When I was in middle school and high school, I had numerous girl friends. Not Girl friends, just friends that happened to be girls. So around 7th grade through 9th grade, I would hang out with these girls.
One of these friends was a country girl named Lisa.
She had a couple of horses. And we would sometimes go on rides with them through the farms and countryside. One was a full horse, and the other a nice pony.
One day we were riding on a hill path, and it was a wonderful sunny weekend, and it was a wonderful fall afternoon. Yellow and red leaves on the trees, and we were having a good time together.
It was a great day. And I was following Lisa in single file. She was on the horse, and I was on the pony. There was a vine in front of us, and Lisa adroitly avoided it by sliding to the side of the saddle, and then sat upright.
Now it was my turn.
But, uh oh.
I didn’t miss the vine, and it got caught on my neck.
Now, that stupid pony kept on going forward, and I was caught up on the vine and it rubbed my poor neck completely raw. Oh man, damn it hurt.
So we finished up and went home…
…then the jokes about getting a hickey began.
I tried to cover up my neck with a turtle neck sweater at school, and then a high collared shit with a tie at work. Nope. Everyone could see the red marks they weren’t very well hidden.
And they came to conclusions…
First at home. Hickey. Endless “ribbings”.
Then at school. Hickey and then laughter.
And then finally at work. Ugh!
Oh Lordy! Oh, it’s not a real meaningful story, but it illustrates how people love to take misunderstandings and make jokes about it. It was uncomfortable for me. But that’s life. Don’t you know.
Hickey’s and horses.
Today…
Looting The ‘Allies’
With regards to Trump attempting to land grab Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, Agit Papadakis offers some interesting observation:
The Bozo [Trump] Doctrine, the Bibi [Netanyahoo] Doctrine, and the Tayyip [Erdogan] Doctrine, are all converging on a new post-Westphalian world disorder of imperialism gone nuts.For the cucked vassals of the old order this means either grow a pair and resist or lose every shred of sovereignty, dignity, and material comfort you have left. Cucks like the EU, Australia, Japan, South Korea and wounded weak states like Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq are all suffering the torment of being raped and ravaged by powerful rogue states.
Bozo didn’t lose a minute to join the melée. He looked at the economic train wreck he was inheriting and decided it was now or never to hoist the Jolly Roger over his big but old and rusty military machine and what’s left of the once mighty dollar’s hegemony.
His first victims would be the weak and cucked vassals who poured their sorry excuse for a military and their treasure into the Ukraine black hole. Bozo knows that his unfurling of the black banner will automatically dissolve those BS “alliances” with weak vassals that were never but a frilly negligée concealing America’s naked imperialism, as revealed by the the lonely squeak of the French chihuahua protesting Bozo’s Greenland grab and threatening to resist.
The cucked chihuahuas of the Rules Based Order are suddenly up against Judgement Day, naked and defenseless between two raging behemoths, Amerisrael and Russia, while an even bigger and scarier one, China, looms over everybody else.
It’s the 19th century with nukes and hypersonics and space jets, which would normally be followed by the world wars of the 20th. But with 21st century speed, it shouldn’t take longer than a decade if that.
Agit’s rant refers to a ‘based’ thread ‘On American expansionism‘ by Russians With Attitude:
The incoming administration seems to have a more realistic image of the state of American hegemonial decline and wants to take proactive steps to try to counteract and reverse it, breathing new life into the American Global Empire.
…
The world that existed in 1991-2022 does not exist anymore. It’s not coming back. You can just invade your neighbor. You can just fire missiles at international shipping lanes. You can just threaten to annex members of your military alliance. “You can just do things”, as the techbros like to say. The mirage of a post-historical order that only has to be policed from time to time but is never seriously challenged has disappeared. What did you think canceling the End of History meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays?
…
America’s vassals WILL have to confront this state of things and make hard decisions about their future. This means reckoning with their geopolitical impotence and either embracing dependency with open eyes or seeking pathways to autonomy that will inevitably involve risk, sacrifice, and a recalibration of their national priorities.The era of coasting on borrowed security and ideological rhetoric is over. What lies ahead is a world where historical agency must be reclaimed or forever relinquished, and for many, the question may not be whether they are ready to make that leap, but whether they even remember how. America has now understood this — and is mentally preparing to switch back to the cold logic that comes with actual History. The times, they are a-changin’.
The unilateral moment has ended. Russia, India and China have become too rich and too powerful to be looted. U.S. vassals are now by far the easier target.
Trump’s ideas of taking from the ‘allies’ is not knew. The U.S. plundering of its vassals has been ongoing for some time.
The instigation of the war in Ukraine can be interpreted as a large U.S. looting operation of its European ‘allies’.
Biden was also quite successful when he blew up Nord Stream. (This was btw the second time the U.S. destroyed a Russia to Germany pipeline. An analytical book available on the first incident in 1982 had been written by Anthony Blinken!)
The weaklings in the German and EU government did not even dare protest. They instead condemned their people to pay horrendous prices for U.S. fracking gas. On top of that they were pressed to buy U.S. weapons to feed the war in Ukraine.
Things did not go as well as planned with the war in Ukraine but the U.S. is still winning from it.
Posted by b on January 10, 2025 at 15:49 UTC | Permalink
Comments
Posted by: chunga | Jan 10 2025 16:06 utc | 2
i think the idea of the greenland grab is over energy and mineral resources.. trump is looking after the energy corporation.. as for panama, i guess he wants to cut costs.. with canada – just a basis resource rip off is in the cards..
the unipolar world has come and gone and left the usa trio ( banking, energy and military) in an awkward position..
Posted by: james | Jan 10 2025 16:13 utc | 3
Posted by: Haciman | Jan 10 2025 16:21 utc | 4
What people continue to gloss over is that America is a hollowed out husk of its former self just like the EU countries.
Trump is the face of the cult of dying empire, not America. The Shock Doctrine applied to South America is now being applied to all Western countries by the God Of Mammon cult who expected to have infected China by now and taken over their core pieces of finance……that has not happened and so the God Of Mammon cult has nowhere to go except maybe the City of London or Rome….Hi Pope Frank, how is that usury hypocrisy going for you?
The question is whether the zombies of the West can understand what I wrote above and take back the levers of finance for more public focus.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 10 2025 16:36 utc | 14
thanks… i didn’t go down into the details, but i thank you for doing that for me in your post.. it remains to be seen that this is going to be an easy go of it.. i think it will be just the opposite.. it’s over for the west, but it might take a while for the west to acknowledge this… i continue to wait for one big financial explosion.. this is the slow version at present..
Posted by: james | Jan 10 2025 16:41 utc | 15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H68xPQPz-Oc
“Trump on Greeland, Panama and Canada.”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 10 2025 16:44 utc | 16
It is highly improbable, yet conceivable, that the Prexy in Waiting to actually resort to military adventurism. After all, however, the U$$A “Defense” department is but a shadow of it’s puissance even some twenty years ago. Those 5,000 manned aircraft carriers have become somewhat of a laughing stock amongst geopolitical analysts. Note how the most recent incursion into the outer vicinity of Ansar Allah (Houthi) missilry has sent yet another carrier-group scooting out of Dodge and having to halt their aggressive bomber raids on Yemen.
Three days before the Inauguration Iran is likely to receive its protection contract with the R.U. Purport of the probable fact that Russian technicians have mostly finished their training missions aimed at familiarization of Iranian forces to achieve levels of mastery of S400 and even S500 game changing anti-aircraft missiles to the point where Izzy piratical assault aircraft pilots will be sweating in their jockstraps at the threat of being ejected from their F-15’s and then becoming a form of trained seals as they confess on video their crimes against humanity.
An object lesson for the entire world.
Downed attack aircraft and confessions extracted from those previously untouchable pilots would send shivers and shockwaves throughout the Izzy Entity. The pro-Zionist administrative bureaucraps within the Deep $tate would scratch their heads and demand that the Rand Corporation re-write their aggression planning doctrines. Mass Media of misinformation and mind-control would do their damndest to keep those boobtoob noose addicts still believing in the unstoppable powers of Uncle $hmuel.
Meanwhile in Moscow, the exceedingly cautious coterie in the Kremlin will hold off on funning it up on video, while trying to keep those grins muted like Mona Lisa’s subtle smilette. China will maintain their new policy of not allowing certain vital rare minerals out of the hands of the aggressors.
Imagine the looks on the sweaty countenances of Nuts n’ Yahoos, Snot-Rich and Bennie the Grinch. We will never witness those moments as videos and even still shots would be strictly “verboten”.
Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 10 2025 16:45 utc | 17
——————————————————————
Thank you, B. I was stunned when I read your post: Reality is returning to MoA, and the world should take note; welcome to the 21st. Century Fascism. Trump has declared openly what Biden’s neo-cons were hiding under the rug: “If we can’t eat our peers and near peers, then we will eat our “allies,” because we are hungry like a wolf.
The US proxy war was never about Ukrainian sovereignty; it was always about extracting wealth from European “allies” for the benefit of the MIC, who needed a big meal to prepare for future imperial fascist wars with peers like China, Russia, India, and Iran.
Posted by: Ed | Jan 10 2025 16:48 utc | 18
On the Ukraine thread, I linked the ideas within Crooke’s essay with Trump’s bluster as a psy op aimed at the Empire’s public since the reality that the Empire was defeated by Russia is Ukraine will need to be faced. The clear reality of the Outlaw US Empire being in a state of decline has yet to be admitted by those “on high” yet has reached the point where that truth can no longer be kicked down the road. IMO, Trump’s insistence on further Imperialism will only hasten the Empire’s decline, and I’m not the only one having that POV.
Why do many foreigners who come to China think what they saw is so much different from what they heard at home?
After US, I came to my home country and told my ex-boss that I got a job in China, in Shanghai. Her response was what will you do there??? Ants crawl on the walls, dirty and so on… I even thought like that.
But that’s what our western media (propaganda) is doing. If you rely on Hollywood you will believe that USA won in Vietnam because of Rambo, life is wonderful, everyone has unrealistic beauty standard, money grow on the trees and so on.
If you see Latin soap shows you would believe that life in Mexico and other S. American countries is beyond wonderful. Plus you might have some rich parent that you don’t know off till you are grown up to run the business.
Haha. The thing is that China doesn’t advertise her potential and the western media has the chance to provide and imagine of China according to the needs of their bosses. If you see the news, the only news shown from China are that of earthquake deaths, poverty, ghost cities, people eating dogs or bugs and miners dying in poor conditions.
And this creates an image that here is so bad. And than BAM!!! You came to China, trains travel with the speed of 300 km/h, cars not older then 5 years, highways, industry etc… you can do your research. Enjoy China!!!
Ruissia to Trump: Hands-off Greenland
Trump’s revived interest in buying Greenland is drawing sharp reactions from Russia and Denmark.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that the Arctic is a “zone of strategic interest” for Russia as it beefed up its military presence in the region.
Trump refused to rule out force to acquire Greenland, threatening tariffs on Denmark if it resists.
Denmark’s PM Mette Frederiksen firmly responded: “Greenland is not for sale.”
MM Video; Please do not fear the changes.
Klara commented;
This is a great video, and I appreciate that you put it together. I have personal experience from 1990 when the government collapsed in Albania. It was true anarchy. Tirana, once a beautiful and clean city, was engulfed in smoke. After some days, people began to move on, and life slowly started again. I don’t believe I experienced fear. Family and friends united, and we all hoped for better days.
My mom will always say to me: you don’t worry about things you can’t control. I’m writing this from the perspective of a simple person. People involved in politics may have seen the collapse and transformation with fear. My parents lost all their savings. Were they upset? Of course, for a few days they were, but I didn’t see fear in their eyes. They accepted it and moved on. One thing that was valuable was family support. We supported each other. Love and care for each other were the top priority.
I’m now in America, trying to live without fear. But fear is induced here. Fear is like a force that pulls you in. I think this is because you’re often alone here. Your kids are in another state, your cousins in a different state. Your family is scattered, and you become a solitary object. I don’t watch the news or follow politics, but the fear remains. Fear of getting sick, fear of going to the doctor, fear that your kids might making some stupid mistakes and effect their life and more…
One things I hate is fear, but I am not fear free.
As a surgeon, what is the most dangerous thing you have found inside a patient?
I was operating on a patient to remove his kidney.
The patient had had multiple surgeries in the past on his kidney and at this point was just a continuous source of infection- it no longer functioned.
The patient wanted me to remove it.
I removed the kidney laparoscopically and opened it to see what was inside.
I found this:
I was shocked.
It was a laser fiber that had broken inside the patient while being operated on by another surgeon 18 years prior. It had been left to form a stone and caused endless infections.
After the surgery, I informed the patient as to what I had discovered- he knew right away who the surgeon had been.
It is very sad to have your kidney damaged and your life affected because of a bad surgeon who didn’t have the appropriate ethical guidelines.
He could have referred the patient to someone else so the problem could be fixed before the damage became permanent.
Spiritual Meanings When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House
What are some ways to handle a spouse who no longer wants to be in the marriage?
About 12 years ago, I was the spouse that no longer wanted to be in the marriage. Resentments had built up in my heart over time, and I thought our relationship could never be what I needed. I told my husband I wanted a divorce. He was distraught.
He tried talking with me to see if he could change my mind, but my mind was made up. He conceded and we got our own places to live. We paid a lawyer to start the paperwork. I saw our relationship start to change as he pulled away to protect himself and have boundaries around our newly defined relationship.
As he pulled away more and more, he continued to treat me with respect and was still the upstanding guy he had always been. But I began to see what a life without him would be like. I didn’t like being separated from him, and when I heard he had met a girl during a night out, I could feel in my heart that I actually did still care about him.
Fortunately for me, he was willing to do marriage counseling when I asked. He could have told me no, but he didn’t. Until I saw what life would be like without him, I didn’t realize I still wanted to be with him.
There is a lot more to this story, and it wasn’t as easy and straightforward as that. We had to do months of counseling before we knew we could make our marriage work. It was very touch and go, and we had to work through a lot of things. People were praying for us, and we each grew in our relationships with God individually during that time. But the key was that we continued to turn toward each other to try and work together to fight for our marriage and fix what was wrong. We were both willing to look at ourselves and how we had contributed to where we were at.
My husband couldn’t have forced me to stay in the relationship. He asked if he could fix what was wrong, and accepted what I had to say when I told him there wasn’t anything to be done. He was sad, but he didn’t beg me to stay with him. He tried to move forward and re-define our relationship by creating boundaries that were appropriate for people that were no longer in a relationship. He treated me with respect, but he moved forward with life, and that helped me understand that I wasn’t ready to be without him.
You can’t make someone want to be with you. But you can show them what life will be like without you. Hopefully, if you have been a good spouse like my husband had been, they will realize what they will be living without, and will have a change of heart.
Steaks with Mushrooms, Blue Cheese and Frizzled Shallots
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 30 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 (8 ounce) beef round sirloin tip center steaks, cut 1 inch thick
- 4 slices thick-sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 small shallots, thinly sliced, separated into rings
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, diced
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp.
- Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to paper towels, reserving 2 to 3 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Set aside.
- Meanwhile combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Add shallots; toss to coat.
- Heat bacon drippings over medium high heat until hot. Add shallots. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until well browned, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Season beef steaks evenly with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Place steaks in the same skillet; cook for 14 to 15 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. Do not overcook.
- Remove to a serving platter; season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.
- Add mushrooms and water to skillet. Cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
- Add cream. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until cream is almost absorbed. Stir in cheese and bacon.
- Spoon mushroom mixture over steaks. Top with shallots. Sprinkle with parsley.
227 Months
Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story about a character who wakes up in space.… view prompt
Kenneth Love
“What was he doing out there?”
“Only a few maintenance checks, system scans, reports on hull integrity, navigational course corrections.”
“Isn’t that hard if you’re offline?” I think as I turn down the hallway towards the tram. Because U-Hay is based in my head, I don’t have to physically talk to her when we’re alone. I only have to think of the words.
“Indeed, Master Bel. As you’re well aware, Master, I am unable to affect onboard systems while offline, and so was unable to assist Master El beyond verbal instruction. He was therefore unable to accomplish his goals to the desired effect. However, he did not wish to disturb your slumber.”
“Well that’s a load of bull. 29 degrees? Psh.” I say, approaching the tram platform.
The platform is a wide open space with the tracks for the tram in a cut on the other side. There are four pillars holding up the room, on one of which has a screen showing a map of the ship with destinations to choose from. I’m making my way towards this pillar when, from my right, I see El walking up to me in a heavy coat, gloves, boots, and cargo pants. He’s got on the smarmiest grin I’ve ever seen in my life. He has to know that I’m pissed.
“There you are, Bel.” He says raising his hand in welcome. I of course don’t return the gesture.
He stands right next to me, still grinning his smarmy grin, and teases:
“I thought I was going to have to tell Vera that you were going to be late for another checkup. Wouldn’t that have been something?”
The sly bastard’s trying to dodge the issue, so I pointedly ask him:
“Why the hell did you lower the temperature down to 29 degrees? I almost froze, El.”
“Well…” he says leaning whimsically back and forth, “…if you want to be bombarded by harmful radiation, I could have left it at the balmy 80 that you’re accustomed to.”
“Or you could’ve just cut power from the lights and heated up the floors, like I did.”
“Hm.” He assumes a pensive gesture; he has a smartass comment ready, I just know it.
“I could’ve done that, had U-Hay not been offline at the time, and given your distaste for being awoken I had significant pause towards that recourse.”
He shrugs, “So, my apologies.”
Like I have so many time before, I find myself flustered at his strategic non-accusation.
“You know what, I-! You-! Dammit, where’s the tram!”
We’d been standing around for seven minutes and the tram isn’t usually this late. There’s only one person to blame for this:
“El?”
“Well, I did try to call the tram half an hour ago, but it seems to have been preoccupied.”
“So you were just going to leave me here!?”
“Of course not, I was simply-”
“Y’know what…” I say, moving up to the screen on the pillar, “Never mind.”
I raise my hand to the screen and it begins to interface with the subdermal network of electronic nodes that gather at my finger-tips. It allows me, with U-Hay’s help, to control the tram network.
“Our tram’s all the way on the other side of the ship. is there a closer one we can use?”
“Affirmative. Retrieving transport vehicle.”
In the flash of an instant the tram whirs up in front of us and opens its doors.
“Welcome. Please watch your step as you embark the vehicle.”
“Come on, El. We’re going to be late.” I say, rushing onto the tram.
“Right behind you.”
The ride to the physician’s office, or station since it seems like she has a whole damn lab to herself, takes us through the interior of the ship to one of the exterior most portions of it. As a result, we’re taken through vast stretches of darkness, with only the light of the tram for illumination, to the outer windowed areas of the ship where the galactic core and the surrounding star systems light up the interior. El tries to put his arm around me, mistakenly thinking I’d forgotten that I almost turned into an icicle because of him.
“Don’t even fucking think about it.” I growl before he can even touch me. He wisely aborts.
The tram pulls up to the physician’s station and opens its doors. In this case there isn’t even a platform, just a single opening that leads into the office. It’s a small and clean little room, with a desk in the far corner and a door leading to the rest of the station adjacent to it. As we walk into the office and as the tram whirs away we don’t bother sitting in the chairs and waiting since we already have an appointment. We walk through the back door and into the lab where Vera stands waiting for us alongside some scanning equipment. The lab is wide and spacious; the floors are sterile white, and there are screens for displaying information seemingly everywhere, mounted on stands that swivel and turn on robotic arms. The most noticeable feature of the lab is the back wall, which isn’t a wall but rather a single curving pane of glass than spans the entire room and arches up 30 feet to include part of the ceiling. Because of this, the few artificial lights in the lab are usually turned off, and today is no exception; the brilliant center of the Milky Way, swirling with dust and spangled by stars, is more than adequate to light up the entire room. As late as I always am, if it weren’t for this view I probably wouldn’t bother coming at all.
Vera, a diminutive, red-haired android in lab fatigues, directs us toward the scanning pads on the floor.
“Come, come! Please stand here!”
We take our places on the scanning pads, which are right next to each other, but Vera, who is looking us up and down, looks perplexed.
“You no take off clothes?” She says, in a strong accent that I can’t place but that El tells me is East Slavic.
We look at each other and I tell her,
“No, I think we’re good”
Because I’ve always been late to these examinations, El and I have never actually taken one together. By the time I arrive, he’s usually sitting in the waiting room; that or he’s sitting near the window and leaves before the undressing starts. The cold doesn’t help things, either.
Vera walks over to me and pulls at my blanket.
“I insist. Will only take moment.”
“No, Vera. It’s 284 K and it’s cold. I’m not taking them off.” I say, pulling back my blanket.
“You sure? Invasive scans go through clothes but very unpleasant.”
“I’m. Not. Taking. Off. My. Clothes. Vera. Just do the scan and get it over with.”
She looks at El, who’s literally been twiddling his thumbs the whole time, with a questioning glance, and he responds:
“Oh! Uh, I would also like to keep my clothes on for, uh, similar reasons, thank you.”
Vera, thinking nothing else of it, cracks a cheerful smile and slams the lever with tremendous force. The scan begins at our feet, and the intense buzzing sensation that it elicits causes us both to jump at the sensation. When it finishes at the top of our heads, I can already feel a headache coming on.
Along with the usual information, like muscle mass, brain activity, and skeletal integrity, the results screen also shows our personal information. This being our first time taking the exam together like this, neither of us have seen the other’s personal info. The info went something like this:
Name: Belakoro Hosomichi Miyazawa
Sex: Female
DOB: Febus, Day 12, 2776
Place: New Sakhalin, Ligeia Mare, Titan
Father: Takashi Miyazawa
Mother: N/A
Clone #: 89
Surviving Clones of Sequence: 0
Ship Assignment: [Classified]
Date of Assignment to Ship: [Classified]
Ship Occupation: [Classified]
Name: Elio Aleksandrovich Gergiev
Sex: Male
DOB: Octos, Day 29, 2775
Place: Ares Station, Mars Orbit
Father: Aleksandr Gergiev
Mother: N/A; Missing since 10/30/2775
Child #: 1
Siblings: 0
Ship Assignment: [Classified]
Date of Assignment to Ship: [Classified]
Ship Occupation: [Classified]
The rest of the exam went relatively smooth, save for Vera doing additional checkups for muscle stiffness and any signs of hypothermia (aside from the mild ones I experienced earlier). The examination over and done with, and Vera finally bouncing off to tend to whatever other business she has, El and I take a seat on the heated floor close to the enormous window of the lab and contemplate.
“I guess neither of us has led a charmed life, hm?” El says.
“Heh. No, I guess not. Your mom’s missing and I’m a clone who never had one to start with.”
“May I ask what it is you’re holding?” El says, pointing to my palm.
It’s an odd statuette that I found in a box hidden away in our room. It’s supposed to look like a woman but looks more like an odd shaped tuber. U-Hay says it’s a “Venus Figure” carved about 26,000 years ago back on Earth. An indelible mark to the longevity of human creativity, she said.
After telling El all of this, I stare into the galactic core, and an odd thought comes to me.
“Y’know the center of the galaxy is 26,000 light years away from Earth.” I say, holding the figurine up to the bright bulge cloaked by dust.
“So if we looked back on it, we’d technically be seeing the same people who made this thing.”
“So, what?” El says, “A missive sent 26,000 years after the fact? What would you write, pray tell?”
I have to hand it to El for being equal parts smugly sarcastic and genuinely curious. He may think I don’t know it, but he’s actually quite fragile underneath all of his snark. I answer his question.
“I don’t have a clue. You?”
“Hmm.” He pauses for a moment, and then with a smirk says:
“To Mom, in 26,000 years”
He looks up at all the stars, dust and gas circling the bright nexus of the galaxy.
“Do you think she knows how beautiful all of this is, the stars, the nebulae, the planets…” He turns to me, “…you?”
I was planning to not dignify that last one with a response, but I judge that now is not the time for vitriol. I rock back and forth and fumble with the figure.
“I don’t know. Maybe? There’s a good chance”
He wraps his arm around my shoulder, and this time I don’t object. When he leans in for a kiss, however, I throw him wide grin that says a thousand words, all of them ending in pain for him. So he’s thwarted in that attempt, but we do cuddle, mostly because he’s warm and I’m still cold but also because he’s just nice to be around, sometimes. I still wish he had just asked me to redistribute the power for him; he should know by now that I love him too much to ignore him. 26,000 years to send a message, but it’s still too soon for that one I guess.
Do attorneys who get a guilty client acquitted feel guilty themselves?
No.
Recently, I defended a policeman accused of taking a bribe. He had, in fact, taken multiple bribes prior to this case. He was simply ratted on by gentleman he detained. Dead serious. The gentleman in question had narcotics in his car, on the center console. My client, let’s call him Bob, after arresting this man, alters his arrest affidavit, to say that it was found under the seat. Why did he do this? Well, after the gentleman’s attorney showed up, he sees counsel and Bob talking, and an exchange of cash.
At the preliminary hearing, Bob testifies, “yeah, found it under the seat…” “no, I didn’t have his permission to search his car,” “no, I pulled him over for failing to signal at a stop sign.” The search was illegal, in essence, and the case dismissed.
A few weeks later, he comes to the State Attorney’s office (the prosecutor) and tells her what happened, thinking it odd. She investigates. He is subsequently fired, about a week before the charges are filed, counsel is granted transactional immunity, [I had a LOT of fun with that on cross], and his former partner wants to testify as a character witness.
He had taken bribes to do this before. Not a lot of money, either. But, he’d done it for some time. I did not want to take the case, at first; I don’t care much for many policemen. But, I spent time getting to know him, his wife, and his former partner. He was a good man, who, unfortunately, needed some extra money. That does not justify it, but it explains it.
The ASA, the prosecutor, wanted the maximum—seven years. I tried working her down to a plea to a misdemeanor. I usually never want to take a plea, but, in this case, I was willing to. I knew a misdemeanor wouldn’t be great, but, if he was convicted, a felony conviction would mean de-certification and seven years in prison is obscene. Bob was willing to take a plea as well; counsel would not budge. She was upset, understandably, that he’d done this many times. He did. But, his actions resulted in possession cases being tossed. So what? He did not steal from anyone, he did not rob anyone, he did not hurt anyone. Didn’t matter to her. Fair enough.
I had no defense . . . except one: the state’s own witnesses. Two of them in particular: one is a lawyer who offered bribes, the other is a drug user. I had a lot of fun with the lawyer. I hammered the fact that he took an oath, an oath to uphold the law, etcetera, etcetera, that he was given immunity.
“You haven’t suffered at all for this, Sir?”
“No.”
“You were given transactional immunity?”
“Yes.”
“You’re an attorney?”
“Yes.”
First open-ended question of the cross: “Tell the jury what that is, please.”
Then, I made him explain use immunity, and how he got the best of the two. I took chunks out of his credibility. My tone was . . . fairly indignant. The last question I ask, and I’m dead serious, was: “And aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
Counsel objects as to relevance; it was sustained. I withdrew the question and ended the cross. I didn’t care how he answered that question.
Jury took about twenty-five minutes . . . not guilty. I’m always terrified of losing . . . I was terrified then too.
Jeffrey Sachs Interviews – Here’s Why They Won’t Lose!
What’s something you can’t believe you had to explain to another adult?
Oh I have several….
As someone from Iceland, I had to explain to a United States border police officer that my passport was not fake and that Iceland is a real country.
This took surprisingly long time and he needed to confirm this with his colleagues. Santa Claus was mentioned. His colleague then proceeded to doubt that I was coming for a Science conference as “Iceland doesn’t have any university”.
Explaining to a professor that I in fact do not live in a snow house. He was so adamant that we lived in snow houses that I just said in the end that yes we live now in modern snow houses with jacuzzis and elevators. Still not sure if he got my sarcasm.
Also…
Explaining to an American Gas station worker in the Deep South that I was in fact speaking English to her and not French after I mentioned I was coming all the way from France. She was amazed how well she understood French. She was a lovely person though.
(Added) When I started my PhD in France I went to lunch with coworkers. We got very nice salad with a sauce I liked a lot so I asked if this was a French specialty. One of my coworkers was very surprised by my question and then said “ah of course, you don’t have any vegetables in Iceland, it’s too cold. You know, you really should eat a lot of vegetables because they are very good for you”.
Edit: wow this got more attention than I expected! I want to say that as someone from a very small country I have learned to have a laugh or two about the misconceptions and not take myself too seriously. I’m very curious where people get ideas about Iceland from and enjoyed the comments as well. Thank you all very much.
Shorpy
Austin Powers – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Bush Adviser’s Warning About Trump’s Tariff Policy
A former White House official argues that the foundation of Donald Trump’s tariff policy “overlooks much of history,” cautioning that the former president’s tax proposals jeopardize America’s access to international markets.On the campaign trail, Trump has consistently promoted tariffs as a key component of his economic strategy, claiming that imposing significant taxes on imported goods will protect U.S. industries from foreign competition. Despite Trump’s strong advocacy for this “America First” trade approach, it has drawn significant criticism from both sides of the political aisle.
In a column published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Karl Rove criticized Trump’s tariff policy, particularly his attempt to align himself with former President William McKinley, who served from 1897 to 1901, to justify his stance.
“He calls for a return to this 19th-century practice, while misrepresenting McKinley’s role in it,” Rove asserted. Trump has repeatedly referenced McKinley’s economic strategies, telling a crowd in Michigan in late September that “in the 1890s, our country was probably the wealthiest it ever was because it was a system of tariffs.”
Trump further stated in a Fox News interview that McKinley was “a big tariff guy,” but Rove, who was an adviser to Trump’s 2020 campaign, disagrees with this portrayal, labeling it an “incomplete and superficial” understanding of economic history.
Rove noted that following 1893, the U.S. experienced a prolonged depression lasting nearly four years, which only ended after McKinley won the presidency against William Jennings Bryan, who advocated for an inflationary silver currency. According to Rove, it was McKinley’s endorsement of the gold standard that restored business confidence—not tariffs—that ultimately revitalized the economy.
As a senior adviser and acting chief of staff during the George W. Bush administration, Rove also pointed out that while McKinley’s tariffs were “proportional to those of other countries,” Trump’s approach has taken protectionist policies to an extreme.
He contrasted McKinley’s 1890 Tariff Act, which raised average import duties from 38% to 49.5%, with Trump’s pledge to impose a 200% tariff on John Deere products if the agricultural equipment manufacturer moved some of its production to Mexico.
“These represent fundamentally different trade strategies,” Rove explained, noting that McKinley’s tariff policy was based on an ideology of “reciprocity,” which aimed to levy tariffs in proportion to those of other countries and negotiate for reductions whenever possible.
“What was true in the 1890s remains true today: America needs foreign markets,” Rove concluded. “McKinley used tariff policy to facilitate trade. If elected, will Mr. Trump do the same?”
Aging
What benefit is there for men to get married?
Modern marriage is a living death for men. If you’re a young single man reading this, heed the warnings of legions of older men like me and never, EVER get married under the current family law system in the west.
I loved my ex wife for a while. We both have advanced degrees. We took our time getting to know each other. I thought we had values and goals in common. I also thought we could compromise and work together as a team. This was before MGTOW and the red pill. Naive 30-year-old me didn’t understand that, at age 27, she was at the wall. Like virtually all women at that age, she was only mimicking what I wanted her to be to trap me into marrying her as her SMV began plummeting like a stone dropped in the ocean. I do think she loved me back, but only in the opportunistic, extractive, manipulative, predatory manner that women “love” men.
Right on cue, it quickly descended into tedious, grinding, soul-crushing misery. Endless nagging, constant complaints, ungratefulness, unrealistic expectations, squandering money, walking back promises about shared goals, cheating, selfishness, vicious and deranged behavior, everything every man tries to avoid. Our marriage began to unravel the day of our wedding. When I observed her and her mother’s behavior in those fateful days leading up to the event I knew in the back of my mind it was a mistake. Our marriage finally imploded after 8 years of soul-crushing misery when she commenced a legal battle that cost us over $50,000 (ETA $70,000, ETAA $100,000) in attorney fees. Our children are scarred for life. We despise each other with a red hot hatred that I never would have thought possible. The real kicker? I thought I had gotten lucky up until the day I married her.
Here is awful truth no one teaches young men:
There is no such thing as a happy marriage, there are only happy families and happy childhoods and stable societies. Voluntary, love-based marriage simply doesn’t work. Evolution favors variety. Deep in our unconscious brains we are programmed by evolution to repel each other. Marriage, at its core, was never about love or emotional connection. It was about survival and social stability and gender-based division of labor in a pre-modem era when the lives of everyone, especially children, depended on maintaining that bond and restraining our sexual behaviors. Marriage is a cultural adaptation, not a biological adaptation. Men are polygamous, women are hypergamous. We come from an alpha male/harem of females evolutionary dynamic, as do the vast majority (if not all) of the social species in the mammalian family. Geneticists have proven we have several times more female ancestors than male ancestors. Such societies are inherently unstable however. Just watch any BBC documentary about lions or gorillas or elk or any other social species and its non-stop internecine conflict and violence over territory and mating privileges. Prior to the 1970s, enforced marriage was the solution to this problem that restrained our primitive sexual behaviors and allowed Homo sapiens to escape a Pleistocene Era existence and create civilization by diverting this energy toward more productive means.
Today, the practical origins of marriage are utterly lost on modern women (and a lot of men to be honest). We have replaced it with an imbecilic, feminized model based on romantic love and voluntary commitment WHICH SIMPLY DOES NOT WORK! The current model is biologically absurd. Worse still, we have a family court system that punishes men for participating and rewards women for withdrawing. Marriage is still an effective check on men’s polygamous instincts, but it REWARDS women for following their hypergamous instincts. Women are never satisfied. It’s in their DNA. Women don’t really love men. They are biologically incapable of it. Women only love what they can GAIN from men. This is the essential lesson of Briffault’s Law. Every man needs to understand this. Marriage must be externally enforced (law, church, custom, etc) for it to survive in the VAST majority of cases. Women are, by nature, materialistic, solipsistic, duplicitous, erratic, irrational, malcontented, and manipulative. When it comes to men, a woman’s “love” is opportunistic, extractive, and conditional. Women have absolutely zero sense of duty or loyalty or purpose or deed-based reciprocity the way men do. The wiring simply isn’t there.
A wife is a hole in the ground with no bottom that you pour your soul into. No matter how much attention or money you give her it will never be enough. Just ask Will Smith or BIll Gates or Jeff Bezos or Brad Pitt (ETA: or Sylvester Stallone or Tom Brady or Kevin Costner). I’ve come to believe it is biology impossible for women to be content in a peaceful, committed relationship in the long run no matter who she is with. Committing to women conveys weakness and a lack of optionality. As a man, you’ll get infinitely better results with women when they know they are disposable to you and you treat them as such. Although it’s a difficult pill to swallow, all this makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective.
Men simply cannot afford to have any legal or financial ties to ANY women given the current family court system and modern women’s ridiculous expectations and women’s underlying nature. When divorce became an option for every woman, at any time, for any reason, marriage and children and family became risk prohibitive for every man no matter his wealth or status or physical attributes or virtues. No sane man would sign a modern marriage contract if he really knew what he was getting into.
Women, if they remain unchecked, will ultimately destroy western civilization. It’s happening in slow motion before our very eyes. This may sound bombastic and “misogynistic” to anyone conditioned by modern feminism until you consider the fact that virtually EVERY civilization we have knowledge of from the dawn of recorded history confined men and women to more or less the same roles with similar, gender-specific expectations.
This pattern arose over and over and over again. Throughout the millennia. Across oceans and continents. Among people who had no contact with and no knowledge of each other’s existence. If there was a viable alternative it would be prominent in the historical record. It’s is not.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Modern marriage ruins men’s lives. A wife will feed on your soul until you are nothing but a hallow, empty shell. Being legally and financially at the mercy of a woman is an exhausting, grinding, slow-motion horror I cannot even begin to describe. Marriage is nothing but a loaded gun pointed at a man’s head and the woman gets cash and prizes for pulling the trigger.
I’ve had cancer and I’ve been married to a highly educated, once beautiful woman who loved me and having cancer was better. At least cancer didn’t scream at me for failing to make it happy. At least I didn’t have to pretend to love the cancer as it was slowly killing me. At least cancer went about it in silence. Cancer didn’t try to bankrupt me and take my children away.
Until the laws change and society reverts back to a rational model for marriage that is enforceable, NEVER, EVER, GET F-ING MARRIED IF YOU’RE A MAN!! It’s absolute dogshit. It’s a living death.
RoboCop – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
What is the most disrespectful thing someone did to you while you were on an airplane?
Air France crew are the rudest people I’ve ever met.
I was in business class flying out of Paris to New York a few years ago. I was seated as the passenger next to me got more and more drunk with every round they served him. After an hour his hands began to wander. He grabbed at my chest, but I caught his hand, reefed his fingers back and told him if he wanted to arrive home with the same amount of fingers he left with, he’d better behave himself.
His response was to yell loudly until the crew placated him with more drinks.
Luckily he fell asleep at this point, unlucky he wet himself. With the prospect of sitting next to this pile of filth for 5 more hours, I insisted on moving. The Air France crew would not let me. So I sat there furious.
The saving grace was a lovely French lady who was behind us and heard the whole thing. She leaned over and asked if I would like some help? I was so furious I happily agreed. So the lady pulled out of her husbands bag a mini cigar, lit it and stuck it in the drunks unconscious mouth.
She rang the bell and swore in French. The crew got in a huddle and woke him up. More yelling in French. Drunk was removed to the back of economy, completely unaware of what was going on.
The lady explained to me that because he was only harassing me, it must be my fault but because his cigar was harassing everyone, he got removed.
Now, while I hate drunks, he was being who he is, a pig. I do however hold the crew to account because if this had happened to someone with less gall than me, he would have kept at it the whole flight.
Air France crew are the worst people in the world.
Is China really as terrible as BBC says it is?
I went to China just last week. I had been to other parts of China since the last few years so I guess I can share some insights as to what I saw and observed while I was there:-
- China is not a terrible country. Far from it. It’s one of the most advanced country in the world. For example to board a train or to check in into a hotel I no longer need to show my tickets or booking slips. They are all integrated into some kind of a network linked to the immigration system. I just needed to scan my passport. The best thing about it is that there are special lanes in every train station in China for foreign visitors to allow them to scan their passports. I went to China during the golden week holiday where the train stations were packed to the brim. While others were queuing for 10–40 minutes ,as a visitor it only took me less than 5 minutes to get pass through the gate;
- It also boasts one of the friendliest, polite, warmest and humblest people I have ever seen. While it’s on par with the western world, South Korea and Japan technologically, many of its people still retain the village mentality. After I dined at a local restaurant, my friend asked for permission from the owner to perform daily prayers. Not only he permitted him to pray in his living quarters, he even made an effort to provide him with a jug of hot water and and a bowl so that he could mix the super cold tap water with hot water while he was cleansing himself;
- The price of goods and services are unbelievably low. Perhaps it’s the currency and my country’s currency does not sit at the top of the forex market alongside the USD, the GBP or even the AUD, but most of the stuffs I found in China are 40% cheaper than I can get in my own country. I bought 2 decent long pants for only USD30 whereas it is going to cost me USD50 at home. In contrast the costs for a set of magic pen in the UK is almost on par with the costs of a long pants in China;
- Where Apple failed, Huawei thrives. Down below is the latest Huawei car using the Harmony OS. It was delightful to see Chinese from all walks of life went to see and experience first hand how it feels like to sit inside a luxurious EV. There was no salesmen making sales pitch. Huawei simply put the car for display for all to see and experience; and
- I went to Kunming, Yunnan last week for a fairly cheap USD120 flight within just under 4 hours. It has the Shangri-La, UNESCO heritage sites of the Tiger Leaping Gorge, ancient cities of Lijiang as well as the stone forest of Yunnan. There are 5 UNESCO sites in the province of Yunnan alone…not to mention China as a country.
What are the reasons for most countries preferring a friendship with America over China, despite China’s rise and dominance in geopolitics?
Most countries? Are you blind, deaf ot dumb? Or have been in a coma for 40 years? The US support is with only 20 countries out of the world’s 195 nations. These are their fellow natives slaughterers world wide namely Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Spain and Belgium, their fellow despicable colonial masters Portugal, UK, Netherlands, Italy then there are some nations such as former USSR break out nations that has resign to poking Russia in the eye and then hiding under the US skirt under the US payroll such as Romania, Poland, Ukraine, and finally, US slaves such as Isreal, Japan, Germany and South Korea and some fair weather beneficiaries such as Singapore, Switzerland, The Philippines and Argentina!
These countries represents only 12% of world’s population and 5% of world’s nation they are a very small minority! 175 out of 195 nation are siding with China, supporting China or prefers to work closely with China! Sure there are a few nations that wants to suck the wealth away from the US such as India who strongly favours Russia and benefits from Ukraine war! But collectively they add up too 88% of humanity and 95% of world’s nation! That is called dominance!
Of course this is not what the US and western media says! The use words like global majority, most of the world, coalition of the willing, US allies! To fool themselves and fooled their allies! These groupings has dwindled down from around 60–70 nations as late as 1980! So you are dead wrong! True these nations are the richer nations but they are also the fading and slower growth nations on earth!
The root cause
What have you accidentally trained your pet to do?
Here is a post that I sent to the makers of WD-40:
Dear WD-40 Company:
As a teacher, I often use the summer to catch up on maintenance that I deferred during the school year. Today, I used your fine product, WD-40 Protective White Lithium Grease, to stop some doors from squeaking. However, I was unaware that the squeaky doors were actually part of an elaborate B.F. Skinner-style training regimen for my dog, Watney. Apparently, when the dog hears the pantry door squeak, he knows it is time to come out of the bedroom for breakfast. And when he hears the back door squeak, he knows it is time to come inside.
Now, truth be told, I have deferred this particular maintenance for a number of years, since before we had the dog. So it is possible the training was accidental, making it more Pavlovian conditioning than true behaviorism, though I suppose that isn’t really relevant here. My question is, do you manufacture a product that restores squeaks to their previous level?
Sincerely,
Mark Lesmeister
Here is their response:
Mark Lesmeister thanks for your question – you’re right, WD-40® Specialist® Protective White Lithium Grease is incredibly effective at removing squeaks & creaks. To re-establish the cringe in your hinge, you’ll want to first procure a well-functioning degreaser. In fact, we do have just such a product: WD-40® Specialist® Industrial-Strength Cleaner & Degreaser. The heavy duty protective qualities of our white lithium grease may resist your initial cleaning attempts unless you remove the hinges from the door and wall to thoroughly remove the grease. This may be more work than you wish to commit to the task, however, so you might also try adding sand to the hinges or bending them at an angle that imposes difficulty in the opening and closing actions. If the easy opening persists, perhaps add a squeaky toy to your doorstop so the door hits it upon opening to alert Watney of the breakfast hour. Hope this helps!
-The WD-40 Team
Legacy story
Have you ever received a scam phone call and played along with the scammer only for them to hang up?
My wife does this all the time.
Scammy: We need to repair the operating system on your computer.
Wife: Ok, I don’t know anything about computers so you will have to help me.
Scammy: Go to your computer.
Wife: I am there
Scammy: Go into your windows.
WIfe: Ok but I thought we were fixing my computer?
Scammy: We are:
Wife: Ok I have my window open.
Scammy: Go to your start button.
Wife: You want me go back to my computer? I am looking out my window like you told me to.
Scammy: I mean your computer windows.
Wife: You did not explain that to me
Scammy: Are you in front of your computer now?
Wife: Yes
Scammy: do you see a box called xxx
Wife: No, there is nothing like that .
Scammy: Look to the left and see the icons, tell me what you see.
Wife: Nothing
Scammy: Do you see and runs through a list
Wife: No, my screen is just black
Scammy: Is your computer turned on?
Wife: You never told me that… you want me to turn it on?
Scammy Irritated now) : Yes Tell me when it is up
Wife: Ok.. (She goes and gets coffee and looks at me laughing because she bet me she can keep him online for 10 minutes at least)
Wife: (Nowhere near her computer) Ok I am back at my computer, what do you want
Scammy: Do you see a list of icons like this?
Wife: Yes I see them now.
Scammy: I want you to open a dialogue box by this method. (Gives her directions)
Wife: I am writing this down, can you repeat step 3?
Scammy: Repeats the steps
Wife: Ok, I think I wrote it down correctly, let me read it back to you (as she has written nothing, she misses some.)
Scammy: No You missed step 4
Wife: Ok, lets start over, hang on I have to get a fresh piece of paper,,, She gets scammy to run through the entire process again
Wife: Ok, I think I have it now, just one question?
Scammy: What ?
Wife; Do you honestly think I am going to have someone call me out of the blue to tell me my operating system needs repaired and I am just going to be gullible enough t allow you to do whatever you want? Does your mother know you try to steal for a living? She must be so disappointed in you.
Actually she sometimes gets a full lecture in before they hang up.
My wife, my son and I have contests to see who can keep a scammer going the longest. Especially if we have guests when a scammer calls, we use scammers as part of our entertainment.
What truth has your bitter life taught you?
The older you get, the harder you have to work for love.
When you’re in high school and feel butterflies for the first time, love seems to be in infinite supply.
The only people in the world you know are those in your microcosm of 7th grade, but everyone is sorta crushing on everyone, there’s always a bit of drama, and your network of relationships feels huge – because it’s your first time experiencing the complexity of human connections.
Maybe you’ll walk out of it marrying your high school sweetheart. Maybe not.
In college, you start over. New network, new people, new game to play.
But there’s a little less drama, everyone’s not quite crushing on everyone, and you pick the people you hang out with more deliberately.
We’re growing up. We sort people into categories before we even start the relationship.
That person’s a business contact. He can help me with my career. She’s an acquaintance. He’s a friend.
Suddenly, there’s less wiggle room. You can’t ask out everyone. Your feelings aren’t all over the place. You have a better idea of what you want but less time to look for it.
Maybe you’ll graduate college with a girl on your arm or some husband material.
Maybe not.
After college, you might do a Master’s. Or a PhD. Or start a job that takes a lot of time.
New network, new people, new game to play. Except now it won’t reset again so soon.
Six months pass and you realize: “Hmm, there’s this one girl I kind of like at the office, but, other than that…”
What happened?
Life.
Not just to you, to everyone. We had to grow up. We had to focus. We didn’t capitalize on the time we had to sort out our emotions. Or it just didn’t work out.
Now, we’re 28 and 35 and 41 and it’s tough out there. No more have-at-its and here’s-some-free-romance.
Suddenly, love requires this very delicate balance and it’s hard work to maintain it.
You can’t find it by looking for it, but you can’t just stop either. There’s no prince charming coming and no awkward-cute incident in the elevator.
You have to work for love, but not try too hard. You have to love yourself and live your life. Make time to be authentic, but not desperately cling to every shred of romance.
It’s very easy to lose this balance. To get lost in a co-dependent relationship. Or slip up when you have a good one. Or focus on work and have no love life at all.
Our lives are puzzles. When we’re young, it’s easy to find new, fitting pieces. A lot of them are bright red. But the more your puzzle takes shape, the harder it is to find empty spaces where those red pieces still fit.
You have to make room for them. Breathe. Look at the big picture. Because if you don’t, you might one day complete the puzzle, only to realize you forgot adding love.
Spreads
What is the process for obtaining citizenship in Thailand for foreigners who are not marrying a Thai citizen or making an investment? Is it a difficult process?
You still have a chance to come up alive after going down under to the wreckage of the Titanic. But your chances to obtain citizenship in Thailand is like you keep punching the air until you get knocked out.
Becoming a Thai citizen as a foreigner without any family ties to a Thai citizen is a lengthy and complex process.
Let’s get serious. (can’t be a short answer, guys!)
Yes, you need to have what it takes to be as persevere as ants in the ‘Sahara Desert’ and be adaptable like a Chameleon, and most of as Holy as a Saint who withstands a load of nonsense (still smile) from the moment you send in the application.
Nothing is easy doing anything in Thailand… that everyone knows.
First: To begin with, you need to apply for a “Long term visa”
For that, you will need to stay in Thailand legally on a very long time first. The procedure is as complicated and tedious as applying to be as astronaut at NASA.
Second: You, then apply for permanent residency (PR) in Thailand.
PR is a crucial step toward citizenship. How are you gonna get it and how long does it take? Only God knows.
Let’s look at documents alone— Paperwork is hell of a lot! : You’ll need to provide extensive documentation, including —-proof of financial status,——employment records, —-a police clearance certificate, —-and medical certificates.
Interview and Approval: After submitting the application, you’ll undergo an interview by the conservative Thai elite class. You may prayer beforehand for God to have mercy on you as the interview is in THAI.
The processing time can take several months or years. But once you get a permanent resident- then you stay on at least for 10 years—the next step is to apply for citizenship… here we go again.
What steps to be taken for application for citizenship?
All I know is the same as you apply for a PR but with more stringent with more things, like “Good conduct” and proficiency in Thai, stable income, your evidence of contributions to the society, paperwork, and another interview.
Time line:- It’s not gonna be shot.
From a Long Term Visa, your could be in your 30s by the time you get ‘citizenship’ you will be in the late 50s… No joke, guys!
But with a Thai friend’s backing if he or she has a ‘surname’ that rings the bell— your task to get citizenship is a breeze with 10 years shorter than any Peter, Paul, and Mary who applies through a proper channel… This is Thailand.
On American expansionism.
The incoming administration seems to have a more realistic image of the state of American hegemonial decline and wants to take proactive steps to try to counteract and reverse it, breathing new life into the American Global Empire.
In this context, it makes perfect sense for the US to increase pressure on its vassals. I am not using the term in a pejorative sense.
The US does not have “allies” in the traditional meaning of the word. It has vassals with different levels of feudal obligations and elite integration, and different tasks.
Extracting more value from vassals — whether through tariffs, increased NATO budgets, meddling in local politics or potential territorial concessions — is an absolutely logical step in cementing and renewing America’s position as overlord of its sphere.
There are three ways America’s European vassals can react to this: look for protection outside of the sphere, try to make themselves more useful/necessary & advance integration, or take it on the face.
Were we in, I don’t know, the 19th century, Denmark would just ask Russia for military support in Greenland in exchange for mild economic concessions and never worry again.
As it is, the Royal Danish Army does not have any artillery anymore because they gave it all away for the purpose of firing cluster ammunition at Russian children in Donetsk.
They did not receive anything in return for that and it did not help any Danish purpose.
They cannot defend themselves if push comes to shove and they can’t ask anybody to help because most of their fellow vassals have done the same. The most likely option is that they’ll just take it on the face.
Not just for pragmatic reasons, but also because they genuinely enjoy being dommed geopolitically.
America has no obligation to treat its vassals better. I’ve seen Danish people complain on here about supporting the US after 9/11, participating in the American wars in the Middle East, etc.
That’s ridiculous.
You know how a colony is rewarded for sending troops to its overlord’s wars? It doesn’t get beaten.
That’s the reward for a lackey. Any person who takes any of the NATO democracy liberalism pilpul seriously is just not a serious person, it was never real, it was always just voluntary submission to be absolved from existing in History.
The world that existed in 1991-2022 does not exist anymore.
It’s not coming back. Y
ou can just invade your neighbor. You can just fire missiles at international shipping lanes. You can just threaten to annex members of your military alliance. “You can just do things”, as the techbros like to say.
The mirage of a post-historical order that only has to be policed from time to time but is never seriously challenged has disappeared.
What did you think canceling the End of History meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays? It’s not pleasant to be suddenly confronted with all of the above.
It’s not pleasant to have to admit to yourself that your existence was a coddled theme park that is existentially dependent on the relative position of someone else and how he feels about that relative position.
America’s vassals WILL have to confront this state of things and make hard decisions about their future.
This means reckoning with their geopolitical impotence and either embracing dependency with open eyes or seeking pathways to autonomy that will inevitably involve risk, sacrifice, and a recalibration of their national priorities.
The era of coasting on borrowed security and ideological rhetoric is over.
What lies ahead is a world where historical agency must be reclaimed or forever relinquished, and for many, the question may not be whether they are ready to make that leap, but whether they even remember how.
America has now understood this — and is mentally preparing to switch back to the cold logic that comes with actual History.
The times, they are a-changin’.
30 minutes
Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Imagine a world where exploration is forbidden, and write a story about a character who defies this rule to satisfy their innate curiosity.… view prompt
Renate Buchner
“Where are you, Lena?” I brushed the branches away to have a clear view of Hangar 2. I felt a thrill of warmth rush through my body as I saw the silhouette of the small, two-seat Robinson R22 Helicopter through the path lights.
A short distance away, there was a rustling sound that made my pulse skip a beat. I crouched even lower, nearly lying on the ground. The sound approached gently. I paused my breathing and glanced in that direction. The dense network of barberry and European bladdernut branches prevented a clear view. It rustled more and more. A black snout poked through the foliage, and then I stared into two enormous brown eyes. It froze. The deer nearly did a backflip as I made a slight hand movement that frightened it. I exhaled deeply and looked down at my fingers.
I stroked with my fingers along the ridge between my thumb and the index finger on the other hand. The GACHIP chip program, known as ‘Sound of Freedom’, was established by the government to protect children from human trafficking. That’s what my parents and grandparents thought. The government fooled everyone with their promotion.
There are now cameras installed everywhere that can scan the microchip embedded under the skin. As my grandmother described to me in my childhood years, “We all thought that was just a surveillance camera without any database information,” she said with a guilty look on her face.
During my grandparents’ era, Europe remained mostly democratic, with a few significant outliers. But as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted in the early 21st century, everything—including my homeland of Austria, which had sworn neutrality—started to tilt toward an authoritarian administration.
I once questioned Grandma, while we were sitting in our favorite spot—the airfield. “Did the people never understand that the government was trying to take control of everyone?” She touched my face while glancing at me. “Yes, Rena, we were. A number of us were arguing and demonstrating, but then this happened. ” A 20-cm-long scar showed up where she had pulled her pullover over her belly. “I did have a family and prioritize things.” Her soft eyes surveyed the area. “I never felt bad about this choice.”
Someone tapped my shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. I grabbed the nearest branch and turned around. The woman ducked, lost her footing, and flew backward into the undergrowth.
She bellowed, “Cruzefix no amoi,” in Pinzgau dialect which means ‘Damned’.
My parents’ native language was Pinzgauer, a German dialect before the government suppressed it. They had to learn Surschyk, a Russian-German hybrid language. I was not even born by then.
I extended my hand to her. She looked at me with a smile and I pulled her with a strong tug that propelled her to her feet.
She gave me a ‘Tell me’ look and widened her eyes.
“Yes, he did phone me. Do you have mind-reading skills?”
“You’re not hard to read,” Lena said as I touched the ring with my finger, and she gestured toward it.
“He is not that bad. Even he has nice days.”
“Come on, let’s explore the world beyond the borders and kick some asses.” She grasped my arm forcefully.
We ducked down and made our way to the hangar. Everything appeared to be quiet. I gave her a hand signal where to find the rolls. Lena and I spent a lot of time observing how the helicopter was transported, so we knew the whereabouts and handling of the rollers.
I grabbed the rollers, placed them on the back ends of the skids, and pressed the lever down. I went to the tail rotor end and pushed the tail boom down. I signaled her to move forward and position herself behind the helicopter cabin.
I nodded in response to Lena’s expression. As I went, I could hear the rollers squeaking slightly. Lena looked from left to right, and I noticed she was smirking mischievously. We rolled the helicopter approximately 10 meters out of the hangar. We disassembled the rollers and placed them slightly apart in the grass; we then checked our watches and began timing. 30 minutes.
Laughter! We got down on our knees. Three men holding bottles walked past the path outside the flying area. There were jokes and chuckling, and a man glanced at us. He stopped and called after the others. The two men also paused and looked in our direction. My heart stopped, and I sank to the ground. I looked at Lena, who hid deep in the helicopter’s shadow. We heard laughter and slurred speech again. I did not understand a word. After another round of laughter, they left.
I let out a long breath and got to my feet, but then I had dizziness. I had to sit down for a little while. I inhaled and exhaled calmly, then glanced back at my ring. Does my husband expose me to the government to receive the reward? The reward aims to minimize resistance by the public. It was no longer possible to have the right to travel throughout Europe or freedom of speech. Individuals who held opposing views were “permanently removed” according to the government representatives’ argument. Nobody heard from them anymore. We do not know their fate.
I looked around for Lena, but she was gone; she sat already on the copilot’s side. I dashed over to the pilot’s side, opened the door, and took my seat. I felt my heart race as I pressed the pedals, and touched with the fingers the collective, and cyclic control. I let out my breath. We both turned to look at the clock simultaneously.
15 minutes.
“Lena. Tell me just the points from starting the engine and running up procedure; let out the pre-flight checklist” I gestured to her on the list.
“Battery, strobe switches – on,” said Lena, and had trouble reading the writing, her fingers were shaking a lot.
“Ignition switch – start and then both.” She continued.
“Ahh, what does it mean ‘then both’”.
“It stays here. How do I know,” said Lena and her tone was a nuance louder. She looked at me and I turned the key first left and then right.
“Set engine RPM 50 to 60% and switch the clutch.” she continued as I started the engine.
I carefully adjusted the throttle to 50 to 60%, just like I was taught in my grandmother’s secret simulator room. The helicopter’s 4-cylinder air-cooled Lycoming O-320-A2B piston engine powered up and the entire aircraft started to quiver. I grinned as I remembered my grandmother’s words about her years of helicopter training: “Fixed-wing pilots have traditionally said that helicopter pilots are crazy because they shut down their engines and land without power..”
I watched as the blades started to spin, first gently, then rapidly. We put our headsets on. Meanwhile, the helicopter is now running much more smoothly, reaching 97% RPM.
I gave Lena a thumbs-up. She breathed and also gave a thumbs up. We gazed outside. The ambiance is amazing. The fields and meadows are covered in a thin layer of dense fog. The sun rises like a fireball, bathing everything in a warm crimson light. A few trees away is the shape of a massive, antique wooden farmhouse.
I lifted the Collective with my left hand, and I felt the chopper hover. After two seconds, the helicopter began to swerve to the right, and I steered cyclic against it. It then reversed, and I steered against it again. I had the impression we were on a ghost train, going up and down, right and left, back to front.
Lena gripped with her hands to anything she could grip. The flight system steadied after a few bouts of boxing with the machine. It was dimly lit, but I could still see Lena’s pale face with her wide open eyes. I could feel the perspiration trickling down my brow—not only on it. Or did… I glance a bit downward. No, everything was in order.
After giving Lena another glance, I moved the cyclic forward, forcing the chopper to accelerate slightly above the ground and dive nose down. 20, 30, 40, and then, at 60 knots, we experienced the lift-over-drag moment that propelled us quickly into the air.
Lena screamed as if her entire body had frozen. She glanced then sideways at the mountains. She screamed again, but this time it was pure excitement. Her entire body exuded enthusiasm as she began speaking, even though I couldn’t comprehend a word she said. She talked pretty fast and was spitting sometimes. I simply grinned and nodded.
I checked my watch; it was beyond time, and they would soon come for us.
What is the most depressing thing a student has said to you?
I had a student who would not aknowledge my presence at all. He was absolutely silent, so I guess what depressed me was his lack of engagement—untilI found out why.
I had a boy in my English 10 Honors (sophomore level) class several years ago. He was quiet and chose to sit with his back to me every single day. I tried to get him to talk to me a few times, but he was so shy and withdrawn I stopped because I didn’t want to make him feel more awkward and uncomfortable than he obviously already did. He was a middle-of-the-road student: when he turned in homework it was often half done. His class work was sloppy and I usually sensed he wasn’t paying attention at all. That year, I had a rough group of classes: student fights breaking out, a girl was beat up by her boyfriend and almost killed, a very tall male student threatened me—and my admin wasn’t very supportive—so I was hanging on by the skin of my teeth. I allowed the young man to sit quietly in the back of the class because he wasn’t causing any problems.
When we got to the essay unit, I was completely gobsmacked by his paper. It was the most well-written and analytical essay I had seen in a long time. I wrote him some sort of encouraging comment and started to pay closer attention to him in a very low-key way. Well, fast-forward: his junior year, I asked if he would join the school newspaper (I was the advisor). He did and over the course over the next two years, I watched him change and develop into a leader in the class: he came out of his shell and got really involved in the paper—learning how to program and do layouts, etc. When he graduated, he wrote in my yearbook how when he was a a sophomore he was being jumped into a gang and it was my encouragement that gave him the courage to get out of that lifestyle. He joined the Navy and is currently in the PhD program at Duke University. I still talk to him once in a while and he doing amazing: married and happy.
Texas Grilled Cocoa Chile Steak
Bored with burgers and hot dogs? Offer seasoned steak slices in flour tortillas at your next backyard cookout.
Prep: 5 min | Refrigerate: 2 hr | Cook: 16 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons McCormick® Gourmet Collection Cocoa Chile Blend
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Oregano Leaves, Mexican
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
Instructions
- Brush steak with oil.
- Mix brown sugar, cocoa chile blend, lime juice, oregano and salt until well blended. Rub paste over steak.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for best flavor.
- Broil or grill over medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
- Cut steak across the grain into thin slices.
- Serve steak slices in warm flour tortillas.
- Top with salsa, shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.
China’s Missile Test Saved U.S. From Nuclear War
In this most brilliant video, the commentator elaborates on the subtle “message” that China sent to the United States.
This message SHATTERED all the preconceptions that RAND, the Pentagon and the American government had about China’s ability to destroy the USA through nuclear fire.
- The missile was a DF-31AG upgrade.
- Where the range, speed, and payload was demonstrated to be much better than the RAND report assumptions.
- Range covers all of the United States.
- Can carry three nuclear warheads
- Fielded in large numbers with warheads in place.
- MACH 23, cannot be intercepted.
- Further, the number of deployed missiles with armed warheads is also much larger than the mere 500 “threats” that RAND assumes.
The video takes the time to parse what the demonstrated aspects indicate, and what their significance are.
The arguments are sound and valid, and the short video (7:40 minutes long) is a must watch.
Are inmates allowed to spend the entire day sleeping?
This answer is from a guy who served Fed time in 4 different prisons. State, county, city, etc May be different.
First, understand that not long after the fear subsides, you come to understand the true reality of your situation. You are facing years, decades inside of 4 walls. You don’t get out unless you are transferred or in a box. So your whole life comes down to to a few acres, surrounded by 20’ walls protected by piles of razor wire. You can count on your fingers the things you can do to keep busy.
Everyone had an assigned job. It usually starts after the morning count and ends before the afternoon count. You get weekend off. For me, I’d have rather worked 7 days. Days off tended to be long. Very long.
To your question, are inmates allowed to sleep all day? On days off, you are mostly free to entertain yourself in any non threatening way. Wanna sleep? Sure! All day and night if you like. Just be in position to be counted as they don’t fuck around with counts. Wanna sleep all day? Get sent to the SHU! You can sleep 24/7/365. That is if you don’t loose little pieces of your sanity. But why sleep all day? I think it sounds good! I think it carry’s a semi fun connotation, but can you really sleep all night then all day and then sleep the next night? Nights are pretty calm but at lights out, you are expected to STFU. And understand there are another 750 inmates that want to sleep at night so if you are up all night because you aren’t tired, you best not be waking up Bubba in the next cell or there’ll be hell to pay the next morning.
I slept about 5 hours a night. I’d go down about 7:30–8:00pm. Obviously I was up early. While I was in Tucson FCI, about a year before release, I was moved to the camp next door. I ended up with 2 jobs. Morning breakfast cafeteria, opened it at 4:30am and closing it by 9:00 am count and then headed to my day job. I don’t watch TV so there was a lot of time to fill and the truth is, there were about 100 paperback books with about 1/2 being romance novels. I wanted to stay busy. For me it worked.
America In The Age Of Nero
Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClearPolitics,
Americans are like members of a quarrelsome family, so intent on arguing their petty grievances around the kitchen table that they don’t smell the rising smoke from the oven. As our nation fumes and the world burns, neither major party presidential candidate is addressing the lapping flames around us.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are not simply ignoring our frightening national debt – both vow to ramp it up. Neither candidate has a serious plan to respond to the threats posed by China, Russia, or Iran.
The strangling costs of health care, the sharp decline in mental health, the disintegration of our public schools – which is sharply tied to the breakdown in the family – are all ignored in a race marked by gauzy references to policy and sharp personal attacks.
It’s not just Harris and Trump – our leadership in Washington has long refused to face up to the growing threats to our republic. Their empty promise is that everything is the other side’s fault. Help us annihilate the other guy and everything will be peaches and cream.
A third-grader wouldn’t fall for this nonsense. Neither side can vanquish the other. A Harris victory will not be the death knell of Trump’s populist message; Trump’s win will not defang progressivism’s leftward lurch. Whatever the outcome, we will continue to be a divided, angry nation. And yet, seemingly thoughtful Americans have bought this line hook, line, and sinker.
More importantly, even if one side did seize absolute power, they have no legitimate plan to right the ship of state. Sixty years of Great Society programs have shown us we can’t spend our way out of problems. The 44 years since the Reagan Revolution show us that tax cuts can only set the stage for reforms that have never come – a task that nears the impossible as ever more Americans become dependent on government aid.
America is in a second Age of Nero – our leaders fiddle as the country burns.
In past crises, the strength, resilience, and ingenuity of the American people have saved us from the depths of want and war. It is not clear we retain that grit.
Instead of demanding leadership, we seem content with the bread and circuses of mindless politics more akin to the gladiatorial battle of Rome than the edifying debates of ancient Greece. The broad embrace of victimhood and grievance on both sides has replaced any question of sacrifice for the common good with the desire to demonize our imagined tormentors. If anything, we savor the fight. It makes us feel important, alive – it gives our lives meaning.
Although we have serious problems, we are no longer a serious people. Hence our choice between Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris.
They are not the disease, however, but a symptom. The first step toward a treatment, if not cure, is obvious: we must reject our empty politics of diversion in order to identify and address our urgent crisis. Honesty really would make a difference. It might also make us happier as we re-channel our energies from angry partisanship into thoughtful partnership.
Still, that would only get us so far. Life teaches that identifying one’s problems is the relatively easy part of change – we all know what’s wrong with the other guy and, sometimes, ourselves. Finding the will and discipline to do something about it is far harder.
We are sinking before that challenge because it still seems possible to ignore the building fire. Many of us have it pretty good; our fears are mitigated by our confidence in escape. It won’t get me.
Ironically, the fact that much of the rest of the world is crumbling imparts a false sense of security. Instead of seeing those problems as canaries in the coal mine, we think, Hey, we’re still doing okay.
It’s true that history confutes the doomsayers. The world does get better in the long run. But that is little consolation to those whose one short life is spent during the ebbing flow.
History also teaches that judgment for past failure often comes with sudden swiftness, like a thief in the night. As we think about the immense problems we are allowing to smolder, recall Ernest Hemingway’s pithy warning from “The Sun Also Rises.”
“How did you go bankrupt?” one character asks a friend.
“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
J. Peder Zane is a RealClearInvestigations editor and columnist. He previously worked as a book review editor and book columnist for the News & Observer (Raleigh), where his writing won several national honors. Zane has also worked at the New York Times and taught writing at Duke University and Saint Augustine’s University.
Why is there so much fear among many Westerners about the rise of China?
Meet Virgin and Chad.
- Virgin was an introverted, nerdy kid, who preferred keeping to himself and doing his own thing.
- Chad‘s an extrovert. He’s muscular, charismatic, popular, and a bully.
He tried to get Virgin hooked on some really dank shit. One day, Virgin said, “No Chad, I don’t need your drugs anymore, it’s fucking me up real bad, I gots to clean up my act, for reals.”
Chad was desperate for Virgin’s money. So he called his posse over, broke Virgin’s legs, and made him his bitch.
Virgin survived the ordeal somehow, and vowed to become strong, so that he will never be picked on again.
Time flies. While Virgin focused on bettering himself through discipline and sheer will, Chad completely let himself go. When they met again, Virgin became what Chad used to look like, while Chad became an obese, drugged-up drunkard who’s suffering from gender dysphoria.
The two looked at each other in awkward silence. Chad decided to break the ice. “Hey dude…how you been?”
“I’m alright”, Virgin replied calmly.
“That’s great man, I’m happy for you! I mean, wow, just look at you! Dem abs, nigga!” said Chad. “Listen, about that stuff that happened a while ago…”
“Don’t worry about it.” interjected Virgin. “That was a long time ago, I’m wiling to let it go, if you’re willing to do the same.”
Chad was speechless. “I…well…of course man, we cool dude?”
“Yeah we cool, no hard feelings. Look I gotta get back to my calligraphy and shit, you wanna see my work?”
“Nah it’s okay bro, you do you man, you do you. Laters.”
But Chad was not reassured by Virgin’s words. It only made him more anxious and paranoid.
“How is this possible?”, he thought. “No, he’s way too calm and forgiving. Almost as if….as if…he’s plotting something big.”
“He’s gonna get me….oh god, he’s gonna get me…payback for everything I’ve done to him….oh god, no…”
The Imperialist West has much to fear from China, because they themselves are well aware of what they have done, to China, to the rest of the developing world. How could they not worry that China will turn out to be a conqueror, a slaver, a destroyer of civilisations, as they themselves used to be (and still are)?
No amount of good faith, isolation and passiveness on China’s part will convince them that China is simply not like them. A thief will always live in fear of being burgled, a bully in fear of being bullied.
What made you realize your life will never be the same?
In November of 2021, shortly after I turned 67, my husband and I went for a vacation in Maui. I was still working, doing consulting on a big project and wanted a break before things got really intense.
We went snorkeling in the morning, but it was a bit windy so we didn’t stay long. My husband wanted to go boogie boarding, so we stopped at another beach we liked. I wasn’t going to go in but decided I should do a few. We’d been boogie boarding for 30 years so I should have known what I was doing. I walked out and the first wave looked good. As I jumped on it, I realized it was rolling down but I’d already committed. I hit my head on the bottom and felt like a lightning bolt went through me. Once I got back to the top of the water I tried to put my hands down to push myself up and realized I couldn’t move my arms. Luckily, some first responders (who happened to live in the same province as me in Canada) were at the beach and saw what happened. They came and pulled me out and had me covered up with an umbrella until the ambulance got there. I had no movement in my arms and legs although I could move my fingers and toes slightly. Ten days later I was airlifted back to BC and a week after that had surgery to fuse my neck. I spent a total of 4 months in hospital, 3 months of it in our regional rehabilitation hospital.
I am lucky enough that I got most of my movement back and am slightly impaired on my right side. When I was in the hospital there were many others who weren’t so lucky.
I’m now at the point that I can travel again and I’m trying to make the most of my life as I come to my 70th birthday.
The US Empire is eating its own tail (vassals) and its own homeland (the US) because it can no longer extract vast wealth from outside its imperial core with ease. Happening on a smaller level with respect to France with respect to its African ex-colonies. Its going to be a rough time from here for the populations of the West, en route to a Soylent Green world (perhaps it will be made of bugs not people).
Better to leave the West, or at least give it some distance. Georgia, Hungary, Slovakia, and now possibly Austria see the light. As do all of Asia, much of Latin America and most of Africa. Spain has also shown some independent orientation. Also, perhaps Romania.
The French, Germans, Italians, British, Canadians, Australians (their elites not the general population) will keep themselves in the bowl as they get made into broth.
Posted by: Roger Boyd | Jan 10 2025 16:00 utc | 1