(Repost) An uncomfortable look at how capable America is in rebuilding after a world war. (duplicate)

There’s a lot of talk in the United States these days. It’s all about how “evil” the Chinese are, and how “evil” the Russians are, and how “evil” the Iranians are. And along with this well publicized narrative is the flood of articles about “how strong” and “how invincible” the American military is. It’s almost like, well it’s exactly like, America is on a war-footing and is readying the population for a long drawn out, multi-generational war, with Asia.

It’s a big mistake.

I guess that the American “leadership” wasn’t paying attention in history class. Perhaps they should ask the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and Hitler how that all worked out.

But one of the unspoken realities is the illusion that Asia won’t fight back. That it is inconceivable. And that any far in far-away Russia, or far-away China, or far-away Iran will stay far away.

Far… far… away.

And that, even if it did somehow manage to “throw a few punches” back at the United States, that the (good ol’) USA will manage to absorb them, quickly recover, and continue living a great and exceptional life as the “leader of the free world”, and that “brilliant city on the hill”. America is “exceptional” don’t you know…

And I for one am going to tell you that this is delirious wishful thinking.

Back in the day

This attitude that “we are strong and invincible” and that “we can tell the world what to do, or else” is thuggish bullying. And it’s more than just irritating, it’s disgusting. But for historians (well, I am an amateur, but you all know what I mean) it’s frightening.

History is full of stores of the proud rulers of nations. They would live inside their huge stone forts. they would have these huge banners fluttering in the azure blue skies, and they would have gaggles of beautiful maidens attending to them. And they would have large armies of “Heavy Cavalry” and “Knights in singing armor” . They would have thousands of these armed knights.

And they would sit inside their castles, on their thrones, and eat their lamb, drink their mead, and cavort with their wenches.  They would make proclamations. They would be delirious and drunk with power, and totally and completely unaware of true and real dangers elsewhere in the world.

I feel a lecture coming on…

Genghis Khan and the “Brilliant Cities on the hill”

Genghis Khan was the Emperor of the Mongol Empire. He must have been one of the most ferocious people ever to live on the planet Earth. Genghis marked his reign with blood, feasts, and love of different women. People like Napoleon, Hitler, or Stalin look like amateurs when we compare them to Genghis Khan.

This fierce Mongol knew how to rule, and he successfully did it for many years in the 13th century. There wasn’t a person back in the day, who would not be scared of Genghis Khan’s power.

But before he came to power, he was not all that well known. And, as such he was dismissed as a “uncouth”, “uncultured” barbarian. Which he pretty much was…

The knights at their tournaments, in their finery, armor and emblems of ancestry, believed they were the foremost warriors in the world, while Mongol warriors thought otherwise. 

Mongol horses were small, but their riders were lightly clad and they moved with greater speed. These were hardy men who grew up on horses and hunting, making them better warriors than those who grew up in agricultural societies and cities. 

Their main weapon was the bow and arrow. And the Mongols of the early 1200s were highly disciplined, superbly coordinated and brilliant in tactics.

The Mongols were illiterate, religiously shamanistic and perhaps no more than 700,000 in number. Their language today is described as Altaic, a language unrelated to Chinese, derived from inhabitants in the Altay mountain range in western Mongolia. 

They were herdsmen on the grassy plains north of the Gobi Desert, south of Siberia's forests. Before the year 1200, the Mongols were fragmented, moving about in small bands headed by a chief, or khan, and living in portable felt dwellings. 

The Mongols endured frequent deprivations and sparse areas for grazing their animals. They frequently fought over turf, and during hard times they occasionally raided, interested in goods rather than bloodshed. They did not collect heads or scalps as trophies.

-Genghis Khan

…but that is besides the point.

The Mongol Empire conquered all Asia, and no enemy could withstand Genghis Khan and his bloodthirsty army. Oh yes, even though Mongols loved to compromise, they were known for their brutal physical power.

But they were much more than that. The Mongols under Genghis Khan were fair, just and orderly. You just don’t get on their bad side.

Genghis Khan created a body of law that he was to work on throughout his life. This included outlawing the tradition of kidnapping women. The kidnapping of women had caused feuds among the Mongols, and, as a teenager he had suffered from the kidnapping of his young wife, Borte, and he had devoted himself to rescuing her.

In addition, Genghis Khan declared all children legitimate, whomever the mother. He made it law that no woman would be sold into marriage. The stealing of animals had caused dissension among the Mongols, and Temujin made it a capital offense. A lost animal was to be returned to its owner, and taking lost property as one's own was to be considered thievery and a capital offense. Temujin regulated hunting – a winter activity – improving the availability of meat for everyone. He introduced record keeping, taking advantage of his move years before to have his native language put into writing. He created official seals. He created a supreme officer of the law who was to collect and preserve all judicial decisions, to oversee the trials of all those charged with wrongdoing and to have the power to issue death sentences. He created order that strengthened his realm and improved his ability to expand its territory.

-Genghis Khan

People believed that one Mongolian man could defeat ten or more warriors of other culture. And that was true. Genghis Khan proved many times how strong his army was, defeating his enemies against all the odds.

Nowadays, the only news we can hear about Mongolia is that Russians are trying out their nuclear weapons in the steppes of this ancient empire. Or that the Chinese are placing farming robots to herd cattle in inner Mongolia.

We forget that modern Chinese, and modern Russians are the direct descendants of the Mongol warriors of Genghis Khan.

What about this “uncouth barbarian”…

Genghis Khan was one of the most deeply feared historical figures in the world for a good reason. Historians estimate that Genghis Khan is responsible for over 40 million deaths, and at that time it was equal to 11 percent of the world’s population. For comparison, we can look at World War II, which has put “only” around three percent of the world’s population, 60-80 million people, to the graveyard. What Genghis Khan did is downright scary when we put it in perspective, right?

Not bad for an “evil” uncouth barbarian.

Genghis Khan was the most feared human of the 13th century, who could destroy dynasties just by moving his little finger. He created the Mongol Empire all by himself and earned his eternal spot in the history books. However, a lot of people had to suffer for Genghis Khan to succeed.

In cities the Mongols were forced to conquer, Genghis Khan divided the civilians by profession. He drafted the few who were literate and those he could use as translators. Those who had been the city's most rich and powerful he wasted no time in killing, remembering that the rulers he had left behind after conquering the Tangut and the Jurchens had betrayed him soon after his army had withdrawn.

It is said that the Genghis Khan's military did not torture, mutilate or maim. But his enemies are reported as having done so. Captured Mongols were dragged through streets and killed for sport and to entertain city residents. Gruesome displays of stretching, emasculation, belly cutting and hacking to pieces were something European rulers were using to discourage potential enemies – as was soon to happen to William Wallace on orders from England's King Edward I. The Mongols merely slaughtered, and preferred doing so from a distance.

The city of Nishapur revolted against Mongol rule. The husband of Genghis Khan's daughter was killed, and, it is said, she asked that everyone in the city be put to death, and, according to the story, they were.

-Genghis Khan

Oh yes, the Mongolians were known for their horrendous torturing techniques. One of the most popular was pouring molten silver down the throat and ears of a victim.

Genghis Khan also liked bending his enemy’s back until the backbone snapped. If that sounds barbaric, skip this next part. So, the Mongols once celebrated victory over Russians in a very bizarre way. They picked all the Russian survivors, dropped them on the ground and put a heavy wooden gate on top of them. Then, Genghis Khan and the entire Mongol army had a huge banquet on that wooden gate. They ate, drank, and watched how Russians were dying one by one from the suffocation, pressure, and wounds.

Genghis Khan had so much power that he could do whatever he wanted. For instance, when Genghis occupied some new area, he would kill or enslave all the men and share all the women amongst his tribe.

Genghis Khan would even make beauty contests of captured women to decide which woman is the most beautiful one. Yeah, he was having his Miss Universe competition before it was cool. So, the queen of those beauty competitions would win the privilege to become one of many Genghis Khan’s women.

The rest of the Mongolian army would share all the other contestants. It shows us once again how cruel and barbaric Mongols were. I suppose that it was a different time and a different place, but the fact remains that when you have lost, your cities destroyed, and sacked, the victor can do whatever they want. And they wanted sex.

Lots and lost of sex.

Genghis Khan was able to destroy entire “impenetrable” cities easily.

When we look at what Genghis Khan achieved with the Mongol Empire, we cannot help but appreciate his mastermind as a warlord. It surely looks like Genghis Khan had three dragons with him just like Khaleesi.

I cannot find any other explanation of Genghis Khan’s success.

I mean, he defeated Jin Dynasty’s one million troops with only 90,000 Mongolians by his side. Yes, Genghis Khan managed to win a war with ten times fewer troops than his opponent’s army.

Jin Dynasty.

On top of that, he was invading China, so he had to overcome all the “little” problems such as the Great Wall of China.

Genghis Khan with his army had destroyed over 500,000 of Chinese troop before getting control of Northern China and Beijing. The rest of the Chinese army had to surrender to the power of Genghis Khan.

Destroying Jin Dynasty is only one of many examples of how great of a warlord Genghis Khan was. Also, he had some brutal and loyal men by his side, so let’s not rule out the dragon theory.

Physical force is not enough to achieve something as great as Genghis Khan did.

Yes, there is no doubt that he is the greatest and most brutal warlord in history, but he was also a very wise man. In 1201, during a battle, Genghis Khan was shot by an enemy archer. Needless to say, he was not happy about it.

So, after the Mongolian army won the battle, Genghis Khan spent some time looking for the man that shot him. He even pretended that it was not him who got shot, but his horse, so the enemy archer would have the courage to confront Genghis.

An unbelievable thing happened when the archer finally stepped out of the crowd and confessed shooting Genghis Khan.

Instead of killing his enemy, Genghis Khan recognized his talent and asked him to join the Mongolian army. The archer became a great general and loyally served Genghis for many years. That is one of the reasons why Mongol Empire was such a success back in the 13th century.

It is not a secret that Genghis Khan loved to have some bedroom time with all the different women. Whenever Genghis would conquer new land (he did it more frequent than people scroll Facebook nowadays), he would also get himself a couple of new wives.

As well as a gaggle of some “playthings”.

Genghis did that because he liked beautiful women, but it was also a very convenient way to demonstrate his power. Spreading his blood line all over Asia ensured peace in the entire Mongol Empire.

So, how many children did Genghis Khan have? It is pretty much impossible to tell the number, but historians estimate that today, around eight percent of men from Asia are his descendants. I cannot even start to process this number, but apparently, Genghis Khan was a great lover. No one in the history is even close to having such a wide family tree. So, next time when you talk about Genghis Khan, remember that it is a great chance that he is your ancestor.

Torture time.

Genghis Khan was a man of reason. He let the people in the Mongol Empire live a happy life as long as they followed his rules.

However, Genghis Khan cruelly punished everyone who tried to break those rules.

In Hungary and Poland the Mongols were outnumbered but tactically superior. They defeated several Hungarian armies. In early April, 1241, at the Battle of Lenica (Liegnitz) in Poland, they defeated an army that is said to have included heavily armored Teutonic knights. Dying in the battle was the most powerful of Polish dukes, Henryk II (Henry II).

-Genghis Khan

For example, when the governor of one of the cities in the Khwarazmian Empire took over Genghis Khan’s trade caravan and killed all the traders, Genghis Khan went berserker.

He sent 100,000 Mongols to the Khwarazmian Empire and killed thousands of people, including the governor.

Genghis Khan poured molten silver into the governor’s eyes and mouth until the poor guy roasted from the inside. That was a clear sign that anyone, stupid enough to harm the Mongol Empire, would have to face devastating consequences.

While Genghis Khan was consolidating his conquests in what had been the Khwarezmian Empire, a force of 40,000 Mongol horsemen pushed through Azerbaijan and Armenia. Without Genghis Khan they defeated Georgia's Christian crusaders, captured a Genoese trade-fortress in the Crimea and spent the winter along the coast of the Black Sea. In 1223, as they were headed back home, they met 80,000 warriors led by Prince Mstislav of Kiev. The Battle of Kalka River (map location) commenced. Staying out of range of the crude weapons of peasant infantry, and with better bows than opposing archers, they devastated the prince's standing army. Facing the prince's cavalry, they faked a retreat and drew the prince's armored cavalry forward, taking advantage of the over-confidence of the mounted aristocrats. Lighter and more mobile, the Mongols strung out and tired the pursuers and then attacked, killed and routed them. 

-Genghis Khan

History shows that spreading fear worked perfectly in Genghis Khan’s favor. He still needed to invade some rebellious places from time to time, but for the most of the time, people in The Mongol Empire behaved really well.

Genghis Khan could be as powerful and respected as he wanted, but he still had to surrender to the laws of nature. Genghis Khan died in 1227, at the age of 65.

And why is all this important?

History tells us that psychopathic personalities in charge of nations that possess science, technology, and modern works tend to be blinded to the realities of the world. They become drunk with power, and forget that there are “bigger fish in the sea” and that you should not discount them because they are different…

…or they look different…

…or that they are “book worms”…

…or are drunk on vodka all the time…

…or whatever bullshit reinforcements that you want to believe. Genghis Khan serves as a stark and frightening reminder that there is always someone bigger, and better, and stronger than you are. And you should mistake their polite actions, their calm words, their soft tone of voice for a sign of weakness.

The result could be lethal.

"Let me control the media and I will turn any nation into a herd of pigs"

- Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels

Consider the reality

I could type until my fingers fall off, and no one is going to believe the statistics that pretty much show that a FIRE based economy isn’t capable of rebuilding, creating, or structuring anything. I can show you historical examples, you you all would ignore them. I can show you charts and graphs, but they will remain oblivious.

A FIRE economy is any economy based primarily on the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors. Finance, insurance, and real estate are United States Census Bureau classifications. Barry Popik describes some early uses as far back as 1982. Since 2008, the term has been commonly used by Michael Hudson and Eric Janszen. It is New York City's largest industry and a prominent part of the service industry in the United States overall economy and other Western developed countries.

-Wikipedia

I argue that strategically, a nation that makes, creates and builds things is far superior to that that talks about things, writes about things, and tabulates numbers on spreadsheets. And this superiority manifests in numerous ways.

The historical displacement of America’s industry for replacement by lawyers, economists, bankers and real estate tycoons.

But rather than get into all the charts and the graphs, it get’s tiresome don’t you know, instead we are going to greatly simplify things and look at the far simpler model.

So what we are going to so is simplify the equations.

An exercise in simplification

We are going to create an imaginary nation, roughly the the same size and structural organization of the United States. We are going to call it “Freedom United!”.

And…

We are also going to create another nation, this is going to be a unified Asia that includes Russia, China and Iran. We will call it “Asia First!”

And…

Does this map remind you of anything?

How about this…

Genghis Khans empire.

Comparisons

What we are going to do is compare the two collective communities. For each one is comprised of a group of separate states or independent nations, all brought together under a common banner.

And when we do compare them, we see this…

Ah…

And the first thing that should strike the reader is that there is a major “real estate difference” involved.

Asia First! is much larger, geographically, than Freedom United! is.

But it’s more than that…

"Early in life I have noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper, but in Spain, for the first time, I saw newspaper reports which did not bear any relation to the facts, not even the relationship which is implied in an ordinary lie. I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed. I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as the heroes of imaginary victories; and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that had never happened. I saw, in fact, history being written not in terms of what happened but of what ought to have happened according to various ‘party lines’."

- George Orwell, Looking back on the Spanish War, Chapter 4

The second thing that you must note it it is not only bigger, but it has more people, more factories, and more resources.

But let’s simplify things and note that while Freedom United! and Asia First! both have factories and R&D centers, the nature of them, and the location of them within the geographical territories are quite different.

Freedom United! has pretty much “offshored” it’s manufacturing capability to other nations and places, and what remains are “think tanks”, “conceptional Research” and “study centers”.  They are staffed by bankers, accountants and highly paid diversity directors. Further, their location tends to be centralized to the major cities within the nation body.

Cities like Yorker City, San Chicago, and New Angles have their “industry” very close to the densely packed urban centers. And while there are certainly scattered factories and manufacturing center peppered throughout the nation, the vast bulk of them at located at the urban city centers.

Something like this…

Meanwhile, Asia First! not only has more factories, but they are scattered throughout the entire nation. Furthermore, they tend to make real physical things. Not spreadsheets, Power Point Presentations, and accounting evaluations. The owners and the executives are all merit driven as it is their culture. All the leadership can, if needed, go onto the factory floor and make the parts and equipment products themselves.

Like Freedom United!, they also tend to cluster, but instead of clustering with the major population centers, they cluster inside manufacturing communities that are widely separated and located in the vast tracks of the countryside.

Here’s a map of Guangdong. It is a collection of many, many, many smaller towns that host many, many, many factories. This area is a designated Tier 1 city in China and it is north of the principal city of Shenzhen. For your shit’s and giggles, MM used to live in one of these cities here in this region. It’s all factories, and hills. Factories and hills. Factories and hills.

 

Dongguang

.

The Human bridge is really a hassle I will tell you what. That’s the icon at the far lower left of the picture. I go over it maybe once ever few months. It’s traffic as far as the eye can see!

Now for our purposes, we will consider ASIA FIRST! to be much like this. Which regions of scattered communities and factories all spread out over wide expansive terrain.

It looks something like this…

Now…

Let’s compare the two nation states

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."

- Malcolm X

When you compare the two nations you notice something very important to our calculus here. No matter how smart, how prosperous, how beautiful or how exceptional one nation is compared to the other… a nation with a bigger population, and more factories, and resource will be able to out-produce and out-survive a lesser nation.

It’s the “Risk” strategy.

In the Risk game, the goal is simple: players aim to conquer their enemies’ territories by building an army, moving their troops in, and engaging in battle. Depending on the roll of the dice, a player will either defeat the enemy or be defeated. This exciting game is filled with betrayal, alliances, and surprise attacks.

We saw that during World War II with the Nazi Germans. While their military weapons industry was top rate, and the quality of their equipment was the best in the world, it was the ill-trained, masses and hordes of soldiers from Russia that was able to overwhelm Germany.

This idea that huge quantities of “average” soldiers, and mediocre equipment can compensate for very specialized, and efficient, and expensive weapons systems is not new. It’s just not well reported as the Freedom United! military-industrial lobby is desirous of keeping this issue quiet and “under wraps”.

Let’s compare the two nations side by side…

All this is very interesting, but let’s get to the point.

A comparison with the events of the last few years leading up to today.

America takes on Asia…

Freedom United! is just getting “clobbered” on the international scene. It is a military empire that has few remaining exports of value. It exports aircraft, and wheat, and some very specialized machines, but that’s about it. It’s primary revenue generating venue is in the banking, finance and real estate venues.

This nation has been fighting numerous wars all over the globe, and it’s leadership are drunk with power, and oblivious to the true realities of the world.

So, where they got this idea is unknown, they get this idea that they can take on and fight with Asia First! And that they would win!

What’s more, they seriously believe that they could draw out the battle and fighting for a long, long time.

Not just years and decades, but generations…

Mike Pompeo in India working on the QUAD to fight against China.

.

Now they know that it would be very difficult to fight on the geographical territory of Asia First! as it would result in a complete nuclear retaliation.

Asia First! combined has an enormous nuclear arsenal. It is far bigger, more technologically advanced, and with a larger military than what Freedom United! has.

Thus, they need to be able to fight Asia First! is such a way that Nuclear MAD doctrine is avoided.

They also know that they need to “bleed out” Asia First! in such a way as to give them time to overtake the nation through attrition.  So they have established other areas by which the fighting can take place.

  • Create a MAJOR “false flag” event to ignite a war-footing.
  • Keep the fighting conventional. Avoid nuclear weapons.
  • Fight by proxies on predetermined proxy nation locations.
  • Bleed Asia First! through dominance on the oceans, and in Space.
  • Isolate Asia First! in all ways and means.
  • Prevent war from hitting the mainland Freedom United!

The battles are designed to occur on proxy locations.

The idea is to have wars and battles taking place in far-away lands, so that no one in Freedom United! is harmed, and a direct nuclear strike with Asia First! can be avoided. These proxy war locations (already decided upon by FREEDOM UNITED!) are shown in gold.

And of course, the idea is that Freedom United! would fight Asia First on these designated battlefields. These areas are known as the QUAD.

It’s a brilliant plan.

Except one thing.

Some of those QUAD areas are considered to be Asian First! territory. And pretending that they are not is a egregious mistake. And Asia First! has said so explicitly. These are “RED LINES” that one dare not cross.

But the leadership of Freedom United! just chucked, and pretended that they didn’t hear the statements.

A Battle Rages

So let’s go through the logical progression of things.

Logical.

Progression.

Of events as we know them.

Freedom United! creates a series of “false flags” to justify a war with Asia First!. There are a number of events stacked up that are ready to go. The question is which one will Freedom First! use to “get the ball rolling”?

And within a short period of time there are global military actions globally.

Initially, it looks like everything is going to plan. One or two QUAD members decide to “sit the conflict out”, but the rest support the effort in varying degrees.

Trade slows to a trickle and even stops.

The people of Freedom United! are all in gleeful patriotism, and conventional fighting is occurring all along the “doorsteps” of Asia First!. As planned! Off in far-away lands!

American media constantly pushes for war because they have no idea what real war is. To them, going to war is like spanking a child: possibly backfiring socially, but no real danger to their own lives. Most of the time, they just send bombers and take cool videos. When guys have to be sent on the ground, their deaths can be used to fuel the national hard-on America has for its military. I call it the "thank you for your service culture.

America has waged war on minor nations for so long that they can't even imagine that fighting another nation might result in aunt Nancy meeting her creator early. To them, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Russia, it's all the same.

Also, the infantile thinking in terms of good and bad doesn't help.

Posted by: Eeny | Apr 12 2021 18:32 utc | 12

They can sit down in front of their televisions set, and social media feeds and feel so proud and patriotic about how strong and powerful their military is, and finally doing something about all those evil dirty filthy Asia First! people.

But then something happens.

Those “neutral” QUAD nations are not all independent. Some of them are actually geographically part of Asia First! They are not considered to be “protectorates of Freedom United!” instead they are recognized by the UN as actual sovereign territory of Asia First!, and…

…when the military operations in support of the False Flag events start to occur, action starts to unfold very rapidly.

Asia First! decides that enough is enough, and that this bullshit must end. So it unleashes a combined military horror upon Freedom United!.

All Hell breaks loose.

The event was is brief and is over quickly. All in all an equal exchange of nuclear conflagration occurs to both nation states. No one is spared.

But…

The nuclear strike has been planned for decades. It’s not spontaneous.

And one nation decides to end it, and it remains the victor who lays the terms of surrender of the other nation.

Which nation would be the winner, and which would be the loser, do you suppose?

It looks like this…

Global Devastation

We can see what happens.

Not only are the designated battlefields (pre-established by Freedom United!) hit with crippling nuclear salvos, but the “untouchable” cities of Freedom United! are also targeted. In fact, ALL of the major urban ares of Freedom United! are erased from the globe.

All of the major cites of Freedom United are erased from the map. All of the military bases in support of the military empire of Freedom United! are turned into slag and glass. The capital, and all the leadership locations are craters surrounded by radioactive wasteland.

Freedom United! ceases to be a nation.

The world is in big trouble.

It did come at a price.

Asia First! also took some hits and they did not survive unscathed. But we can clearly see that even though there was an equal exchange of hostilities, the nation that suffered the worst was Freedom United! by the simple geography of it’s cities and manufacturing base.

The Aftermath

Now consider the years following this nuclear exchange.

How was the globe able to recover, and which nations recovered the best?

And…

Which nations are best able to recover?

Which nations would be able to recover within a decade?

Which nations would be able to recover within 50 years?

Let’s take a look at that…

Recovery Suggestions

Well, there are far too many variables at play to make any kind of reasonable determine what could happen. All we have are the numbers and the proportions. Asia First! could lose 75% of it’s population and still be better off than Freedom United! And then there is the destruction of factories and cities, and the ability to rebuild. In all aspects, Asia First! would be far better equipped to rebuild, stabilize the situation, and begin all over.

Not so with Freedom United!

Because of this, and the fact that Freedom United! is already balkanized, it seems logical that whatever the condition of Freedom United! would be after a major nuclear exchange, it would fracture into many different singular, independent cities, and independent nations. Some would be healthier than others. Some would be absolutely horrible and horrid places to live, while others might be generally unscathed.

We can also say that there would probably be some serious internal domestic conflict as a nation of “independence” (and high levels of gun ownership and decades of “race bating”) and government actions that pit one group against another…

… that there would be a relatively long period of adjustment to the new normal.

There might be efforts to maintain the original constitution, while there might be efforts to maintain the independence of the individual states. There might be efforts to carve out new states and new territories, as well as neighboring nations deciding to annex some of the lands that are now “up for grabs”.

No matter, how contentious, how difficult, how problematic, and how confused, one thing is certain, the Federal Government will no longer exist, and it would take a herculean effort to keep the Freedom United! national unity intact after a global nuclear exchange.

Conclusion

Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads. Nuclear war has become a multi-billion dollar undertaking, which fills the pockets of US defense contractors. What is at stake is the outright “privatization of nuclear war”.  

Massive amounts of money have been allocated by the Joe Biden Administration to feed the weapons industry including the Pentagons’ 1.3 trillion dollar nuclear weapons program  first launched under Obama, is ongoing under the Biden administration.

Michel Chossudovsky, April 12, 2021

This post looks at the world like the simplified game of “Risk”. The nation with the bigger population and armies will be able to offset what ever technical advantage you might possess. This is not always true, of course. (Consider the Incas when they met the Spanish in search of gold.) But it is often true enough to say that perhaps 80% of modern conflict follows this rule.

We can wish that advantage can be mitigated by brilliant generals (Carl von Clausewitz, and Rommel), or exciting cutting edge technology (radar, sonar, stealth, cruse missile, hyper-glide technology, drones, nuclear weapons), and elite and specialized training (Seals, Green Berets) but for the most part these advantages are on the Tactical level, not on the Strategic level.

Avalon Hill’s game “Squad Leader” simulates tactical level military warfare on the Eastern Front between Germany and Russia during World War II.

But we have to take into account something else. This is something that is rarely if ever addressed…

incompetence at the leadership level.

The public faces change, but the stupidity remains because, like Rome, you can change the leadership… but the system is faulted and humans will abuse it.

When Germany ran over France in 1941 the French generals were ill prepared to deal with the Germans. When World War II broke out, Stalin was so incompetent, that he locked himself in the room and got drunk waiting for people to haul him away and arrest him.

When Genghis Khan attacked Europe, and the Silk Road, many nations and city state had an unrealistic understanding of the threat that was facing them, and they had an artificially inflated idea of what they were capable of.

Like the 20,000 armored knights that rode into battle to take on 4 million angry Huns... none survived.

In this overly simplified scenario we discount advantages on the tactical level.

Instead we compare geography and leadership (only). In this set of goggles it is quite obvious that Asia First! has a decided advantage over Freedom United!. Yet, as much fun as this very frightening scenario plays out, we do not know what to expect, and our guesses can be wildly inaccurate.

But, and yet, given the little what we know, and what we have learned from history, there is a case that the scenario presented here has a 60% likelihood of occurring. The Freedom Forever! nation will not easily recover at any pre-confligation level, and it is ridiculous to assume that it would. No matter what “secret weapon” the neocons in control of the nation might think.

We need only review the catastrophic mistakes of the Hungarians when they encountered the Huns of Genghis Khan to underline this point.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Theories of Collapse Index here…

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Remember: If life gives you unexpected sounds, just shout “¡MÚSICA NATURAL!” and cha-cha away.

When I used to visit my grandparents on Sundays (back when I was young) it always went something like this; [1] go to church, [2] have a Sunday meal, [3] a 1.5 hour trip to visit relatives. [4] have a final Supper with them, [5] arrive home late. [6] go to school the next day.

I’ve done it hundreds of times.

My paternal grandparents (from my fathers side = paternal) would have a nice spread of fresh rolls from the nearby bakery, lots of nice butter. Soda pop for us kids to drink, beer for my parents, and maybe a spread of cold cuts. sometimes a chicken meal. Or, maybe a Polish dish or some other ethnic food.

My maternal grandmother was similar, minus the rolls and butter. But the soda was the norm. The cold cut spread was always present, and occasionally we might have some kind of 1960’s era supper involving various casseroles, or jello dishes of one time or the other.

Ah I do remember those days. I think that if you are an American you probably remember them as well.

So today, here’s some family dinners from the 1970s. Enjoy…

Weekday Chicken Cacciatore EXPS THEDSCODR19 72870 C02 28 1b
Weekday Chicken Cacciatore EXPS THEDSCODR19 72870 C02 28 1b
Chicken Paprikash EXPS TOHD24 205280 KristinaVanni 7
Chicken Paprikash EXPS TOHD24 205280 KristinaVanni 7
Grilled Ribeye with Garlic Blue Cheese Mustard Sauce EXPS THJJ17 200968 B02 07 2b
Grilled Ribeye with Garlic Blue Cheese Mustard Sauce EXPS THJJ17 200968 B02 07 2b
EXPS TOHD24 130541 JuliaHartbeck
EXPS TOHD24 130541 JuliaHartbeck
Frito Pie EXPS FT24 116189 EC 021424 3
Frito Pie EXPS FT24 116189 EC 021424 3
Best Salisbury Steak EXPS FT24 4404 EC 072324 1
Best Salisbury Steak EXPS FT24 4404 EC 072324 1
Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut EXPS TOHD24 113809 KristinaVanni 7
Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut EXPS TOHD24 113809 KristinaVanni 7
Tangy Tropical Chicken EXPS SSCBZ18 133534 C08 29 2b
Tangy Tropical Chicken EXPS SSCBZ18 133534 C08 29 2b
Chicken Caesar Florentine exps120190 TH2236622B08 4bC RMS
Chicken Caesar Florentine exps120190 TH2236622B08 4bC RMS
Cassoulet for Today EXPS SDFM17 48033 D10 04 4b
Cassoulet for Today EXPS SDFM17 48033 D10 04 4b
Santa Fe Skillet EXPS OPBZ18 23272 C06 29 4b
Santa Fe Skillet EXPS OPBZ18 23272 C06 29 4b
exps41486 SD153208A08 08 5b
exps41486 SD153208A08 08 5b
exps40645 SD153322A04 03 2b
exps40645 SD153322A04 03 2b
Easy Beef Stroganoff EXPS TOHD24 39897 LeticiaAlmeida 06
Easy Beef Stroganoff EXPS TOHD24 39897 LeticiaAlmeida 06
Stuffed Peppers for Four EXPS SDJJ17 39426 D02 10 5b
Stuffed Peppers for Four EXPS SDJJ17 39426 D02 10 5b
Hawaiian Pork Chops EXPS TOHD24 25004 EricKleinberg 7
Hawaiian Pork Chops EXPS TOHD24 25004 EricKleinberg 7
Tender Steak Fajitas EXPS SSCBZ18 30701 E08 30 2b
Tender Steak Fajitas EXPS SSCBZ18 30701 E08 30 2b
Creamy Scallop Crepes EXPS THD18 32033 E08 03 7b 6
Creamy Scallop Crepes EXPS THD18 32033 E08 03 7b 6
Easy Pepper Steak EXPS FT24 5797 JR 0726 2
Easy Pepper Steak EXPS FT24 5797 JR 0726 2
Chuck Wagon Tortilla Stack exps11546 GB143373B01 16 6bC RMS
Chuck Wagon Tortilla Stack exps11546 GB143373B01 16 6bC RMS
Easy Chow Mein EXPS TOHD24 13389 AlejandroMonfort 5
Easy Chow Mein EXPS TOHD24 13389 AlejandroMonfort 5
Creamy Pasta Primavera EXPS TOHD24 44217 AlejandroMonfort 56
Creamy Pasta Primavera EXPS TOHD24 44217 AlejandroMonfort 56
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21dceadaf45ee154caeeba92b74183c3
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85bcb67e1900d5f1127fe02322107e1e
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27edc0ce44ed94093d0ea0ff6674d01f
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b116da54044af6c86987ff4930a7f8ea
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7a74087d8b667ebe5f8f9dd6c19780eb
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7aaef463f6f060d66c104e2e99bddac0
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8992441bd7f333fc4a649260126922bc
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7b755fc87604ea6c85ae791de090558b

China’s Sky Jammers Just Shocked Experts! 7.3 Million Americans at Risk!

Golden Continental Chicken

Golden Continental Chicken is good with hot, buttered mashed potatoes.

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9e9311ca36594f2eee736e93ed065157

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 (2 pound) fryer, cut up
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • Dash of pepper
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Instructions

  1. Dust chicken with flour and a dash of pepper.
  2. In a large skillet, brown chicken well in butter.
  3. Mix cream of chicken soup, water and poultry seasoning, and pour over chicken. Cover; cook over low heat about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender.

The Reason why Men are Walking Away from Dating (Ep. 636)

https://youtu.be/0OS7MFKbYQc

It’s Hal Turner’s birthday today

Well, I didn’t realize that I was so much older than him until I read today’s post. He’s following the standard-life package. It doesn’t end well. You need to eat well. You need to exercise. You need to de-stress, and you need to stay active.

64 Today

64 Today
Today, Sunday, March 15, 2026, is my 64th Birthday.   What a ride this life has been.

For those of you who may be unaware, folks my age use different codes for text messages.  Below are the ones we use.  

Not all of them apply to me (yet) but some of them actually do!

Was going pretty good for the first 57 years, then things . . .  changed.

2019 - Myocardial Infarction Heart attack

-- Open heart surgery, four bypasses.

17 months later, in October 2020 --  SECOND Myocardial Infarction heart attack; two of the four bypasses clogged with Blood Clots.   

That second one was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY worse than the first.

Never really got over that one; physical deterioration set in.  Muscle loss; especially in my thighs.   I used to have strong legs.  Strong like a bull.   No more.

Weight gain.

Arthritis in the hips, the knees. 

Easily winded by even walking short distances.  

Vision is going straight to hell.  

Hearing is worsening, noticeably.

Completely intolerant of fools, the ignorant, the stupid, and bullshit artists.

Thankfully, the older I get, the faster I can make those determinations!

By the time I'm dead, I'll be really smart!

The Earth Initiative

Written in response to: Set your story after aliens have officially arrived on Earth.

Sherri Moorer

“I can’t believe we gave these idiots the Internet,” Ugleck said as he shuffled through the streets of the crowded city, sweating in the uncomfortable human suit.“You should have used it to research modern dress codes,” Malook said, breezing through the street in her shorts and T-shirt. “People don’t wear suits anymore unless they’re in high-power occupations. We’re supposed to be civilians. You look funny.”“Everybody looks funny,” Ugleck said as a man with green dreadlocks bumped against him on the sidewalk. “Our climate research is also out of date. Did this rock get closer to the sun, or is global warming real?”“It’s real,” dreadlocks said.They turned to stare at the man.The man stared back, his pupils dilated. “It’s real, man. We’re all going burn.”“Shut it, hippie,” a man in a light-colored suit said, sloshing coffee as he juggled the paper cup and a cell phone where a voice droned on about – something. “That’s a conspiracy theory. It’s hot because it’s August. Summer is always hot. You kids think it’s something new, but it isn’t.”“Hey, man, that hurt. I’m offended!”The man tried to shuffle his coffee cup to his left hand to give dreadlocks an obscene gesture, but he dropped the coffee, which was promptly smashed into the sizzling pavement by a truck honking his horn and sticking his own hand out of the window in the same gesture.“How rude!” Ugleck said. “What’s happened to this society?”

“They suffered a pandemic three years ago that has resulted in widespread post-traumatic stress,” Malook said. “Our analysis shows a sharp decrease in intelligence and social skills.”

“And noise,” Ugleck said as they jostled against more people. “How much of a population reduction did the pandemic cause?”

“Nearly seven million to date.”

“How are there all of these people if that many perished?”

“The world population is nearly eight billion,” Malook said as she pushed open the doors to the small building discretely positioned between two high rises.

Ugleck took a deep breath through the small respirator in his human suit. “Finally, a beneficial invention. Air conditioning!”

They walked up a narrow case of stairs to a small office, where a dusty table and an old computer sat in the center of the room. Dust motes swirled in the sunlight filtering through the window behind the desk. Ugleck took a seat at the desk and booted up the computer as Malook pulled a rolling chair from the corner.

“Perhaps their social skills have declined because they’re using the technology we gave them at Area 51 to sustain the planet and the higher population.” Uglek hummed a low tone that vibrated in the air, clearing the dust motes and establishing the neural connection to the antique computer on the desk. It flashed to life, showing futuristic graphics across the screen. He tapped a key to project his search results on screens forming a circle around the desk.

Malook frowned as she studied the screens. “They haven’t advanced anywhere near our projections. There have been great strides in communications, but their Artificial Intelligence development is at least fifty years behind the projections we established for this race.”

“It looks like they’re using the Internet more for entertainment than evolution. Look at this.” Ugleck poked at a screen of a scantly clad woman screaming and pointing at a well-dressed man behind a counter at a restaurant. “And this,” he said, watching a woman bending over a laundry basket preparing to fill it at a gasoline pump. “Or this,” he poked at a screen of kids in cars swerving along an abandoned road. One car slammed into a building on the side of the street. A boy and girl jumped out of the car while it was still idling against the building. The girl buried her head in her hands and cried, screaming about wrecking her father’s car while the boy laughed like a maniac. “And how can waffles cause such disruption?” he asked as another screen showed a fight in a diner.

“They are not using our technology to evolve,” Malook said. “It’s having the opposite effect. They’re regressing.”

“This is an unintended consequence,” Ugleck said. “We thought they’d better themselves! They had such promise. What happened?”

“Different times,” Malook said.

“Earth is my project,” Ugleck said, waving his hand in the air to clear the screens. “If these people use our technology to destroy themselves, then the Grand Council will execute me. They tasked me with helping this species reach peak evolution so they could enter the Intergalactic Pact.” He leaned back, his human form deflating. “I’d annihilate them myself, but I hate to waste a good particle beam on this frying rock. And why bother when they’re doing it to themselves? Every other species evolves quickly. What’s wrong with this one?”

“Humans didn’t use advanced technology until the twentieth century, and then they experienced a boom. Their brains can’t keep up with what we’ve given them. Think about it, Ugleck. Every other planet we’ve discovered advanced on a smooth arc. The supreme beings evolved with their technology. This one made no advancements for thousands of years and then had a spike when we gave it to them. It isn’t normal. We should have known that this would fail.”

“Is there any hope to save ‘The Earth Initiative?’” Ugleck asked.

Malook emitted a high-tone hum to reboot the computer. More screens projected in a circle around the desk. “There are segments of this population working on Artificial Intelligence. Humans are increasing use of it in homes and all industries, even though it isn’t as evolved as it should be. They have some concerns about it outpacing them and causing their demise, but that seems to be widely regarded as a ‘conspiracy theory.’ There is hope for evolution.”

“Not for another century at least,” Ugleck said. “It’s moving too slow. If they don’t make greater strides soon, then they die either my their own hand or by our enemies roaming the galaxy. We were hoping they were the ones who could tip the balance of the galaxy in our favor. Instead, they’re dragging themselves down. How can we protect a race that ignores us?”

“Perhaps we need to rethink first contact,” Malook said.

“What do you mean? We already had first contact!”

“We had first contact with a former generation, who kept it secret,” Malook said. “Perhaps we need to start again, but do it a different way this time.” She studied the computer screens around the desk. “Can you access these AI networks?”

Ugleck’s human form inflated. “Easily. They’re still using binary code.”

“Shameful,” Malook said, “and they call this their twenty-first century. Quantum computing is still experimental too!”

“Maybe we can fix that,” Ugleck said. “If they won’t design the machines, then maybe the machines need to design them.” He emitted his hum again, causing the air to vibrate. The room splintered into fragments, and then further into pixels that swirled around them, absorbing the two aliens, the computer, and the entire building. An empty alleyway shimmered in the noon sunlight outside, the glitters falling to the pavement unnoticed by passersby with their heads bent to their phones.

“Did it work?” Ugleck’s voice asked, staring at the flashing lights around them.

“It worked,” Malook said as her human form fell away. “We’re in their Internet.”

“Let’s save ‘The Earth Initiative,’” Ugleck said as he shed his human suit and bound with an AI line of code to ride the wave into the system.

The Sheepman (1958) | REMASTERED WESTERN | full movie

Actually this is a WONDERFUL movie, and well worth your time to watch. Ah they don’t make em like they used to.

My shorts post on YouTube

Hopefully this will not be blocked like my others. Who knows who I will offend?

Sir Whiskerton and The Final Bow-wow: A Tale of Moonlit Melodies, Reluctant Waltzes, and Three Mice Who Dance to Nature’s Symphony


Act I: The Howl That Started It All

On a quiet evening at the farm, Rufus the Dog tilted his head to the moon and unleashed his signature soulful howl—a sound somewhere between a blues singer and a teakettle.

Tito Tango, leader of the Three Blind Mice, snapped his tiny fingers.
“¡MÚSICA NATURAL!”

Suddenly:

  • Paco Cha-Cha clutched his fake rose to his chest, swaying dramatically.

  • Carlos Conga spun his sombrero-tailed congas like a deranged maraca.

  • Even Gertrude the Goose, mid-complaint, found her webbed feet tapping.

Sir Whiskerton: “This is either beautiful or a public health concern.”


Act II: The Unlikely Orchestra

The mice transformed farm sounds into rhythm:

  • Porkchop’s mud squelch? A bassline.

  • Doris the Hen’s gossipy clucks? Scat singing.

  • An actual fart? A jazz solo. (“¡CLÁSICO!”)

Gertrude, despite herself, was pulled into a slow waltz by Paco.
“If you tell anyone…” she hissed, even as her wings fluttered gracefully.
“¡CALLADITA, MI GANSITO!” he chirped. (“Hush, my little goose!”)


Act III: The Moonlight Serenade

By midnight, the entire farm had joined:

  • Rufus howled the melody.

  • The mice tap-danced on a pumpkin.

  • Bessie the Cow provided “mood lighting” by glowing faintly (thanks to Chef Remy’s “experimental” feed).

Even the farmer, watching from the porch, shed a single tear. “Is this… art ?”
Sir Whiskerton: “No. It’s a biodigester explosion with better choreography.”


Act IV: The Final Bow-wow

As dawn broke, the mice took their final bow—right as Carlos Conga stepped on a rake.

BONK!

“¡AY, QUÉ DOLOR!”

The spell broke. Gertrude pretended nothing happened (but kept the rose). Rufus howled off-key just to annoy everyone. And the mice?

They were already composing their next hit: “Ode to a Suspiciously Warm Hay Bale.”


The Moral of the Story

Moral: Even unlikely things can harmonize—especially if one of them is a dog who thinks he’s Adele.


Post-Credit Scene

The mice launch a farmyard talent show. First act: A tumbleweed duet with Paco.

Best Lines:

  • “In Spain, we call this ‘flamenco meets flatulence.’” – Tito, adjusting his sunglasses

  • “I hate this… why is it fun?*” – Gertrude, mid-dip

  • “Nature’s rhythm is my rhythm!” – Carlos, sombrero spinning

Starring:

  • The Three Blind Mice (Tito, Paco, Carlos – Latin Fury)

  • Rufus (Howling Heartthrob)

  • Gertrude (Reluctant Diva)

  • Sir Whiskerton (Unimpressed Critic)

Key Jokes:

  • Paco serenading a wheelbarrow (“She understands my soul!”)

  • Tito’s “bullfighting” story changing nightly (“And then Picasso painted me!”)

  • Carlos using his sombrero as a portable toilet during dances (“¡PRÁCTICO!”)

P.S.

Remember: If life gives you unexpected sounds, just shout “¡MÚSICA NATURAL!” and cha-cha away.

The End.


Keep dancing (and dodging rakes),
The Sir Whiskerton Team 💃🐭

The Great Reset

Written in response to: Set your story after aliens have officially arrived on Earth.

Cecilia Englishby

Calli sat quietly, at least for the moment, within the four black-foamed walls of her recording studio. She was annotating some tabs with her right hand whilst she carefully held her precious Taylor guitar by the neck with the left, its body cradling in her lap.The visitors had arrived five days earlier, and she had found herself flushed with inspiration ever since. She and Snaggletooth, her little black Burmese feline companion, had spent the most of their time within the soundproof walls since Their arrival. He yawned at her, licking his lips as he blinked affectionately.“I suppose we must.” She sighed at him. She placed her Taylor in its stand, stood and stretched. He bowed low at her side, extending the base of his spine and tail skywards. She fished the small key from her pocket and unlocked the door; it took another minute before she actually opened it. Her anxiety had found her. Snaggletooth reminded her of the task at hand, providing a plaintive Meep just as he brushed up against her left calf.“You need to go, don’t you?” She grabbed the handle and opened the door. He trotted off in the direction of his litter tray. She followed, only just noticing her need to void her own bladder, and made a hurried dash for relief as well.As she washed her hands she heard Snaggletooth’s frantic scratches in his litter tray, he was covering his business with aggression. He had such a sweet and gentle temperament that the pure hatred he had for his messes always made her laugh.She turned on the news as she prepared dinner, but left it on mute. She needed neither the noise nor the information, she’d already had enough.Snaggletooth had been fed and was once more asleep in the recording studio, blending perfectly into the walls with his sable camouflage.Five days prior, six Spaceships had been spotted through the telescope of an amateur astronomer who posted pictures on every available platform. Within minutes, thousands more had joined them.The morning after, the first Official day… Those images were all over every news channel, and stayed there 24/7. They set a specific order for their display and maintained it the entire time.First – The Saucer: The most familiar looking, with amber and turquoise lights flashing beneath.

Second – The Scorpion: Complete with pincers and stinger, but no legs.

Third – The Beetle: It was the image of a colossal Mint beetle.

Fourth – The Architects: A large dish with a frame connected below housed an elaborate propulsion system.

Fifth – The Hexagon: All they could say for sure was that it was the biggest in the entire fleet.

Sixth – The Uber-Claw: A mass of forward facing spikes rested on a looming cycle-shaped vessel.

The second day saw reports and sightings on what they considered scout ships. They flew with impossible flight patterns that defied physics. Calli watched in fascination as terrifying information blazed a trail on her brain.

It was on the third day she turned the volume down, already tired of the bombardment… of the unknown and speculation. She did it after breakfast; the entire London Philharmonic Orchestra had disappeared. They had been practicing one moment, and were gone the next.

The executives engaged in a meeting regarding funding implored the government to take action.

On the fourth, humans did what humans do; they attacked. Nuclear missiles and bright atom-splitting flashes dotted their observations briefly, followed by decadent auroras that traveled for thousands of miles over the atmosphere. For hours, all electronics stopped working and the world waited. As the auroras dissipated and the planet reconnected, telescopes spotted six ships, sitting where they had been, completely unscathed.

On day five, Calli had written some of her best music yet. She’d happily allowed the distraction to spend her day for her.

She ate her dinner, but found she had little appetite. Hating to waste anything, she finished it laboriously… one ashen bite at a time. To help distract her, she played a recording of her earlier work. She had every intention of getting a few more bars down before she would go to bed.

She heard Snaggletooth’s distinctive Chirrup of hello. She looked back as he trotted over to be closer to the music….at least that was how it appeared to Calli. He lay down next to her phone, chirped again and blinked at her… purring in full force as he watched her finish dinner.

It was as she lengthily chewed on her final bite, reducing the matter into tiny fragments that might want to slide down her throat, that everything went sideways.

She had reached over to scratch Snaggletooth’s forehead. He responded in the cutest way possible by lifting his chin and pushing into her affections… then they both sort of… dematerialised.

She watched it happen to her Beloved, as well as her hand. It didn’t hurt; they just broke apart into their molecular components, essentially pixelating as matter expanded outwards from their centers. Light filled the spaces between and within the room equally… and somehow contained them.

Snaggletooth re-solidified before her eyes, as did her hand and forearm. She stroked his fur for a while, inciting lavish purrs as her fingers mussed his muzzle. It calmed her, as much as she could be calmed, and reaffirmed her of their shared existence.

She was in an empty room with cream tones. She had a bed, a toilet, shower, basin, three walls and a dark glass panel to act as the fourth. She was in a cage, one with a display panel.

Her breathing felt a bit rapid, but scratching Snaggletooth’s ears helped her keep her cool.

If this is a dream, then there is nothing to worry about. If it is not, then I am here and that’s just what I need to be dealing with now.

She repeated the words over and over, stroking whiskers, ears and shoulders absentmindedly.

“Well that wasn’t supposed to happen.” The voice sounded worried and came from behind her. She turned around and saw a small green Alien; like the type you saw on retro lunch-boxes; with the large heads, thin necks and glassy black eyes. The Dark glass was now transparent and Calli noticed many others in cages like hers, most of their panes dark.

The Alien drew her attention. “If you could just step away from the feline, I shall return it.”

Calli stepped in front of Snaggletooth, blocking him from the Alien’s view, not removing her hand from his shoulders. She was too overwhelmed, to full of words and ideas and complete terror to speak.

“Look.” It said, sounding official. “Pets and comforts will be decided later. From what I hear, it will be an improvement, so let’s get on with it.”

“Snaggletooth is perfect!“ Her voice croaked, finally having pulled enough intelligible words together to come out in sentences. “Where he goes, I go.”

“Leave it Deso.” A gruff and clicking voice came from Calli’s right. She tried to get a better look, but the owner was out of sight. “Orders from Aspect One are to keep our guests happy. I removed a canine from one the other day and he didn’t stop crying till I returned it.”

A moment passed between them in silence, then Deso nodded.

“That’s fine then.” He looked Calli up and down; then took a long look at Snaggletooth. He made some notes on a pad in front of him. “Your nutrition and information pack will arrive shortly. I have made suitable arrangements for your companion.” And with that, he hit an invisible button and the window went dark once more.

Within minutes, a small light she hadn’t known was there was flashing on the wall ahead of her. She stepped up and examined it. She stepped back, looking for lines in the walls but saw none. She pressed against the wall beside the light switch and found the desired result on the left hand side. A small panel, not much larger than her hand depressed into the wall, and with a click a large cupboard swung open. Within she found a litter tray and the best wooden litter. On the right sat a large binder and two identical silver platters, complete with domed lids.

She knew she had no right to be hungry but heard her stomach groan for sustenance. She lifted the lid and was greeted by the perfect creamy mushroom Tagliatelle.

She set it down and sorted out Snaggletooth’s litter tray first; then uncovered his platter to reveal fresh fish flakes covered lavishly in gravy. He sniffed the air once then meowed loudly. By the time she had set it down he was practically rumbling in anticipation.

He had devoured his meal by the time she had washed her hands and sat down to her own. Calli inhaled her dinner with similar gusto. Each swallowed bite felt like nutrients were flooding her body, restoring energy she was unaware of having lacked.

Snaggletooth had groomed himself at length; then settled on the bed, curling his tail around his face. Calli yawned as she set their dishes aside and settled next to him with the Information Pack.

It contained very little, like the file had been used for something else, and had just been copied and updated with a couple of anecdotes…. The only upside was that her anxiety had been quelled by bafflement and a full stomach. Each vessel had their own file and she quickly sorted them into the order she had become used to.

The Saucer:

Vessel Name: Kovai 315 – Housing Capacity: 5 Million.

Species: Dov’Lesian. The picture was that of the short green Alien with the large head.

Turns out that it was their scout-ship that crashed in Roswell in the 1947; Earth’s media had been drip feeding their image to the general public via films and such ever since so possible encounters at least provided some familiarity.

Ha! The movie Paul actually said the same thing!

The Scorpion:

Vessel Name: Crit-Shil Hefto – Housing Capacity: 7 Million.

Species: The Shias Mari. The picture showed a creature that looked vaguely like a praying mantis. She shuddered at the sight of its mandibles and moved on to the next file.

The Beetle:

Vessel Name: Falci: Densiari Class – Housing Capacity: 13 Million.

Species: Raftaisee. Their appearance was a little easier to take in. They looked like large bears with antlers; they wore sashes as far as she could tell, and had rich fur.

The Architects:

Vessel Name: Broad Nea 114 – Housing Capacity: 19 Million.

Species: Hapor. They were the closest to human yet. Their eyes were bigger, further apart and their brows heavier. Their skulls sloped backwards over their necks, supporting large brains. They reminded Calli of Neanderthals.

The Hexagon:

Vessel Name: Hexo-118.4.56 – Housing Capacity: 31 Million.

Species: Doh’Shixt. Calli felt her skin crawl and her spine twist as she stared at what appeared to be an over-sized hornet. She moved on from their file as well.

The Uber-Claw:

Vessel Name: Falcon Alpha – Warship – Housing Capacity: 23 Million.

Species: Human. She hastily pulled out the picture and there they were… Human! Her mind raced with the possibilities and she highly doubted her ability to sleep.

She put the folder down, got herself comfortable and yawned with no grace at all. Within minutes she had drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Snaggletooth’s incessant and aggressive covering of his scat woke her. She groggily took care of her own ablutions as he meowed at her to get rid of his mess.

“I don’t see a scoop buddy… It will have to wait till I can ask for one.”

They sat together for a few moments, feeling their restlessness grow within them. It was just as Snaggletooth was singing the most impressive Maaaaow that the light on the wall started flashing.

One quick push on the wall popped the cupboard open. Within she found two breakfast platters, a scoop and litter bags, some fresh clothes and a note to please put all used items back in the cupboard once done.

They must at least be listening!

They were halfway through breakfast, eggs on toast for Calli and a meaty bowl of broth for Snaggletooth, when the dark window activated. The same Alien from the night before stood before her.

“Morning.” He said monotonously.

“Morning Deso.” Calli replied, hoping she had recognized him correctly, and that they didn’t just all look alike to her.

“You know my name? ”He appeared to be wiggling in delight. “Thank you. Is there anything you need.”

“Um… No thank you.” Calli regretted her words instantly. “Um… wait. Ah…Why am I here? What’s happening? Can I have a guitar please? Why was ship capacity important? Are we all going somewhere?”

“Hmmm.” He said, narrowing his eyes rather impressively in his large head. “I can only answer the third question. Yes. As for the rest, you will find out.”

Before Calli could ask anything else, he deactivated her window.

A few moments later a guitar arrived. It was nice, but it wasn’t her Taylor.

The next nine days ran the same for Calli. Deso was kind but reticent; he gave her no new information. She occasionally saw others in similar boxes talking to their own Aliens. She had noticed and keenly observed the other species represented in the fleet.

The Hornets and Praying Mantises creeped her out… she studied them, but gagged whenever she looked at them too long.

Deso and his Dov’Lesian compatriots were the most plentiful, and they did sort of all look alike… only Deso appeared different to her.

She enjoyed watching the Bears run. It was so ungainly on two feet. When she asked why they didn’t just run on all fours, as she was told that it was forbidden when working in conjunction with bipedal species. The Neanderthals were among the rarest, and Calli only ever saw them from a distance.

As for Humans? She only ever saw them in cages similar to her own.

The morning of day eleven dawned and commenced as normal. Calli was midway through the best riff of her life when her window cleared…

She’d noticed the shift within her periphery, but had been so engrossed she ignored it for half a bar… then action and perception clicked into gear, completely out of sync. Her guitar screamed at her as she ran into the wrong note and ruined the entire thing.

She was actually angry as she looked at the window, then stopped short and held her breath.

A Human Being stood before her. Black hair, tawny eyes and skin, young and elegantly dressed in a navy uniform, emblazoned with two chevrons on either shoulder.

“That was rather beautiful.” He said casually. “Except for the end there, but that’s my fault.” Calli let her breath out in an explosive sigh. He just laughed at her. “Can we talk for a minute?”

She nodded in reply.

“Let’s start with your name?” He asked, not unkindly.

“Calli” She replied. “It’s short for Calliope. My mother loved Greek mythology.” She shrugged.

He didn’t respond. Calli stood there for a moment; then found her voice.

“Why am I here? Where am I? When can I go home? What’s happening?” It all rattled out of her like a mudslide. He held his hands up, smiling as he tried to stop her.

“Right… I think I can do this in order. First; you are here because you are a musician.” He put a hand back up as Calli had taken an interrupting breath. She stilled, but felt the energy of her words bubbling below her tongue. “Second; you are on the Dov’Lesian ship along with other Artists. Painters, musicians, authors, so forth. Third; you can go home in a few weeks’ time, perhaps a bit longer. It will depend on how quickly we get our task completed, but things are going well, so sooner rather than later.”

Calli remained silent, and wondered if he had forgotten the fourth question. He had looked at her with a pensive expression on his face.

“The last question is harder to answer. If I am to put it down for what it truly is, and I think I should, it will be harsh… Essentially, we’ve already exterminated 60% of your species. When that’s done, we’ll fix a few things… then return you.”

Calli’s mouth fell open in pure shock. She felt feint.

“You are a seed planet; one specifically engineered and maintained for our amusement.”

“Amusement?” Calli’s head tolled with his words as they reverberated in her skull.

“Think of yourselves as Our Streaming platform. Earth 13.11” he was smiling again, just as kindly as he did before. If he knew of the devastation he wrought, he simply didn’t care. “We use Jupiter’s magnetic field to actually bounce your footage back to us.”

“That’s disgusting.” Was all she could manage; her intellect had been replaced by the sure knowledge that 60% of the remaining population was already dead, and there was nothing she could do to save the other 40%.

“Not really. What’s been Disgusting is the quality of Earth’s content of late. Careers end as jokes are told, your films lack variety; we tire of politics, superheroes and dystopian endings. And let’s not get started on how you’ve ruined your internet… the entire planet’s collective knowledge at your fingertips… now flooded with misinformation. I am sorry, but if we leave you to proceed as you are, we will have another Dark Age. Then we…”

He droned on, but she had stopped listening completely.

Calli sat back down, and reached to scratch Snaggletooth behind the ears. She felt numb and distant.

“Well, I’ll get going then. Have a good day!” He said cheerily. The window had been left clear. She stared out numbly and saw everyone else’s windows also left open.

They’re faces only served to expose her own tumultuous emotions…

Pictures

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Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 25 min | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup College Inn® Light & Fat Free Chicken Broth 50% Less Sodium
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
  • Garlic powder (to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce (light)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 4 cups baby spinach, washed

Instructions

  1. Season chicken with garlic powder, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, salt and pepper if desired.
  2. Combine remaining soy sauce with broth, cornstarch, honey and ginger; set aside.
  3. Prepare rice according to package directions, using College Inn Chicken broth for the water.
  4. When rice is almost ready, cook chicken in oil over medium-high heat in large skillet, 5 minutes.
  5. Stir in baby spinach. Cook for 1 minute.
  6. Stir broth/cornstarch mixture, and add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened and translucent.
  7. Serve chicken and spinach over rice.

Nutrition

Per serving: Calories: 378 Calories from Fat: 0 Grams Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 66mg Sodium: 510mg Total Carbohydrates:49g Fiber: 1g Sugars: 9g Protein: 31g

Iran Just Sank a U.S. Destroyer — First American Warship Lost Since WWII

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