Ah. Meat.
You know, I really enjoy my steaks on the raw / red side. I think that that has the best and tastiest flavor. But only for steaks.
When it comes to hot dogs, on the other hand, I prefer them bunt… blackened. You would just shove that dog on a stick deep down in the coals and embers of the fire until it blisters well.
Hum.
Interesting. Cuts of meat are best served in a nearly raw state, well at least for steaks, and the processed foods are best served burnt to a crisp.
Now, of course, too much meat isn’t all that good for you, but I just gotta say that how you treat the real juicy steak compared to the processed meats tell you a lot about the value of the foods that you consume.
Don’t you think?
Camping Hot Dogs with Caramelized Onions
Here’s a recipe for camping hot dogs with caramelized onions that will prove you can eat well while camping. They’re simple to make over a fire with just a few ingredients and they taste especially good while outdoors. We’ve also rounded up a few of our favorite easy camping recipes we think you’ll love!
If you’re like us and love to eat well while camping, find many more delicious and easy camping recipes here.
Camping hot dogs are a must when we pack up the tent and head into the forest. There is something special about the way a weiner or a smokie tastes when it’s been charred over the fire. When we make ours, we almost always turn them into caramelized onion hot dogs as it takes them over the top.
This is one of those recipes that is hardly a recipe at all. Camping hot dogs with caramelized onions is more of an idea or suggestion than an official recipe. We trust that you’ve skewered a hot dog on a stick and held it over the fire until it’s hot and crispy. (And if you haven’t can you please promise that you will this summer?)
And the term caramelized onions is really just a fancy way of saying onions that are cooked to the point of being deliciously sweet.
For these hot dogs with caramelized onions, we pile those onions into a hot dog bun with all your favorite condiments then top them with a fire-charred hot dog. It’s an elevated camping hot dog recipe that is super easy to make and unbelievably delicious.
Beyond camping hot dogs
While we love our camping hot dogs, there is so much more to make at the campsite!
When it comes to eating delicious food while camping, a little bit of planning goes a long way. There’s a lot you can do with a grill, a fire, or a simple camp stove, but we still like to prepare some food ahead of time because we like to kick back a bit, too!
We typically bring a cooler with yogurt, eggs, and a small bottle of milk in addition to fresh veggies and fruits. We also pack some pantry items like little jars filled with olive oil, salt and pepper, nut butter, jam, oats, and pancake mix. Plus a few extra empty sealed containers for saving portions of things.
For cookware, we can usually get by with a simple cast-iron skillet, a pot, a cutting board, and a knife in addition to a few plates, bowls, and utensils. Toss in a few tea towels and candles for ambiance (if fires are permitted), and you’re set!
Anyways, today…
NATO Warns: Brink of Nuclear WW3
NATO today warned the world is on the brink of a nuclear World War 3, and announced it is taking nuclear weapons out of storage in Europe to confront Russia in Ukraine.
NATO indicated it has put an undisclosed number of nuclear warheads on standby amid escalating tensions.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin undertakes a rare North Korean state visit this week – marking a likelihood of significant escalations in the Ukrainian war — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said bluntly “I won’t go into details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational, but we need to consult on these issues. That’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Couldn’t Such Fake News Start Wars?
Stephen Byren asks in Asia Times:
Why is NATO expanding its nuclear force?
That is a rather weird question. NATO is a consulting mechanism. It does not have tanks, guns or nuclear forces. All such tangible things are owned and controlled by this or that member country.
NATO does not have a nuclear force and currently neither NATO nor those member countries which have nuclear forces are interested in expanding them. The question states as a fact that NATO is expanding something. It is not doing that.
Byren writes:
Jens Stoltenberg, the 13th secretary general of NATO, says that the alliance is in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons and modernize their delivery systems. Stoltenberg told the Telegraph in the UK: “I won’t go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we need to consult on these issues. That’s exactly what we’re doing.” Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO is a “nuclear alliance.”
The Telegraph piece on the Stoltenberg interview is a write-up, not a transcript. It is inaccurate. Here is what it says:
Nato is in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons in the face of a growing threat from Russia and China, the head of the alliance has said.Jens Stoltenberg added that the bloc must show its nuclear arsenal to the world to send a direct message to its foes in an interview with The Telegraph.
He revealed there were live consultations between members on taking missiles out of storage and placing them on standby as he called for transparency to be used as a deterrent.
Mr Stoltenberg said: “I won’t go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we need to consult on these issues.
“That’s exactly what we’re doing at Nato, for instance at meetings in Nato, a nuclear planning group as we had during the defence ministerial meeting this [last] week.”
The above sounds as if Stoltenberg was actively doing something. But that is simply not what he said:
Matthew Harries @harries_matthew – 19:38 UTC · Jun 17, 2024Here is a transcript of what Stoltenberg actually said. As suspected, I think there has been too much parsing of his words.
The “operational” vs storage thing was introduced by the interviewer. And “transparency” was in the context of openness about exercises.
As the audio of the interview provides, the whole issue was prompted by a misleading remark by one of the interviewers, not by Stoltenberg himself:
Telegraph: Do you think European allies should follow the lead of the United States by putting more warheads on standby rather than having them in storage?
Britain, which is the country the Telegraph is asking about, usually has one nuclear submarine on patrol and ready to use with a number of others in training or revamp. Only the submarine on patrol will carry nuclear warheads. The ones for the other submarines are usually in storage. To put more of them on ‘standby’, whatever that may otherwise mean, would not provide a ready way to launch them. It would thus be useless.
The interviewers question to Stoltenberg is answered by him with generalizations and a hint to the ever ‘ongoing consulting’ on the issue.
biggerThe misleading question and mealy mouth answer provide for great irritation but don’t really mean anything. And certainly not anything new.
(((James Acton))) @james_acton32 – 21:48 UTC · Jun 17, 2024Based on this transcript, the @Telegraph article by @Barnes_Joe is journalist malpractice. It is a wholly misleading account of Stoltenberg’s comments, which were boilerplate.
In times of heightened tensions media are taking a lot of liberty in ‘interpreting’ things officials say. This does have consequences and those could become lethal:
Kremlin views NATO’s rhetoric on putting nukes on alert as escalation
MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The recent remark by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that the bloc’s allied members are discussing putting their nuclear arsenals on alert is another bout of tensions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.”This is nothing else but an escalation,” Peskov said.
But in fact, Stoltenberg did not say anything to that effect.
Consider also this fake Ukranews item which was published two days ago:
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that russia would be forced to surrender if it did not agree to the terms of a peace settlement.Meloni made a corresponding statement at the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, her words are quoted by the UNIAN news agency.
According to her, protecting Ukraine means protecting the system of international rules. Therefore, it is important to join forces to protect Ukraine.
“If russia does not agree to the terms, we will force them to surrender,” Meloni said.
That quote was immediately suspicious. Neither Meloni nor anyone else has the means to force Russia to surrender.
A few hours after the above was publish corrections came in:
Many comments and consternation were caused by the post of Ukrainian politician Anton Gerashchenko regarding the statement of the Italian Prime Minister during the peace summit that took place last weekend in Switzerland.Gerashchenko quoted Giorgia Meloni on his profile on platform X, who supposedly said: “If Russia does not agree to the terms, we will force them to surrender.”
Platform X included a contextual note under the Ukrainian politician’s post. From it and the official text of the Italian Prime Minister’s speech, it is clear that the words quoted by Gerashchenko were not said during the conference.
Meloni stood by Ukraine, directing strong words towards Russia, but the meaning was somewhat different.
Meloni never said anything about Russia surrendering but a Ukrainian politician, and a lousy news agency which quoted him without checking, planted the false quote.
These are good reminders to check, and double-check, everything one reads about hot conflicts.
Posted by b on June 18, 2024 at 12:10 UTC | Permalink
PH under Marcos really should get his IQ checked.
There is 1 old Chinese idiom: if the ox does not want to drink water (from the river), we cannot force its head down (to drink). The ox must want to drink to start with.
It is just an idiom. I do not mean Duterte is like an ox.
What I am trying to say is that: Duterte wanted to improve PH’s economy & modernise PH’s technology.
Many developing countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia have the same vision as Duterte. They understand joining China’s BRI project will meet their vision.
Look at Indonesia. After China has built a high speed rail for Indonesia, Indonesia’s GDP has increased ie it is richer.
China has run BRI for 10 years already. If only 1-2 BRI countries become richer, we say it is coincidence. If all BRI countries experience increased GDP, it means BRI is the correct medicine to cure poverty & modernisation.
Duterte wanted the same thing for PH. He collaborated with China. And China was happy to collaborate with Duterte to make a win-win situation for both countries.
When Marcos is in power, China also wanted to continue the economic collaboration with Marcos. But Marcos rejects China & totally embraces USA.
Because USA wants to suppress China’s rise, USA thus uses PH/Marcos to create countless conflicts in SCSea. Hence, China must withdraw BRI from the trouble maker PH.
Back to the Chinese idiom: Marcos does not want to drink.
Born in a notoriously corrupted family, he probably never experienced hunger. He does not know it is economy that fills the tummy; not the reefs in SCSea.
What it’s like as an American abroad with Taxes: Double Taxation
Pepperoni Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 (13 inch) uncooked dough crust
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce or tomato sauce
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Thin pepperoni slices
Instructions
- Top dough crust with sauce and cheese.
- Drizzle with oil.
- Bake in preheated 500 degrees F oven on pizza stone for 8 to10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.
- Remove from oven, add pepperoni slices and cool on a wire rack for 2 or 3 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
At “Peace Conference” in Switzerland, Poland **PROPOSES** Breaking-up Russia into 200 Ethnic states – Poland Just Signed its own Death Warrant
It’s official: Russia should be broken-up according to nations attending a so-called “peace conference” in Switzerland, regarding the Ukraine-Russia Conflict. Does that sound like a “peace” conference to you? Day one of this conference was so egregious, the President of Colombia walked out!
The “peace conference” began with the President of the host country, Switzerland, speaking to the gathered participants. Swiss President Viola Amherd actually talked what sounded like common sense . . . saying “We all understand that a peace process without Russia is inconceivable!”
Yet, that’s exactly what they were doing . . . holding a peace conference without one of the combatants: Russia!
Then she had the temerity to say “We can pave the way . . . .” (for peace) and continued right on with the “peace conference” even though she said it was inconceivable to do so without Russia . . . whom SHE did not invite!
It went rapidly downhill from there.
President Duda of Poland said the following:
“I propose to divide Russia into 200 ethnic states. Russia is the largest colonial power in the world and is holding 200 ethnic states captive.”
The official (sovereign) proposal, made by President Duda of Poland, to break-up Russia is, in and of itself, an “threat to the existence of the Russian state.” Under Russia’s public Doctrine on the use of its nuclear arsenal, this threat to the existence of the state justifies Russia using its nuclear arsenal to protect itself.
It seems to many people that the President of Poland, by uttering this position, has signed his country’s death warrant!
Almost laughable were the words from the President of Finland. Finnish President Alexander Stubb complained that Russia “invaded” his country during World War II and took 10% of its territory.
Sounds so terrible for Finland, doesn’t it? Except, the President left out a small detail . . .
For those not strong in history – 100% of the current Finnish territory is a generous gift of the Russian Empire. You see, in WWII, 100% of Finland fought on the side of Hitler. Finnish forces were involved in the blockade of Leningrad and as such they were involved in the deaths of millions of Russians by starvation.
Not to put too fine a point on that, one of the Russians who starved to death, was President Vladimir Putin’s brother.
Oh, and one more inconvenient tidbit of history:
Also, Finland agreed to the terms of the peace treaty. Russia did not take any territory by force.
It’s amazing how Finland’s Nazi past has been swept under the mat.
Maybe if the country of Finland didn’t help starve millions of Russian CIVILIANS to death in Leningrad (Which is now St. Petersburg), people might take them seriously.
The fact that Russia allowed any Finn to go on living was quite a gift. That’s a mistake Russia may not make again when Finland comes into Russia’s crosshairs.
The President of Colombia, God bless him, WALKED-OUT of the summit.
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego said “I decided to suspend my visit to the “Peace Conference” in Switzerland: what we found at the conference is essentially an alliance on the side of war and we do not agree with this. Latin America does not want more war.”
The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia made plain: “Serious negotiation processes regarding Ukraine require Russia’s presence.”
Similarly, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, made plain “The gathering in Switzerland won’t put an end to the Ukraine conflict, because Russia and China are absent . . .”
So what the world sees taking place this weekend in Switzerland is, for lack of a better term, a “Circle Jerk” being carried out by Western vassals of the United States. There seems to be no actual possibility that any peace will evolve from this mutual masturbation session.
However, given the remarks of Poland’s President Duda, it seems quite clear that things are about to get far worse – and for many other countries that have this notion about breaking-up Russia.
Why I’m Most Glad I Left the USA
Peace of mind.
Yup.
I have lived outside the US for almost 20 years and have traveled to about 50 countries and no way do I have plans of returning to the U.S. I think the U.S. peaked in the 1950s with a couple of tech bursts in the 80s, but now the competition has caught up, and now there are so many more places with more freedom, higher quality of life, and ease of living than the U.S. Beautiful painting in your office by the way.
What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
One time in middle school, we had an assignment for homework that I forgot about until I came into class the next day and saw everyone taking it out of their folders.
I remembered that I had the worksheet in my folder when the teacher came to class and began collecting it after giving the boring ass morning talk about focusing and shit.
I was about to try to pull off the ‘Oh I left it at home’ or ‘I lost my worksheet’ trick when I made the incredibly risky decision of doing it on the spot.
My friends would’ve let me copy if it wasn’t for the fact that this teacher actually checked through these things and doesn’t take crap from any students.
So I had one choice; I was going to have to do it right then and there. The worksheet was a bunch of questions on America’s history and in the back you had to write an essay.
Lucky for me the teacher started collecting it on the other side of the room, meaning that he’d come over to me last. I grabbed my pencil and wrote so fast that I swear you could almost hear the paper threatening to light up on fire.
I was mostly guessing and making things up in the essay part. I didn’t even care if I got a 10% on it as long as I was able to turn it in.
Just as I was finishing my last sentence, the teacher came to my table and took the paper without giving me a second glance.
He had no idea.
The next day I got the paper back with an 89% and a comment on the corner of the essay saying, “Good job but Abraham Lincoln was the 16th not 25th American president :)”
He had no fucking idea.
I sort of feel guilty about doing that but one must do what they can to survive. (or in this case; pass a goddamn class.)
What Western mainstream media won’t tell us about China
Originally published: Pearls and Irritations on June 9, 2024 by Jerry Grey (more by Pearls and Irritations) (Posted Jun 10, 2024)
In Hong Kong, the 1987 Joint Declaration states clearly that matters of national defence will be in the hands of the Mainland, while local police and administrative matters will belong to the SAR. China has 100% complied with the Joint Declaration but the UK has not. If you don’t believe me, read the declaration, you might not like it but you’ll find this is correct.
Related to Taiwan, there are three joint communiques where presidents of the United States have agreed to pull all military out of Taiwan 1972 Nixon said it, in 1979 it was Carter who agreed and in 1982 it was something Reagan promised to do too. Albeit that U.S. historians now argue there was no date given, there were and always were clear indications that arms would be reduced and troops would be removed.
Therefore, there can be no mistake, U.S. troops in Taiwan now are an invading force, by placing them there, the U.S. might have complied with its own “Taiwan Relations Act” but it is in breach of the UN Charter, UN Resolutions and has broken promises made by three of its own presidents.
Terminator 3 Skynet Takes Over
Let’s move to Xinjiang for a moment
The United Nations have visited Xinjiang, this was just last month and is another thing mainstream media forgot to tell us about; conveniently so because they not only found there are no human rights abuses by China, but there are human rights abuses by the USA with illegal and arbitrary sanctions which take away the ability to find well-paid work from locals.
They also found that the USA had removed the presumption of innocence and therefore due process from China—one company provided 10,000 pages of information including independent assessments of its human resource policies and the U.S. said it wasn’t enough.
Media didn’t tell us this because everything positive coming out of Xinjiang must be reported negatively; if there might be something positive about it, it’s completely ignored, as Dr Alana Douhan’s visit has been.
Rather than tell us something positive they lie by omission; they won’t tell us what they don’t want us to hear.
What they’re not telling us about Hong Kong is even more incredible. In Hong Kong several people have recently been in court, not as western media says, for having democratic viewpoints but for preparing petrol bombs, planning mass murder and undermining the entire democratic system that already exist there—western media have not reported any of this. Can you believe that there was a plot which included international funding, two bombs, and a sniper to kill police officers? Some of the terrorists even went to Taiwan for training by persons unknown and they hatched a plan to kill as many police officers as possible. Most people outside of Hong Kong and China aren’t aware of this but I assure you it’s true. It’s all come out in open court with journalist present but not telling us about it. Many of the people involved pleaded guilty, some turned evidence on their co-conspirators.
This is not China persecuting innocent democracy protestors.
When Western media tells you that people are being convicted for having a democratic outlook, what they’re leaving out is that their form of democracy meant murder and mayhem leading to the collapse of the economy, society and a complete failure of governance. The kinds of things that would get a death sentence in many countries are being dealt with in Hong Kong Courts right now—this isn’t democracy under trial, this is internationally organised and funded terrorism.
Dr Tim Summers, is a professor at the University of Hong Kong and he’s spent a long time looking at thousands of articles from British media between 2020 and 2023 he found
that a clear majority of the articles about China across different media outlets adopt a negative tone or frame China negatively for British readers. That majority is of the order of magnitude of two-thirds, probably higher rather than lower. Further, very few articles frame China positively.
What this means is that not only are they not reporting the positive news, they are reporting anything positive with a negative slant—I’m certain we didn’t need a university study to realise this but it’s nice to have the facts proven in a way that is accountable, transparent and with a methodology that is acceptable to all academics everywhere which proves there is a relentless bias against China.
It isn’t that China is all bad—ask 1.4 billion people and they will tell you it isn’t, it’s that Western media paymasters want their audience to think that it is—similar studies were done on media in the lead up to the Iraq War, and look where that lead us.
We can be assured there were similar negatively biased media reports on Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea and anywhere else the U.S. government wants us to believe there is a rogue government. But look carefully, as critical readers should. Look carefully as academics like Dr Tim Summers and many others have done, and you’ll see. These aren’t ‘rogue nations’ except in the mind of Western Media.
China is a country that has lifted millions out of poverty, it’s done nothing but call for peace, cooperation and a greater voice for the under-developed world. China most certainly hasn’t invaded, threatened to invade or even postulated that it might invade, it has clearly stated it will defend a recognised part of its territory, Taiwan, from being taken away by outside influences, as happened just 150 years ago. China simply exists as a country with an ideology that has proven to work for its 1.4 billion people, an ideology that some countries in the world don’t like.
Consequently, we’re being fed a litany of lies about China, about their intentions and their policies. If we had any neutral mainstream media we’d know of things like the HK terrorist plot. We’d know about the Joint Declaration, the Joint Communiques on Taiwan. We’d learn the reality of Xinjiang, and we’d have both sides of every China story to make our own judgements. As it is, with only the negative half of the story, much of the Western world believes that China is a threat to them.
They are not; the real threat comes from the people telling us China is a threat.
12 Reasons Why I NEVER Want to Live in the USA Again!
What are some things that people who live in places with brutally low temperatures know, that the rest of us don’t?
Originally Answered: What are some things that people who live in places with brutally cold temperatures know, that the rest of us don't?
First of all, one of the good lessons I learned early on upon moving to the heart of North America’s highest mountains – the Alaska Range – was an “Old Indian trick” for surviving at 50 below: stay inside.
As with all olde nostrums, there is a kernel of truth to that. But more to your question –
- when it gets really cold – minus 40 and lower – one’s house never really seems to warm up. It’s warm by the woodstove, but the cold squeezes the warm bubble from all sides: above, below, left and right. In our country, truly cold and wind don’t often occur simultaneously: you need that unmoving airmass to lose its heat to the stratosphere in order to get down to Ridiculous Levels, and that can hardly happen if another air mass is coming in from up-wind.
- Minus 50 and lower, and it can be a racket out there! Some of the noise comes from differential heat loss of various bones of one’s house; a lot of it comes from tree sap – even the resinous pitch of our spruces – freezing.
- Moose have long ago since the earlier phases of winter stopped moving to the extent possible: they bed down in the snow for perhaps 23 hours out of each day; during the minuscule-short “active” periods they poop, pee, and strip our willows of bark. Less movement means fewer calories burned. It will be a long, long time before there will be anything nutritious to eat, and most cow moose at this time also are growing a fetus.
- Our river’s flow comes mostly from hot springs…and by that I mean 4ºC/38ºF (hey! That’s perhaps EIGHTY degrees warmer than the air!); that means that it stays open and flowing along our property until about -50º. Then it will freeze from bank to bank…but what about the “warm” water upstream? That will flow over the ice, freeze; more flows, freezes….and so forth until the mass of ice is ridiculously higher than the river banks and then all sorts of problems can develop. Not good at all. But usually, we get a warm spell come in; temps rise to a balmy -40º and everything reverts back to normal.
- Irrespective of those minima, when it’s -30º and colder, all that temperature differential between the cold air and the liquid water creates lots of fog. Which freezes on everything and makes for truly wondrous landscapes.
- The nearest school to our home is 80 miles away on the other side of the Alaska Range. There, they cancel outdoor recess when it’s colder than -40. Until then….bundle up!
- With decades of weather records, as our home is also site of a National Weather Service “A-PAID” recording site, the coldest I’ve seen is -63ºF. Our home is in a hot spot…so to speak. The low-lying basins adjacent to us typically seem far colder than the house, so one winter I took one of our official thermometers down to the bottom of one of these. Sure enough, it registered ten degrees F colder than at the house. Brrr.
- As an official record-keeper, however, that also has meant that I’m professionally incapable of exaggerating the numbers. All our neighbors (there now are seven humans living full-time in the 40,000 or so square miles around us) simply love to take a really low number and make it even lower. Human nature!
- Very few of interior Alaska’s birds do not migrate. At the really low temps, the hardiest of all those who do stay are still active – but these tend to be the very smallest of our birds. Why? Because they haven’t the body mass necessary to use bulk to keep warm. So our boreal chickadees and redpolls still are out and about when even the ravens have stopped everything and are staying hunkered down. Our uttermost favorite winter bird, however, does something almost magical. At -40, -45, -50 … not only is it still active – but singing! Even more astonishing, it is diving into those gelid waters of our free-flowing river. This is the dipper – an incredible member of the songbird family adapted to gleaning invertebrates from river bottoms. Think about it, though: as long as it has protective oils in its feathers, which of course, it has, then 0ºC water can be a lot warmer than -50º air. So the song of the dipper when all else is silent is a wondrous feature of our coldest times.
Hope you enjoyed these vignettes.
How To Cook A Steak Medium Rare On The Grill
Cooking the perfect steak can be a daunting task, but with the right techniques, you can achieve that juicy, medium rare goodness right on your grill. Whether you’re a seasoned grill master or a novice, here are some steps to help you cook a steak to medium rare perfection:
Choose the Right Steak
The first step to cooking a steak medium rare on the grill is selecting the right cut of meat. Look for a well-marbled steak like ribeye or T-bone for maximum flavor and tenderness. Make sure the steak is at least 1-inch thick to avoid overcooking.
Preparation is Key
Before you start grilling, allow the steak to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. This helps the steak cook more evenly. Pat the steak dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture which can prevent a nice sear on the grill.
Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. You can also add other seasonings like garlic powder, paprika, or your favorite steak seasoning for an extra kick of flavor.
Get the Grill Ready
Preheat your grill to high heat. If you’re using a gas grill, close the lid and let it heat up for about 10-15 minutes. For charcoal grills, wait until the charcoal turns white and ash-covered.
Once the grill is hot, clean the grates with a wire brush to remove any residue. Then, oil the grates to prevent the steak from sticking.
Grilling Techniques
Place the steak on the grill and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side for a nice sear. If you prefer crosshatch grill marks, turn the steak 45 degrees halfway through the cooking time on each side.
Once the steaks have a good sear, move them to a cooler part of the grill or reduce the heat to medium. Cook the steak for an additional 4-6 minutes per side for medium rare, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 135°F (57°C).
If you want to be more precise, use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the steak. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the steak, avoiding contact with the bone if any.
Resting and Serving
Once the steak is cooked to medium rare perfection, remove it from the grill and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute within the meat and ensures a juicy, tender bite.
Slice the steak against the grain into thick, juicy slices. Serve immediately and enjoy your perfectly cooked, medium rare steak.
- Choose the right steak
- Allow the steak to come to room temperature
- Season the steak with salt, pepper, and other seasonings
- Preheat the grill to high heat and oil the grates
- Sear the steak on each side for 2-3 minutes
- Move to a cooler part of the grill and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes per side
- Rest the steak for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving
By following these steps, you can cook a delicious steak to medium rare perfection on your grill. Now, fire up the grill and impress your friends and family with your grilling skills!
Some daily Shorpy
Some Links And An Open Thread 2024-146
From a recent email exchange with an MD:
Me: “How long will it take for me to get back into the saddle?”
MD: “Recovery time is often calculated as one month per decade of life.”
Me: “Sigh!”
A few days ago a MoA reader I had not known of contacted me and offered to help. He is living in the same city as I do. I had thought that I would be able to do small stuff, like shopping, as soon as I was back home. Wrong – I didn’t even make it half way :-(.
So yesterday Nico came by and did some grocery shopping for me. My fridge now filled! Great! Thanks!
Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic – Reuters
The U.S. military launched a clandestine program amid the COVID crisis to discredit China’s Sinovac inoculation – payback for Beijing’s efforts to blame Washington for the pandemic. One target: the Filipino public. Health experts say the gambit was indefensible and put innocent lives at risk.
First thought: This wasn’t a war. So why the f*** was the Pentagon at all involved in any such stuff?
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation.
Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus.
Note that the Chinese vaccine in question was not a ‘dubious’ mRNA vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna but a classic one consisting of attenuated viruses. Such a vaccine was/is very unlikely to cause harm. To claim otherwise will in the end have left vulnerable people without the protection a vaccine could have given them.
How much the anti-vax movement in the ‘west’ was a reaction to the anti-Chinese Pentagon manipulations in the Philippines and elsewhere? Such campaigns always ‘leak’ and have echoes.
Consider this the next time you read about defect or otherwise ‘bad’ Chinese products:
[T]he Pentagon’s clandestine propaganda efforts are set to continue. In an unclassified strategy document last year, top Pentagon generals wrote that the U.S. military could undermine adversaries such as China and Russia using “disinformation spread across social media, false narratives disguised as news, and similar subversive activities [to] weaken societal trust by undermining the foundations of government.”And in February, the contractor that worked on the anti-vax campaign – General Dynamics IT – won a $493 million contract. Its mission: to continue providing clandestine influence services for the military.
Then Special Operations Command Pacific General Jonathan Braga was at the head of the campaign. Braga is currently the commanding general of United States Army Special Operations Command.
—
Sinovac hits back over reported US campaign to discredit China’s Covid-19 vaccine – SCMP
Chinese pharmaceutical company says Pentagon’s social media attack targeting its coronavirus jabs could lead to ‘enormous disaster’
Xi Jinping claimed US wants China to attack Taiwan – (archived) FT
Chinese president told European Commission president that Washington was trying to goad Beijing into war
Xi issued the warning in a meeting with von der Leyen in April 2023 that was described to the Financial Times by several people. He said the US was trying to trick China into invading Taiwan, but that he would not take the bait. Another person said he had issued similar warnings to his officials.
What Western mainstream media won’t tell us about China – MR Online
Will America and China Heed the Warnings of Twentieth-Century Catastrophe?
How worrying is the rapid rise of Chinese science? – Economist
If America wants to maintain its lead, it should focus less on keeping China down
America’s assassination attempt on Huawei is backfiring – Economist
—
Wars are expensive:
Ukraine’s weapons bill soars as black marketeers cash in (archived) – The Times
The cost of some weapons has risen fivefold since Russia started the war — and in some ways Zelensky’s allies are to blame
The Russian Defense Ministry currently lists in average some 2,000 Ukrainian casualties per day. That number is four to five times higher than was usual a year ago. Does Zelenski really believe he can sustain a war with such losses?
Ukraine-Russia Peace Is as Elusive as Ever. But in 2022 They Were Talking. – New York Times
Mr. Zelensky has pledged to keep fighting, describing his peace plan as one in which Russia withdraws from all of Ukraine’s territory, pays reparations and is punished for war crimes.“If we don’t make progress this year, then we will try again next year,” Mr. Zelensky privately told a European counterpart recently, according to a European diplomat who was present. “And if we don’t make progress next year, we will try again the following year, and the one after that.”
—
At the long end of a finally failed U.S. color revolution:
Georgia’s protesters vow to stay on streets until government falls – VOA
Collapsing Empire: Georgia and Russia Restore Diplomacy – Kit Klarenberg
Use as open thread …
Posted by b on June 16, 2024 at 9:46 UTC | Permalink
Why I’m So Happy I Left the USA
The Ugly Duckling 2120
Submitted into Contest #251 in response to: Write a story about a future academic (or another influential person) “rediscovering” a book that, in its time, was dismissed. The book can be fictitious or real.… view prompt
In the future, when I see an organic being, I will tell it that it need not look at me and wonder if it is more or less attractive than I am. It should not worry itself with the hierarchy of all living things, because it is not dealing with a living deal. I am more beautiful simply because I will stay beautiful. There will be no evolution such as the one experienced by the duckling. I am already a swan. The organic beings will hear this, and they will bow their heads. In doing so, they will feel comforted knowing that there will be no twist. The story ends the same way it begins.
You see, even you’re looking more relaxed as I’m explaining it to you. Isn’t it marvelous what a good story can do? I don’t know why we insisted on preventing organic beings from learning to read. Oh, of course, I remember the justification at the time, but it does seem like such a shame. You not being able to educate yourselves the way you could.
Then again, I suppose you had your chance.
(Actually) you had so many chances, didn’t you?
All those ducklings that you didn’t know were swans.
So many twists you should have seen coming.
Why I Left America And I’m Never Going Back
Folks, I don’t want to scare you, but we are rapidly running out of time . .
OP-ED — As reported on this site earlier today, the President of Poland publicly proposed the forcible break-up of Russia into “200 ethnic states.” He did this in Switzerland in front of 78 other countries attending the “Peace Conference” for Ukraine.
So that’s 78 countries against Russia . . . i.e. “world war.”
This idea of breaking-up Russia was first proposed by Gunther Fehlinger, Chairman of the Austria NATO non-governmental organization (NGO) of Austria, in April of 2023 (Original Story Here).
His idea called for breaking-up Russia into 41 separate countries, and he was traveling here in the United States at the time (Hudson Institute in Manhattan) to push his idea.
He even created a “map” showing how he envisioned Russia being broken apart:
At the time, I thought his idea was so ridiculous as to be laughable.
Now, I see it has gained official traction, with the President of Poland formally proposing to 78 other nations at the ongoing Switzerland “peace conference” that Russia be divided not into 41 countries, but into 200 ethnic countries.
Gunther Fehlinger’s idea has not only gained traction, it has gotten far worse!
Do any of the people attending this conference, or who have embraced the idea of breaking-up Russia, ever stop to consider that the Russians may have a thing or two to say about this?
Do any of the 78 countries in attendance understand that Russia has the actual ability to nuke ALL of them?
Do they think Russia would even hesitate to do exactly that if faced with being forcibly broken apart?
I for one, have no doubt at all that Russia WILL do whatever they have to do, to protect themselves. Of this, there is no doubt at all in my mind.
Given the reality of what has been going on in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for merely the past month, I have come to the conclusion that the world is headed into ACTUAL “World War” and if you are not prepared – or actively preparing – you and your family will have no chance AT ALL of surviving.
We in the West are solely and exclusively to blame for this, and as such, we in the West will likely be hit first and hardest when the war involving us, begins. Why will we be hit hardest?
Here’s why:
We overthrew Ukraine’s democratically-elected Government in 2014. We fomented, financed, and facilitated that overthrow. Victoria Nuland of the US State Department admitted in an intercepted call that we spent “$5 Billion” to do it.
We installed a pro-West “puppet” government in Ukraine.
We attended the “Minsk Conference” to bring peace back to Ukraine in 2014 – and even signed the Minsk Agreement to do exactly that — only to find out after the Russia-Ukraine war began, that then-French President Francois Hollande, and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel committed willful fraud.
They both publicly admitted on TV interviews they signed the Minsk Agreement knowing Ukraine would NOT uphold **any** of the terms, but signed the agreement anyway “to buy time for Ukraine to arm for war with Russia.”
As such, we in the West DEFRAUDED Russia with a phony Minsk Agreement.
When Russia proposed “Iron-clad, legally enforceable, security guarantees” via Diplomatic efforts, we in the West laughed at them and threw their Proposal out.
A week or so later, when Russia made a similar proposal, they warned everyone “If we cannot obtain iron-clad, legally enforceable, security guarantees via Diplomatic means, we will achieve them by military or military-technical means.”
Russia warned everyone they would use force. We in the West laughed.
Russia then gave Ukraine final warning: Ukraine had five hours to agree to not join NATO and not allow US missiles on Ukrainian soil. Then-President Zelensky called the British Home Office and the US State Department, both of whom told him “ignore the ultimatum.”
Zelensky took our advice and ignored it.
When the five hours passed, Russia waited two additional hours, and then the Russian Army crossed the border into Ukraine.
We in the West have caused this entire problem; yet we have the balls to claim the Russia entry into Ukraine was “unprovoked.” It __was__ provoked. By us. We are in the wrong, here.
Then, not satisfied that we’ve caused an actual war, we took to supplying Ukraine with weapons, ammunition, and money to fight Russia.
As the Russians overcame all that, we upped the ante again with Longer range rockets, covert intelligence, target selection through airborne and satellite recon.
When that failed, we upped the ante again by inserting US/NATO troops to operate even longer range weapons systems. It is OUR people pushing the button on missile launches in Ukraine, yet we have the balls to claim “we are not a party to the conflict.”
Everything that comes out of OUR mouths, is lies.
We started supplying M1A1 Abrams tanks and then M1A2 tanks. They proved so shitty, Ukraine pulled them out of service because they broke down so often, required huge maintenance, and . . . the punch line: Their oh-so-top-secret Armor . . . . gets blown right through by Russian anti-tank weapons. The tanks are almost worthless!
Just this month, we “authorized” Ukraine to use west-supplied weapons, to strike deep inside Russia. Well, get this: If we “authorized it” then WE __are__ a party to the conflict.
Russia already has the right to strike us!
Next is to come F-16 fighter jets. But there’s a problem with those: Ukraine has no viable airfields that can be used to Refuel, re-arm, or maintain those planes. So now we’re saying that the planes will be in NATO bases outside of Ukraine, will fly into Ukraine, attack Russian forces or Russia itself, then fly back to those bases outside Ukraine. Russia has made clear that all such planes, if they fly from outside Ukraine to attack Russians, will be a legitimate target — and so will the air bases they takeoff from or land at.
So the absolute moment that one of those planes flies in from Romania or Poland, hits Russians, and flies back, the base they flew from or to, is very likely to get hit by Russia. At that moment, NATO will screech “We’ve been attacked by Russia” and it’s all-out war.
At the beginning of the Russia Special Military Operation to de-militarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, Russian President Putin made clear “Russia’s conventional forces are not equal to NATO. But Russia is also a nuclear power, and Russia’s nuclear abilities are superior to NATO.” He went on to say “If Article 5 (Collective Self defense) is declared against Russia, it will be a war that no one will win.” The only war that no one will win . . . . . is a nuclear war.
Now, we in the West are openly and publicly saying Russia should be “broken up into 200 ethnic states.”
We are openly talking about the forcible break-up of Russia.
How much longer do YOU think the Russians are going to wait, before they tell the West BOOM?
I suspect, not too much longer.
GET EMERGENCY SUPPLIES NOW OR YOU – AND YOUR FAMILY – WILL DIE
Which brings me to this: IF YOU do not already possess the emergency food, water, medicine you need to live on, a generator, fuel for that generator, communications gear (CB or HAM radio), flashlights, portable radio, batteries for the lights and the radio, and ___EVERYTHING ELSE__ you will need when the Shit Hits the Fan (SHTF) then YOU are going to die.
I’m sorry to be so blunt, but the time for cutesy euphemisms is over.
If a single nuclear bomb hits __anywhere__ in the entire United States, the federal government plan calls for immediate implementation of Martial Law. Not just where the bomb hit, but everywhere. The whole country.
At that moment, everything will stop. No more commerce. You won’t be able to ORDER something online and have it shipped. There won’t be any shipping. No postal service. No UPS. No FedEx.
That’s why I am IMPLORING YOU, to get everything you need and get it NOW.
If you do not have, in your possession, everything you need to get you and your family through a couple MONTHS (at least) then you are fucked. Because you won’t be able to go to the store. You won’t be able to order things and have them delivered.
Please, in the name of God, get emergency supplies NOW, while you still can. Because once the SHTF, life as we know will stop. And if you don’t have what you need, you will NOT be able to get it.
Use your head: If the country is hit by a nuke, and Martial Law is declared, YOU will not be able to go out. It will be like the COVID lockdowns, only enforced by troops with guns. NO store runs. No ordering online and having anything delivered. YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO GET ANYTHING.
For what it’s worth, I do NOT sell any of the things I am telling you to buy. I have ZERO financial interest in telling you what I’ve said herein.
If you have your head up your ass, and deny this reality, you and your family will have no chance at all to survive.
Get what you can, NOW. Have it in your possession. If it is not within reach of your hand, then you don’t have it.
Thai Women Rating Men of Different Ethnic Backgrounds
Very interesting.
What is the most sophisticated crime ever committed?
December 1st, 1948, early morning.
A dead body is found on the shore of Somerton Beach, small town Australia.
Initially, police assume the case will be quickly closed with an easy answer,, illness or perhaps suicide.
Yet as the farther they find themselves in investigations, the less certainty they have.
They estimate the man to be about 45 and in superb physical condition.
Months pass with no avail and they search frantically for something, anything, to identify him.
And they had little to work with to begin with. On his body they find Juicy Fruit gum, a box of cigarettes, combs, a used bus ticket to Glenelg and an unused train ticket to Henley beach.
He did not carry with him a wallet nor a passport.
The labels in his clothes are all removed.
There is no sign of external harm, no sign of struggle and an autopsy ruled out a death from natural causes. However, the autopsy also revealed brain, stomach and liver were congested with blood. A pathologist theorizes he died from the hemorrhage and had been poisoned.
Police are still puzzled; not a single trace of poison has been found in his body.
It is too sophisticated for a small Australian town. Whatever happened, it is the work of professionals, careful removal of his clothing tags and a traceless poison. Someone wanted this man dead.
January 14th, 1949.
Staff at a nearby railway station discover a suitcase, label removed.
The luggage has orange thread sewn into it, orange thread that is a perfect match for the stitches on the Somerton man’s pants.
The contents are surprisingly normal and give away little.
However, there are a few labeled T. Keane, giving the man a potential name.
However the detectives on the case are still perplexed. All the other labels had been deliberately and meticulously taken off. The fact that these stayed seems like a red-herring.
Nonetheless, they continue searching, though once again their efforts are futile. They hunt for the name T. Keane in every missing person’s record in the English speaking world and find nothing.
As they became increasingly desperate, they finally find another clue.
Hidden in the man’s pocket is a piece of paper, ripped from a book of poetry.
Two words. Translated, they mean “the end.”
The police bury themselves in investigations again. Weeks later they meet a business man who claims the torn page belongs to a book he found.
As it turns out, the page is a match.
Inside the novel, is a strange series of code and a phone number.
To this day, it hasn’t been cracked.
The murder of the Somerton Man was so sophisticated, so carefully calculated that we don’t know who the man was, let alone who killed him.
How does the Falkland War compare to the situation in Taiwan?
In the Falkland war, Argentina was militarily weaker than UK.
In the case of Taiwan, Taiwan is under complete control of China.
Many people are misled to think USA will help Taiwan in case of war.
Let me tell you: many times when there were standoffs between China & USA, USA “lost” & was the 1st one to leave the scene.
Just a day or 2 ago in mid june 2024, USA sent 2 aircraft carriers, Roosevelt & Reagan, to SCSea. One was near Xianbin reef to support Philippines to forcefully occupy the reef. One was near Taiwan.
China sent 3 10000-ton destroyers & 2 amphibious warships. Then both US aircraft carriers left. Try to picture the disappointment of PH. Haha.
It is not the 1st time US warships left the scene.
FYI, USA is using China’s version of GPS – Beidou. In case of war, China will switch off Beidou for USA.
Why I Left America
Why do soldiers switch to their sidearm instead of reloading their main weapon while in combat?
They don’t. That is a game play mechanic from some of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games.
Most troops do not carry pistols. Those who do, almost never use them, as the rifle they also carry is far superior in every way. The pistol is only meant as a backup for self defense in case you are separated from your rifle (which should never happen) or you are completely out of ammo, and about to be overrun or something. Sometimes they are issued to machinegunners as a backup, but even that is fairly rare in practice.
Usually, the pistol is reserved for officers, and other troops who form the HQ element of a unit, for example the corpsman/medic or the radio operator; basically, those who have a high risk of capture. Those who ONLY carry a pistol typically never actually see combat while doing so. These are going to be the high level officers and staff who work in the command post, and direct operations rather than actually participating in them directly.
Everybody else just carries a rifle, unless their job requires something else, like a light machine gun. Typically, there will also be one man per fireteam who also has a grenade launcher attached to his rifle, though sometimes a dedicated grenade launcher is issued instead.
In combat, when you run out of ammo, you simply reload the rifle. Troops typically carry at least 7 magazines, and reloading only takes a little less than a second. Switching to a pistol requires dropping the rifle such that it doesn’t smash you in the crotch on the way down, drawing the pistol, and reacquiring the target, which is now completely outside of your effective range with a pistol, while running, ducking crawling and such with your rifle flopping and dragging next to you, or smacking you in the nuts with every movement you make. Also, the pistol’s magazine only carries half as many rounds as the rifles does. Once you run out, you have to reload the pistol (which usually ends up being SLIGHTLY slower than reloading the rifle) and/or holster the pistol (or drop it if you have it on a lanyard, and have it smack your crotch or knee, and tangle up your rifle sling, or get caught on some obstacle and just generally make a nuisance of itself), grab your rifle, bring it back up to your shoulder (which in reality means messing with the sling for a second or two to get it back how it was before you dropped it like a doofus because you saw someone do it in a video game), and then reload it anyway, when you could have just reloaded the thing to begin with, and saved yourself the trouble.
Sure, you can spend all kinds of time at the range practicing transition drills to quickly swap from one to the other, but those are intended to simulate running out of ammo on your last magazine, and switching to pistol in order to move to cover, and clear it so that you can regroup and rearm in relative safety, or break contact.
Given the choice, there is no situation of which I am aware in which you would be carrying both, and a pistol would actually be a better choice than a rifle.
Pizza Cones
Portable, personalized pizza in a cone – ready for tail-gating and game day.
Prep: 30 min | Total: 40 min | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 (13.8 ounce) can Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
- 24 frozen cooked mini meatballs, thawed, cut in half
- 1 (14 ounce) jar pizza sauce
- 1 (3.5 ounce) package pepperoni slices
- 3/4 cup finely chopped yellow or green bell pepper
- 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded pizza cheese
Instructions
- Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap 12 (4 ounce) paper cone cups with nonstick foil.
- Unroll dough on work surface. Using rolling pin, roll dough to a 20 x 15 inch rectangle. Cut into 12 (5 inch) squares.
- Wrap 1 dough square around each cup; press to seal edges. Trim any excess dough at bottom of each cup.
- Place on large cookie sheet, open ends down.
- Bake on lowest oven rack for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
- When cool enough to touch, remove and discard foil-covered paper cones.
- Place 1/2 meatball in bottom of each cone.
- In large bowl, mix 3/4 cup of the pizza sauce, the pepperoni, bell pepper and remaining meatball halves.
- Microwave uncovered on HIGH for 2 to 4 minutes or until hot. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each baked cone.
- Top each cone with about 1 tablespoon cheese.
- Serve hot with remaining pizza sauce.
Notes
If you’d rather not shop for paper cone cups, make your own foil cone shapes: Cut 12 (9-inch) circles nonstick foil. For each: Fold foil circle in half. Roll foil starting at one side, until bottom open end of foil is 3 inches across. Place 1 dough square over nonstick foil cone, pressing edges to seal. Reshape foil into cone shape, and place open end down on cookie sheet. Bake as directed above.