s pure fear-mongering to suggest fragments of these vaccines will end up in the food chain.
Except, it was a ‘conspiracy theory’ to suggest that the human body would continue making Covid mRNA vaccines long after the injection, or to raise concerns that it would leave the site of the injection. Not only did the fears described as ‘conspiracy’ prove to be true, the behavior and side effects of Covid mRNA vaccines are reaching well beyond what anyone predicted.
How sure are we that in the rush to saturate the market with mRNA vaccines, that proper long-term testing will be conducted, particularly when it comes to lingering in meat and milk? Will it impact high-risk activities such as calving, given there is a strong suspicion that Covid vaccines are responsible for a spike in human miscarriages?
Keep in mind that we are still being told Covid vaccines are ‘safe and effective’. The Australian government, sitting on a pile of unwanted vaccines, is spending public money on marketing campaigns, encouraging Australians to go and get their booster shots at the same time other countries have removed Covid vaccines.
At least some States in the US are taking note, rushing to pass legislation to ban the use of mRNA vaccines for animals involved in the food industry whose meat or milk is produced for human consumption. Idaho is one example where it will be a misdemeanor to use mRNA vaccines – and that includes the Covid vaccines.
Australians need to be aware that mRNA vaccines are coming for the agricultural industry and they will likely be compulsory. America is having a serious conversation about whether this should be allowed, and Australia needs to do the same thing. It is perfectly reasonable to require extensive long-term safety data before we revolutioniZe agriculture.
This conversation will not happen on its own. Australia’s agricultural elite resemble a body of yes-men nodding furiously toward mRNA. Family farmers – disempowered, constrained, and demoraliZed – have no voice in this matter. Their wishes will be bulldozed by a small collection of billion-dollar farming entities, several of which are foreign-owned.
If Australians care about what they eat, it’s time to start making a racket. As for those of us in American and in Europe, it might be wise to STOP BUYING ALL AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS/MEATS, IMMEDIATELY.
Southern Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches (about 8 small ripe peaches)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1 (3.75 ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 cups Half-and-Half
Instructions
- Combine peaches and sugar; let stand 1 hour.
- Process peach mixture in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
- Stir together evaporated milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; stir in peach puree, sweetened condensed milk and Half-and-Half.
- Pour mixture into freezer container of a 4 quart hand-turned or electric freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Spoon into an airtight container, and freeze until firm.
Chinese FM holds phone talks with U.S. secretary of state on June 14. What did they talk about? What does this mean?
Let us compare their focus, shall we?
Qin: USA knows well who causes the difficult relationship between China & USA. Taiwan is China’s core among all core interests.
Blinken: USA & China must meet. (No main points)
Western media kept telling us that Blinken is going to China. Even has a date June 18.
But China maintains not to talk just for the sake of talking when USA never follows thru what it “promised” in meetings. It is a waste of time to talk empty.
This time US media said Blinken may meet 3 Chinese officials eg Qin Gang, Wang Yi & possibly Xi Jinping. (wow, Xi Jinping??? Right away we know it is exaggeration)
Like the Chinese “spy” balloon sage at the last minute of Blinken’s Chinese trip to China, this time there is suddenly a Chinese spy base in Cuba. Looks like USA is, again, preparing to say Blinken cancels the Chinese trip because of a spy base in Cuba.
Really, USA should learn that giving China pressure by fabricating a story wont get China to submit & meet US officials.
Treat China as a equal partner to USA. No more suppression. No more sanctions. No more LIES.
Today’s China is strong enough not to endure US “supremacy” any more.
Former NATO Chief Admits “We Decided Back in 2008, Ukraine WILL Become Member of NATO”
World Hal Turner 15 June 2023 Hits: 7447
Former NATO Chief Admits “We Decided Back in 2008, Ukraine WILL Become Member of NATO”
Folks who think the Russia-Ukraine conflict began on February 24, 2022 may be surprised to learn it’s been brewing since 2008. Former NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen admits in video below “We decided back in 2008, Ukraine WILL become a member of NATO.”
That decision caused today’s troubles.
In the video below, released by “Alliance of Democracies” which was founded by the former NATO Chief, Rasmussen speaks about the present Russia-Ukraine conflict and how NATO is trying to find a way to admit Ukraine even though it is presently at conflict with Russia!
Rasmussen points to the possibility that the US and NATO might give certain “Security Guarantees” to Ukraine BEFORE it is admitted to NATO. The Interviewer asks Rasmussen if such Security Guarantees might be worded similar to those between the US and Israel, and Rasmussen makes a STUNNING admission:
We don’t have to use that wording we can use the wording from 2008. “We decided in 2008 Ukraine WILL be admitted to NATO.”
At approximately 1m 57s into the video below, he makes that statement. Watch for yourself:
This is a stunning fact. This was not previously publicized, anywhere.
What this means is that the present troubles between Russia-Ukraine/NATO/US all began with that decision back in the year 2008.
From that decision, the US/NATO and the collective West, did what they thought necessary to lay the foundations TO DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY PROMISED RUSSIA THEY WOULD NOT DO.
Back in 1991, then US Secretary of State, James Baker, met with then-Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his then Soviet Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevrednadze in the Kremlin. It is noted in official US and UK documents that Baker, on orders from then US President George H.W. Bush, told Gobachev and Shevrednadze that if the then Soviet Union agreed to the re-unification of East and West Germany, “NATO will not move beyond the Elbe (River)” in East Germany.
Here is a snippet of the UK document, from the UK National Archive, outlining the facts:
So NATO knew in 2008, that back in 1991, the US, UK, France, and Germany promised the then Soviet Union that NATO would **NOT** be expanded east of Germany and now we see above, straight from the horses mouth, that the very Chief of NATO back in 2008 agreed to admit Ukraine. He knew they were not supposed to do that, but they did it anyway.
The US, UK, France and Germany explicitly promised not to do that, and NATO went ahead and did it anyway starting in 2008.
That leads us to who was in charge back in 2008. In the US, George W. Bush (the son) was President.
Michael Hayden, a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Robert Gates, an American intelligence analyst and university president served as the twenty-second United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011.
Those are the men who needed to green-light such a move by NATO and, clearly, from Rasumussen’s admission in the video above, they must have actually done so.
Here we are, 15 or so years later, we are all on the verge of Nuclear World War 3 because of the decisions these men took in 2008.
Now, on several of my radio shows, I have wondered aloud if the people in our government are psychopaths based on the things they are doing which ARE leading us all into another World War?
The video above gives all of us a look into whether or not they actually ARE psychopaths.
When the Interviewer in the video above, asks Rasmussen “What will the Russians think about that (Giving security guarantees to Ukraine before it is admitted to NATO) Rasmussen replies “I don’t care.”
. . . and there . . . . right there . . . you now see the answer to whether or not these people are psychopaths.
We are facing nuclear World War 3 because of what men like Rasmussen did – and are still doing – and his response to the Interviewer is simply “I don’t care.”
With people like this, doing what’s being done, you and I seem to have no hope at all of avoiding nuclear world war 3.
Prepare as best you can with Emergency Food, Water, Medicine, a generator for electric, fuel for that generator, communications gear (CB/HAM Radio) and get right with God.
This Cat Table Gives Your Feline a Seat in the Table
Japanese online retailer Dinos has released a new line of cat furniture and part of their line-up includes this all-natural oak wood table.
With a perch underneath and a hole in the middle, it gives your feline friend a seat, right in the middle of the table. Expertly crafted with high-quality wood, the fashionable table is beautiful both with or without your kitty.
More: Dinos h/t: spoon&tamago
On 2023/6/2-4, in the 20th conference for world defense leaders, UAE announced that it has withdrawn from the US-led navy. Instead, UAE joins the Middle East navy alliance. What is Middle East navy alliance?
The Middle East navy alliance is formed by 8 countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan & India. The job is to protect the waters in the gulf. Instead of asking USA for protection.
Iran navy spokesman said: we cannot find a legal reason to justify foreign (USA) navy to exist in Middle East. (I add) USA has no land, sea or air in Middle East. USA cannot “protect” gulf waters without invitation by ME. Middle East belongs to the peoples in Middle East.
Western media said UAE was not happy that US-led navy did not protect UAE well. Once a UAE oil tanker was said to have been detained, by Iran, western media said.
Then how to explain that UAE joins the Middle East navy alliance where Iran is in it?
The truth: after the Middle East reconciliation, ME countries compared notes. They found Iran did not detain UAE’s oil tanker. Who took UAE’s tanker? USA?
USA is like a gossiper who breaks up the friendship between people.
USA used threats to make others submit to USA.
ME was bullied by UK+USA. ME had no choice before. With the rise of China, & the help of Russia, ME rebels against USA. Simple.
In June 2023, Palestine representative visited China. Hope there is Palestine-Israel reconciliation in future. Israel+USA has turned Gaza into a hell. Violating lots of human rights. It breaks my heart.
US FedGov and NATO HQ Claims Under “Cyber-Attack” – Pro-Ukraine Group Promises to Blow-Up Kerch Strait Bridge within 36 Hours
Several Agencies of the United States Government are saying publicly this hour (3:11 PM EDT) they are under “Cyber Attack.” NATO Headquarters in Brussels is also claiming to be under “Cyber-Attack” Meanwhile, pro-Ukraine groups are publicly promising to “Blow-Up” the Kerch Strait Bridge to harm Russia.
These are developing stories, check back.
UPDATE 4:04 PM EDT —
I was reminded of an unusual posting on Twitter from the Atlantic Council just ONE WEEK AGO, making clear a “Cyber Attack can trigger Article 5 collective Defense” as seen in the brief video below:
Interesting just one WEEK after the Atlantic Council reminds the world of this fact, lo and behold, there’s a cyber attack against NATO.
Gee, how convenient.
Maybe we should start a countdown or take bets to see how long it may be until they blame . . . . hmmmmmm . . . . who might they want to blame . . . . .
oh yes, RUSSIA!
This is so obvious it’s disgusting.
These people are treating the possibility of World War 3 as if it’s a game.
UPDATE 4:15 PM EDT —
Some people seem to be getting VERY carried away, but I am reporting this to you so you can see what’s already being spoken about on Social Media — it’s NOT good:
THIS IS SO OVER-THE-TOP I CANNOT BELIEVE ANY RATIONAL ENTITY WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY PUBLISHED SUCH A THING. YET, HERE IT IS.
This is precious
Why do Americans call the Chinese Communist government evil when it has lifted many people out of poverty?
To be more objective, rational, not all “Americans,” just a small group of them, especially the majority of those so-called “US elites” — including those in the political, military, financial, and media circles.
Not the vast in the trade and business circle — them with wide, deep and interwoven interests with China.
Not the vast in the education circle — basically they prefer more students from China, anyway, they equal to money to certain extent; also, most in the education circle still have some brain.
Not the vast of the ordinary Americans — they either would rather care less about anything China, or they personally have no those distaste towards Chinese government or the Chinese people.
Those Americans who really call the Chinese Communist government evil never really care about the human rights, wellbeings of other people, not even those citizens in their own country.
They only care about their own interests.
So, whoever “threatens” their already-possessed-interests, whoever blocks their way and becomes barriers for them to get more interests, is “evil.”
So, Chinese government has lifted some 800 million Chinese people out of extreme poverty in the past several decades? What’t their business?
But with more than a billion Chinese people uplifting their livelihoods, that means they need to consume more resources on the Earth. That would be “a miserable time” for “Australians and Americans,” as once said by Barack Obama.
So, isn’t the Chinese Communist government evil, by improving the over one billion Chinese people’s living standard? For us, it’s the realization of our China Dream, but for them, seems more like a nightmare.
China follows the political system of one-party-rule, with the other eight democratic parties providing consulations to its governance.
— How evil it is!
Because there leaves very very slim to no room for staging color revolutions in the country, especially on the Chinese mainland, where no “opposition party(ies)” for the US to infiltrate, and then to enstigate wide-spread anti-government protests, and hence be used as a weapon to shoot down the ruling administration!
But they never express it this way, they brand China as dictatorship, no election, no democracy! They are more than eager to “liberate” us Chinese people from the “tyranny,” and to force democracy onto us, even facts have spoken so loudly we are living a far better life nowadays without their “democracy.”
China “controls” its mass media, publications and also today’s online platforms.
— How evil it is!
Because there leaves very very slim to no room for the Western Mainstream Media to infiltrate into the mass media outlets, especially the state-owned media outlets here in China, but they still have achieved certain success, with spies infiltrated into even the highest level of state-owned media outlets. But on general, they can not control and manipulate the voices which should represent the Chinese people’s interests, as their louder speakers to demonize China, the Chinese government, the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese leadership as a whole and also as individuals — though they have been doing, are doing, and will continue to do all these outside China.
But anyway, the bulwalks are usually broken from within, no matter how strong they are. Now, with the “controlling” over the voices inside China by the Chinese government, we speak the same language, share the same vision, act in a unified manner, to build our country, our society, a better one, so the bulwark is strong enough as it should be. No possibility of being cracked by them into “a heap of loose sand,” so as to avoid being crushed one by one, with their philosophy of “divide and rule” — whether on regional powers or within a country with different parties/tribes/interest groups, etc.
But they never express it this way, they blame China for cencorship, they instigate that Chinese people are lack of freedom, they call Chinese living in an “Orwellian state”! But they would never shed even a drop of tear for the Chinese people once we live in a “free” world — like the then Russia immediate after the collapse of the Soviet Union, like the miserable Iraqis of today who are impacted by the US invasion, in the name of liberating the Iraqis and bringing democracy to the people there under the “dictator” Saddam Hussein……
China has most of its state assets “gripped” in the hands of the government, with a public system of — medical care, education, infrastructure, etc., or with its massive state-owned enterprises.
— How evil it is!
Because there leaves very very slim to no room for the Western capital to suck the Chinese blood like the leeches, or to even plough through the Chinese economic system and have a full control of the Chinese assets for their own interests, like what they have been parasiting on, exploiting and devouring many economies around the world.
But they never express it this way, they brand Chinese economy as “state-capitalism,” claiming Chinese economy not a free market economy, even though, it is the US who have listed more than one thousand Chinese companies, entities and individuals on its sanction list, while China is opening its arms as wide as it can, and welcoming CEOs and companies across the world to do business in and with China.
There are many other similar logic and similar cases.
In my opinion, whether a government is “evil” or not, we don’t necessarily need to listen to what the outsiders are trumpeting, we can see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears, feel with our own hearts, think with our own minds, experience with our own lives, whether the government has been serving the interests of the majority of its people, whether it has been delivering rather than shouting empty slogans and making empty promises, to its own citizens, as well as to the other peoples around the world.
As for what political system, what economic mode, what developmental road, etc., it takes, are all just tools serving the above goals and purposes.
We are living in a big enough world to accomodate various political systems, different economic modes and practical developmental roads.
And this, I believe, should be one of the key factors of a real democratic world.
Whenever I go to my favorite Chinese restaurant, I order pick-up. They’ll run my card and provide a receipt for me to sign. There’s a place for a tip, and they seem to expect a tip and act disappointed that I don’t. Am I wrong to not tip?
Let me preface my answer by first stating that I always leave an appropriate tip whenever I go to a restaurant and have a sit down meal that is served by a waitstaff. In the above case, however, this is going to be an unpopular and controversial answer but I stand by it.
My answer is “Absolutely not.” This is another example of “All participants get a trophy.” They are simply putting your items in a bag, ringing up the order and collecting your money. The same thing that happens in ANY retail store. Do you tip the Walmart cashier or the grocery store cashier? Of course not! This tipping nonsense for retail counter sales has really gone way too far. In fact, many times the “tip” section appears on your receipt is simply that the programmed computer simply does not differentiate as to how the food was purchased!
You have not been seated, no one brings your food to the table, no one cleans up after you. You bought an item at a retail counter and paid for it. If you were eating there and being served at your table (or counter) by a waitstaff it’s a different story.
That being said no one can tell you not to tip if you feel so inclined but do not feel obligated to do so.
Unexplained Mysteries That NEED Some Serious Explaining
More fun!
President of Czech Republic Calls for Russians in Europe to be put in Concentration Camps
President Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic has gone on television and said Russian citizens throughout Europe should be rounded up and put in camps, as was done to the Japanese in the USA during WW2, because their country wages aggressive war!
How NAZI-esque of him! Just like Hitler did with the Jews!
Here’s the video:
If the little NAZI Gestapo leaders of Europe keep this up, the only thing it’s likely to do is to get their country steam-rolled by the Russian army like Ukraine. Except most of their countries are far smaller and with smaller military than Ukraine.
What are they going to do, call NATO? That’s a laugh. NATO is already running out of artillery shells from supplying Ukraine.
I’ve got to tell you, folks, this is getting scary; the willingness of these Politicians to do whatever it takes to actually START a World War, is terrifying to me.
When this is all over, I suspect the world is going to need Tribunals to put these politicians in front of, for fomenting a Third World War.
If such Tribunals are lawfully constituted and convened, these politicians from NATO countries should be tried, and if found guilty, the Tribunal should order them hung by their necks until they are dead.
De-dollarization: Bangladesh moves to settle $12bn Russian loan in Chinese yuan
Bangladesh has approved a payment of $318 million to a Russian nuclear power developer using the Chinese yuan, according to a Bangladeshi official, offering the latest instance of countries bypassing the U.S. dollar and using the Chinese currency to conduct international payments.
The decision to use the yuan was made at a meeting in the Bangladeshi Finance Ministry’s economic relations division on Thursday, Uttam Kumar Karmaker, who heads the ministry’s European affairs wing, told The Washington Post.
The decision resolves a payments deadlock between Bangladesh and Russia that has lasted for more than a year. The South Asian country has been unable to pay Russia for the power plant using dollars after Russia was banned from accessing the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) international money transfer system last year because of sanctions over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The transaction, a payment for a $12 billion loan Bangladesh obtained from Russia to develop a nuclear power plant in Rooppur, will now be completed instead using yuan via the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), developed by the Chinese in 2015 to combat the dominance of the dollar in international trade.
A representative for Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp., the Russian contractor in charge of building the Rooppur nuclear power plant, confirmed the plan to use yuan for the loan repayment on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The Chinese online news outlet Sina reported Monday that a Bangladeshi official said that paying for the plant in yuan would be the most feasible option.
The majority of cross-border trade is denominated in dollars and flows through the U.S. banking system, which gives the United States the unique ability to impose sanctions on and freeze the assets of rival governments, such as Russia, Iran and Taliban-led Afghanistan. But critics of the sanctions accuse the U.S. government of “weaponizing” the greenback and undermining its global status.
The Bangladesh deal comes after several other countries signaled recently that they would opt for yuan payments to circumvent the need to use dollars. In March, Brazil said it would abandon the dollar for trade with China, a development that Chinese officials and state media celebrated as a step in the world’s gradual “de-dollarization” and the eventual collapse of American hegemony.
Putin: There Will No Longer BE a “Ukraine” – NATO Direct Intervention Will Not Change Outcome
Russian President Vladimir Putin made remarks in a TV interview Wednesday that make clear: There will be no negotiated settlement of Ukraine conflict, there will no longer BE a Ukraine, NATO intervention cannot change the outcome.
Explaining to a TV interviewer why Russia entered Ukraine, he pointed to Luhansk and Donetsk which were being pounded by Kiev Artillery and Mortar fire because those two Oblasts (states) wanted to secede from Ukraine like Crimea did. He told the Interviewer “We were forced to try to end the war that the West started in 2014 by force of arms.”
President Putin then went on with remarks that are utterly staggering. He said:
And Russia will end this war by force of arms, freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine from the United States and Ukrainian Nazis.
There are no other options.
The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West.
The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians and what used to be Ukraine will remain.
Direct intervention by NATO’s European armies will not change the outcome.
But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe.
It looks like the US is ready for that too.”
When Putin said “And Russia will end this war by force of arms . . . freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine . . . there are no other options . . .” That makes clear there will be no negotiations. This conflict will end with the complete military defeat of Ukraine. But within that statement, Putin also mentioned “freeing the entire territory of the FORMER Ukraine . . .”
Whoa. The “former Ukraine.” Such words can only mean one thing: There will not BE a Ukraine anymore!
What other meaning can the words “the former Ukraine” mean?
Lest there be any question about there being “no Ukraine” anymore, in his very next sentence, President Putin made that explicitly clear. He went on to say “The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians, and what USED TO BE UKRAINE will remain”
WHAM! “. . . and what USED TO BE UKRAINE . . . . ” There it is again. No more Ukraine. It won’t exist anymore!
He then got directly in the face of NATO by saying “The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West.”
Clearly, President Putin is signaling to the West that no matter what weaponry the West sends to Ukraine, Russia will win. Period. Full stop. So what does THAT tell you about the weaponry Russia is willing to use? Most rational people will understand it means whatever weaponry NEEDS to be used, i.e. nuclear.
But President Putin’s next words were most staggering. He went on to tell the Interviewer “Direct intervention by NATO’s European armies will not change the outcome.” What does THAT tell you? It tells most thinking people that Russia already KNOWS that NATO is going to intervene directly and that Russia is already prepared for such an eventuality. Folks, this means we’re going to actual World War 3!
President Putin made that explicitly clear when he also immediately added ” But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe.”
There it is. Plain as day. “The fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe.” World war.
Now, you’re probably wondering to yourself, “Why am I not hearing about this from the Mass Media?” Simple: The mass media doesn’t WANT you to know. They want you blissful and ignorant. So when all this DOES happen, you’ll be frightened and looking (to them) for answers.
And what will they tell you? Whatever propaganda the people who started this want told.
The folks in our U.S. Government are literally starting World War 3, it will likely go nuclear, and they want YOU kept fat, dumb, and happy.
Are you going to accommodate them, or are you going to step up and raise hell to maybe try to avoid what’s coming?
Whatever you choose, bear this in mind: Yesterday, the Ukraine legislature approved Child Military Training camps. Among the instructors are already experienced 16-year-olds who train 12-year-old recruits to fight.
Ukraine is now drafting and training 12 year old boys to fight for them.
What kind of monsters are these Ukrainian government people? Maybe it is better if Ukraine does NOT exist anymore.
Do all Chinese restaurants have “secret” menus?
If you are talking about the type of Chinese restaurants that cater primarily to the Chinese…
You need to bring a Chinese friend with you.
Often times, specials will be hand-written on a piece of paper and taped to the wall. The problem (for non-Chinese-speaking patrons) is that it is written in only Chinese.
I find that the more authentic Chinese restaurants make little effort to cater to their English-only speaking patrons. Why? Maybe that sector represents an insignificant part of their business. Maybe they are not proficient in translating and writing the English equivalent. It’s hard to say, for sure.
I’ll ask my girlfriend, “Hey, what does that sign say?”
Her: “Lobster Special: $9.99/lb.”
Me: “Hmmm. I don’t see that anywhere on the menu. Is it only available to Chinese?”
Her: “No comment.”
Why is the ASEAN alliance, along with BRICS abandoning the U.S. dollar like a sinking Titanic?
Lots of reasons for it.
I would like to share one of my perspectives, in a very simple way.
Previously, most people believed the US is the heaven on the Earth.
Everything related with the US was glorified.
Until former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”
People became sceptical, but still thought highly of the US, anyway, he talked just about intelligence, which is, somehow far away from our daily life, especially from our money bags.
But, with the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the second strongest military force with the most nuclear warheads in our world, also an ecomomic power (entered the top ten economies in the world for GDP in 2022 according to IMF, despite the war), its national assets, frozen or even threatened to be confiscated by US, as well as some of its allies; Russian citizens’ (mainly tycoons’) properties, frozen or even threatened to be confiscated, some actually being stolen; and Russia was kicked out of the SWIFT; Russia is now on the top of list with the most sanctioned entities, individuals in our human history, none of them can actually have any deal with US dollars.
Since now the US can “steal” money from Russia, actually, earlier, Afghanistan, and ongoing from Syria (oil and wheat, etc.)……who can guarantee it would not be the next one to be stolen?
And the best way to avoid such possibility is to turn away from US dollar, to reduce both the reliance and the holding rate of the US dollar. The less one has, the less could be “stolen” even if the day came.
US Dollar is a weapon, but double-edged, while it indeed hurt others, it can not spare the US itself as well.
There is an internet slang here in China, 不作死就不会死 (No Zuo, No Die), meaning, “You won’t die if you do not seek death. / You will not get into trouble if you do not seek trouble.”
A sinking Titanic is then its doomed fate.
Sincerely wish the US would learn from this lesson, and take a second and even a third thought before taking any actions against other countries now.
ALL would be boomeranged, just sooner or later.
Do all Chinese restaurants serve exactly the same dishes?
Exactly the same dishes.
Exactly the same menu.
Exactly the same cooks.
Exactly the same waiting staff.
Exactly the same chairs.
Exactly the same tables.
Exactly the same decor.
Exactly the same tea pots and tea cups too.
Exactly the same kid at the cash register who helps out his parents during the busy periods, and who, during the lulls, sits at exactly the same empty table doing exactly the same school homework.
So far, scientists have been unable to figure out how Chinese restaurants manage this incredible feat.
Some have posited that they all exist in a bubble universe, frozen at the same chronological point.
Explosion in Odessa so powerful, Registered as Earthquake
Last night before Midnight eastern US time, an explosion took place in Odessa, Ukraine which was so large, it registered on earthquake seismographs in places as far away as Armenia!
Here is a seismograph image from a station in Kiev:
Whatever exploded took out all webcams and all internet connectivity in Odessa.
Below, another image from another earthquake sensor, this one located in Armenia. Same Odessa Explosion(s):
How come on Quora the Chinese expats never say anything negative about China? Is China a perfect country?
No, China is not a perfect country. There are no perfect countries. However, after reading so many negative comments about China on Quora and elsewhere, I feel the need to defend it. Most of the people I see criticizing China have never been there and are simply repeating racist, anti-Communist, or xenophobic lies. The truth, as always, is far more complicated and nuanced. I am an American, and I have found that, at least in the US, most people are not interested in the truth. Especially with covid, I am tired of hearing about the “China virus” or the “CCP”. I am sick of trying to discuss the reality of the situation, only to be called a “commie” or told to go back to China.
China is an amazing country. In many areas it puts the US to shame. However, half of America sees it as some comic book villain. I have watched my own country descend into fascism while claiming China is the bad guy. Even worse is the fact that my fellow Americans lap this up. I disagree with many things China does, but their government actually cares about their citizens. I can’t say that about my own government. If we ever get to the point where we can have an intelligent and fair discussion about China, then I can talk about both the negatives and the positives.
Southern Fried Chocolate Pies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/3 cup cold water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold margarine
- Vegetable oil*
* Use peanut or safflower oil or solid vegetable shortening for frying.
Instructions
- Crust: sift flour and salt together; cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knifes, until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
- Add ice water a little at a time while tossing with a fork, until dough holds together. Do not get too moist.
- Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into circles about five inches in diameter.
- Mix cocoa powder with the sugar. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of this mixture onto one half of the circle and place 3 very thin slices of cold margarine on top. Fold opposite side over mixture and seal with a fork dipped in flour.
- Pour oil to a depth of about 1/2 inch in a cast iron skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot.
- Place pies in a single layer in oil and fry, turning to brown each side.
- Serve hot, warm, or cold.
How does the food in the Chinese restaurants in America differ from authentic Chinese food?
This is just my personal impression. Tastes in food are different for everyone.
American Chinese food has more exaggerated flavors at the expense of subtlety and diversity. There’s a long running joke about American Chinese food that it’s basically “sweet and sour everything”. American Chinese food is so salty (soy sauce) and so sweet to the point that these are the ONLY flavors you taste. There’s no subtlety, no layer of different flavors hitting your taste buds. And everything is over cooked. As a result, no matter what you order, you end up tasting the same mouthful of mushy sweet and salty whatever.
Cantonese food (粤菜) was the first school of cuisine to enter the US with the initial immigrants from south-east coastal regions. The food they brough over was not even the most high end Cantonese food, but rather street peasant food. Hearty, heavy flavored dishes that are filling, easy to prepare, and go well with rice. So for a lot of Americans, Chinese food is Dim Sum, small dishes coming with bamboo steamer containers. And most of them are salty and sweet tasting that, on top of that, you have your over salted fried noodles and fried rice.
And more recently, some more “sophisticated” diners had been introduced Sichuan food, which is super spicy.
Chinese food is so much more beyond Sweet and sour everything, Dim Sim in steamers and Spicy chicken. But Americans wouldn’t have it.
I’ve talked about my story about taking 3 days to make soup for my ex-boyfriend, who had dumped soy sauce in it before he even taste it. (see: Feifei Wang’s answer to What horrifies the Chinese?) At one point, I had the suspicion that American’s taste buds are numbed by all these high flavored food. I mean think about it, all your favorite American foods, fried chicken, pizza, BBQ ribs, Hamburger, Fries… all of them are high sodium, high sugar, high fat, high everything foods. It’s like you started with a 10 and had to bring it to a 15 to be happy.
I had once dined with a Japanese friend, who complained about how Americans add too much wasabi when eating sushi or sashimi. “You’re only supposed to add a little for flavor, it’s never supposed to be burning-your-eyes-out-hot”.
I get the feeling that other kind of food also get the same “bring it up to 20” treatment when they are forced to adapt to US tastes. I went to Italy in 2015, and their pizza tasted very different to American pizza, full of flavor and texture. I went to Cancun in 2016, and the taste was very different to American Mexican food.
I wish American food would have less sodium, sugar and fat, and more subtlety and diversity.
An Empty World, A Time Traveler, Another Dimension | Liminal Spaces: The Reality In-between
Fun to watch. Do not take too seriously… for now.
Liminal Spaces.
“He woke up in 2027, and there was no one anywhere.” This is actually super interesting, and I WILL discuss this later. Especially the guy who is being challenged by the television station.Noclip is very interesting.
How do Chinese restaurants get their beef to be so tender? Like beef in black bean sauce or Mongolian beef etc. It almost falls apart in the mouth.
BEEEEEEEF!!!!!
I remember when my mom first taught me this as a kid. She told me that it was an “ancient Chinese secret” of some sort, that involves praying to the beef gods to make it all tender and that if I was good that day, it would be nice and tender when I sat down for dinner.
Little did I know that in order to turn the cheapest cuts of beef into this…
that it took this…
Corn Starch.
When the corn starch, ideally with a bit of soy or something along those lines, is mixed and coated over properly cut beef (I like to use flank steak personally), it breaks down the protein and makes it very tender and easy to cook.
You must have heard the term, “cut against the grain.” That’s the first important tip. When you’re cutting up the meat, take a look at how you’re cutting.
See how it’s done? When you do cut it properly, the meat is much more tender already as it’s not structurally reinforcing its own integrity. Here’s a cross section of what it should look like when cut right.
So when that’s done, just get a decent sized bowl, and mix a little soy sauce with the corn starch. Something like this…
Mix it up, and this a good time to get down and dirty. I see so many videos and tutorials that say use a spoon or whatever. Honestly, just wash your hands well, and mix it by hand. You’ll be able to get the feeling if the meat is thoroughly covered easily and it should feel a bit slimy to the touch.
Give it then a couple of minutes to let it break down the meat. Some cooks like to put it in the fridge for an hour, but I find that 10–15 minutes is also pretty good in a jiffy, especially if the meat was sliced thin.
After that, the meat is ready for the stir-fry, and you’re ready to start cooking!
Oh, and before I forget, this works well with even the cheapest pieces of meat. No need for using pricey rib or porterhouse steaks and prime rib. Flank steak will do quite nicely.
- This does wonders for chicken breast and thinly sliced pork loin as well.
- Several commentators have told me that what I called “mom’s ancient Chinese secret” is a method called “Velveting”. Thanks to all who told me about the right term!
- Baking soda works, and thanks to all who have mentioned it. The only reason why I don’t use it and don’t talk about it is that if it’s not rinsed off properly, you get an incredibly unpleasant chemical taste.
- For every single person that’s said “corn starch” doesn’t work, then it’s probably the combination of the starch, soy and the cut all in one, especially the soy with the high salt content and the cut, which I cover. For heaven’s sake, stop griping about it and actually TRY THIS METHOD. It actually WORKS.
Blinken’s imaginary journeys – here’s what should happen
LOL. A most entertaining event when you expose their silly games.