Well, the world has passed the point of danger.

Oh, sure it might still happen, but the world has successfully polarized. There are two halves, and there is an East that is growing and thriving, and a West that is dying.

The West still might cause problems, start wars, and all the rest, but the East is NOW, TODAY, far too big and far too formidable.

I anticipate some crazy shit once a new political change hits the USA, but the real truth is that they will have their hands tied, and their dicks lobbed off. If the neocons still maintain power, then a very short and brutal war may occur, but I am of an opinion that the worst is over…

…

For this reason, I am scrapping up my posts on the march towards war. We passed that point. So “New Beginnings” is coming to a draw; coming to a close.

A new daily will emerge…

“Correcting Society Ills“

In this new series, I will continue to include topical subjects. Some war. Some Geo-politics. A lot of social stuff, and fluff.

But the point is that the West still, seriously STILL has to undo the damage of the psychopathic idiots that ran the nation(s) into the ground.

The biggest issues have to do with the crazy progressive rules, and lifestyles that have really destroyed the fabric of society in the West.

So you will see videos and articles about the relationships of men, women and families and how they are coming to grips with the promiscuity, and LGBQ+ lifestyles.

The most obvious are the trends of…

Passport bros
Body Counts
Cheesecake factory girls
Progressive lifestyle
His and her careers
Collapse of society, and reconstruction

Of course… I will include REAL intel on Geo-Politics, as well as REAL intel on the “Prison Planet” and “Domain”. But all will continue to buried inside the massive deluge of “other stuff”. And you all KNOW WHY I do this, right?

Stand by…

Here is a definitive assessment of Obama by Norman Finkelstein, taken from an interview by Danny Haiphong: “Obama doesn’t say anything. He’s such a zero that he’s a minus one…. He does know the game (basketball). Once you get past the basketball court, you might as well talk to an avocado.” And it’s not even an insult.

-PM

Todays…

If you happen to find an armed intruder inside your house at night while you are armed with a gun, would you order him to drop his weapon or you would just let the lead fly from your gun?

Unlike a lot of the Internet Tough Guys and keyboard commandos chiming in on this question, this has actually happened to me, although it was during daylight hours.

I confronted an individual who was in the process of breaking into my apartment with a crowbar. He had just climbed thru the window when I aimed my shotgun at him and told him to freeze. He dropped the crowbar, dove out the window and ran like hell instead. I made a snap judgement not to shoot based on my gut reading of the circumstances. Had things gone down any differently, I would have had a big mess on my hands. Triple aught buckshot from 10 feet isn’t pretty.

I then called 911 and reported the incident. They took the crowbar and were able to lift the perp’s prints and arrest him… he was a frequent flier in the criminal justice system. The cops sounded like they had a pretty good idea of who he was just from my description. Anyway, he took a plea deal and I never had to go to court — either as a witness or to defend my actions.

In all, this was pretty much an ideal outcome for everyone. The situation was resolved without any shots fired, and justice was administered with due process. I was fully prepared to shoot, but am grateful I didn’t have to.

While my time in the military prepared me mentally and physically to take a life if necessary, doing so is something I would prefer to avoid. Dealing with the aftermath of a justified shooting, both legally and emotionally, would be a traumatic experience I would not wish on anyone.

In my opinion, self-restraint is the most important skill an armed citizen must nurture.

Stuffed Jalapenos Texas Style

Ingredients

1/2 pound shredded jack cheese
1/2 pound shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 pound hot sausage (such as Owens or Jimmy Dean)
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
1 egg, beaten
1 package Spicy Shake N Bake
20 to 30 jalapeno peppers (fresh or canned)

Instructions

If using canned jalapeno peppers, drain well. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise down one side only and scrape out the seeds.
Mix Bisquick, sausage and Cheddar in a large bowl, using your hands.
Put the beaten egg into a shallow bowl, the Shake N Bake into a shallow bowl, and a baking rack on a cookie sheet, both coated with cooking spray.
Stuff each pepper with shredded jack, then stick the halves back together, if separated.
Wrap a handful of the sausage mixture around the pepper in the shape of an elongated egg.
Dip into beaten egg and roll in Shake N Bake to coat evenly.
Place on baking rack.
When the peppers are all ready, bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until crisp.

When we opened the outdoor playground…

What will happen to the United States if China’s technology continues to advance?

I’ve worked with Chinese tech companies. Their engineers and scientists are devoted to their families, employers and country.

China has the capacity to leap frog the US in many different technologies. Take your pick, they are on it.

The Chinese government places a high value on a highly educated population. Engineering and scientific professionals are leading a revolution in advancing scientific innovation in China.

Their current leader, Xi, was a chemical engineer before becoming involved in his political career. In fact, many Chinese politicians are former engineers, refreshing thought isn’t it?

The motivations for innovation in the US and China are a key point in China leap frogging the US. Both countries reward success in innovation with financial incentives.

But, the Chinese have a greater sense of pride in their country and it’s future.

The US is presently extremely divided politically, current leadership is seeking short term monetary goals over the advancement of scientific innovation.

China may take the lead in further technological and scientific breakthroughs in this environment.

What are common scams in India?

The Old Menu Scam

I have seen many people fall into this scam.

So some time back, I stopped at a highway side food joint to grab a bite before continuing on with the journey. After going through the menu, I decided to order a sandwich.

The order arrived within 5 minutes and I happily munched on it as I was hungry. Everything was fine until now. Now comes the shocker!

When the bill arrived, I observed that they had jacked up the prices to Rs 130/- whereas I clearly remembered seeing Rs. 100/- on the menu. I called the waiter and asked to him to get the menu card. The menu card clearly showed Rs 100/- printed against the item that I had ordered.

I immediately summoned the manager who gave this stupid reason for the discrepancy, “mam , this is an old menu. The rates have been revised since the implementation of GST”. I was like WTF. Why wasn’t I informed about this before. He then brought a new menu card which was hidden somewhere under the cashier’s table and handed it to me.

I had an argument with the manager and I refused to pay the revised fare. The manager relented in the end and took just Rs 100/- for the sandwich.

If not a scam, this can be termed as a very unethical way to squeeze money out of your customers. This particular junction had the advantage of being on a highway where people are in a hurry and will not bother to check the rates twice. Also, the food joints on a highway don’t need to build a loyal customer base as the visits are few and far between.

I have seen similar things happen to people before, even before the implementation of GST. They just show you a menu card and later on charge a higher fare saying that the rates have been recently revised and the new menu cards have not been printed yet. Now, I do make it a point to ask the waiter about the menu.

The Reason why Men are Walking Away from Dating (Ep. 252)

There is a major backlash from the LGBQ+ movement initiated by Obama in the West.

Why will China never overtake the USA?

This question is clearly written by a Chinese hater who is totally indoctrinated and highly naive person who knows little truth and facts today.

I am sorry for you, the person who posed this question China has overtaken the U.S. in a host of measures today in 2023.

Let’s start with the most important one life expectancy. China overtook the U.S. life expectancy by 2021 and maintained it in 2022 at 77.8 versus the U.S. 77.0 years old.

Next the most important real purchasing power GDP taking cost of living into consideration China’s PPP overtook the U.S. in 2014 and over the last 8 years grew into an almost 50% lead over the U.S.

Another important area is growth. China alone is growing at 38.6% of entire worlds growth over the past decade. Meanwhile U.S. and all its G7 nations add up to only 25.6% growth of the world.

Next nations that has China as the biggest trading nations. Almost 170/195 nations has China as their leading trade partner, meanwhile the U.S. has less than 20/195 nations cite the U.S. as their biggest trading partner.

Another important facts is China has the lead in 37/44 key and strategic technology for today and tomorrow’s products while the U.S. leads in only 7/44. China is clearly today’s leading technology innovation leader in the world today. US is a distant second.

Next consumer power. China is by far the biggest consumer on planet earth. It’s middle income numbers is now 700 million and dwarfs the U.S. 3 times! Chinas market alone is 30% if the world market!

In military. China now has more men, tanks, boats and planes to combat the U.S. if need be. More importantly it just defends China whereas the U.S. needs to be offensive to many countries in the world. In high tech military China alone has a hypersonic missile technology that can hit the U.S. from anywhere at the speed if 10 times the speed of sound. It makes the dozen or so US aircraft carriers obsolete and sitting ducks.

I could go on another hundreds of points but this suffice. The U.S. is the leader only in name. Or at least by western media claims only.

A much better question will be, now that the U.S. has clearly become second fiddle to China, can it reclaim back its hegemony ever again? And the answer is it is impossible and the more it tries as it is doing now the faster China will grow against the U.S. Even India will overtake them by 2050 at the latest. The U.S. system and its philosophy will always deteriorate its economy. It simply needs to overstretch and over interfere resulting in ever growing. deficits and debts

Since it needs to watch its back perpetually it will always needs to overspend militarily and one can argue, the more it does the more enemies it has and the more it needs to defend itself. The U.S. is on a one way road into oblivion. In ten years US will have lost the dollar hegemony power and its has to worry if it can stay as it is now as a USA. Chances is before 2100 the United States will be a group of divided states.

Can the Mate 60 chip developed by Huawei prove the failure of the US technology blockade against China? Can the United States finally succeed in preventing China’s technological upgrade?

It should be obvious to you that the US sanctions only accelerated China’s self-sufficiency in semiconductors. The US has totally failed by using sanctions instead of competing. The US technology strength is being weakened because of the hostile environment against the Chinese in the US and Chinese in the US are leaving to work in China.

The US couldn’t believe the results of Canada and Japan’s results of opening up the Mate 60 Pro chip to find zero US content so it too opened up the 9000s to find the same results so it remains mum.

The best the US can do is to claim it invented the transistor so obviously China copied.

Have you ever unintentionally stolen something?

My daughter and I once walked out of pet store carrying a very large dog’s tug of war rope. At that time we had a 115 lb lab / great Dane mix. We picked up the rope as soon as we walked into the store but then began browsing and were distracted by a litter of ferrets. We were playing with them and totally forgot that we had the rope. Walked out of the store, chatting and generally having a good time. Suddenly, there’s a voice behind us and a young man following us who said, “Excuse me, were you planning on paying for that rope?” My poor daughter was mortified! She was about 15 at the time and was so easily embarrassed that this just tipped her right over. She dropped the rope and darted across the hallway to lean up against one of the other storefronts. I think she was trying to pretend that she wasn’t with me! LOL I personally thought it was hilarious and picked up the rope, turned the young man and apologized, telling him how we had been distracted by the ferrets and I was so sorry that we had walked out with the rope without paying for it. he just laughed and said that he didn’t think we were trying to steal it as she was waving it around in the air as we were walking. I will never forget the horror on her face! I was happy to realize that I would never get a phone call about my daughter shoplifting.

He fainted after the kiss

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S_nHR-BH0PY?feature=share

Have you ever seen a mass exodus after a respected employee quit or got fired?

This actually happened to me many years ago. I was a property manager of 80 units. My boss and I had a heated exchange and in haste he fired me on the spot. He asked me to stay until he could find a replacement. “Sorry Charlie!” I cleaned out my desk and handed him the keys, and I left the property of my own volition….

I was off-site the rest of the week. My now former boss was blowing up my phone. “Where are you?” then it was, “You are needed in the office?” I ignored his calls. He then messaged me on Facebook and said it was “with great urgency that we talk”. As it turned-out 2 members of the office staff (there were 3 all together) quit! The residents had started a petition to reinstate me – 60-plus signatures in all. He would not cave and subsequently received somewhere around 15 to 20- thirty day notices in effect terminating their leases. Additionally, some of the residents (refused to pay their rent. The community quickly became unstable and increasing hostile towards him. The morning shift manager at Tiger Mart next door to the complex – a tenant of mine, refused him service.….

He offered me my job back. I let him sweat for a day, then accepted and returned to my job. I was never so moved by an experience as I was at that job, not because my boss had given me my job back, but, rather, because the tenants did!

Ukraine: Financing The War About Hegemony

First some news bits about Ukraine. We will then come to the real issue the war is fought about.

Headlines Politico:

Ukraine is ‘freaking out’ as McCarthy chaos threatens US aid

In Kyiv, officials are at a loss as to what might happen next. Their staunchest military ally suddenly looks unreliable, despite assurances from President Biden and others the U.S. will remain steadfast until Ukraine’s invaders are defeated.

“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a senior Ukrainian MP who chairs the committee on the country’s integration with the European Union.
…
The Ukrainian government heavily relies on foreign financial and military aid to keep the economy running and expects to receive $42.8 billion from international donors in the coming year. A big chunk of that would come from the United States.
…
“Unfortunately, some [U.S.] lawmakers found it possible to seek trade offs while further aid to Ukraine is in the air,” Vladyslav Faraponov, head of the board of the Institute of American Studies, told POLITICO. “The key message that Kyiv needs to deliver is that we can win together and do it as soon as possible to save a lot of good men and women.”

So the real problem is that Kiev has no chance to win. See for example The Times which talked with (archived) Ukrainian mortar crews near Robotyne, where the Ukrainian counteroffensive is stuck:

The KAB [glide bombs], as well as mines, underground fortifications and a deluge of suicide drones, have pinned down Ukraine’s assault brigades. It is why last month’s penetration of Russian fortifications failed to lead to a full breakdown in their defences.

All over the Robotyne-Verbove line, Ukrainian forces are bogged down.

The U.S. public is no longer convinced that the gargantuan spending on Joe Biden’s private war makes any sense:

The two-day poll, which concluded on Oct. 4, revealed that only 41% of respondents agreed with the statement that Washington “should provide weapons to Ukraine,” while 35% disagreed, and the remainder were uncertain.
…
Support for U.S. weapon shipments is down from May, when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 46% of Americans backed sending arms, while 29% were opposed and the rest unsure.

A few more month and a majority will reject any new money or weapon shipment. But don’t fear. Congress critters will find ways to dump more money into a hole:

On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said it would take about “$60 or $70 billion” to get Ukraine through 2024, not the $24 billion.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), chair of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, said the package they’re considering would fund the war for 15 months, bringing it into 2025. The package would help the Biden administration’s plans to continue supporting an open-ended conflict.

David Ignatius, the CIA’s unofficial spokesperson at the Washington Post, reports of two opinions in Kiev:

The conflict is bleeding the country out. Ukrainians I spoke with during a four-day visit know they can’t keep fighting forever seeking what might be an unachievable victory. But they won’t stop, either.
…
Oleksiy Goncharenko, an opposition member from embattled Odessa on the Black Sea, presses members of the ruling party of President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I am very concerned,” he says. “Why? Take a look at the front. It doesn’t change. For a year it doesn’t change. But it was paid for by a huge amount of lives. … Ukraine can’t fight ‘as long as it takes.’ That will be a catastrophe.”

For Ukraine it already IS a catastrophe.

But if Ukraine seriously questions whether it can survive a fight that might take many years, then it needs to think about a way to freeze this conflict on its own terms — with a security guarantee from the United States as part of that deal.

The Ukraine can not freeze the conflict on its own terms. The U.S. can not give Ukraine any reasonable security guarantee.

A security guaranteed would leave the U.S. at the grace of lunatics in Kiev. They would be enabled to launch, at any time, a new conflict with Russia. A conflict the U.S., with nuclear weapons, would then be obliged to join. No Senate will ever approve such a treaty.

Ukraine won’t sue for peace. As many people have told me this week, it’s too personal. As a superpower, the United States can try to steer this conflict toward a settlement that protects Ukraine and doesn’t reward Russian aggression. But don’t ask Ukrainians to give up their cause. They won’t do it.

If the U.S. stops financing Ukraine its people will have no choice.

But the war is about more than Ukraine and the U.S. will finance it because its neoconservative leaders believe in its larger cause.

The war in Ukraine is a proxy-act for the U.S. in support of its quest for global hegemony.

For Russia, China, and much of the rest of the world, the war is thus about the elimination of that quest.

As President Putin explained in his recent Valdai speech in Sochi:

The Ukraine crisis is not a territorial conflict, and I want to make that clear. Russia is the world’s largest country in terms of land area, and we have no interest in conquering additional territory. We still have much to do to properly develop Siberia, Eastern Siberia, and the Russian Far East. This is not a territorial conflict and not an attempt to establish regional geopolitical balance. The issue is much broader and more fundamental and is about the principles underlying the new international order.

Lasting peace will only be possible when everyone feels safe and secure, understands that their opinions are respected, and that there is a balance in the world where no one can unilaterally force or compel others to live or behave as a hegemon pleases even when it contradicts the sovereignty, genuine interests, traditions, or customs of peoples and countries. In such an arrangement, the very concept of sovereignty is simply denied and, sorry, is thrown in the garbage.

That is why the war is going to be a long one.

Putin though has no doubt who will win:

Russia was, is and will be one of the foundations of this new world system, ready for constructive interaction with everyone who strives for peace and prosperity, but ready for tough opposition against those who profess the principles of dictatorship and violence. We believe that pragmatism and common sense will prevail, and a multipolar world will be established.

Will it? I certainly hope so but there is doubt that it will be during the next five or ten years.

Posted by b on October 6, 2023 at 14:46 UTC | Permalink

China’s ‘Long March 9’ Is About To TAKEOVER The Space Industry

Awesomely excellent.

Did a teacher ever try to embarrass you in class but you had a brilliant response?

This is a funny story!

My sister is 4 years older to me. I was 12 years old when I was in 7th grade. She & her classmates were 16. One of her classmates was very close to our school principal. So, she got the principal to allow her to teach my 7th grade class for 1 class period (45 minutes).

She knew my sister well. My sister was always at the top of her class. I had the reputation of being lazy and talkative and distracting myself & other students. Well, when I knew that my sister’s friend would be teaching my class, I decided to be a good boy and not give her a hard time.

I had an excellent memory, then. I remembered everything instantly when I paid attention. So, I put my head on my desk, closed my eyes, and paid attention to everything she said. I was in the very front of the class. So, she could see me the whole time that she was taking/teaching.

My plan to please her backfired! She angrily called on me, by name, and asked me why I was sleeping in class. I was shocked! I told her that I wasn’t sleeping but that it helped me to pay attention when I closed my eyes. This was true. The whole class knew it.

But she didn’t believe me. She asked me what I remembered & understood of the last 20 minutes of her lecture. I recited every main point, in order. Then, I explained what each point meant. Now, she was in shock 😆

I put my head on my desk and closed my eyes again. She didn’t call on me again. But she changed her attitude toward me, pretty much forever, after that day. She is currently the principal of that school.

What China’s rare earths should be controlled by the West?

Recently, European Commission President Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen made a statement suggesting that Western countries should control China’s rare earth resources.

This statement was interpreted as an attempt to strip China of its control and operation over rare earths and other precious minerals.

The remark immediately sparked vigorous discussions online.

Experts believe that addressing the global rare earth issue requires collective efforts and collaboration among all parties for mutual development.

Von der Leyen’s statement reflects the European Union’s dependence on and concerns about China’s rare earths. Rare earths are critical raw materials for the high-tech industry and play a vital role in economic and social development.

While countries like Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina have the largest reserves of lithium, China possesses abundant reserves of rare earths and advanced extraction technology with improved environmental costs.

Statements like “We restrict Russian energy prices” and “We want to control China’s rare earth resources” reflect a historical legacy of domination and would be better off directly stating “robbery.” In the past, advanced technologies were predominantly controlled by the West and gradually shifted into China’s hands. It is not that the West no longer desires control, but rather they are no longer capable of exerting it.

When it comes to China’s energy and mineral resources, slogans are ineffective. Control can only be achieved through actual capability.

https://youtu.be/XvYkwvWxDC8

Who is the most evil person you have ever met?

At one point in my life I was a flight paramedic in New Mexico. The owner of the flight service had decided he was going to sell the company, so he hired a consultant to make his company more attractive for selling at a better price.

This was a disaster.

The consultant immediately began “inspecting” each flight base, and insulted every employee therein, implying we weren’t working hard enough. (The medical teams could be required to work 48 hours without a break; our working conditions were covered under an 1886 Interstate Commerce Act – yup, Pullman Porters. The pilots couldn’t work more than 12 hours, covered under FAA regulations.). I would occasionally get off shift and walk zig-zag to my car, my ears had such bad disequilibrium and I was so sleep-deprived.

But wait, it gets worse. This wolf-in-sheeps- clothing started calling pilots before they were about to begin flying technically difficult missions, pressuring them and distracting them. Essentially starting fights via phone call. You can imagine what this did to institutional attitude of “safety first”: Four months later, a company plane crashed in the Lincoln National Forest outside Ruidoso, NM with all souls on board lost: The pilot, the medic, the nurse (whom I had trained); the patient and the patient’s mommy. The medic’s death orphaned three little girls: Their daddy had taken off a long time ago.

But wait, it’s worse: Four months later, the company has a *second* fatal crash, a helicopter in El Paso. My husband was supposed to have been on that shift as medic. The FAA pulled the company’s ticket to fly, and the company was sold for a tenth of it’s former worth.

The consultant? He had been hired by at least one other, larger air medical company for these “services”. Wherever he went, fatal crashes occurred.

Yeah, evil.

Fred Rogers Interview on David Letterman | Irish Girl Reaction

Fred Rogers, affectionately known by children across America as Mr. Rogers was previously unknown to me until I watched him for the first time on this channel. In Ireland, we grew up without this gem. Frederick McFeely Rogers, known as Fred Rogers , was an American television host , puppeteer , Presbyterian minister , and educator . He was the creator of the children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood , which ran for three decades on PBS public television . Mr. Rogers did not do a lot of interviews, but on this occasion he made an exception for David Letterman.

The Late Show with David Letterman was an American late -night talk show created and hosted by David Letterman and broadcast on CBS . The show aired for 22 years and was produced by Worldwide Pants Incorporated , the production company managed by Letterman, and by CBS Television Studios . Among America’s Top Late Shows, this show ranks second in cumulative average viewers per time and third in average episodes per time.

Russian President Confirms “Burevestnik” Cruise Missile Success

World Hal Turner

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed the successful testing of the Burevestnik” cruise missile in the Arctic. This new missile has a nuclear-powered engine, giving it unlimited range around the world, while carrying a nuclear bomb.

Once the missile is launched, it will continue to travel, even orbiting the earth, until such time as the Russian military instructs it to hit a particular target. Thus, there is NO DEFENSE from this weapon.

According to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense, the missile’s dimensions are comparable to those of the Kh-101 cruise missile and it is equipped with a small-sized nuclear power unit. The claimed operational range is orders of magnitude greater than that of Kh-101. As shown in an official presentation, the missile starts from an inclined launcher using a detachable rocket booster.

Pavel Ivanov from VPK-news states that the cruise missile is one and a half to two times the size of the Kh-101, the wings of the Burevestnik are rooted “on top of the fuselage, rather than below it like on the Kh-101”, and also notes that there are “characteristic protrusions where air is most likely heated by the nuclear reactor”. According to Ivanov, the mass of the Burevestnik is “several times to order of magnitude” greater than that of the Kh-101, which eliminates Tu-160 and Tu-95 as potential carriers of the missile.

According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Burevestnik is a nuclear thermal rocket with a solid-fueled booster engine. The length of the missile is 12 m (39 ft) at launch and 9 m (30 ft) in flight. The nose has the shape of an “ellipse 1 m (3.3 ft) × 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in size”.

Military expert Anton Lavrov in the Izvestia article suggested that the design of the Burevestnik uses a ramjet engine, which, unlike the more traditional propulsion systems for nuclear weapons, will have radioactive exhaust throughout its entire operation.

Stratfor, an American geopolitical intelligence platform, assumes that Burevestnik utilizes a turbojet engine and a liquid-fueled booster.

According to James Hockenhull, the UK’s Chief of Defense Intelligence (CDI), the Burevestnik is a “sub-sonic nuclear-powered cruise missile system which has global reach and would allow attack from unexpected directions”. Per Hockenhull, the missile would have “a near indefinite loiter time”.

Can I cover most of the cost of my Alaska trip by panning for gold?

Probably not, unless you’re really lucky.

Here’s what you don’t know: You don’t make money in gold mining by panning. The reason you pan is to find a stream with enough gold in it to justify setting up your sluice box. So…if you want to haul a sluice to Alaska you could – if you were once again really lucky – pay for your trip.

Just so you know: very few of the people who participated in either the Alaska Gold Rush or the California Gold Rush made any money. John Nordstrom, who participated in the Alaska Gold Rush, needed two years to earn $13,000 – which, of course, was a hell of a lot of money in 1899, when he came back to Seattle. (You’re thinking that name sounds familiar. You would be quite correct. Mr. Nordstrom pooled the money he made with that a Seattle shoemaker named Carl Wallin made up there and opened a shoe store they called Wallin & Nordstrom at Fourth and Pike in Seattle. From there the mighty Nordstrom department store empire was born.) The guy who made the most money from the Alaska Gold Rush was Clinton Filson, who stayed in Seattle and sold equipment to the participants heading for Alaska. His business is still in operation, selling clothing to hunters and loggers.

Life in China – The cost of Living in China

What is the perfect thing to say when someone is being rude to you?

My father went with my mother and bought a high-end vacuum cleaner at a store they had frequented for over 30 years. It is important to note this store had a customer promise “satisfaction guaranteed, or money refunded.”

When they got home with the vacuum, my father uncrated it and put it together. The next day, my mother went to use it and it did not turn on. She checked the cord, the electrical outlet (with another item, which worked). She unplugged it and left it for my father to examine when he got home. He could not get it to turn on either.

Two days later I went with him to the store (I was about 8 years old at the time). He brought it back to the sales desk where it was purchased (back then they did not have customer return desks at this store) and stated the problem. The salesperson would not give him a refund or an exchange (my father wanted an exchange). The salesperson went into a long speech about it was on the manufacturer, that they had never had one returned with a problem before, and asked if my father sure it was not something he had done, etc. etc. (I can’t remember all of what he said, but he did go on a long time about it).

My father patiently waited until the salesperson had finished their spiel, and asked does the “satisfaction guaranteed, or money refunded” – while pointing at the sign that stated this above his head – no longer apply?

The salesperson then went into his previously stated issues again, without answering my father’s question about the guarantee.

My father then asked again – so you are refusing to exchange or provide me a refund? The salesperson said yes.

My father then showed the salesperson his store credit card, and sated he had been a customer for over 30 years. My father then stated that he has spent tens of thousand of dollars in the store.

My father then stated again that he would like to exchange the vacuum. The salesperson still said no.

My father then took a pair of scissors that were on the counter and cut his store credit card into pieces onto the counter.

Right at that moment a manager was walking by, noticed what was going on, and asked my father what the problem was.

My father never raises his voice, he is the calmest person I know – but I could tell he was very frustrated and disappointed. There was an angry strain in his voice, which shocked me to hear. He told the manager he was refused an exchange or refund by the salesperson for this vacuum (he held it up), which he bought a few days ago, but it did not work. He also informed him about his customer history at the store. The manager dismissed the salesperson curtly and told my father the problem would be corrected.

My father was not having it. He told the manager it was too late; that he had been disrespected as a long-time customer, the store did not uphold its guarantee, and that he had already cut up his store credit card. He told the manager to keep the vacuum and that he would never step inside that store again.

Then he turned and we left.

I asked my father on the way home why he left the vacuum. He said that it did not work – so why take it home. I said that must have cost him a lot of money. He said the money was irrelevant and that it was not that much. I then asked why he would not take the managers offer to help. My father then explained that he and my mother bought most of what we have in the house from that store. He said that the main reason they always shopped there was because of the good service and the guarantee – although this was the first time he had to use the guarantee.

He said he liked the store – but he was disappointed with how poorly they handled the situation – especially as it was his first complaint. He said as a long-time customer, if this was how they dealt with problems – he would never shop there again. And he never did.

He sat me down later that day and explained that salespeople will most often be very nice when you are buying something, but the true test of a store’s integrity (I had to look the word up later), is when you have a problem. He said if I ever have a problem with obtaining good service due to a faulty product – it is best to never shop there again, as it shows they do not care about you as a customer.

Edit: My fault and apologies, but I did not want to make this a long rambling story. Nonetheless, many people have commented that the fault of one salesperson should not condemn the store. While I can understand that viewpoint, there were two people involved, one was the salesperson and the other his supervisor. They were both there together and the supervisor did not correct the salesperson. Yes, the event did catch the eye of the manager and he said he would correct the situation – but the damage was done.

Likewise, I find it interesting the way some people get very heated over this story and criticize my father’s behavior. Some answers are judgmental, rude and insulting. Yet, these people fail to recognize that people are individuals and may and can behave differently then they would. Everyone has their own opinion, which is as it should be, but I find it weird that they believe everyone should behave as they do or the other person is wrong. Whether poor service in a store or restaurant, it is everyone’s choice to never go back to that establishment – not anyone else’s. Accept that fact instead of becoming judgmental. Sometimes, a person’s trust gets broken beyond repair.

Thanks.

Zelensky, EU; desperate and frightened during Granada summit

As a landlord, what is the best thing a tenant did for your property or best thing they left behind that helped you get a higher rent for the next tenant?

I had a tenant who was a carpenter by trade. He built a nice built-in entertainment center in my living room. Shortly after moving in he was doing a kitchen remodel for someone and brought home the nice, oak cabinets they were foolishly replacing. He installed them in my house free of charge. I essentially got a free kitchen remodel out of it. I did him the solid of buying him upgraded appliances for the kitchen after that.

He did this on a couple other occasions too where he’d come across something of value from a job site and bring it back and install it at my property, greatly upgrading the house. He installed new light features, stair rails, closet shelves. He also built me nice shelves in the garage. He never asked me for any compensation either. I would have loved to credit him or something but back then I was new and in the red with the mortgage on the house and what I charged for rent so I couldn’t afford to offer him much. He didn’t care, he said “way I see it I live here and it’s making for a nicer home for me.”

Whenever something would break or need repair, he’d just fix it himself. Not a single maintenance call was needed in the four and half years he lived there. Unfortunately the guy had a checkered past and a few run-ins with the law. He went to jail (relatively short stints) a few times while there and I’d cut him some slack getting caught up when he’d get out, never trying to evict or remove him. Unfortunately he got himself in too deep finally and got locked up with a ten year sentence. Sadly that was the end of him, but no joke he probably added $100K of value to my property from what he did there.

Are the people of Palestine simply reacting to nearly 80 years of swindling, brutalization, and repression by evil Zionist oppressors? Will Palestinian courage prevail over American supplied Zionist steel?

It happens

Sometimes you decide it’s better to die than live in a certain way

That’s when things become dangerous

At this stage you decide, since you have decided to die already, you will take down as many people as you want

Women, Children, Old Women, Old Men, Generals, Wives of Generals, Grandkids of Generals, Ordinary Civilians – you just don’t care anymore

That’s how Taliban fought

That’s how the legendary Viet Minh fought

The Mighty US Army could frontally kill many Vietnamese but a video of a single US Marine with his belly ripped open and being fed his own intestines would give the Viet Minh a larger win especially as journalists in their own country called these marines murderers

Ready to die but kill as many as possible before doing so

It’s why peace is never easy in the middle East

Most people aren’t ready to die

It’s unlikely that Taiwanese would be ready to die. They are too practical.

Ukranians and Russians are less practical but still would probably surrender if the going is too tough

It’s the Palestinians , because of the Fundamental Islamic belief in Jannat, who are ready to die provided they kill

If Israel do brutally crush Gaza , these Palestinians may die, in fact they WILL DIE

Yet their death will anger the Muslims in all of the Middle East and those living in Israel

One day a Israeli Generals 18 year old son, walking to a movie with his girlfriend will be stabbed to death by an angry arab boy, in revenge for his fathers actions in Gaza

Another day, in a Salon, two ordinary women coming for a hairdo would be blown up by another 15 year old girl with a rough IED into pieces

Israelis can never be at peace. Never happily take a meal. Never enjoy life without always fearing some attack somewhere

So they will leave Israel and take citizenships in US and Europe

Plus every Islamic Nation will condemn Israel for destroying Gaza and any hope of peace with Israel will be thrown out of the window

Thus the Palestinians with their death would deliver a huge win for their cause against Israel than keep living without power, concrete in blown out buildings

So my guess is Palestinians know they can’t win a conventional war against Israel

Yet they also know that if Israel invades Gaza and kills them all and takes over, then Israels biggest nightmares will start and so will Americas

There are 52 Million Muslims in these Countries and assuming even 1% decide to take revenge for Gaza, that’s 520,000 furious Muslims ready to die but take down as many as possible from WITHIN ISRAEL, US and Europe

So my guess is Israel may finally invade Gaza and they may win the battle but with their sacrifice Palestinians will win the war

Unless Israel is smart, decides not to escalate and do their usual bombing to atom routine for 3–4 days and then once Hamas calls a ceasefire , go back to status quo

NEGOTIATE A PEACE

That would be the best way to keep up survival

Man Goes VIRAL After Refusing To Pay For Woman’s Dinner

Would a British person who moved to the US or Canada notice a big improvement in living standards?

In 2002 I moved to Canada with my heavily pregnant wife and 3-year-old daughter, looking for a new life and yeah, maybe a better standard of living. I’d been working in various Tech Support roles in London, earning a little over £50k a year, so we were doing pretty well for ourselves. I’d been in contact with agencies in Toronto and they’d said I’d have no problems finding work and with my experience, etc., I should expect $80k+, so not quite the same, but close enough to make it work.

But things didn’t quite work out as we planned… Without a degree, my experience was irrelevant. I hadn’t needed a degree to fix computers in the UK, but it turns out that in Canada, I did. So all those $80k a year jobs vanished from view, and I ended up at a temp agency earning minimum wage ($6.85 an hour) moving things around a factory. My wife got part-time night-shift work to boost the family income to the point we didn’t starve and between us we were able to provide 24-hour child care to our young children.

After 8 years I’d had enough, and we came home. I do miss Canada massively, but TBH we’re doing better here now than we were doing there.

So why the personal pre-amble? My opinion on the standard of living in Canada is heavily coloured by my experiences – and struggling every day to pay rent and feed my family doing lower-paid temp work certainly makes my experiences different from someone else who went straight into a good job from day one. So now you know why.

I‘ll focus on the big, important concerns – let’s start with housing.

Houses are generally bigger than in the UK, but a lot of that is because many houses in Ontario have basements, and that’s true across a lot of North America. I converted mine into an extra bedroom, a workshop for me and a large playroom for the kids. But rents are also a little more in comparable areas – a family home in Toronto will cost about the same to rent as one on the outskirts of London, but elsewhere, you’ll probably pay more in Canada. So bigger houses, but they cost a little more.

Here’s the house we finally managed to buy. $150k in 2005. Big enough for a family of 4 and detached as you can see, which is nice, but not really “better” than the same money would have got you in a comparable British city. Middlesbrough, perhaps?

Bills. Phone bills are cheaper, cable costs about the same, hydro (electric & water) is a little more than the UK – but that’s probably due to the cost of running the AC for 4+ months of the year. DIY tends to be cheaper in Canada – Home Depot definitely beats B&Q, so keeping your house running is cheaper if you’re a bit handy.

Cars are obviously larger on average, but that certainly doesn’t make them better. Sure there are lots of pickup trucks around, but mostly in Canada it’s cars, mini-vans and modern cross-over style SUVs. New cars are cheaper than the UK, and quite a bit cheaper, but used cars are not. In the UK, you can spend £500 a get a decent runner with a long MOT that might last a few years. No chance of that in Canada. Remember that Top Gear episode where they tried to buy cheap cars in Florida for under $1,000? Yeah, that’s real. Anything even driveable decent is $2,000 + taxes (don’t get me started on that!) and when every penny counts, it’s quite an eye-opener. Ever heard of an Eagle Vista Wagon? Nope. Neither had I, but that’s what I drove for two years because it’s all I could afford.

Here she is – what a beauty!

Car running costs seem cheap because gas is cheap, but car insurance is not. Oh, so not! Even after several years of driving experience in Canada, insurance cost several times what I paid in the UK. Doing the maths, driving in Canada only gets cheaper than the UK, once you start doing more than 12,000 miles a year. That’s when the cheaper cost of gas drops the cost per mile below UK levels.

Food is not really cheaper than the UK, even if you shop at Walmart all the time. Yeah, portions are larger, everything has more sugar in it, and quality is objectively poorer – although I’m not sure how that affects the standard of living – but your overall food budget will be about the same. Take-out is marginally cheaper I guess, but restaurants are probably a little dearer when you factor in the almost mandatory tipping.

Appliances are about the same. You do get a bigger fridge for your buck, but then your bottles of juice and bags of milk take up more space, so it evens out. Computers, TVs, all that stuff, about the same cost.

But all this is just financial stuff. Basically I’m saying that overall, things probably cost the same. So I’d say it’s pretty even so far.

What really matters in standard of living are the non-materialistic things…

Holidays. Brits get 20 days minimum, but in Canada, I got 10 days a year, and only managed to get up to 15 days after 4 years’ service. Might be different for higher-paying white-collar jobs, but down at the low end of the employment market, it’s a big difference. That’s a big ol’ win for the UK.

Countryside/open spaces. Canadians seem to think that 12:00 is a good time to hit the beach, which meant we had three hours pretty much to ourselves on our trips to the beach, and that’s bloody wonderful I can tell you. Then the natives turn up with trucks full of meat for their big BBQ and we head off into the woods. Big forests, open spaces, and a lot of them can be quite quiet. It’s different, it’s wonderful, but is it better? Spend a morning hiking to the top of Snowdon, or take an Autumn drive around Scotland. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the UK is just as beautiful to my eye as Canada – a little smaller and more crowded, but just as lovely.

TL;DR – it all comes down to money. If you were to get a similarly paid job in Canada, would you notice a difference? Probably not. In some areas, yes, but in others definitely not. All depends on what’s important to you.

But if, like me, you slipped down the ladder a few rungs, then you’d definitely notice a drop in your standard of living.

Thanks for reading this far 🙂

Edit #1: This was my first ever answer on Quora and I’m blown away by the response. 5k likes in 24 hours is amazing. I never expected that. Thanks to you all.

And just to clear up a couple things I noticed in the comments – I wasn’t on minimum wage for 8 years! I ended up with a not horrible $50k working in the auto industry and we did OK for a while… until 2008 of course. That kick-started the spiral that led me back to Blighty. Cheers all.

Edit #2: Not even two weeks in and over 8k likes. Amazing! Thank you all so much for your likes and comments. If I’d have known this answer would be so well received, I would have spent more than 10 minutes on it, and maybe explained a little more.

On the subject of “checking before I moved”, well… I did. I contacted several agencies in Toronto, sent them my CVs, had productive chats on the phones, all over the course of several months starting before I even booked our flights. They all said the same thing: “Yeah, there’s loads of jobs, with your experience you’ll do fine.” I believed them…

I went to visit my first choice agency – the conversation went something like this:

Her: “Ah yes, come in Mr. Hall. Let’s have a look at you resumé. Yes… yes… all looks good… yes… oh, you don’t mention your degree.”

Me: “Um… I don’t have one. I mean, I went to University, but I didn’t actually graduate.”

Her: “Oh. Oh dear… And why was that?”

My internal monologue: “Because I decided to be rock star instead, OK? And how did that work out, Stevie? Shut-up – she’s looking at me funny because I’m mumbling to myself!”

Me: “Uh… personal tragedy, um thing, you know… Is that going to be problem?”

30 minutes later I’m standing on a cold Toronto sidewalk crying into a box of Timbits and wondering if I should have accepted that $8 an hour job at a cat-food factory she finally offered me after I begged…

Cheers folks.

What steps should be taken to update and close the loopholes in the current set of rules on exporting advanced computing chips to China?

You realize that by sanctioning Chinese companies in the tech space, you are telling them to develop their own technologies, standards and supply chains which eventually become completely independent from western companies, regulations and sanctions, don’t you?

What are some unwritten social rules everyone should know?

When with your friends/partner don’t fiddle around with your phone. Give them your “energy” and not just presence.
If you are invited to someone’s place always take something along. Could be as simple as a bottle of wine or as elaborate as a home made cake.
Say thank you, please and sorry when needed. Nothing wrong in being polite.
Help someone with the door if they have their hands full when entering a mall, shop, restaurant etc.
When someone asks you for stock/financial advice tell them you don’t know better than them! Avoid stock tips, you can ruin someone’s life.
When someone is talking, really listen. Look into their eyes time to time and nod. Does not matter if it’s a guy or a girl
Give credit where credit is due. Take responsibility if things don’t work out too.

Why do so many people defend China?

Can only speak for myself.

I live in Hong Kong, have lived in China, have been to Xinjiang. And it drives me nuts when I read something about China that is simply not true.

Should I just let it slide when people say that I had been oppressed in China and just didn’t realize it all that time, the whole 12 years? That there is no freedom in Hong Kong anymore and permission is required from the CCP to even take a pee? That Uighurs in Xinjiang have vanished by the millions, their organs harvested, and kept in pods as human batteries to generate power after the collapse of the 3 gorges dam?

Ok, got a bit carried away but you get the idea. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Some of it is just ignorance. But there’s also a lot of malicious propaganda from instigators with a certain agenda.

I do let certain things slide, have to pick your battles. Sometimes I joke about it and hopefully some people will see the absurdity in some of these narratives.

But yeah, without these narratives I probably wouldn’t even be writing on Quora and would be wasting my time on something else instead.

What have wealthy people learned that non-wealthy counterparts still don’t get?

Money Makes Money – You must re-invest what you have earned if you want to make more.
Wealth Does Not Come From Your Job – It is the best way to make capital at first. But true wealth comes from the passive income you make.
It Takes More Money Than You Think – Millionaires do not lead the lifestyle that they are imagined to. Most people would need ~ $20 Million to lead a lifestyle close to what they imagine.
It Takes Time – Get-rich-quick schemes do not work. If you want to be rich you must invest your money and be patient.
Some Debts Are Good – Leveraging a debt can be of huge benefit if used right.
Rich People Do Not Look Rich – Most of them are comfortable being who they are. They do not need clothes to show off.
It’s Not What Ultimately Matters – Sure, money makes things easier… to a point. After that its about what you do not what’s in your bank account.
Most Wealthy People Do Not Have Much Cash – Their bank accounts are often rather small. It’s their assets that make them reach the high net worth they have.
Where You Are Does Not Define Your Actions – The wealthy can still make money on vacation. Their actions are not bound by their situation or location but by their standards to themselves.
Money Is Always A Means To An End – The question is, do you know your end? What will you actually use the money for? Why acquire so much?

Have you ever accidentally found out that you were about to be fired?

I went into work one morning and I tried to log into my computer but couldn’t. I called the help desk and was told that all my credentials were disabled by my manager, but I still had access to the HR website. I immediately went onto the site and filed for a LOA to take care of some health issues I had been putting off and leave the office.

On the drive home my manager calls and wants me in his office for a meeting. I told my manager that I am in LOA and would be out for 6 months. This gave me time to get my health fixed, stay on the insurance, collect short term disability, and look for a new job.

Georgia Guidestones Darkest Secrets Revealed | Destroyed by a villain or a hero?

On July 6, 2022, a bomb detonated on a 5-acre plot of farmland in Elberton, Georgia. The explosion destroyed a large monument that had stood on the property for over 40 years. Known as “The Georgia Guidestones”, it was four monolithic slabs of granite, weighing over 230,000 pounds, that contained a set of rules for a more peaceful and orderly society. The identity of the builder was a mystery for 40 years, but today I’ll tell you who he was.

But why did he want to keep his identity a secret?

Probably for the same reason the Georgia Guidestones were destroyed. Because, according to the Guidestones, the way to a perfect society is through a one-world government, genetic and racial purity, and massive global depopulation. In other words: A New World Order.

What is the best comeback you used on someone?

Not me, my former Colleague…..

Many years ago (40+) I worked for a grocery store, Fry’s Food Stores, relatively large chain on the west coast. I started off cleaning floors, with another guy about my age (16 or 17 yrs old).

These were the days when stores were not open 24 hours a day, so stocking and subsequent cleaning was a little different than today. Carts with products we wheeled to the head of each isle, and the stockers would work on one end of the store, towards the other end. When they were done with an isle, we would break the boxes down, put them onto the carts, then push the carts back to the shipping and receiving area. Once we got a few isle cleared, we would start to clean and/or strip & wax. I believe this one day it was cleaning only, so it goes fast.

Nearing the end of our shift, we were done with the store and had some time to burn, so we started moving the carts around and running the floor machine up in down the areas in shipping & receiving area. One of the “older” stockers from the produce department was getting ready to clock in. He looked at us and said “What are you cleaning this area for, it just going to get dirty again”.

My colleague, never skipping a beat said “Why do you wipe your ass after taking a shit, it just going to get dirty again”. Priceless!! The stocker stood there a minute, shook his head and walked off……

The Satellite War: If I Compare Both, CHINA is The Winner

Has the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro with a 5G Kirin 9000s processor signified a failure on the part of the US in its trade war against China?

It’s not about the “trade war”, it’s about the technological blockage war, so the answer is “negative”.

Back to what the question may attempt to address, and in any case war is war, the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro is another indicator that the US cannot win that “technological blockage war”. Not even that ‘China’ need to pump money into Huawei to achieve that in the process.

Back to the fundamentals, China has the human capital and money resources to face the ‘US challenge’, and in history, China had achieve ‘break through’s’ time and time again from atomic and nuclear power, satellite and ICM technologies, GPS and space … etc. So, there’s plenty of example in history to ‘demonstrate’/’illustrate’ that ability.

So, it’s only another example.

There are more to that. Have you wondered why ‘Huawei’ had pick this timing? Why provoke the US? It’s not just a ‘sales drive’ since even without such high profile, Huawei can still mostly achieve its sales target as it still has many fans in China. That’s something to think about.

Do people realise that China is an authoritarian country?

Every Country is an Authoritarian Country

Every Country enforces obedience on its populace. Its why you have laws. It’s why you have police. Its why you have courts.

The degree of authoritarianism is what is the debate here

The West says China tramples personal freedom and the authoritarianism is high

China says it favors community over individual and says individual freedom may be restricted for communal prosperity

To be frank, the Americans had only four areas of freedom compared to a Chinese in the mainland

To be able to criticize the Governing authorities and speak freely against anyone with no restraint
To have men marry men and women marry women
To choose their leadership by voting everyone into power
To have homosexuals adopt children

That’s it

Every other Freedom, China has been rising for many years for its people

Today US is not following these freedoms

People who question things are blocked, shadow banned, even taken to task for free speech

Voting is a joke with electoral system being heavily panned

So i dont think there is any free country today

They are all authoritarian by various degrees

What is the lamest “benefit” you’ve been offered by an employer?

I got hired by a chip manufacturer and the HR lady was bragging up the stock options that the company offers:

HR Lady: “Noone else offers these.”

Me: “What’s the purchase price?”

HR: “29.95″

Me: “Huh. What’s the split price?”

HR: “30.00″

Me: “So when would I ever exercise that option?”

HR: “Any time you want.”

Me: “You’re not understanding. The purchase price is a nickel under the split.”

HR: “But then you have 2.”

Me: “Yes. But 99% of the time I can go buy it on the open market for under the option price. There’s a very narrow window where you can actually exercise this option before the split.”

HR: “But then you have 2.”

Me: “Yes, I realize that. Let me explain this another way…”

Don’t remember what I said after that, but the response was “But then you have 2.”

I gave up after a while, disappointed.

After about a month on the job I was outside on a break and fire trucks and ambulances started rolling into the parking lot. All of the emergency response staff were wearing gas masks. After a while the stretchers started coming out. 14 of my coworkers were taken to the hospital via ambulance.

By this point I was already at the evacuation point watching from there. I kept looking around and waiting for the people to start coming out, but they never did. I finally went to the security officer at the front desk who confirmed that there was no evacuation. So I decided to go home “sick”.

The next day our morning meeting was fun. The boss confirmed there was a hydrogen bromide leak. I asked him why there was no evacuation and he said that “all evacuations needed to be approved by the VP of Production.”

Well la-ti-dah! What about us poor schleps on the graveyard shift? We’re supposed to just sit there patiently breathing poisonous gas while someone calls the VP of Production out of bed to get his almighty approval?

I went on a soap box tirade directed at the company and quit right there.

I wish this was an isolated incident but I have numerous past employer stories involving massive safety violations, unfair treatment of employees, and even outright wage theft. Unfortunately this sort of exploitation is common for blue collar workers, and it hasn’t gotten any better over the years.

My Social Security Nightmare/ What I learned in Manila Embassy

Have you ever judged someone and realized you were wrong?

Oh my, yes!

Steve seemed such a surley man. Unsuprisingly older than me by a couple decades since this was my first professional job as a newly minted college graduate, he seemed to growl at me whenever I saw him.

With the confidence only available with youth, I judged him.

I judged him mean, old, and a bit scary.

Imagine my horror when after about a year on this entry level job when I was reassigned to work for Steve. Of course, the reality was that I knew nothing about him.

What happened over the course of the next year was one of those special times of life that changes who you are forever. I learned that while I knew nothing about him, he knew quite a bit about me. Turns out that this wasn’t some corporately bland reassignment, but, rather, he asked to take me on as a project.

As I got to know Steve, it turned out that the gravelly voice, which I can still hear in my imagination as I write, was just his voice. And the surley demeanor I had judged so harshly was a product of a direct and unassuming style this loquatious post-adolescent did not yet grok.

One teaching moment in particular is one I’ll never forget. I carry this lesson with me every day.

You see, I’d made a mistake. Not a huge one, but a clear screw-up. I had a plan for spin control. I was confident in the plan. The lies were off-white lies at best.

But Steve believed in me enough to ask questions gently. And after he had twisted me into a logical knot, he said, and I’ll never forget his words, “Tony, you can do better than this.” He proceeded to teach me the value of not spinning and just dealing with my own limitations as a human. He showed me the real value of honesty: building trust.

And, Steve was right. I came clean and it was all ok. And, a few months later when I made a yet bigger mistake, that was ok too.

I got to know Steve better over the next couple of years. I learned that we shared some basic interests and religious faith, but he was not the type to over-share or brag. Sadly, when I had this incredible access to him, I never fully understood Steve.

But, I understood far better when he died.

Just a couple years after this priceless mentoring, Steve was stricken with brain cancer. He was far younger than I am right now, so even in death he taught me to value every day.

But this wasn’t the last lesson he had to teach. Not hardly.

I was invited by his widow to his funeral. I had known of his faith, but not quite the extent to which he walked the walk. I’ve omitted a great deal of detail, but Steve had not had an easy life. In my mind, he was doing all he could to just survive and raise his own family. I assumed his faith was like my own: sincere, yet mostly a coping mechanism.

In the shadow of his recent death, some mutual acquaintances filled in some details. There was far more to the man than even I suspected. My admiration was already deep. My tears were quite real.

Steve had been an elder at a prominent church for many years. The details of his service to others would make this long answer far too long. The debts others expressed dwarfed my own sense of gratitude.

But, the funeral blew me away.

You see, it was a large church. Very large. That day, it was filled to the rafters. I have never been to anything like it since. The love expressed for Steve that day over powers me even as I write this.

And there, in that pew, I knew i wanted to be like Steve.

Not for glory or acclaim—not at all. Just to have left this place a better place than I had found it. And, as I traverse my new career in coaching, I am still chasing his example.

Thank you, Steve, for teaching me how to be real. I’ll never forget you. I’ll never achieve what you did, but I am so much happier for trying.

And, I even learned from misjudging you.

Do you think that China is strong enough?

Janet Yellen wrote that if China could commit to investing in US Treasury Bonds until 2026 and take a $ 1.1 Trillion Position by 2026, Inflation in US could be reduced to 3% within 6 months

In 2009, the Chinese agreed to such a request from USA

This time they told Yellen to go f*** herself

Yet that alone shows the power of a Nation like China

That a mere $ 270 Billion purchase of bonds could bring down US Inflation by 3% indicates a level of strength very few nations could possess

Yellen counted very heavily on the Chinese agreeing to her request and was very angry when she came back home

Putin visited Xi before his SMO began

Every Industry in Russia or most industries continued to operate despite a 72% fall in Supplies from Western Vendors

The Reason : CHINA

Investments by Western Countries replaced by China

Western Brands replaced by Chinese Brands

A Yuan Buttress helping Russia steer through foreign trade from April 2022 to December 2022

One Nation capable of standing against US and EU combined and preventing Russia from going under for those crucial 10–12 months before Russia found it’s feet

Thus China is VERY STRONG ECONOMICALLY

Apart from Paper Propaganda and a few articles on how China is collapsing, China is easily among the strongest economies in the world and among the more resilient economies

Militarily?

Only time will tell

Let’s wait and watch

MY HEART…First Reaction – Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home & Doggon It!

I moved to Long Beach this summer. The homeless crisis is heartbreaking. I have seen and spoken to many since I have been here and the mental health issue is so apparent. This is all around us, but we are more worried about spending billions on witch-hunts and funding things that are none of our business.

What is the story of a famous person who rose from poverty and achieved success?

I’ve always loved the story of a man named Henry Sy. Born in Xiamen, China, Sy was poor as dirt. His father, his mother, his siblings, all of them could barely survive the next day. So his father took a gamble and moved the family to the Philippines. It was the 1930s, and Henry had to make ends meet in a strange country where he did not speak the language.

For the first years of his young working life, little Henry worked as a shoeshiner, polishing the boots of “his betters” until they shone brightly. The money he made with this, he saved up. Whenever he tried to get customers in front of Mercury’s Drugstore, however, the owner would shoo him away. Undeterred, Henry would find another spot, and continue his work.

As the years went on, Henry kept working hard, living frugally. He saved up his money, and invested it wisely, step by step growing his fortune along the way. Soon, he owned a store, next, a chain of stores, and eventually, he owned an entire mall. In the end, his chain of malls would dominate the entire Philippines. Henry Sy became the countries richest citizen, by far…

…and in none of these stores, there would ever be a Mercury Drugstore. Watson’s, sure, other pharmacies were allowed. But not Mercury. Because they didn’t let little Henry shine shoes in front of them when he was a wee lad.

Is China’s DF-26 missile a real threat to U.S. aircraft carriers?

Yes.

The US sent spy planes and satellites to watch the publicly announced test.

In November of 2020, US Admiral Phillip Davidson, Commander of Indo-Pacific Command verified that China hit a moving ship in the SCS with a DF-21 and a DF-26 hypersonic missile.

Notice that the US Pentagon is no longer claiming that the Chinese have to slow down the missile. The Chinese figured out how to see through the plasma sheath with radar and IR for terminal guidance.

This is something new. The US military calls these new class of missiles, ASBMs (anti-ship ballistic missiles).

However, the name is somewhat of a misnomer. They’re quasi ballistic missiles. They don’t follow an exact ballistic path that is easily calculated and susceptible to interception.

This type of missiles can see. So they can evade incoming anti-missiles fired from US ships or bases.

So yes. They’re a real threat to US ships, not just carriers.

The DF-21 has a cruise speed of mach 6. Then speeds up to mach 10 for terminal phase. At 100 miles away, the DF-21 will hit a ship in 47 seconds. That isn’t a lot of time for the radar operator to talk to the captain then order an intercept. In fact, that isn’t any time at all since once the order is given, it takes time for the operator to actually launch the missile. Then it takes time for the missile cover to open, for the data to download to the missile, for the missile to light it’s rocket engine, and for the missile to get up to speed.

A DF-21 will hit with the explosive power of around 1.4 tons of TNT or 2,800 pounds of explosive equivalent.

A DF-26 will hit with the explosive power equivalent of 24,000 pounds of TNT.

You decide what happens when that much explosives goes off inside a ship. Bear in mind that a normal anti-ship missile has a warhead of 600 pounds. You can find the ships with holes in them. Then figure out what happens when you increase that to 2,800 pounds or 24,000 pounds. Yes. the DF-26 hits with the equivalent of a MOAB.

The real question isn’t is it a threat. The question is will there be a ship left after it hits. And in the report to Congress last year, The USAF/MIT study said that this is a game changer. Without a proper defense, if a ship gets hit, it will be sunk.

Is the war that has just started in Israel anything to do with Putin’s need for distractions?

Don’t make me laugh

This would serve more as distraction to the West than Russia

The West bankrolled $ 140.81 Billion to Ukraine in the last 19 months plus trained 70,000 Ukrainian Soldiers plus combined gave Ukraine :-

1.03 Million Rounds of 155 mm Artillery Shells
17,000 UAVs Military Grade
1100 Infantry Fighting Vehicles
760 Tanks (Including 453 T 72, 124 Leopard 1, 92 French Tanks & Swedish Stridsvagn 122, 48 Abrams & 14 Challengers)
3.53 Million Rounds of Small Arms Ammunition
688 Missiles with upto 300 Km Range plus Air Defence
60 Himars Launchers
91 Air Defense System including 8 Patriot Complexes, 12 Iris Complexes and 50+ S 300 systems in former communist countries

Look at this list of equipment

It’s virtually an ENTIRE ARMY

Four Fronts – Kremeyvka Salient, Orekhovo Front, Bakhmut & Kremenneyva

After 125 Days

Territory Gain :- 188 Sq Kilometers

Loss of Territory (Kupiansk) : 507 Sq Kilometers

Net Gain Loss :- (-) 319 Sq Kms

The Ukrainians haven’t still managed to cross the grey zone

They have to reach 3 defensive fortified lines plus one fortified line to reach the Sea of Azov Or Melitopol

They haven’t managed a clear 10 Kilometer forward gain in positions and need 526 Kilometers to reach their objective

In ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE DAYS!!!!

Meanwhile their losses :-

90,000 Killed or horribly wounded enough to miss action for minimum 6 months
290 Tanks destroyed
700,000 Rounds Ammunition spent at 6000 Rounds a day
650 Infantry Vehicles
39 Himars Launchers
91 Missiles (Range upto 300 Kms)
360+ Air Defence Missiles
73 Assault Boats
4500+ UAVs

Easily between 35% to 45% of their entire equipment and at least a fourth of their BEST FIGHTING MEN

For 188 Sq Kms gains and not one concise territory to consolidate positions

You think I am quoting from TASS Or Sputnik right?

Nopes

CNN, Politico, Reuters, Washington Post & Institute for War

Meanwhile the Russian Economy?

From a 15% contraction expected in 2022, now it’s growing by 2.3% even by IMF predictions

Strong and Resilient as ever

Happily now selling Oil at $ 91/ Barrel against a $ 60 Price Cap laughing loudly

So it is the West who need an off ramp and a distraction badly indeed

Girls, Bars and Love in Phnom Penh

It’s a view about what is going on in the rest of the world while YOU were sitting away in your nice sterile cubicle, attending Diversity meetings, and grabbing a number #3 burger during lunch. The rest of the world is far more interesting and colorful out there. Savor it.

This is a “monger” video about this asshole going to Cambodia for prostitutes. He just went to Cambodia and filmed the night life. Very colorful.

Ugh!

Not badmouthing the girls. Not badmouthing the guys.

Just making a statement on lifestyle.

Do not be offended by some of the things you see here. The point that I am trying to make is that YOU can decide your lifestyle. If sitting in a grey cube, staring at a flickering monitor, and living for the weekend appeals to you… embrace it. But the rest of the world thinks that lifestyle SUCKS. I did that for far too long. BIG FUCKING MISTAKE.

Am I interested in visiting Cambodia. Yeah, sure.

But not for the chicks. I really want to check out the culture. Especially the spicy beef on those long French rolls that you get at the street pavilions.

You know, I have been interested in Cambodia and Laos ever since I was in 5^th grade and Nixon went and bombed them to shit. Then, later on, I had some interns that came from Cambodia. I’d like to meet up with them and tour their little family factory and warehouse. Maybe have some “cooperation” together.

If NATO was formed to counteract the Soviet Union, why wasn’t it disbanded when the Soviet union was?

NATO wasn’t formed to counteract the Soviet Union.

NATO is an expansion of the Western Union (Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Britain) and the WU was a military and ECONOMIC alliance.

When NATON was created in 1949, it’s goals were to prevent a resurgence of Germany and to improve economic ties between countries.

Don’t forget about the Berlin Blockade of 1948. This PROVED the Soviets were not up for a military confrontation.

Article 2

The Parties will contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions, by bringing about a better understanding of the principles upon which these institutions are founded, and by promoting conditions of stability and well-being. They will seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them.

Back in 1949, the economic aspect was far more important than the military one.

As Europe began to move towards an integrated economic policy and later towards a union, the economic policies of NATO were largely forgotten … BUT THEY STILL EXIST.

Russia is right when they talk about the tandem EU/NATO. The European institution, economically and politically, were all created under a NATO umbrella … there was nothing else back in 1949.

So when the Soviet Union fell, the EU didn’t even exist. There was a large economic forum in place in Europe, but a lot of political decisions were taken at NATO level. European economies depended to a large extend on NATO’s integrated policies: economically, militarily, and politically.

NATO was the perfect platform for international cooperation before the EU came into being.

Once you realize NATO is also an economic alliance it becomes pretty clear why it couldn’t be disbanded. And it also becomes clear why expansion was profitable for all involved. NATO didn’t expand because “countries feared Russia” (look at the timeline, relations were good UNTIL NATO expanded), NATO expanded for economic reasons.

The EU is relatively transparent, NATO is nor. NATO invested 150 billion Euro in Eastern European infrastructure. NATO always upgrades your infrastructure when you become a member (that’s how Greece and Turkey were bribed back in 1952).

In return, NATO countries, mainly European ones, got to invest massively in Eastern Europe. Much lower wages resulted in huge profit margins.

Just look at how many “German” cars are produced in Hungary and Poland. All that was a direct result of NATO expansion. The average monthly income in Germany is 4,200 Euro a month, in Poland 1,400 and in Hungary 1,300.

Cheap labour results in huge profit margins which in turn regenerates more tax revenue. Those 150 billion paid themselves back with interest. But the main requirement was a good infrastructure.

History makes a lot more sense when you look at it from an economic point of view.

Why is Xi Jinping always bashing America so much?

He’s not “bashing” America. He’s simply exposing the truth about America. There is nothing he has said about America that is incorrect. I can repeat some of the talking points and see if you can refute any of them:

Unsustainable $33 trillion national debt.
Crumbling infrastructure.
Unaffordable health care for millions of Americans.
Rampant homelessness — approaching one million Americans.
Declining public education.
Declining life expectancy.
Growing poverty.
Mass incarceration — highest number and highest per capita rate in the world.
Rampant gun violence — on average, one mass shooting every day of the year!
Fentanyl epidemic.
Over one million Americans died from Covid needlessly.

It’s America that is bashing China with all kinds of propaganda lies such as Uyghur genocide, Uyghur forced labor, Chinese aggression, spreading authoritarianism, etc.

UPDATE:

After 8 hours, this answer has received a whole bunch of stupid comments and NOBODY has even tried to refute any of the points in my answer. This alone tells you something.

I’ve disabled comments to prevent any more stupid comments. If you can’t say anything intelligent, then don’t say anything at all.

What really happens when a car salesman takes your offer to his manager to get the deal approved? Does the salesman actually go to bat for you or do they scheme on how to come back to you with a better deal for the car dealership?

In 1972 my Dad let me tag along to “Wild Bill’s” Dodge in order to buy a new emerald green Dodge Coronet. Wild Bill was a local tv commercial superstar! II remember the transaction to this day. The cigar smoking salesman wanted $3440 for the car, but my Dad was firm at $3400. The salesman then said only the owner could approve that low a deal, so he would have to call him at home!

Out came the phone book, because the salesman had never called him at home before, and the salesman made a big production out of reading off the number and dialing it. “Yes Bill, he says, they won’t do $3440, I told them it’s crazy but he wants $3400 even.”

At that moment I see someone exit the break room and recognize Wild Bill sitting there having a cup of coffee. I whisper to my Dad, that Wild Bill is not at home talking to this salesman, he’s 50 feet away drinking coffee. My Dad smiles and says to me “let them do their thing”

$3400 later we had the car, plaid fabric seats and all!

Why the West is Afraid of China

Thank you for bringing the one and only Carl Zha to your show. He is a great analyst and has a good sense of humor.

In the military, what was the most savage verbal correction you witnessed?

Didn’t witness it, but knew it was happening.

In the mid-2000s, I was a civilian contractor working for The Pentagon Channel, originally part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. I created TPC’s first podcasts.

The podcasting operation grew to more than 20 different regular podcasts — audio and video — and had about 19 million downloads over its seven-year run. I personally produced nine of the shows.

We also uploaded the videos to YouTube.

One morning, I went in extra early to upload a new episode … only to see a warning from CYBERCOM that YouTube was blocked for our office. A lot was hanging on this particular upload, and my boss was able to track down someone I could talk to at CYBERCOM.

I called the Air Force Master Sergeant listed on the Post-It Note he gave me. Got him on the line and explained my problem.

The Master Sergeant was a condescending male appendage.

He angrily told me there was an unusually high number of computers spending a lot of time during business hours accessing YouTube. We broadcast 24 hours a day, and business hours were when we were uploading video.

He lectured me on how NO military office needed access to YouTube nd that he’d personally shut down our access in accordance with regulations. I tried to explain that uploading video to YouTube was critical to our office’s mission.

He was about to lecture me some more … but I had another call. I knew exactly who it was.

I put the Sergeant on hold … which he huffed at.

The incoming call was from a speaker phone. Another civilian I knew at the Pentagon asked why the video wasn’t uploaded, and I explained the situation. A second voice came on the phone.

“Terry, this is Captain Kirby. Can you give me that sergeant’s name and number?” he asked with frightening calm.

I did.

“Tell him to stand by for a phone call,” Captain Kirby said and hung up.

I pick up the line with the irate Master Sergeant who’s already wound up to tear into me and cut him off.

“Stand by your phone for an incoming call,” I said. I didn’t witness what was said or who said it. But I knew it would be glorious.

Then-Captain John Kirby would retire as a two-star admiral in a few more years. He’d go on to become the official Pentagon Spokesman, later the State Department’s Spokesman, and is currently the Biden Administration’s National Security Spokesman. You see him delivering live press briefings on national security issues at the White House.

But on that particular morning, Captain John Kirby was the long-time Public Affairs Officer for Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff … the most senior officer in the U.S. military.

The video that I was blocked from uploading? The premier episode of the Chairman’s Podcast — a more-or-less weekly podcast in which ADM Mullen was interviewed on top policy issues affecting the military and the troops across all branches of the services.

Chairman Mullen was incredibly media savvy and was extremely keen on creating this podcast.

I suspect Captain Kirby called the sergeant … but he may have just let the admiral know what was going on, and the Chairman picked up the phone himself. Either way, I knew the sergeant was about to get a Mark II bunghole installed via phone lines.

I spent a couple of minutes refreshing the YouTube page before we suddenly had full access restored.

And I began uploading the Chairman’s Podcast.

That’s when my phone rang again.

It was a very contrite Master Sergeant, I suppose he was still a Master Sergeant, I didn’t ask. Anyway, he went into a very long, detailed apology about blocking our access and for his tone of voice toward me.

I never had another problem in the two years we produced the show.

Before the CIA spies were exposed in China

China has been publicly announcing the arrests of several spies working for the CIA, an unconventional move for a country not best known for message clarity.

The China Academy

Oct 6, 2023

“Drug Panic,” “God’s Scalpel,” “Old Classmates in Washington,” “CIA Spy School,” “Sexy Spies,” “Target – Beijing Olympics,” and “Double Agent,” these gripping chapters of the spy novel Fatal Weakness, upon its first release in 2004, led many spy fiction enthusiasts to believe that its author, Yang Hengjun, a former employee at China’s Foreign Ministry, was next in line to become one of China’s bestselling writers in this genre. His fans were awed by his vivid description and attention to detail at portraying the life of a double agent. They later discovered that all it took was for Yang to report on his own life, as Fatal Weakness fits better in the category of autobiography than novel.

For the past two months, China has been publicly announcing the arrests of several spies working for the CIA, an unconventional move for a country not best known for message clarity. Previously, China’s state media would only go so far as saying that a person is harming national security and therefore warrants an arrest. What prompted the sudden change of tone? Most importantly, wouldn’t openly revealing that even government officials lack faith in the country hurt the government’s reputation even more, further fueling the already rampant suspicion around its former Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s removal?

To answer these questions, it would be necessary to examine all the “accidents” that have killed Chinese scientists in the past five years, as this provides insight into the urgency Beijing faces to take a more assertive position. Whether these incidents were truly unfortunate accidents or the successful operations of secret agents is up to you to decide.

On July 1, 2023, Feng Yanghe, the brain behind the AI software used in China’s military simulations, died in a car accident in Beijing at the age of 38.

On June 22, 2023, China’s leading botanist Zhang Dabing passed away at the age of 56 from a car accident. He was a prominent scientist in China’s hybrid rice field and transgenic biosafety monitoring field.

On September 21, 2022, genius rocket engineer Li Yuchong died in the United States at the age of 30, a week after he announced his decision to forgo offers from the US and return to China.

On June 14, 2019, Ning Bin, one of the driving forces behind China’s digital signaling systems across the railway, died at the age of 60 from a car accident. He was working on a control system for a super high-speed train running at 1,000 km/h.

On December 1, 2018, renowned quantum physicist Zhang Shoucheng died in the US at the age of 55, purportedly from depression, three days after his team announced a breakthrough in 5G chips. His discovery of “angel particles” in 2017, particles that are both matter and anti-matter, ended one of the most intensive searches in fundamental physics. Before his death, it was widely speculated he would be the next recipient of the Nobel Prize. His scientific life was put to an abrupt end on the same day Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada. Meng is the senior executive of Huawei, the company Zhang and his team had collaborated with since 2009.

A month later, Chen Shuming, head of the R&D team for chips of advanced weapons, died in a car accident on December 31, 2018.

The list goes on and on, with examples found in all areas involving leading science and technology. Beijing has never confirmed nor denied people’s suspicions that these were premeditated assassination attempts coordinated by a network of spies that have infiltrated key positions in the Chinese government. However, as the list grows longer, the silence becomes increasingly unbearable to many.

Remarks by CIA Director William Joseph Burns that the agency has “made progress” in rebuilding its spy networks in China served as both verification of people’s suspicions and validation of Beijing’s perceived incompetence. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if Beijing prolongs this silence, we will witness its reputation being slowly shredded to pieces. In an apparent effort of self-consolation, Chinese netizens even pushed a story online about the Macao Garrison Special Operations Company being awarded a first-class collective merit citation in 2014 for defeating an alleged CIA assassination attempt on Snowden when he was transiting through Hong Kong en route to Russia. To their disappointment, the narrative was later denied by Macao authorities. It is conceivable that the recent string of reports on spy arrests is the long-awaited response to an anxious populace that has borne witness to some not-so-clandestine espionage activities.

For more reporting on spies arrested in China, please check out our newsletter series here:

Why has China’s GDP surpassed that of the United States, even though the US still leads in other areas such as technology and innovation?

The U.S. leads in certain technologies at best. China leads in 37 out of 44 most strategic and key technologies for today and tomorrow’s technology frontier according to a neocon funded research project in Australia call ASPI or Australian Strategic Policy Institute. If that is the case. The U.S. leads only in 7 out of these 44 technologies.

The U.S. no longer leads the world for at least a decade now! China has 3 more unmatchable advantages. One it has 1.4 billion highly competitive population who are very intelligent, very hardworking, extremely disciplined and both industrious and driven people.

Two, Chinese political system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is extremely effective and efficient. It evades costly and hurtful perpetual politicking and it allows meritocratic policies by attracting the most capable and qualified leader. As compared with the U.S. clearly popularity contest among popular but unqualified leader.

Three, China focuses fully and comprehensively on growing the real living standards of it’s citizens and does not get distracted by the U.S. forever war investment and focus of interference throughout the globe. China’s military strategy only focus on defending their home land and hitting the enemy lands if it is hit at home. It needs to spend a third of the U.S. to match their huge and damaging military spending!

China is highly sustainable, the U.S. is simply not. In fact the more the U.S. wants to stop China the faster the U.S. will go broke and implode.

Horseshoe Sandwich with Idaho® Fingerling Fries

The Horseshoe is a regional specialty in the Springfield, Illinois area. It is an open-faced sandwich on toasted bread that can utilize a variety of meats, topped with French fries and a creamy cheese sauce.

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

Sandwich

4 toasted slices Texas toast
6 Idaho® Russian Banana Fingerling potatoes, sliced into fries
2 teaspoons olive oil
Freshly ground Italian seasoning blend
4 grilled hamburger patties, sprinkled with steak seasoning and seasoning salt before cooking
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 red or green bell pepper, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons butter

Cheese Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Lay out potato slices onto cookie sheet lined with foil.
Drizzle olive oil over potatoes and use brush to evenly coat them.
Grind Italian seasoning over potatoes until there is a nice, even dusting of seasoning.
Place in oven heated to 425 degrees F. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until fries are cooked throughout and lightly brown.
Place onion, mushroom and pepper in foil. Place butter on top and sprinkle with freshly ground Italian seasoning. Tent foil and close. Place in oven. (They should be softened by the time the fries finish cooking.)
While the fries and vegetables bake, start on cheese sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add flour and stir to make a roux.
Add milk and basil and stir constantly until it starts to bubble. Continue stirring for two to three more minutes until it begins to thicken.
Add shredded cheese gradually, stirring constantly as it melts.
Lay out toasted bread on plates, topped with hamburger patty. Spoon vegetables on top of burger, followed by a layer of fries. Top with cheese sauce.

Notes

Grilled vegetables, such as green peppers and onions, are also common on a Horseshoe sandwich. Alternate meat suggestions include smoked ham, pulled pork and grilled chicken breast.

China’s $100 Billion Move That Left Australia STUNNED!

In a surprising turn of events, China has unveiled a staggering $100 billion project that could send shockwaves through its trade relationship with Australia. Today, we’re breaking down the intricacies of this development and exploring its potential global implications.

The implications of China’s new mega project are vast, with potential ripple effects touching every corner of the global iron ore industry. Join us as we unravel the layers of this complex narrative and project its potential future impacts on Australia, China, and the broader international community.

https://youtu.be/YrdyA18FcPM

Why do so many people defend China?

People on the internet think I am a blind supporter of China. Some even think I am paid by Chinese propaganda department to write pro-China answers! (Hell! It would be great to get paid for narrating facts, but sigh … so far, no payment. Not even a job offer :p).

For reasons unknown (and probably very biased) stating plain and simple historical and current facts offends a lot of people. Comparing the actions of countries offends people.

Here are a few examples.

Example 1. Hong Kong Riots

Last year (in 2020) Quora was overflowing with certain people expressing their support for Hong Kong rioters, claiming they are fighting for “freedom” and that secession is a right of people.

I wrote a couple of answers stating the plain fact that at least Indians should stop expressing their “deep concerns” for Hong Kong rioters, considering how India is handling the freedom movement in Jammu and Kashmir: no internet connectivity (since more than 8 months now) for the region, curfew almost daily, and lots of reports of rapes committed by the military. A lot of people were “offended” because of my comparison.

I also compared Hong Kong rioters with American civil war. The northern states of USA refused to let the southern states break free of the union. If “freedom” is the right of people, northern states should have allowed the southern states to break free.

Similarly, UK should have allowed Ireland to be free.

Somehow, when India, USA and UK does it, it’s all justified and acceptable. But when China does it (and on top of that, China didn’t even use lethal force against those rioters), suddenly China is at fault! I don’t understand the logic here.

Example 2. China’s Island Building In SCS

I wrote that every nation has a right to defend itself and no nation has a (moral) right to display aggression and policing at other nation’s borders. This too, offended a lot of people. People mentioned “freedom of navigation” and whatnot. I pointed out that USA has not ratified UNCLOS and therefore has no right to implement it on others.

There was a long debate about how USA and western powers have “freedom” to roam in their warships close to Chinese shores, but China has no right to install weapon systems on islands in South China Sea.

Some US guy went on a long argument with me in that answer, claiming that although USA has not signed UNCLOS, it still has the right to implement it on others. The most remarkable thing is that he claimed he was not even being biased and was completely transparent and morally fair in his claim!

Example 3. China – Australia Trade Dispute

I wrote that a customer is not and should not be forced to purchase from any seller, therefore China is not forced to purchase ore and food products from Australia, considering that Australian government went on a smear campaign against China (proposing to find Covid-19 origin only in China) and banning Huwawei.

Some people got offended, and claimed that China should be forced to buy from Australia, but Australia is “free” to not buy from China. Some people also claimed that China is “weaponizing trade” and that they must be “put to their place”.

All I can say about it is that their logic is incomprehensible for me.

Example 4. China – US Trade War

I wrote in an answer that if US is so concerned about trade deficit, they have all the right to stop buying from China and shift their imports to some other country. Similarly, China has the right to stop buying from USA and start buying food products from South America.

Similarly, I wrote that both countries have the right to place as many tariffs as they want, on their imports. Both are free in what they do within their borders.

This offended a lot of people. They claimed that it is China’s “legal responsibility” to avoid placing tariffs on US goods but USA is “free” to place as many tariffs as they want on Chinese goods.

Example 5. Chinese Loans And Investments In Africa

Someone asked if Chinese loans and investments in Africa were attempts by China to colonize Africa. I posted some pictures of African colonialism and showed what colonialism really looks like.

Some guys started arguing in the comments that China is “exploiting” Africa with their loans and whatnot. I simply stated that nobody is forcing African countries to get loans from China. They are free to get loans from IMF and World Bank if they want. If they are getting loans from China, they know the conditions. They are written clearly in front of them. If African countries and China, both agree on the terms and conditions, why is someone else trying to run around amok with arms flailing and crying foul?

They claimed that Africans are “simple minded” (yes, they were indeed simple minded, or else they would not have been enslaved by the western powers for centuries) and do not “see through” the traps. I asked if their countries have better loan offers for African countries, they should present the offers. Somehow that further offended them and they quit in rage, claiming I work for China’s propaganda department.

So. That’s my story of being “pro China”.

US House Resolution #145 Is Retaliation Against South Africa For Hosting BRICS Summit

What are things that girls wish guys knew about them?

Here I go again.

When I tell you I’m upset or worried, I don’t need you to fix it. I just need you to listen and let me know that my feelings are valid.
Periods are more than just blood and cramps. They can affect my whole body and mind, and PMS is a real thing.
If you want me to wear makeup, don’t expect me to be ready in five minutes. It takes time.
Just because I’m nice to you doesn’t mean I like you romantically. And just because we talk sometimes doesn’t mean I’m “leading you on.” I can have friends who are guys without wanting to date them.
When we talk about the issues that women face, it doesn’t mean that we don’t think men have issues too. It just means that we want to talk about our own experiences from our own perspective.
Yes women might are attracted to chiseled jawlines six-foot-tall men, etc. But that’s not the “ideal dream guy.” Just because women find you good looking, doesn’t mean every woman around will want to date you. We have other things in our priority list (Girls in their early teens might be an exception, but that’s about it).
It’s scary when you run up to us or try to get our attention out of nowhere. We’re in fight-or-flight mode the second we know a stranger is paying attention to us.
Don’t try to be a smartass all the time. It’s not attractive. And please don’t flex in front of us. We don’t care.
It’s not “manly” to raise your voice.
Scents are meant to be discovered, not announced. Take it easy with the body spray.
Honking at us doesn’t work. Please stop.
The best thing you can do for a girl on her period is buy her chocolate, (maybe) some wine, and her specific brand of tampons.
Acting all sad because we’re not replying and literally begging for it is not adorable. You’re chat was probably archived the second you started begging for our attention.
Just because we ask for your help to get something done doesn’t mean we couldn’t do it all by ourselves.

Chinese J-20 fighter production now at over a 100 per year?

“Japan and Korea won’t join the fight against China”

What was your scariest “Idiot at the Gun Range” moment? What was the funniest?

Many years ago, I desired my concealed handgun license in Texas. To acquire it back then, you had to complete a class (6–8 hours) and demonstrate the ability to safely handle a firearm and shoot with an acceptable level of control. This required a shooting test at a range… firing maybe 50 rounds in front of an instructor (10 rounds of 5 shots each) and getting above some very low percentage of hits on a target that is just 10 yards away. Really… it was a “Can you hit the broadside of a barn?” kind of test.

We wrap up the classroom work and go together (class had 20 or so students) to the range that has 5 lanes. The guy who is assigned the lane next to mine (he’s on the far right of the 5 lanes) is easily over 80 years old and apparently carries a revolver, but wanted to take the test with a semi-automatic pistol (it gives you more options), so he rented a small caliber pistol from the range for the test. He can barely load the weapon and is limp-wristing his shots, so it jams repeatedly. The first time it jams, he pivots around to show me, pointing the barrel straight at my face. I dropped to the ground and he tracks me with the gun to the floor until he realizes that he’s doing something wrong, then freezes. The weapon is still pointed at 2–3 other students in other lanes. One lady in lane 1 or 2 screamed. I came around behind him, grabbed his shoulders so that the weapon was pointed back down range and had him put it on the bench (then turned it to point downrange when he placed it pointing back at the students in the other lanes). I waved for the instructor and he came over… his only concern was clearing the weapon and RELOADING it for the old guy. I looked at him and he gave me a “give the old guy a chance” look. On the next round the old guy’s gun jammed again and he waived it at me again, asking for help. I again ducked, got behind him and took the weapon from him this time. I cleared it, sat it down and walked out of the range. I told the instructor “That’s twice I’ve had a loaded weapon pointed at my face. I’m not going back in there until he is disarmed. That guy is going to kill someone and it’s NOT going to be me.” Several of the people in the first few lanes followed me out. Amazingly, the instructor went down to the old guy, reloaded his weapon and had him finish the test (and PASSED him)

I’m not sure who was scarier… the old guy taking the test or the instructor who certified him to carry a concealed weapon for another 4 years without basic safety knowledge or having enough wits not to point a loaded weapon at other people MULTIPLE times on accident.

What is the strangest reaction of someone who has just been fired?

Technically I was “laid off,” not fired, after 31 years at the company. I was only working part time (10 hours/week), and was planning to retire fully in a year or two. Instead, I got laid off. They paid me almost a full year’s salary and gave me over a year of medical and other benefits. I collected unemployment for the next year and because of a legal action for deceiving customers by my state against the bank that held my mortgage, they had to write off my mortgage payment each month that I was unemployed.

So when I was told I was laid off, and the salary/benefits package I would receive, I immediately bought a bottle of wine, gave it to the head of HR, thanked him profusely, and left. That year was far and away the best one (financially) that I ever had. And to top it off, I had gotten divorced a year earlier. With all my free time and lack of financial concerns, I had time to date. I met a wonderful woman, and we have been together almost thirteen years now.

What do you think of people that are hoarders?

In 2016, an elderly Lady in Brooklyn New York took hoarding to the extreme when the remains of her son were found amongst the rubbish that filled her home.

Rita Wolfensohn was legally blind and lived with the corpse of her son for twenty years, believing he was missing. The son’s body was discovered when a relative went to the house to collect clothes for the woman while she was at the hospital.

In one of the bedrooms, she found a Skeleton with its jeans, socks and a shirt still on. The room and the rest of the house smelt like rotten food, so any smell of a decaying body would have blended with the already rancid smell.

Police believe the son died of natural causes, and it was possible Rita believed that her son had left and never came back. I don’t understand how someone can live this way, but I don’t like to judge either because depression plays a big part in hoarding cases.

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Intel’s CPUs are still on 10nm.

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Thanks for that. *sigh* Life can be so interesting sometimes. -MM

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