Here is something that I have never mentioned.
When I was “retired”, I was sent to prison (at the ADC for my mothballing of my ELF probes), and that was exactly 35 years (to the month, and week) after I joined MAJestic.
And it happened three months after my mother died.
And as the oldest son, I was awarded an inheritance.
My inheritance included the house (a 24 or so plot of country land with a huge manor house, a pool, multiple car garages), a monetary amount worth a million and change, a Cadillac, and a bunch of furniture and stuff.
And all of it was seized by the State of Arkansas.
Reason:
Restitution and Fines: If an inmate owes restitution, fines, or court-ordered payments, the state has the authority to claim a portion of their inheritance to satisfy these debts. This is not unique to Arkansas and is a common practice in many states.
What? A few million dollars to pay for throwing me into the ADC?
Yes.
I left the ADC with $100, and the used clothing on my back.
If you think that I will EVER go back to the the American slave plantation ruled by demented, psychopaths you are an idiot.
I’m starting to get angry.
Let me chill.
Today… we start with this pieces of bullshit that is fresh off the “news” at Hal Turner. It’s a hoot!
UNPAID WAGES, Massive Protests
Widespread unrest has erupted across China as President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs devastate the nation’s export-driven economy, triggering factory closures, unpaid wages, and massive protests by workers, The Daily Caller reported.
Riots and mass protests are spreading across China as economic fallout from Trump’s tariffs pushes the nation’s manufacturing sector to the brink, shuttering factories and leaving millions of workers without pay.
From industrial zones near Shanghai to the remote edges of Inner Mongolia, workers have taken to the streets demanding back pay and denouncing mass layoffs. The unrest comes amid a sharp drop in Chinese export orders.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Huang Deming, a garment exporter in southern China, has already laid off 30% of his staff after losing three U.S. clients. Qian Xichao, a textile factory manager, described cutthroat conditions in the domestic market.
“To be frank, personally speaking, all we can do is go out and look for new opportunities,” Qian told the Journal.
The labor unrest mirrors the protests in 2022 during President Xi Jinping’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns. At the time, government forces suppressed demonstrations through violent crackdowns. Analysts expect similar responses now as economic instability threatens the regime’s control.
MM Commentary
The truth is, all of China is Defiant.
People are enjoying the May Day holiday and have absolute faith in Xi Peng.
And the percentage share of the USA exports is tiny…tiny shit.
How do Americans manage to work 16 hours a day compared to the lazy Chinese?
In America…
China doesn’t have that many taxes and you don’t have to pay taxes if you make less than 5,000 RMB a month, yet in most areas, 2,000 RMB is enough to make ends meet.
Chinese people only have to pay the deed tax once when they buy a house (usually combined in the price of the house), and after that they don’t have to pay any more taxes. Never heard of house tax, land tax or anything like that.
The tuition fee for law school in China is 700 US dollars per year, while the tuition fee for law school in the United States is 80,000 US dollars per year.
China’s tuition loans are interest-free, and the Chinese Government also provides tuition fee reductions and exemptions for students from remote and impoverished areas, students in education and health professions, and students who join the military after graduating from university; students from economically disadvantaged families can apply for hardship assistance.
Almost everyone has a piece of farmland and a house in their hometown. The land is owned by the state, but the Chinese can use it for free. Farmers do not need to pay taxes for planting, and the government also provides subsidies.
There is no tipping culture in China. Buying a cup of coffee is the price of a cup of coffee, and there is no need to tip the waiter separately.
The cost of medical care in China is much lower than in the U.S. Ambulances in China are charged at $7 (RMB 50) for 3km and less, and $1 (RMB 7) per kilometer for more than 3km.
Prices in China are lower than in the United States. In most cities in China, you can buy 20-25 eggs for $3 (RMB 21) in a supermarket.
Therefore, Chinese people can support themselves with 1 job, while Americans have to work 2~3 jobs to support themselves, so you are saying that Americans work 16 hours a day.
Every year, more than 20 million people at home and abroad increase their income through paid blood donation, but in China, paid blood donation is illegal and prohibited.
Only 5 countries allow plasma-for-cash sales — including Austria, Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic — but the United States is the biggest producer. Called the “OPEC of plasma,” the US produced blood products in 2021 worth upwards of $24 billion. That’s 2.69% of the country’s total exports.
Tim Boyd, mayor of Colorado City in Texas told the truth
What has a car salesperson said to you that resulted in you immediately leaving?
Was looking for a newer pickup ,it was a rather hot summer afternoon and took my hot rod out for a ride.
As I drove bye a new car dealership i spotted what I was looking for, a nice F250, so I pulled around and parked behind the dealership. Granted I had paint on my shorts and a older tee shirt, two salesman came calling as soon as they seem someone out in the lot. As they got closer one turned around and went back, the other older guy walks up and don’t you think that truck is a little out of your price range. I was more than a little shocked , I walked up to him so his nose was 2″ from mine, and said. “ You and your attitude just lost a cash sale”. His eyes looked upwards as he backed up.
All eyes were on me when I jumped into my bright red 911 Targa Porsche and slowly drove out of the lot. I can still see the old guy with his mouth wide open in disbelief.
No Property Taxes? The Shocking Truth About Life in China That Americans Never Expected
How did China became so successful in relatively short time, is it due to CCP Governess and forced labor, Chinese culture and work ethics, Competitive society due to large population forcing every one to work hard to succeed?
I say the CPC played a major role by ensuring excellent policies were in place to ensure maximum potential of the Chinese people was realized
I did some checking and found that nearly every single major Chinese founder or Researcher was the product of PUBLIC (STATE) SCHOOL & State University
Only three other countries boast such an achievement – Japan, USA and Germany
That is an example of a superb education system which spends money on education and where you have Nine years schooling without paying a dime and three more years schooling paying 200 Yuan a month
Not a single Chinese, including the poorest Chinese – will be denied the opportunity to study if he has the ability
Who made this possible?
Mao Tse Tung (Right side)
He shaped the education policies for China and emphasized on ensuring Chinese were educated including Women
In an era when Indian women were getting married at 13 and having kids at 15 – Chinese women could go to School and College as well
Among Asian Nations – China has 34% Women in its research workforce , higher than every other country including Japan (27%) or South Korea (27%)
By comparison only the West has more with Germany (39%) leading, followed by US,UK and Netherlands (38%)
It’s 9% in Russia and 2.1% in India – among the lowest in the world
Chinese Teachers teaching local schools earn between 8,100 to 21,300 Yuan a month which is equivalent to ₹ 36,300/- to ₹ 122,500/- a month in India and $ 51,709 to $ 111,333 a year in USA
That’s a lot of money they pay teachers out there
A Young International School Teacher can earn 26,000 Yuan Salary, 4000 Yuan housing allowance, 8000 Yuan Airplane allowance and a bonus of 75,000 Yuan for Silver Medalist and 100,000 Yuan for Gold Medalist at the Physics Or Math olympiad
That’s equivalent to ₹ 54.50 LPA CTC in India
They pay teachers what is paid to IT Top earners in India
In Public School, a High Grade Teacher can earn 20,000 Yuan a month plus Social Security Fund of 531,000 Yuan on an average after 20 years teaching
That’s equivalent to ₹ 31.80 LPA CTC in India
So qualified and talented people will work as teachers and help develop the minds
Ultimately the Government has to formulate the best policies for National Development
The CPC has done that superbly
Better than anyone else in the planet for the last 50–60 years
The products of their foundation are in front of our eyes
And notice and see if CPC talks about how China will be an emerging power in Artificial Intelligence 😂😂😂
They will say “Still a long way to go and a lot of learning”
China Says NO This Time! Europe’s Economy Faces Collapse While the U.S. Struggles to Keep Up.
If China and the US go to war, will the US use its top secret weapons against China?
It’s only a viable course of copium, if you have the manufacturing base to back up the mass production of these “unrevealed” superweapons.
In WWII, german tanks were so good that to kill one german tank, the allies would have to lose five. But the Germans still lost the war, simply because the US and USSR manufacturing was more than 5 times that of Germany.
If the US is both technologically and productively more advanced than China, then the US can dominate China in war.
However the reality is:
12% vs 35%. By these numbers, whatever top secret US weapons would have to be at least 3 times as good as top secret Chinese weapons, for the US to start gaining the upper hand in war.
Gaeng Phed Kai (Red Chicken Curry)
The Thai name of this dish literally means ‘hot chicken curry.’ There is a very similar recipe for a green curry (Gaeng Khiao Wan Kai).
As always, the quantities are up to you.
Ingredients
Curry Paste
- 5 to 10 dried red chiles
- 10 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped galangal
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced lemon grass
- 1/2 teaspoon zest of ‘kaffir’ lime (ordinary lime will do)
- 1 teaspoon chopped coriander (cilantro) root
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon roasted coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds
- Dash of fish sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fermented shrimp paste (kapi)
The Curry
- 6 ounces chicken (in smallish bite-size pieces)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 4 ounces Thai eggplant (these are small round eggplants)
- 2 kaffir lime leaves (or a little lime zest)
- 1 tablespoon sweet basil
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- Oil for cooking
- 1 to 3 tablespoon red curry paste
Instructions
Curry Paste
- Mix in a mortar and pestle or food processor. Will keep about a month in a refrigerator. You can buy commercial red curry paste (Mae Ploy brand is quite good), but as far as I am aware all commercial pastes contain MSG and preservatives.
The Curry
- Cut the chicken up, then briefly fry the curry paste until fragrant, reduce the heat, add the coconut milk slowly, and continue to stir whilst cooking until a thin film of oil appears on the surface.
- Add the chicken and other ingredients except the eggplant. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken begins to change color. Adjust the flavors to suit yourself. When it is at a boil again add the eggplant and continue until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve over rice, or in a serving bowl with other Thai dishes.
How Would Mao Zedong Cope With Trump?
This is supremely great.
Ghosts of Winter Future
Submitted into Contest #281 in response to: Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party — but no one knows who they are.… view prompt
John Rafanelli
“Round yon virgin Mother and Child. Holy infant, so tender and mild…”
She looks back at the children singing the beautiful melody. Some are off key, like young Bobby Hinkins, but others are in perfect harmony. Noel smiles as she looks over at the twins Holly and Rory Falco. She sees them go into perfect harmony, gifting the town with the lyrical hook.
“Sleep in heavenly peace…. Sleep in heavenly peace…”
The line moves forward bringing Noel to the front of the ‘security’ checkpoint. It’s an old lady sitting behind a white folding table.
“Excuse me ma’am,” The lady behind the table says. Noel remains silent. “Excuse me, MA’AM!” she yelps out, a little louder.
“Oh, sorry. I was caught up in the song. Hi, How are you?” Noel asks.
“Good. Thank you for asking, young lady.”
“Oh, you flatter me. I’m not young anymore,” Noel nervously says.
“Neither am I,” the lady behind the table responds. She searches Noel up and down. “Do I know you? You look familiar.”
“I don’t think you do ma’am.”
“Please, call me Beverly.”
“Well Beverly, if we’ve met it was a long, long time ago.” Noel looks at Beverly. “I used to live here, but my family moved out when I was just about nine or ten.” She looks around and points to the choir. “Probably not much older than those angels right there.”
Beverly smiles. “They sure are precious, aren’t they?” They both nod. “So why did you leave?”
“Family stuff. Dad was a drunk. Mom left us. You know, typical family dynamics.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs?”
“Noel. Nice to meet you Beverly.”
“Nice to meet you too. What brings you back to the Cove?”
“Revenge.”
Beverly is a little startled and just looks at Noel. Noel smiles. “I’m just kidding.” They both laugh. Beverly a little too much. “I was just passing through. I have a big meeting in New York City tomorrow and I always had such great memories of the festival so I wanted to see it again.”
“Well, once a part of the Cove, always a part of the Cove.” They both smile. “Don’t let me keep you any longer. Go in and enjoy the festivities.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Parker.”
Beverly looks at her startled. Noel points to the nametag on Beverly’s shirt. They smile at each other as Noel enters the party tent.
Noel stands in the back of the tent, silently observing. She’s been here for about thirty minutes watching people. Studying every person who enters or leaves the party. She’s trying to be left alone and is purposely avoiding interacting with anyone. She’s holding some eggnog, not drinking it but using it as a prop to blend in, when someone taps on her shoulder.
“Excuse me, Noel?”
Noel turns around and sees Walter Parker, the school’s English teacher, standing next to her.
“So, I take it you spoke to your mom?” Noel asks.
“Uhh, yeah. I’m Walter.”
“Hi Walter.”
“As you also know, news travels fast in this town. You used to live here?”
“I did, a long time ago.” Noel tries to move the conversation along.
“So I figured I’d come talk to the mysterious former Cover.”
“Sorry, I’m only here for tonight. Then I have somewhere entirely else to be.”
“I get it. But you’re here now. Can I have this dance?
Noel looks around the party and see’s the choir entering the tent.
“No thank you Walter.”
“Let me buy you a drink?”
“The drinks are free.”
The students walk past them. Holly and Rory stop for a second. Noel looks at them both, as Holly starts to talk. “Mr. Parker, did you hear us?”
“I sure did, and you were brilliant.” He rubs her head, he looks over at Rory. “And so were you champ!”
The two giggle and skip away in childish glee. Noel watches them disappear into the party. Noel, who knew she would need an out from this conversation was slowly pouring her drink onto the floor. She holds up her empty glass and smiles at Walter.
“How about that drink?”
Walter eagerly grabs her empty cup and runs off.
“I’ll be right back!”
Noel, with intentions to avoid him the rest of the night slips into the party to remain incognito.
Another ten minutes have passed, and Noel has now stationed herself on the other side of the tent looking out at the crowd. The adults are mostly drunk, dancing and mingling. The children are running around with innocent joy. She looks up and see’s Walter searching the crowd holding an extra eggnog. Before Walter can look at her she dips down and hides behind a balloon arch. She bumps into someone.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
Her words are cut short as Holly looks up at her.
“Do I know you?” Holly asks.
“I don’t think so squirt,” Noel responds.
“My dad calls me that!”
“So did mine.” Noel smiles.
Holly smiles, as she looks out into the party. “Sorry I gotta go, my hiding spot’s been compromised.” She points out to Rory in the crowd creeping forward. Before she goes, she whispers, “I like your hair, I wish I was brave enough to dye it red and purple.” Holly jolts off, running away.
“Maybe one day you will be,” Noel says to no one, as she scans out at the crowd and watches Rory chasing after Holly. Noel crouches and follows them through the maze of people. She’s weaving and observing, avoiding contact, but never losing sight of Rory or Holly for what seems like an eternity. Finally she bumps into someone’s lower back. Ms. Davis abruptly stops her conversation, turns around, and looks at Noel creeping along the floor.
“Sorry about that, ma’am,” Noel says as she stands upright.
“Do I know you?” She looks Noel up and down. “You look familiar.”
“No, you don’t know me.”
“I never forget a face, and yours is familiar.”
“I’m sorry if you think I’m someone else. And I’m sorry for bumping into you,” Noel says as she scans the crowd. She sees Rory and Holly playing around on the dance floor. Ms. Davis shakes her head and returns to her original conversation. Noel, trying to blend in, starts to sway on the edge of the dance floor and begins singing along to the song.
“When I first saw you, I already knew, there was something inside of you…”
Ms. Davis hears the voice and her ears perk up. She looks at Noel singing. She knows the face is familiar, but that voice is so recognizable.
“Something I thought I would never find. Angel of mine.”
While Ms. Davis is processing Noel’s voice, Noel is searching the party. She sees Holly dancing alone in the middle of the dance floor. She panics, searching for Rory, and finally spots him exiting the tent. She proceeds to chase after him. As she is running away something clicks in Ms. Davis’ mind.
“It can’t be?” Ms. Davis says to herself, as she watches Noel run out of the tent, then looks over at Holly on the dance floor.
Noel jets out of the tent looking into utter darkness. She hears some noises in the distance and follows them. She reaches into her jacket and grabs her pistol.
The far edge of the park leads into a small forest. Noel stops at the edge of it listening. She hears some branches break. She holds her gun in front of her as she creeps towards the noise. Eventually she comes across an old man hunched over Rory, pointing a pistol at him. Rory is cowering on the dirt floor.
Noel raises her gun and points it at the man’s back. “Let him go.”
The old man slowly turns towards Noel, shifting his gun from Rory to her. It’s the same person who bumped into her earlier in the night. They stare at each other for a few seconds. “I’m afraid I can’t do that squirt.”
“Dad?” Noel whispers.
“Drop your gun, and let me explain.”
Noel doesn’t move. Rory looks on, but is too afraid and too confused to move. He lays there paralyzed.
“It was you?” Noel asks. Her world is shattered.
“I didn’t have any other options.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Let me explain.”
Noel cocks the hammer of the gun back.
“Holly… please?”
“I’m not Holly anymore. She’s back there at the party.” Noel waves the gun off into the distance. “I’m Noel now.”
“Since when?”
“Since Rory disappeared, and my whole world was shattered. You became a drunk. And mom ran away in the middle of the night.”
“Squirt… I’m sorry,” Dad humbly pleads.
“You were always blaming mom for Rory’s disappearance.” Noel’s eyes start to tear up. “Ironic, isn’t it?” Noel waves the pistol frantically at her Dad.
“Let’s talk about this.”
“Now you want to talk? You neglected me, obsessing over your life’s passion of finding a way to go back in time. Then that consumed you, and eventually killed you on one of your test runs!” Noel shouts.
“Well, I see you picked up where I left off and figured out the solution.”
“Not till forty years later. After spending several years of neglect in foster care. Then I spent my twenties and thirties on the streets begging for money anyway I could. My forties were spent strung up on any drug or liquor that would numb the pain.” Noel is frantic at this point. “Finally, on my fiftieth birthday, I overdosed. I was laying in a hospital detox bed, thinking back to when life was happy. So I found your old journals, and picked up where you left off, determined to come back here, and change the one event that turned our lives to shit”
“I knew you were always smart.”
“Stop pretending like you care!”
Dad starts to laugh. “Pretend like I care?” He starts to get angry. “The only reason I’m here is because I care!”
“That’s original, coming from a man who’s about to murder his son, and has a gun pointed at his daughter.”
“Let me ask you the age-old question. If you could go back in time and kill Hitler when he was a child, would you do it?”
“If I wasn’t using my only jump to come here? Yes.”
“Ahh. You can only jump into the past once? And back to your present once as well?”
“Yes. But that’s not the point. This is 1999 Long Island, not 1889 Austria-Hungary.”
“The point is… Rory grows up to be worse than Hitler.”
“Liar!” Noel steadies her wavering hand and focuses her gun at her Dad. “Let him go.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Dad says as he cocks the hammer of his gun. “Do you know how hard it is for a father to spend years developing one plan? One which requires him to go back in time and kill his only son?”
“Why not go back in time and never have him in the first place?”
“I thought of that, but then you wouldn’t be born either.”
“Don’t pretend like you’re doing this for me.”
“This is all for you, so you can live, and live in a free world.”
“Why today, and not when he was a baby?”
“I told you, it was hard. I’ve been back in the nineties for eight years now. Always mustering up the courage to kill him. But unfortunately, I’m a coward.”
“Until now. What changed?”
Dad pauses for a second before responding. “I guess I was stalling, hoping for a better solution. But in six days on Christmas he will kill you.”
“Bullshit!”
“At first we thought it was an accident, and felt bad for him in our sorrow. But then we learned he did it on purpose.”
“Your web of lies are intoxicating. Let him go.”
“I can’t squirt.”
“DON’T CALL ME THAT!”
“I know you don’t believe me, and I know it seems like your life sucked in this timeline.” He stops pointing the gun at Noel and now focuses it on Rory. “But at least you have a life.” Dad is trying to plead his case. “And the world is still at peace.” Rory looks at the barrel of the pistol and squirms.
A shot rings out.
Dad falls to the floor with a bullet hole in his shoulder. Noel starts to inch closer to Rory, but keeps her gun pointed at her dad. Dad slowly rises to his knees gripping his wound. “Please, you have to hear me out. As an adult, Rory is a bad person. He becomes a leader convincing millions to follow him to no end. He’s a tyrant. Everything Hitler did, he did bigger. If you spoke against him you were executed.”
“This is insane. You’re obviously still a drunk,” Noel interjects.
Dad starts to regain his composure, and is readjusting the grip of his gun. “He’s started a nuclear war with Russia, Japan, England, Italy and Germany. Our own air is polluted with nuclear toxins…”
Another shot fires from Noel’s gun. This one hits Dad in the chest. He falls to the floor. Noel is now next to Rory. He delusionally looks up at her.
“It’s okay. It’s over now.”
Rory just stares blankly into her familiar eyes. Dad starts to rise up again. “Please, you have to believe me,” he begs.
Noel starts to swing her gun towards her Dad for a third time. As she is in motion, Dad fires a shot and hits Noel in the head. She slumps to the ground. Dad weakly gets up and walks over to a shaking Rory. He points the gun at Rory’s head, looks away and pulls the trigger. He slouches down and hugs both of them.
“I’m sorry,” he begins to sob. He pulls out a small tablet from his backpack. He puts a watch on his wrist, Rory’s, and Holly’s. He pushes a button on the tablet and the world around him changes.
It’s now December 19th, 2053. Robert Falco is in the forest of Augusta Cove Long Island on a beautiful peaceful winter night. Blood is pouring down his shirt. Next to him are his two dead children. Robert stumbles to the edge of the forest. He looks out into the night sky. It’s normal, no toxic fog hanging in the air, no smell of burning debris. He can hear a children’s choir singing at the festival far away. It’s beautiful and haunting.
Robert digs two graves deep in the forest. It’s a slow effort because of his wounds and his sorrow. He lays Holly and Rory into the graves. He starts to fill the holes with dirt. As he does the choir echoes through the trees.
“Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright … “
In the dirt, above each covered hole, he etches their names. He sits upon the makeshift grave.
“Round yon virgin Mother and Child. Holy infant, so tender and mild…”
He thinks back about how in 1999 no one will ever find the body of Rory Falco, leaving it a cold case forever. He thinks of the terrible life he knows Holly will live. The children’s singing cutting through the forest gives him some clarity. Knowing that the world is at peace helps him come to terms with the idea that he and his family made the ultimate sacrifice for eight billion people. Robert lays down next to his children and falls asleep for one last time.
“Sleep in heavenly peace…. Sleep in heavenly peace…”
why Gen Z guys are scared to approach girls (and how to not be)
What was your biggest challenge moving to rural Thailand?
When you’re alone, by yourself only don’t do that.
When you are moving to rural Thailand, you will have two major challenges.
One is the language.
You won’t probably find anyone nearby who is speaking English even one word.
Daily communication issues are going to make your life very difficult if even possible.
Shopping, going to the pharmacy, meeting with doctors and dealing with Thai local administration are going to be challenging every single time you need it.
The second major challenge is distances.
You may find out that the nearest shop is twenty miles away and the hospital is even farther away.
Traveling 60 miles to the nearest private hospital isn’t really what you want when you have acute health problems.
The same with the immigration office.
You are going to be visiting them frequently rapporting yourself every 90 days, and long travel is a big disadvantage making it difficult.
You are not going to make it without a car.
You can forget about public transportation.
You won’t find it anywhere nearby you.
So if you’re going to live together with your Thai partner, who has a car and family nearby you, then you are going to be fine as long as you’re in good health.
You can probably forget about going to the beach frequently.
You will have difficulty getting a western food being dependent on the local food market.
You will probably have an issue with the local animals like mice’s eating your car cables and snakes coming to your house.
You will need better learn about snakes to be able to spot and distinguish between the venomous ones and not venomous.
You can handle non venomous snakes by yourself but you shouldn’t try to handle a venomous snakes by yourself.
Most Thai people have a dog’s and many of them to protect them against snakes.
Snake tongs must have.
This one is non venomous snake.
What to do with it?
You can let them go inside your car engine compartment for chasing the mice away only effectively working option.
mice family inside the car causing damage to the car cables.
What are the most challenging tasks for single-seat fighter pilots during combat missions?
I LOVE this question! And I appreciate the plural, tasks, as a recognition that there’s a whole lot of things happening in those planes. When I went operational, I always flew multi-crewed aircraft, the Prowler and Growler. However! I’m in the situation a lot of Super Hornet pilots are: we’ve done both! I only flew the E model, the single seat variety, in training. But in the F, the two seat version, in training you were essentially single seat. SO! What is harder about flying these bad boys?
- Comms. Hands down. With multi-crewed aircraft, we can better divvy up who’s listening to what. We typically have 3–4 radios we’re listening to at the same time in combat. It was the hardest part for me in training. Single seat guys do get really good at listening to as much as they can, but 2 sets of ears trumps that.
- Flying in formation. Whoa whoa! The flying part isn’t harder. But this goes back to the comms and sharing duties. Single seat guys and gals out there…tell me you didn’t wish there were someone there to help you when you’re hanging off lead’s wing, in the goo, making an approach into busy airspace and swapping frequencies every couple of minutes.
- The Strike part of Strike/Fighter. We’re Navy. We’re tip, tip of the spear. We ain’t heading feet dry into uncontested airspace. Trust me E guys, when you can have the pilot run the show for A-A while your crewmate sets you up for weapons delivery, it is so much more efficient.
- Lastly, keeping yourself entertained. I had to solo flight an E from the west to the east coast, with of course multiple stops in the middle. With no one to talk to except air traffic control, I was banging my head on the canopy in boredom.
Anyway…a little whimsy thrown in with some real world issues. Have at it guys in the comments! 😀
Shorpy
How serious is the Chinese military’s lack of experience?
Let me quote fellow respected Quoran Roland Bartetzko’s answer for my take on this question:
…. The advantage lies with us [the US military] because our last combat was captured on somebody’s iPhone 14…. The Chinese’ last combat was captured on oil and canvas.
He is right: Indeed, the US has fought many wars in just the past decade alone, perhaps a battle was even captured by someone’s iPhone 14.
An iPhone 14 that is most likely to be made in China.
Now, Roland and the 4-star general he quoted is, of course, exaggerating. We all know that China went to combat with Viet Nam in the late 70s and 80s and have captured lots of fighting in colored film. But that is besides his point, and the point I am making as well.
The point is, ever since WW2, producing lots of quality equipment is much more important than experienced troops.
The fact remains that experience can be attained very quickly in event of all-out war, but production capacity cannot. Japan has probably one of the most experienced navies when it destroyed the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, but that hardly matters if the US could churn out a dozen more fleets in a year.
The US built 24 Essex-class Carriers during WW2 alone. Japan has 18 carriers in total. If we count all other carriers including smaller escort carriers, the US has built a whopping 105 carriers throughout WW2.
Which country today do you think will be the one producing 105 carriers in a matter of years in case of war? The USA or China?
It doesn’t matter if US has 8 more carriers than China now, what matters is the potential to replace losses: Ships today are even less armored than small cruisers or even destroyers of WW2, a single hit from a hypersonic missile will cripple it. And speaking of missiles, China almost undoubtedly produces more and much better missiles than the US as well (which is still stuck with variants of the harpoon for anti-ship duties).
Things aren’t much prettier on land as well: What percentage of drones flying over the skies of Ukraine are DJI ones? Or from Chinese companies in general? 70%? 80%? I suspect that the number is even higher. Now imagine the country producing the drones for both countries decide to use their full production potential against Taiwan, or the US if it decides to even get close to that island in the case of a hot war. Could the US match up to even half the Chinese production figures? Probably not.
China’s lack of military experience is serious, that I agree. But it would only matter for really small-scale operations: It will not matter in case of a war between China and the US in the pacific. Production matters much more than experience, which may guarantee an advantage for the US in the initial battles. But the US will certainly loose once the war stretches out—it simply cannot match China in this aspect.
In fact, Admiral Yamamoto’s famous quote comes to mind:
“In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild with win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success.”
—-Isoroku Yamamoto
SolaCelestial
Submitted into Contest #281 in response to: Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party — but no one knows who they are.… view prompt
Kira Akina
…..
Darkness and silence.
Wrapped up in incomprehensible peace Sophia regained some kind of sense of awareness. Consciousness in its pure form. It was as if she was inside, outside and beside herself all at once. She felt complete symbiosis with all of creation. Plants, animals, elements, energy, and sound in complete harmony. Acceptance with the substances that converged to form spirit and intrinsic human nature, even those that she once may have found unfavorable were in unison. Darkness and light were not opposite, but the same. Everything that is, is One.
Suddenly fire and ice swirled like a supernatural hurricane fused with planetary and solar wind. The sound of soothingly fierce roaring water echoed into what seemed like eternity. A divine symphony buzzed and undulated returning her to recognition of physical sensation and her eyes were opened as she trembled to the ground. When she opened them she was in a dimension surrounded by planets, blackholes and stars. Galaxies and nebulas, life was exploding and imploding all around.
Gradually lifting her head she looked out into what could have been a horizon where snowlike dust blew through dunes of sand. It was like waking from a beautiful dream. When she began to lift herself to her feet she realized she was standing on a sea of saphire like stone, and Sophia knew exactly where she was.
She had never really been at the ball at all, she had been here all along. That is why she had not felt. A shadow of her had been living in the castle back home. It was all real, the spectacular ball, the curious man, but she hadn’t been there in the flesh. Some secret truth about the mysterious man had reverbirated through her being waking her from her sleep. Sophia was on the moon.
How does Communist China’s Swift and efficient response to the earthquake in Tibet starkly contrast with the glaring incompetence of Capitalist America in containing the destructive wildfires in California?
This isn’t Communist vs Capitalist
This is Chinese vs American
The Chinese in the past few years have invested massively in disaster relief
The Police and Military have separate divisions specializing in Rescue and Disaster Relief missions
4,000 Men & Women who get paid a salary for training every day and actually working maybe 40 days a year in actual disaster relief
They have 26 Wing Loong Drones and over 7,000 Quadcopter Drones
They have a 24 Billion Yuan budget ($ 3.43 Billion) a year that is equivalent to around $ 8.5–10 Billion a year in the US
Additionally the Chinese have 6.6 Million Volunteers divided across all provinces who attend 40 hours disaster training every year over a five day period and pocket 1,250 Yuan ($ 171) and two meals a day
The minute there is a disaster, these Volunteers assemble within 8 hours to their reporting zone and get their clothes and duties
They maintain a fleet of 10,000 excavators, backhoes, moving machines and portable cranes
They have on field housing equipment
They have on field power generators
They have access to enough food to feed 7.5 Million Chinese on a National Scale for 75 days easily without any shortages
They even have teams to go to other countries and help
Like Syria and Turkey and Nepal for example
US has no such special disaster relief teams
They rely on disaster relief mainly on existing departments like Fire, Forest, Sheriffs Office and Police
There is first a question of WHO IS IN CHARGE
Is it Fire?
Is it Forest
Firemen are experts, Forest guys know the terrain
Sheriffs Deputies know the law
Police come in whenever there are deaths to send to the coroner
Budgets are intertwined
Equipment is intertwined
Volunteers are not based on merit but on first come first serve and many are untrained and end up with Carbon Monoxide inhalation themselves
So the US is glaring inefficiency and bureaucracy red tape business when it comes to disaster relief
China is smooth, efficient disaster rescue without any red tape anywhere
Ironic actually
Title: Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Cucumber Conundrum
Ah, dear reader, do you ever wake up feeling like something is… off? That the world around you has shifted ever so slightly into the bizarre? Well, today’s tale begins with just such an unsettling moment. Picture it: a crisp morning on the farm, the smell of hay and dew in the air, and me, Sir Whiskerton, peacefully snoozing in my favorite bed. All was right with the world—until it wasn’t. What followed was a mystery so absurd, so utterly ridiculous, that it left me both baffled and, dare I say, humbled. Prepare yourself for the laugh-out-loud tale of The Case of the Cucumber Conundrum.
The Incident
I awoke to a gentle breeze drifting through the barn, the first rays of sunlight streaming through the rafters. It was a perfect morning—until I rolled over and came face to face with… it.
A cucumber.
Long, green, and completely out of place. It lay there, mere inches from my nose, its shiny skin glinting ominously in the sunlight.
“GAH!” I yowled, leaping three feet into the air. My fur puffed up like a bottlebrush, my tail swished wildly, and my heart pounded as if I’d just seen the ghost of a long-lost littermate.
The cucumber, of course, remained utterly unfazed. Its sinister stillness only made it more unnerving.
“What is the meaning of this?!” I shouted, glaring at the offending vegetable. “Who dares disturb my morning in such a vile and cowardly manner?”
The barn animals, startled by my outburst, began to gather around.
“What happened, Whiskerton?” Porkchop the pig asked, waddling over with a mouthful of hay. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Worse than a ghost!” I exclaimed, pointing a trembling paw at the cucumber. “This!”
Porkchop squinted at the cucumber, then shrugged. “It’s just a vegetable.”
“Just a vegetable?!” I said, aghast. “Porkchop, do you know nothing of feline psychology? Cucumbers are unnatural! They appear out of nowhere, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike terror into the hearts of unsuspecting cats!”
“Strike terror?” Doris the hen clucked, flapping her wings. “Oh, how dreadful!”
“Dreadful! But why a cucumber?!” Harriet added.
“Why?! Oh, I can’t bear it!” Lillian screeched.
“It’s a prank,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Someone on this farm thinks it’s funny to scare me senseless. But mark my words, I will find the culprit.”
The Investigation Begins
I began my investigation by interrogating the usual suspects. First on the list was Rufus the dog, who was lounging in his favorite patch of dirt.
“Rufus,” I said, pacing back and forth in front of him, “did you place a cucumber next to my bed this morning?”
“A cucumber?” Rufus said, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I do that? I prefer practical jokes that involve bones, not vegetables.”
“Hmm,” I said, studying his face for any sign of deception. “You’re off the hook… for now.”
Next, I turned my attention to the hens. Doris, Harriet, and Lillian were scratching at the ground near the chicken coop, clucking nervously as I approached.
“Ladies,” I said, fixing them with my most intimidating stare, “do any of you care to explain how a cucumber ended up next to my bed?”
“A cucumber?! Oh, how strange!” Doris squawked.
“Strange! But we didn’t do it!” Harriet clucked.
“Didn’t do it! Oh, I can’t bear the accusation!” Lillian screeched.
I sighed. “Fine. But I’ve got my eye on you.”
Finally, I made my way to Ferdinand the duck, who was basking in his newfound fame after becoming the farm’s resident “singing sensation.”
“Ferdinand,” I said, interrupting his impromptu concert, “did you have anything to do with the cucumber incident?”
“Quack, quack! Me?” Ferdinand said, flapping his wings indignantly. “Sir Whiskerton, I am an artist. I do not sully my reputation with childish pranks.”
“Hmm,” I said, stroking my whiskers. “That does sound like something you’d say.”
A Break in the Case
Despite my thorough questioning, I was no closer to finding the culprit. Frustrated, I returned to the barn to examine the cucumber for clues. As I sniffed it carefully, I detected a faint but familiar scent: hay. Fresh hay.
“Of course!” I exclaimed. “The cucumber came from the hayloft!”
I raced up to the hayloft, my tail flicking in anticipation. There, nestled among the hay bales, I found a small stash of vegetables: carrots, radishes, and, yes, more cucumbers.
“Interesting,” I murmured. “Someone has been stockpiling these. But who?”
Just then, I heard a rustling sound behind me. I turned to see… Bingo the dog, his nose covered in dirt.
“Bingo!” I said, narrowing my eyes. “What are you doing up here?”
“Oh, uh… nothing!” Bingo said, wagging his tail nervously. “Just… looking for a place to nap.”
“Nap? Or hide your stash of cucumbers?” I said, pointing to the pile of vegetables.
Bingo’s tail drooped. “Okay, fine! It was me. But it was just a joke, Whiskerton! I didn’t think you’d take it so seriously.”
“Seriously?!” I said, bristling. “Bingo, you scared the whiskers off me! Do you have any idea how unsettling it is to wake up next to a cucumber?”
“I’m sorry,” Bingo said, his ears drooping. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought it would be funny.”
The Resolution
In the end, I forgave Bingo—after all, it was a harmless prank, even if it did leave me temporarily traumatized. To make amends, Bingo promised to clean up the vegetable stash and never prank me with a cucumber again.
The moral of the story, dear reader, is this: not everyone shares the same sense of humor, and what seems funny to one might be frightening to another. So always think twice before playing a joke—and if you’re a cat, keep an eye out for cucumbers.
As for me? I’ve since taken precautions to ensure that no vegetable ever sneaks up on me again. And with that, the mystery of the cucumber conundrum is officially solved.
The End.
Gaeng Massaman Kai
This recipe is for Gaeng Massaman Kai. The ‘massaman’ indicates that the recipe is of a ‘musselman’ or islamic origin, and it probably owes something to early Portuguese influences, and is similar in concept to the ‘sour and hot’ Goan style vindaloo dishes. By Thai standards this is usually a fairly mild curry, so I find it is a good starting point.
Massaman Paste
- 10 to 20 dried red chiles
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (from fresh bark)
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground star anise
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 4 tablespoons chopped shallots (i.e. the small red skinned onions)
- 4 to 6 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 2 (2 inch) pieces lemon grass stalk, sliced into thin rounds
- A cube about half an inch on a side of galangal root, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon kaffir lime skin (ordinary lime skin will do if you can’t get it)
- 1 tablespoon ‘kapi’ (preserved shrimp paste – note this smells awful until after you cook it, but it is quite essential to the flavor)
To this you add a little salt: preferably about 1 to 2 teaspoons of fish sauce.
The galangal is roasted before use. The ground spices should preferably be fresh, in which case you should briefly toast them in a wok without any oil to bring out the flavor before grinding them.
The ingredients are blended to a fine paste (traditionally in a heavy granite mortar and pestle, but you can use a food processor just as well, and with far less effort). Note if you can get fresh red chiles you can usefully use them instead of the dried ones.
Curry
- About 1 pound of chicken (you can also use pork or beef), cut into the usual ‘bite size pieces’
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts (unsalted of course)
- 5 peeled, but whole, small onions
- 5 small potatoes*, peeled and partly boiled
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 roasted cardamom fruits (i.e. the whole pod)
- A small piece of roasted cinnamon bark
- 3 tablespoons palm sugar (you can use a light brown sugar instead if you can’t get palm sugar)
- 3 tablespoons tamarind juice (this is the ‘sour’ ingredient – you can use white vinegar instead if you can’t get tamarind juice. The juice is made by soaking tamarind paste in a little water then squeezing it out, and running it through a seize to extract the juice from the pulp)
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 to 3 tablespoon curry paste (above)
- About 1 to 3 teaspoons crushed garlic (optional)
Instructions
- Allow the coconut milk to separate and you will have about 1 cup of thick ‘cream’ and two cups of thin ‘milk’. In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer and add the chicken or pork. If you are using beef you will need another two cups of milk. simmer the meat until it is beginning to become tender (beef takes longer, hence the additional milk).
- Put the coconut cream in a wok and bring to a boil, add the massaman paste and ‘stir fry’ until the flavor is brought out and maximized. The coconut oil will separate out and can be skimmed off with a spoon or ladle. (this removes much of the vegetable cholesterol or whatever it is called, and makes the dish much less trouble for those watching their weight or heart).
- Add the remaining cream and curry paste to the meat.
- Add the peanuts. Taste and adjust the flavor until it is (just) sweet (by adding sugar), sour and salty (by adding tamarind juice, lime juice and fish sauce).
- Add the remaining ingredients and cook until cooked.
- You can either serve it on a bed of rice, or double the amount of potato and serve it alone.
- Accompany it with a dressed green salad and a bowl of pickled cucumbers. The traditional Thai table also offers chiles in fish sauce (Phrik nam pla) chiles in vinegar (phrik nam som or phrik dong), powdered chile (phrik phom – not to be confused with the powdered chile mix sold as chili powder in the US – it only contains chiles), sugar, and often MSG. You can if you wish add about a teaspoon of MSG to the above recipe to bring out the flavors, but I personally don’t think it is necessary.
Notes
* The potatoes we use are a yellow fleshed sweet potato of the type sometimes called a yam in the US. Western style potatoes can be used, but absorb less of the sauce and flavor. The potatoes act as a ‘moderator’ to reduce the heat of the curry, and should not be left out.
And finally a word of warning to those who burn their tongues on the chiles: chile/curry cooked this way is oily – drinking water does not alleviate the burn; it spreads it around your mouth and throat. You should use a sweet effervescent beverage such as Coke, Pepsi or 7-Up to wash the burn away as quickly as possible. If you do not suffer the burn, I suggest you accompany the meal with a beer Singha is traditional, but any strong flavored lager type beer will do), or a robust red wine.
Who would win in a fight between a US and a Chinese submarine?
China.
Sure, the Chinese submarine will lose. But the fact that there is even a fight between a Chinese and US submarine in the first place means that China wins.
US submarines are not going anywhere near Chinese submarines for the purpose of getting into fights with them, if there is a fight, the US submarine already screwed the pooch. They either got near a Chinese submarine without knowing about it, or they got near it for some explicit purpose involving avoiding getting into a fight and then utterly failed.
Too bad for the poor saps in the Chinese submarine, but China can afford to lose those guys by the millions. They can even afford losing the submarine, which is more expensive but nowhere near costly enough to cover the damage to the US and allies of blundering into a fight with one.
Why is this?
Because the Chinese wrote the book (several, actually) on winning conflicts before fighting by setting things up so that any fight is already a loss for the adversary. It’s not that nobody else reads these books (some of them are quite famous world-wide), but they’re still the global leaders when it comes to actually applying those principles in ways that are really infuriating but absolutely require calm deliberation to handle properly.
The actual situation with the Chinese submarine fleet and the various disputes over the waters where they operate are complex and constantly shifting, but one thing has remained constant for a few decades now, it’s always carefully set up so that a US submarine getting in a fight with a Chinese submarine is a significant win for China.
The only winning move is not to play.
At least, not to play the international security through military force game…the US has other ways to win, primarily by using it’s fundamental economic superiority. Unfortunately, half the country thinks this is ‘unfair’ to them personally because it makes some other Americans richer.