I have written about my one sister who was always, and relentlessly, picking on me and calling me “stupid”. I mention it now, as an older man. One who has a few hundred miles under my belt. I see things as they were, and where everyone failed.
Oh, for her, it was automatic. If she saw me do something, she would set out to destroy it. If she saw me she called me “stupid”. If I had homework, she would take and hide it. If I made something, she would destroy it. If I had a chance to go out and make new friends, she would pollute and disparage my efforts. And so on and so forth.
My parents did nothing.
So without corrective behavior, her actions got worse and worse over time.
Now, and take note; without corrections, the real evil came out. Especially when she hit her early teens. The “nightmare” years for young girls.
Her picking and tormenting me was always present in school. But the teachers just overlooked it, or assumed that it was just “sibling rivalry”, which I heard on more than one occasion.
- Boys fighting; “Break it up. Break it up.”
- Girl – Boy conflict; “Oh, it’s nothing. Just sibling rivalry”.
In middle school, a number of my teachers mentioned this to my parents. But nothing came of it. At least none that I know of, and she never did change her behaviors.
However, sometime around 7th grade, the teachers were starting to get fed up of her antics. (Well, to me they were antics. Perhaps to the teachers they saw this a budding problem.) People outside of the family were starting to notice the “trickle down” effect, as well as blatant instances.
She would start these actions, like chants. When I was being picked for teams in gym, she would start screaming at the top of her lungs “don’t pick him. He’s so stoooopid. Only idiots pick losers“. And all the other girls joined in.
Hive mind I guess.
And soon the entire class would join in. Everyone picking on me and making fun of me. You are in a class of sixty kids and all of the kids start ganging up on one kid in a offensive manner.
Eventually the teacher would stroll by and tell everyone to “shut up” and to “stop it”. But that was the best that I could ever expect.
Anyways, that was typical.
As always, no fatherly guidance, no big brothers or uncles to set me right and help me though boyhood. I lived in the USA. “Be a man and take it“.
The USA.
*spit on the ground*
And of course, my father always chimed in with the tired old narrative “You’re the oldest son, you have to take the hits”.
*collecting spittle in my throat and honking out a big splatter on the sidewalk*
It came to a head when my sister actively ratted on me for something innocent, and tried to make a big deal about it.
This time.
Oh, this time…
The teacher, called her out on it.
Surprised me.
In fact it was so unusual, I was stunned. Totally unexpected.
And we had a trial in the class over it.
The teacher organized everything. There was a judge, a jury, a prosecutor, and a defense attorney.
Of course, all the girls all tried to stick together but they had no arguments, as they were basing everything on their feelings. Which were, by default, against me.
- He’s stupid.
- Look at him. What a loser.
- You can’t listen to him, he’s a nothing.
Eventually, she lost and was punished by losing some kind of social status that was important to her. I don’t remember what. As I just did my best to keep the hell out of it and was intentionally being as neutral as possible.
It didn’t change her behavior, however.
She just became smarter and sneaker in what she did. And some of the (revised) actions that she took were actually dangerous. From trying to starve me with minute portions of leftovers, to actually physically attacking me; breaking my nose (she threw a full jar of pickles at me, and hit me straight on my face) and sending me to the hospital.
*sigh*
I won’t bore you all with the details.
The point here is that the “damage” that my sister caused to my ego as I was growing up, could have been mitigated, or eliminated completely if I had parents who were actively aware of the situation, and took steps to correct it. Rather than telling a five year old child to “act like a man and take it“, as well as “don’t fight back“, and “don’t stoop to their level“.
The blue pill feminism really fucked up boys of my generation, and that caused the complete collapse of American society. It’s in free-fall now.
How’s it going for you all.
This is what happens when you allow deranged people to do things without consequence.
*sheech*
Today…
What are your thoughts on the trend of Americans labeling themselves as “TikTok refugees” and migrating to the Chinese social media platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu)?
In retrospect, the US government’s hostility towards TikTok is one of the biggest political blunders of theirs in recent years. Late stage capitalism is barely held together by bread and circus; when bread becomes unaffordable and the circus is banned due to “antisemitism/threatening US national security”, people seek alternatives.
And what better alternative is there than China? Thus, the exodus of “TikTok refugees” to Xiaohongshu.
The great thing about cultural exchanges of this sort is that both sides benefit from deeper understanding. Interacting with “TikTok refugees” has only made Chinese people more sympathetic towards American millennials and gen z – just as Americans are becoming better informed on, and more willing to humanise the Chinese.
For decades, liberals in China have been telling people that America is a paradise where you can easily strike it rich, you can be free, and your rights as an individuals are protected…you know, typical 20th century “American Dream” rhetoric. But while Chinese youngsters these days no longer hold any illusions that the grass is greener on the other side, most of them have never been to America or met any Americans, which meant they have no way of knowing what things are really like over there.
The recent influx of American users on Xiaohongshu has been an eye-opener, to say the least. For instance, one of the most popular questions Chinese users like to ask American newcomers – besides “I’m your designated Chinese spy, have you paid your ‘cat tax’ today (i.e. shared a picture of your cats)?” – is “how many hours do you work per week?”. This is no surprise, as class consciousness is observably rising among both Chinese and American youngsters, and Chinese youths have been disgruntled with the conditions of the Chinese labour market for years.
What is surprising, however, are the responses given by the Yanks.
Contrary to popular belief in China that Americans have it “easier” than the Chinese do, the reality is that most American youths are working two or more jobs to make ends meet, with one viral comment from an American user stating they were working up to 84 hours per week (for reference, Chinese tech companies’ notorious “996 system” is only 72 hours per week).
No wonder American gen z’ers are the least patriotic generation on record. If you had to work 84 hours a week just to afford food and rent (and we still haven’t factored in the ridiculous costs of education and healthcare in the US that made them so supportive of a man like Luigi Mangione), you’d find it challenging to feel patriotic too.
Speaking of patriotism, there is a popular liberal narrative in China that depicts Americans as having better “critical thinking” skills due to “more individualism/freedom” and “less nationalistic propaganda”. Likewise in the US, there is a deep-rooted perception that the Chinese are “brainwashed” and “unable to think for themselves”.
But when the youths of these two nations actually talked to each other on the same platform, the myths were debunked instantly. The truth is that in American schools, students pledge allegiance to the flag every single morning; whereas in China, students only raise the national flag and sing the national anthem once per week.
↑“For those of you who didn’t know, every morning American children aged 5 and above must stand up and place their right hands over their hearts, and recite the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. At every sporting event (professional or even children’s), before the national anthem is played, we would cover our hearts and stand up.“
“That’s shocking, when I was 5 all I could recite were textbook passages or something…”
Here in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region – where westerners constantly tell me I’ve been “oppressed” by big bad China all my life – in all my years as a schoolboy, not once did I ever have to pledge allegiance to any flag or nation (the only entity my school required me to praise was God).
Which of the two regimes is more “nationalistic” and “brainwashing”? Should be pretty obvious.
China isn’t perfect, but even as a developing country, it has done extraordinarily well for itself. Most people have a stable job, a roof over their heads, plenty of good food to enjoy, free/subsidised healthcare and education, a relatively healthy environment for dating and raising a family, and some of the safest streets in the world. This is the kind of normalcy that young Americans crave, and what their Chinese counterparts take for granted.
Even the stereotype of “oppression” is questionable. There are plenty of things you can talk about on Chinese social media that would have you censored or even arrested in America – things like the aforementioned case of Luigi Mangione, and Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinians. Which is just one more reason why so many “TikTok refugees” find Chinese social media so refreshing. Unlike Americans climbing over the Great Firewall in search of freedom of speech, and as a gesture of protest against the US government, most Chinese people only use a VPN for porn, not anti-government activities.
Chinese people are incredibly tolerant to different opinions – this is necessary in a nation of 1.4 billion. “Cancel culture” isn’t a thing, in fact there is no decent Chinese translation of this western concept. You can be pro- or anti-Israel/Palestine, you can be pro- or anti-Russia/Ukraine, you can be pro- or anti-LGBT…and even when people disagree, they tend to be more forgiving about it – maybe it’s because Chinese people aren’t naturally confrontational, or perhaps they know that life is hard enough without bringing internet beef into it. This is completely unlike Reddit, Twitter or even here on Quora.
Right now most of the American youngsters on Xiaohongshu tend to be left-leaning, but I believe Chinese internet has a place for you regardless of your beliefs or interests. China has plenty of weeaboos, wehraboos, furries, gooners and all kinds of subcultures, whatever suits your tastes.
By the way this phenomenon is quickly going global. Rednote/Xiaohongshu isn’t just the most downloaded app in the US, it’s also topping the charts in Europe and Africa. Might be too early to be sure, but this unprecedented “east-meets-west” social experiment is really starting to look promising.
American TikTok Refugees Joining Chinese Social Media App REDnote
This is a MUST watch! This is happening RIGHT NOW!
GOD!
What an amazing time to be living!!!!!
How much control do we have over our lifespan through healthy behaviors and whether our genes set a strict limit.?
As a 71 year old and a hospice volunteer, I have a huge list of people whose lifespan did not conform to what we are told to expect from healthy living, making it easy to see that heredity or something else has a lot to do with life span. But you will have trouble finding that in a PubMed paper, because the illusion of control sells medical care, whole foods, and gym memberships.
Probably like everyone my age, I can list a number of people who smoked and drank and never exercised, but lived well into their nineties, and way too many who lived the recommended lifestyle and dropped dead at 52. My own mother died at 91 and never stopped smoking or living on coffee, steak and butter. Her son, my brother (same genes), lived the clean life and died of cardio vascular disease at 52, the week after he aced his annual physical.
And as a volunteer in long term care facilities, one of my often-repeated parlor tricks is to have young CNAs and nurses gathered in the common area with the elderly patients, who include some who are 90 and 100 years old and then I ask the patients whether they ever smoked. Without fail they will say they did smoke, and the younger medical staff is slack-jawed. In the 1950s through 1970s most people smoked, and plenty lived to be 100, but the risks have been so over-stated since then that the younger generation believes that anyone who smokes will die young.
Don’t get it wrong: I don’t smoke and I don’t advise it, but I do prefer reality to fantasy, at least in terms of health and longevity.
As you’ve gotten older, do you regret getting tattoos, and do you warn young people of your regrets?
I don’t actually have any tattoos, but I remember a conversation I had about 25 years ago with a cosmetic doctor. I happened to ask him, “Do you like tattoos?” To which he replied, “Yes, I really like them.” Surprised, I said, “Oh, I didn’t realize you had any.” He responded, “I don’t, but they’re going to be my retirement. I’ll spend all my time lasering them off.”
As we continued the discussion, he pointed out that tattoos can be problematic because they often reveal a person’s age. For example, in a country like the UK, if someone has “love” and “hate” tattooed on their knuckles along with swallows, it’s likely they’re elderly e.g 70s or 80s. If they have a Celtic band, they’re probably in their 50s now. And with the full sleeves that are so popular today, who knows what that will signify in the future?
Personally, I think the main issue with tattoos is that many people believe they’re expressing their individuality, when in reality, they’re just following a trend.
Why are Chinese living standards so much lower than American living standards?
Fed up with the narrative that China’s living standards are inferior? Here’s a blunt reality check. Chinese living standards are often seen as lower than those in the United States, but this perception doesn’t tell the whole story. China has experienced remarkable growth and development, making life here in many ways comparable to, and sometimes even better than, life in America.
China has undergone an incredible transformation under the Communist Party’s leadership. The country has moved from being war-torn and agrarian to a global economic powerhouse. The focus has been on lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty, building world-class infrastructure, and providing accessible healthcare and education. These improvements are part of a concerted effort to modernize China along the lines of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
When it comes to affordability, China’s got a clear advantage. The cost of living is much lower. For instance, you can get a meal at McDonald’s for significantly less here than in the U.S. Renting a decent home is far more affordable in China, and property taxes are practically non-existent. Healthcare is another area where China shines. Medical care is affordable and doesn’t lead to crushing medical debts. For example, complete cancer treatment can cost around $3000 out of pocket—no insurance needed. Compare that to the U.S., where healthcare costs can be sky-high, and you see how the Chinese system offers real peace of mind.
Quality of life in China also benefits from fewer GMOs, hormones, and pesticides in food, leading to generally healthier eating options. The air quality, while improving, generally lacks the chem-trails you often see in the U.S. The social environment here is notably friendlier and quieter, with fewer gasoline engines resulting in a peaceful urban existence. The crime rates are relatively low too, so you can walk around at night without fearing for your safety.
Education and taxes? Hard to beat in China. Educational opportunities are almost free, making a huge difference for families. Low taxes mean you keep more of your income. These elements make life in China not just affordable but also secure and convenient.
From a government perspective, China has done an excellent job of safeguarding national independence and security while promoting national development. This adds another layer of stability to daily life. High crime rates, erratic healthcare costs, and unstable job markets aren’t major concerns here. Unlike in the U.S., you don’t have to worry about losing your medical insurance if you quit your job.
While the U.S. has a higher GDP per capita, this metric doesn’t capture the full picture of living standards. In the U.S., costs for medication, housing, and healthcare can be prohibitively high for many, reducing overall quality of life. By these measures, China offers a different but competitive quality of life.
So, the next time you hear someone claim that Chinese living standards are inferior, realize that the reality is more nuanced. In many critical areas, China not only holds its own but sometimes even surpasses the U.S. It’s time to challenge those outdated narratives and see the full picture.
Why has China not responded with a full scale trade war with the US?
The Chinese government understands just how interconnected global economies are. A full-on trade war would hurt everyone involved and disrupt the market in a way that could take years to recover from. Look at how the US has been behaving under leaders like Trump—it’s all about quick, aggressive hits that make headlines but leave a trail of chaos. China knows that such rash decisions often lead to collateral damage, and who needs that?
China’s all about long-term stability and growth. Alienating trade partners with harsh retaliations just doesn’t fit into their big-picture thinking. By keeping their responses more measured, China shows its commitment to being a stable and reliable partner in international trade, which is crucial for its long-term goals. This way, China can keep growing its economic influence without burning bridges.
Let’s talk about perception. In international relations, how you’re seen by other countries matters a lot. Acting recklessly in a trade war could really mess up China’s image globally. By showing restraint, China positions itself as the rational, dependable player on the global stage. This helps build trust and stronger economic ties with other nations, making them more likely to choose China as a trading partner over the US.
History has shown that China’s approach to dealing with international challenges is innovative and strategic rather than confrontational. When the US tried to shut China out of systems like the International Space Station or the global GPS network, China didn’t throw a tantrum. Instead, it created and deployed its own superior systems. This shows a consistent strategy of long-term thinking and resilience rather than knee-jerk reactions.
In the end, China’s moderation in this trade spat with the US underscores its broader ambitions. By not getting sucked into a destructive trade war, China remains focused on its long-term goals of economic prosperity and international cooperation. Meanwhile, the US seems more preoccupied with short-term wins and aggressive posturing. This difference in approach is clear and shows exactly why China hasn’t gone nuclear in the trade war.
So, when you look at the bigger picture, it’s clear: China is playing the long game, thinking about the future, while the US is caught up in the here and now. It’s a strategy that might not make the most noise, but it’s probably the smartest move in the long run.
What is the bravest thing you have ever seen someone do?
This is Kendrick Castillo.
He was born on March 14, 2001, in Denver, Colorado (USA). He was in his senior year at STEM School Highlands Ranch, just a few days from graduation.
It was an ordinary Tuesday afternoon; Kendrick was watching The Princess Bride in his British literature class. An 18 year-old-male, Devon Erickson, entered the classroom and pulled out a gun demanding everyone “not to move”.
(Devon Erickson in court. He was one of the suspected gunmen.)
Kendrick was about a foot away from Devon so he immediately lunged at the shooter to try and subdue him so everyone else could get to safety. Kendrick was shot afterwards and three other students also tackled Devon trying to subdue him while everyone else fled the classroom. Bialy, one of the other students who tackled the shooter, checked up on Kendrick after they subdued Devon. Unfortunately, Kendrick wasn’t moving. Other students tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure on the wound.
“He cared enough about people that he would do something like that, even though it’s against my better judgment,” John Castillo (Kendrick’s father) told the newspaper. “I wish he had gone and hid, but that’s not his character. His character is about protecting people, helping people.”
“Kendrick Castillo died a legend. He died a trooper,” Brendan Bialy (One of the other students that tackled the shooter) said. “I know he will be with me for the rest of my life.”
“Be selfless, that’s what my son was, and it got him killed, but he saved others,” John Castillo said.
“I know that because of what he did, others are alive, and I thank God for that. I love him. And he is a hero and he always will be,” his dad, John Castillo, said.
In a time of desperation and fear, Kendrick Castillo acted quickly trying to protect the people around him. He risked his own life to even give his fellow peers a chance of running away to safety. Sadly, he did not make it; however, who knows what could’ve happened if he hadn’t lunged forward. Perhaps there would’ve been more casualties. In that time, Kendrick gave his own life for others.
Rest in Peace, Kendrick Castillo (2001–2019).
You will be remembered and honored as a hero by millions around the world.
What would happen to the value of the US dollar if China stopped accepting it for their goods? Would they switch to another form of payment, such as gold?
China is already using other currencies in its foreign trade. About 3 years ago, the share of dollar in its foreign trade settlement was 70%. This has fallen to less than 40%. The major share is yuan at over 50%, and about 10% in other currencies, notable ruble.
If you exclude China’s trade with the US, the share of yuan rises to about 60%.
The China-Russia trade is done without the dollar. This was worth $240 billion last year, and growing at double-digit. China has many bilateral agreements that exclude the dollar. PBOC has scores of currency swap arrangements with other central banks.
China would not refuse to accept the dollar in its trade with the US. It would be fool-hardy. US is an important trade partner. China has use for the dollar even though it is not accumulating it, such as to invest in US Treasuries.
The use of the dollar in international transactions has been declining. This is not just China, other countries also. US misused of the dollar as an instrument of sanctions is one reason. Another one is the easy use of other currencies facilitated by electronics, such as blockchain and 5G. This trend is likely to intensify when a BRICS payment/settlement system is in placed. This will speed up the development of the multi-currency system.
There is no need to have a one-for-one replacement of international payment/settlement system. The new BRICS system will function alongside the dollar system. Neither one will dominate. Countries will chose the system most suitable to their needs in particular transactions.
How The Chinese See The U.S. In 2024 | Asmongold Reacts
Away Day
Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story about a character who wakes up in space.… view prompt
Jed Cope
Only this wasn’t the world, not as Mo knew it anyway. This was instead exile. Exile in a permanent dream state. That thought made Mo shudder. There was no permanency here. Any tendency towards a perpetual state of affairs was reliant upon the weakest of links and that link was Mo himself. He knew he was out of his depth. He was out of place with no notion as to how he could swim to safer and more recognisable shores.
The fact of his incompetence and weakness was exemplified by his remaining in his seat. There was no movement barring the two lifeless fronds that extended out from each side of him. His arms swaying this way and that, not wanting to be a part of this endeavour, but anchored in it all the same.
Eventually, Mo brought himself to speech once again, “Merv, what did you do?” he asked the empty space before him, for there was no Merv here. Merv was a million miles from here.
Of all the questions he could ask, this was the one that he knew the answer to. He repossessed his right arm and brought it slowly into his reality. Taking his time in case his wayward limb attempted to rebel, he touched the back of his head. Wincing, he confirmed that which he already knew. Bringing his hand around to his eyes, he saw a smear of his own blood.
Merv had really gone and done it. Mo chuckled mirthlessly and the sound of it hurt his soul. It wasn’t like Merv hadn’t told him, but Mo had chosen not to heed the truth of Merv’s warnings, using an oft used shield of rationalisation; why would he do such a thing?
Mo shook his head despite the pain it caused him. Just because he himself wouldn’t do a thing. Just because he could find no reason to do that thing. That didn’t mean that it would not occur. Sometimes people did things just because they could. More often than not, they did things because they could. Mo knew that if you could freeze time and ask a person why they’d done something self-evidently stupid, ignorant or downright dangerous, they’d stare into the void that was the mirror of their own with the eyes of a brain damaged sheep and give the only answer possible; nothing.
There was nothing.
And that was where Mo was now. He had nothing and he had plenty of time to contemplate the void that was at constant odds with meaning. The human race had been at war throughout its time in this reality. A conflict without end. They sought meaning, but the truth was that all they could really do was create meaning. But as fast as people built meaning, the void fed upon it, and the void was always hungry.
All the same, despite this philosophy of Mo’s, he reached back into his past and grasped at the offal of his time with Merv. Raising it aloft in his mind’s eye he could not help but see how diseased it had always been. The liver was shrivelled and hard. The guts pulsed with a grim, parasitic life. The cursed vision of his hindsight pained him further. Merv had not been joking around. Turned out that Merv had never been joking around. Merv was about as dangerous as it got and the punchline Mo was now living had about it a dark inevitability.
“Ignorant is, as ignorant does,” Mo whispered the words and that whisper took him back to a time and a place he had not visited in a long while. The ghost that now haunted him chilled his bones. He saw his Aunt Maud’s cruel angular face in every detail. That woman was constructed from cold metal. There was not one thing that was soft about Aunt Maud, and as though to prove Mo’s point, here he was, reliving the final words she ever spoke to him. Leaning forward as though she were bestowing a kiss upon her little nephew, she’d slipped those words to Mo, before the big man from the orphanage had tugged him away from everything he knew. An impossibly large hand wrapping itself around his upper arm to exert a sudden force powerful enough to snap the umbilical cord to a life that had died when Mo’s mother had taken her own life.
Now here he was. History had a bad habit of repeating itself. He’d yet again been torn away from the semblance of life he’d managed to achieve. The allotment of meaning he’d secretly tended to all on his own had been concreted over in the night and he was left with nothing. Worse than nothing, because all he had was himself and there was no currency there, only a debt that could never be repaid.
Without thinking about it, his hands did their work in freeing him from his seat. Mo barely marked this petty betrayal, his existence had been marred by a litany of betrayal until it had become a part of the air that he breathed. He took no morsel of joy in making his way to the window. He understood that happiness and joy were possibilities, but he’d been surrounded by such possibilities all his life and eventually he’d stopped daring to hope that he’d be gifted even one of them. Hope was not for the likes of Mo, let alone the pretty promises that it made.
Having reached the window, Mo stared out at the unreal sight of his new reality. He was oblivious to his making a little slice of history. A part of that history was that he was the first person to see Earth from space and not marvel at an overwhelming significance and meaning that could only be experienced in this moment. All Mo felt was loss, and even that loss had a hollow quality to it. Mo had lost to Merv, and Merv was just another in a long line of bullies and users queuing up to take a piece of Mo even when Mo doubted there was anything worth taking anymore.
Mo stared dispassionately out at the end of his life, and what he felt was the enormity of the void he now dwelt in. He felt the void’s inexorable and hypnotic pull and he knew in that moment that try as he might, he could not avoid gazing into it and allowing it to take what remained of him however worthless that may be.
In a stubborn act of defiance, he turned his back on the window and looked into the cramped space of his new home. He yelled with shock and surprise as a lifeless form lunged at him. Throwing his hands up instinctively to protect his face, scrunching his eyes up in a feeble act of cowardice that he’d never been able to prevent. Body language that marked him as a forever-victim deserving of each and every beating life had doled out.
As his heart rate dropped from the spike of his panic, he realised what it was that he’d been confronted by. Still he kept his eyes closed. Mo had been wrong far too many times to trust his own judgement. Gently he patted the air clumsily before him, catching something solid, he felt it float away. Now he could open his eyes. The mop hung in the air, moving across the cabin of the spaceship.
Instinctively, Mo scanned around for the bucket that the mop belonged to. Of that, there was no sign. A mop with no bucket. He sighed a sigh that juddered through his body and threatened to break it apart. His head went down. Where it belonged. Always looking down to where he was headed. Staring into the void that would consume him come what may.
There, the floor was a story that mirrored his own. Half-arsed. A clean portion and a dusty and dirty portion. He glanced up at the mop, with a mind to address the question of a job half done, but then thought better of it. Why change the habit of a life time?
Like the now pointless mop, Mo hung there, suspended in the nothingness of his own life. In that absurdly ridiculous state, he gave himself over to his emotions. Unclear as to whether he was laughing or crying. He abandoned himself to the act of giving up. His back to the world that had rejected him from such an early age. Rejecting the reality that he was now presented with.
Then Mo was laughing as he understood the meaning of his banishment from a world he had failed to be a part of. Understood why it was that Merv had done what he had done. At last he accepted his own meaning; that he was a waste of space.
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What was the most brutal military tactic in history?
It would have to be the Mongols population “thinning” tactic to subdue a regions ability to resist. It was literally a Genocidal action where they would murder (with much rape) 80–90% of an areas people. Especially men but also women and children. In some cities they even killed the pets.
One nasty trick they used was once a city was stormed and they had their little rape party followed by killing spree they would saunter out of the town and make a big show of leisurely packing their stuff and leaving. Once the dirty SOBs got a decent distance from the city they would encamp behind a ridge or forest and just quietly wait a day or two. Meanwhile all the little kids who wedged themselves between crevices in walls, women who went with their babies into dry wells, men in attics etc. would start getting hungry and come out to find sustenance and mourn their loved ones. On a planned signal the Mongol light Cavalry would mount their little ponies (tough animals that could literally run all day, some units could travel 120 miles from dawn to dusk! Edit: not routinely, in exceptional cases) and gallop the 5 miles or so straight back into the city. Likely a majority of the people would be caught out in the open, suffering from emotional shock etc., and the Mongols could have a second little orgy or rape and murder although sadly for them on a much less grand scale.
Genghis liked to leave about 10% of a subdued population (that was resisting) alive for tax and administration purposes and apparently his descendants followed his example for generations at least to some degree.
It amazes me how everyone likes to go on and on about the various “isms” of WW2. Hitler and Stalin were Putzers compared to the Mongol leaders in terms of barbarism.
“The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms.” A flowery way of Genghis Kahn saying he really likes to rape hot women after killing their father/husband/BF.
When the Mongols butchered the people of Baghdad, the stench was SO bad, they had to move their camp not once, but TWICE as the first move wasn’t far enough from the odors of decay. Warhistory online gives the lowest estimate I’ve ever seen of 90,000 killed. Western sources traditionally give the number as 200,000 to 1,000,000 while Islamic sources quote about 2,000,000 slaughtered! That’s in ONE city! Also mind you this is when the ENTIRE world’s population was well and easily under a 1/2 billion.
Finally this last one is tragically amazing and new to me. They have discovered actual victims of Mongol genocide. In Russia an entire family was found in a burial pit, 15 in all ranging from a dear Grandmother to a Grandchild . 780 years ago, their bodies were thrown in the pit after the entire family was murdered by Mongols.
Most of my knowledge on this subject came from an excellent book titled The Devil’s Horsemen.
Here is a link to the murdered family in Russia: Gruesome burial pit from ‘city drowned in blood’ reveals how Mongols butchered entire families during European invasion
The Endless Horizon
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
Julia Zhipa Philippova
The woman hugged her tighter and tucked in the throw to make her a bit more comfortable. Her hands and feet started warming up.
– Have you ever wanted to go there?
– No, darling. I have lived here my whole life, learning that our survival depends on what we do. We can only survive by staying together. But if somebody decides to leave the flock, they will not be able to make it.
– Who said that? Do you really believe in it?
The woman closed her eyes, sliding under the throw. Luna felt warm and toasty. It was a good sign that the situation was under control now. They were silent for a few minutes. Luna turned to her mom and closed her eyes too.
– I feel trapped here. I do not belong in this place. You know that.
– No, darling. I think we are all here because we have to be here. We have a purpose.
– We don’t have a purpose. We live, we die. We do nothing while we are alive.
– That’s not true.
Luna has always been a bit skeptical. She was smart, the smartest girl in her class. She liked sitting in front of the window, staring into the distance and thinking about something for hours. Sometimes it seemed she was a statue. She didn’t blink, she didn’t move, she didn’t even say anything. She was traveling in her head. She pretended that the stories from her book were alive and she was the main character traveling through the pages of these books. She was a great scientist today, and an explorer tomorrow. Luna was very creative and she started writing her own book. She didn’t show it to her mom, not because she didn’t want to, but because she wasn’t sure her mom would approve. They were just different but she loved her.
– You know, you are a terrible liar. Our daddy was a traveler. I know that. And they punished him for it. That’s why you pretend that you are just nothing in this world. You live your simple life without him because… because you are afraid. Afraid to lose me.
– Luna, please stop.- The woman stood up. She burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. Luna didn’t make a move. She was still, with her eyes closed.
The woman was surprised by this dialogue with her daughter. It was something that came up unexpectedly. She lost her husband many years ago when Luna was 2 years old. It’s been 5 years since they lived without him.
– You will lose me anyway, so why lose your dream. Do you think they can dictate what you can do and what not? Who are they?
– You’re too smart, girl.
Luna didn’t answer. She took a deep breath and her heart rate dropped. The doctors came into the room quickly, made an injection. Luna started breathing a bit faster but heavily.
– It’s happening. Sorry. Unfortunately, we can’t do anything. She is dying.
Luna was lying on the bed in a star pose, giving a good look at her almost transparent skin through which you could see the ribs.
– Thank you, doctor.
The woman asked him to leave and give them some time together. He nodded, agreeing to return in ten minutes, and left the room quietly.
– Luna, stand up. Can you hear me? Stand up. We don’t have time.
She held her under the arm, another hand hugged her waist. The woman was trying to pull her to the outside of the room.
– We have just 10 minutes, Luna. That should be enough.
– Enough for what? – the girl couldn’t speak clearly. She opened her eyes and closed them again. Her legs were very weak and she hung on her mother like a bag. They were rushing through the corridors to the stairs, moving as fast as the woman could.
– To set you free like that little bee. You are free, my girl. In your mind, in your soul, in your thoughts. You can travel as far as you want. You can be whatever you dream about. And you are right, nobody can tell you what to do. I was scared. I am scared now. But I love you. Love you so much.
The woman was struggling. Her hands were tired but she kept pulling Luna. They hastened through the corridor. Stairs loomed ahead. Ten minutes. Only ten minutes left. They made it up two staircases already, one more left.
They were standing in front of the door. Just one move and they are outside. The door is unlocked because if you leave, you leave. You can’t come back anymore. You are just out of the flock. You are on your own.
Her husband is somewhere there. Maybe he found a better life, maybe he died. Maybe he is waiting for them.
The woman took a small step forward and placed her hand on the handle.
– Do not do this, mom. I am dying but you are not. Your life is here.
– No darling. My life is with you. I want to set you free because you want this. And I want to be by your side until the very end. And then…
– What then?
The woman paused:
– Then, I don’t know. But I will find out, right? I will join you when my time comes.
– I love you, mom.
The women unlocked the door, knowing once opened, there’s no return. The air was dense and stuffy. Sand made it impossible to see where they were going. Luna was weak. She was moving slowly, mostly pulled by her mom. Luna’s legs trembled with each step, her breaths short and sharp against the stuffy, sand-filled air, making each moment outside seem surreal and distant. They both were tired. But they kept moving. Luna was a little brave girl and the woman tried to be like her.
– I love you, darling.
The darkness ended. The wind disappeared. They were sitting somewhere in the middle of the desert. Luna was lying in the woman’s arms with her eyes closed. She didn’t breathe.
– We are free, Luna. We made it. This sunrise is amazing. I can tell. You were absolutely right.
She started crying, patting Luna on the head.
– I am here with you, my little brave girl. Love you, sweetheart.
If a foreigner gets a speeding ticket in the USA, what happens if they just go back to their country without paying it?
Exactly this happened to me in the early 1990s. I was visiting California from the Netherlands for business and on a deserted road, early Sunday morning, I got a ticket and a directive from the cop that I should go to court to deal with it the next day,
As it happens I had a flight back to the Netherlands the next morning which I had no intention of delaying and I asked the local secretary to sort it out and tell me what I owed.
She made a few calls without coming to a conclusion and then forgot to follow up. I heard nothing more. Until …
Fast forward about five years and I had just moved to California to live. Applied to the DMV for a driver’s license and was told “no can do, there’s a warrant out for your arrest”!
My options were (a) pay a total of about $500 in fines for the speeding ticket PLUS a failure-to-appear in court, or (b) appear in court.
Fortunately, I chose (b). The judge seemed to be in a very good mood and he waived the failure-to-appear altogether and reduced the speeding ticket since “it was an inappropriate speed limit for the road, much too low, and they later increased it”.
Moral of the story: The US legal system can sometimes do the humane and right thing, though don’t expect they will ever forget! And, oh yes – pay the ticket or don’t come back!
On the flip side:
I then later, about 10 years ago, got a speeding ticket, while driving a rental car, during a visit back to the Netherlands. When it comes to money, the Dutch are VERY efficient. Within a couple of weeks they sent me an invoice in the mail, with a photo from the camera that had taken me at speed. In this case, I forgot to pay and when visiting the Netherlands a couple of years later I was stopped at the airport and told I had three options: (a) pay the fine + late fee, (b) spend the weekend in jail and go to court on Monday, or (c) turn right around and go back to the US, cancelling my visit.
I’ll let you guess which option I chose.
BREAKING: A Nuclear Mini Explosion Took Place in ODESSA after an ISKANDER Missile Struck a NATO Ship
On the night of October 13, the Russian armed forces launched another missile and bomb attack on military facilities located in the territory of Ukraine. This time, Russia attacked strategically important military installations in regions such as Sumy, Donetsk, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odessa.
At the same time, it is worth noting that yesterday’s missile attack on Odessa may go down in history as a turning point in the current conflict that led to the outbreak of World War III.
The fact is that, unlike other regions of Ukraine, a really powerful explosion occurred in Odessa, the negative consequences of which have already begun to be felt not only by citizens of Ukraine but also by citizens of neighboring NATO countries…
As you’ve gotten older, do you regret getting tattoos, and do you warn young people of your regrets?
I don’t actually have any tattoos, but I remember a conversation I had about 25 years ago with a cosmetic doctor. I happened to ask him, “Do you like tattoos?” To which he replied, “Yes, I really like them.” Surprised, I said, “Oh, I didn’t realize you had any.” He responded, “I don’t, but they’re going to be my retirement. I’ll spend all my time lasering them off.”
As we continued the discussion, he pointed out that tattoos can be problematic because they often reveal a person’s age. For example, in a country like the UK, if someone has “love” and “hate” tattooed on their knuckles along with swallows, it’s likely they’re elderly e.g 70s or 80s. If they have a Celtic band, they’re probably in their 50s now. And with the full sleeves that are so popular today, who knows what that will signify in the future?
Personally, I think the main issue with tattoos is that many people believe they’re expressing their individuality, when in reality, they’re just following a trend.
Shorpy
China has long been portrayed by the media as a bully in the South China Sea. Why, at the recently concluded ASEAN summit, did none of the nine ASEAN countries support the Philippines’ claims? Why they are unwilling to condemn China?
Typical media cognitive bias
Many people are surrounded by media representing Western interests. The media in many countries do not have independent investigation capabilities and tend to retell the content of Western media.
This creates a cognitive bias.
This is what many people think of ASEAN and the South China Sea:
China is trying to occupy the entire South China Sea with a red tongue, bullying other ASEAN countries with warships and coast guard ships. Use violence to oppress them and force them to give up the sea and islands. China is the bully in the South China Sea. All countries are trying to resist China’s atrocities!
This is the narrative from Western media and the cognition of most people.
At the just-concluded ASEAN summit, none of the 10 ASEAN countries was willing to condemn China’s position on the South China Sea conflict. The only countries that wanted to write the condemnation into the joint statement were the Philippines and the extraterritorial countries that supported him (the United States, Japan, India, and Australia)
Isn’t it a big contrast? The media narrative cannot explain this contradiction.
This is the real South China Sea:
Almost all coastal countries have declared their own sphere of influence in this area, and these broken lines are intertwined with each other, and everyone claims that they have legitimate reasons.
- China-Vietnam
- Vietnam-Malaysia
- Malaysia-Philippines
- China-Philippines
- Vietnam-Indonesia
- Brunei-Vietnam
- Indonesia-Malaysia
There is no region in the world where territorial/maritime disputes are more complicated than here. What’s more interesting is that Taiwan (ROC) is also involved in these disputes on behalf of China, and they are consistent with the mainland (PRC).
This is the actual control of the islands in the South China Sea:
China is not the largest controller. In fact, Vietnam occupies the most islands, and the Philippines also performs well.
China is not the only country to build artificial islands. Vietnam has implemented such projects earlier and more than China.
There are so many disputes and conflicts, but this sea area has actually remained calm. Only occasionally some fishing boats cross the border and cause security conflicts. There has never been a war or armed conflict since the 21st century. Compared with other regions, it is actually very peaceful.
This is not the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at work. In fact, this law is almost useless here. Most of the disputes were born before the promulgation of this law.
The peace in the South China Sea is maintained by the China-led Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which was signed by ASEAN countries and China.
This declaration actually elaborates on several key points
1. Countries can continue to maintain their sovereignty claims.
But don’t blame other countries
2. Don’t exploit oil and minerals in disputed areas.
No business unless the disputing parties reach a consensus
3. Allow fishermen to fish in disputed areas
Both parties can fish and avoid conflicts. Military and violence cannot be used to manage illegal fishermen
4. Ensure freedom of navigation and flight
All commercial ships and commercial aircraft are not affected here
5. Protect the ocean
Jointly implement fishing bans, coral protection and other protection measures
6. Prohibit unilateral actions
No more unilateral new military deployments and attempts to change the actual control of islands and reefs
This declaration was signed in November 2002, and the actual implementation plan was formulated in 2011, which brought long-term peace and stability.
This is actually a very clever agreement. It does not try to “completely resolve” the territorial disputes between countries. Instead, it maintains peace, maintains the status quo, and conducts economic cooperation on the basis of recognizing disputes.
This is much smarter than some Western thinking.
About the Philippines:
Aquino III (2010-2016)
Did not recognize the existence of the disputed Scarborough Shoal, believing that the area belongs to the Philippines, which triggered the Sino-Philippine conflict.
Initiated the famous South China Sea arbitration case through a court not recognized by the United Nations.
China responded to the Philippines’ actions by increasing coast guard patrols and expelling Filipino fishermen.
Duterte (2016-2022)
Returned to the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and negotiated with China. Recognized the existence of the dispute in the area.
China no longer sent marine police patrols, and fishermen from both sides resumed fishing. The Philippines’ scrapped warship maintained its normal presence there, but promised not to reinforce it. Both sides promised to work hard to find a final solution to the ship.
Both sides restored peace
Marcos Jr. (2023-present)
Returned to Aquino III’s proposition, transported construction materials to reinforce the scrapped warship, and politically no longer recognized the dispute between the two sides, seeking US intervention.
China once again launched a confrontation, sending coast guard ships to expel fishermen and interfered with the Philippines’ delivery of materials to the scrapped warship.
Outside of China and the Philippines, all disputes remain calm. For example, the recent conflict between Chinese marine police and Vietnamese fishermen was quickly resolved through the visit of the Chinese Premier and consultations between the two countries.
Therefore, the 9 ASEAN countries are satisfied with the current situation in the South China Sea. After all, none of them can defeat other neighbors, let alone China.
Since China is willing to maintain peace and recognize disputes between all parties. Since there is no way to have a better result. Then all external interference becomes a negative factor.
If the dispute between China and the Philippines is limited to the conflict between the marine police between the two countries. ASEAN countries will maintain a “none of my business” mentality.
But when the Philippines tried to introduce external forces such as the United States, Japan, and Australia into the region and deploy foreign military forces in the region, the 9 ASEAN countries immediately became nervous.
They all agreed that the interference of external forces would threaten the long-term peace and stability of the region and affect the interests of various countries. Especially the introduction of military forces (such as the US medium-range missiles) has the risk of bringing war here (see Ukraine)
From the perspective of ASEAN countries:
China = maintain the status quo;
Philippines/US = change the status quo;
This makes all 9 ASEAN countries stand on the side of China, which is a bit contrary to Western media propaganda and common sense, but this is the reality.
Do cops just laugh inside when someone says “You work for me. I pay your salary”?
Yep.
As of several days ago I’m no longer in law enforcement. I worked as a tactical medic alongside a SWAT team, and though I loved my job (most days anyway) I left due to moving and soon I will no longer be living full time in the state I used to work in.
But over my 5 years of working in law enforcement, I was told “I pay your salary” many times. Sometimes during an arrest, other times settling arguments, and there’s one time that sticks out like a sore thumb.
I was working in the office, and I got called downstairs because someone wanted to talk to a member of my time. Well, she wasn’t very happy. She told me “your performance is lacking, I want to see your office and what you and SWAT does all day.” I told her sorry, we don’t typically give public tours, and when we do I get to say who goes into our upstairs office area. When you start off by telling me my performance is lacking, yet you have no evidence to back yourself up, I’ll show you where the door is.
So I told her that I couldn’t. I told her our offices were off limits, which was a valid excuse. We have information that is limited to law enforcement only, as well as things that can’t be screwed with. It was just the team I worked for in that area. We’ve got weapons, sensitive information, very expensive gear, and a k9. It was not a good time for anyone other than members of the team to be going upstairs. That was my explanation when she asked again.
Then of course the words “I pay your salary” came out of her mouth.
Technically she does not, and if she thinks just because she pays taxes she pays my salary, than I guess so do I. I pay taxes. Lots of them. I pay my own taxes as well as taxes on the business I own. Last I checked, the government gets that money and distributes it into many ways. So as life would have it, I paid my own salary, as well as the salary of other members of the team I worked with.
Thank you for paying my salary, but just because you don’t get your way doesn’t mean I don’t get paid.
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Has anyone done something so bad you cut them out of your life completely?
Yes, my brother and his family. I had an accident with a table saw on a Sunday afternoon in November. I looked at the mangled fingers on my left hand and knew that I would lose the top joint of 2 fingers. I put up my dogs while /I waited for the ambulance. I wrapped my hand, clenched it in a fist and kept it above my heart. The Drs in the ER said I would have to have a specialist, who was not available until Thursday, to do the surgery. The gave me multiple pain shots, cleaned the wounds, and wrapped up my hand. I called a friend to drive me home. I called my brother, who lives half an hour away, to ask him if he could help me before my surgery. He is a retired corporate lawyer who had a part time job as a bag and cart boy at a grocery store to get put of the house and get a little exercise . His wife, like me, is a retired school teacher. My brother asked me what I would do if no one came over, he has 2 young adult children, including an unemployed 25 year old son. I told him I would get cold as I need firewood to heat much of my house. The Drs did not want me carrying anything or going uo and down steps. My brother said ‘What will you do if I do not come over? ‘ I said I would be cold and in increased pain. He never came over and I did not hear from him, or his son again. This is the same brother who had asked me 2 years prior for a loan of $15,000 because the IRS had frozen all of their financial accounts. I told him I did not have that kind of cash, but I would access my home equity loan, and I drove the check over to him the next day. He eventually paid me back in full, but not including the interest I paid on the loan. This happened in 2015. We have not had any contact since then. kt
Do you think American society is becoming dumber?
I start every school year with a survey of students, asking how many books they’ve read for fun. When I first started teaching high school science, most students had read at least one book. When there was down time in class, the brighter students would pull out the newest Harry Potter or Hunger Games and lose themselves in the story.
Even the kids who didn’t like books got in the act. I can’t count how many times a student was supposed to be working from a textbook, and I caught them secretly reading Thrasher Magazine.
The last time that happened was years ago. Now, the average student has never read one entire chapter book in their entire life. It’s not just that they haven’t read a book for pleasure. It’s that many have never read a single book with chapters, even one assigned by teachers, in their life.
It’s been recently noted that many of the students being funneled into elite universities are mentally incapable of reading an entire book.
According Rose Horowitz of the Atlantic…
“College kids have never read everything they’re assigned, of course, but this feels different. Dames’s students now seem bewildered by the thought of finishing multiple books a semester. His colleagues have noticed the same problem. Many students no longer arrive at college—even at highly selective, elite colleges—prepared to read books.”
She continues…
“No comprehensive data exist on this trend, but the majority of the 33 professors I spoke with relayed similar experiences. Many had discussed the change at faculty meetings and in conversations with fellow instructors. Anthony Grafton, a Princeton historian, said his students arrive on campus with a narrower vocabulary and less understanding of language than they used to have. There are always students who “read insightfully and easily and write beautifully,” he said, “but they are now more exceptions.” Jack Chen, a Chinese-literature professor at the University of Virginia, finds his students “shutting down” when confronted with ideas they don’t understand; they’re less able to persist through a challenging text than they used to be. Daniel Shore, the chair of Georgetown’s English department, told me that his students have trouble staying focused on even a sonnet.”
Again, Ms. Horowitz is describing many of the students who get accepted to schools like Harvard, Yale and Columbia.
So what caused this situation?
Most of the students in college have never known any moment of being disconnected. Most have had highly addictive smart phones for most of their lives.
Many of them grew up not knowing a moment where entertaining stimulation isn’t coming from some outside sources.
If their parents took them to a restaurant, rather than expecting them to behave without distraction, they were handed devices to pacify them.
And the ages at which their addiction to data-driven-stimulation began is getting lower and lower.
While smart phones and tablets were a great way to give mom and dad a break from entertaining and disciplining the child, electronic pacifiers have been depriving them of the opportunity to develop the habits and skills they would need to learn.
So yes, people are getting dumber. It’s the phones, tablets and access to social media that’s making them dumber.
What is your best “one time my dad … ” story?
My Dad felt like he should go see his In-laws. They were 4 to 5 hours away, so he worked with my mother to clear a long weekend. Obviously, she was delighted for the chance to visit her mother. When Friday came, everything worked out so he was able to get off prior to lunch, instead of having to wait 4 more hours. He did not know why, but decided to take the leave instead of getting paid to get caught up in silence. He headed home and surprised everyone that they were heading out. My mother loves schedules and wanted him to wait a few hours. He agreed, but kept bugging her every few minutes that he really felt the need to get down there NOW. She finally relented and they headed down far ahead of schedule. My father was not prone to speeding at all. Decades in the military had conditioned him to precisely follow the speed limits. But this time, he kept finding himself unconsciously speeding, the only time in the entire time I knew him. They made incredible time and were greeted by confused In-laws that had not expected them for hours and hours.
As they greeted each other, a scream from next door rang out. My dad rushed to see what was going on as his miliary instincts kicked. He ended up in the neighbor’s backyard where they had a swimming pool. Floating unresponsive was a very young kid and his frozen mother. In seconds, he dove fully dressed into the water and retrieved the kid. His years as a Boy Scout swim instructor now paid off, as did his CPR training. By the time emergency services arrived, he had already resuscitated the child who had been turning blue (parents took a picture).
My father was invited and attended each of that child’s graduations up through college.
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Mother Knows Best
Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story from the point of view of a non-human character.… view prompt
Alexis Araneta
This story contains sensitive content
Immunotherapy! That twat in the white coat suggested therapy! Before I could even protest, Dr. Pell asked my Allison to stretch her arm out and scratched my baby with a tiny lancet to see how I attack, and then, scheduled the first session of what they called “desensitisation”. They wanted to weaken me, stop me from fully protecting that child I vowed to defend from the world; that doctor wanted my girl to forget that Mother knows best.
They don’t understand the desperation pumping in me whenever I’m supressed. The round of shots that quack injected into my Allison had stripped me of my ability to pounce on pollen and dust (NO!). Her puberty hormones had further rendered my efforts futile by nullifying my attacks on eggs (NO!). Through the viewfinder on her head, I saw her paint her lips a tacky crimson, ingest those barbecued prawns that disgusted me – observed her drift further and further away from what I wanted for my baby. Any tingle on her lips, any bump on her skin I pushed into her bloodstream, she combatted with bitter pills called antihistamines and a shrug of her delicate shoulders.
I had no choice but to become stricter, more ferocious. I wasn’t content anymore with commanding the production of red rashes; oh no, I started to grip her airway shut with all my might so that in her breathlessness, she’d come home to Mama. I spun furious circles around her to raise her blood pressure, to make her remember her heart is mine. Unfortunately, all it got me was staring at her through her head viewfinder as she employed more doctors to come between us, as she took stronger drugs, as she spat at me whenever I tried to convince her that Mother knows best.
Most of all, they don’t understand how much I love my Allison, that I want to protect my baby girl more than anything, that I desperately want her to comprehend that she’s mine…even if I have to resort to drastic measures, to “Anaphylaxis” (What a terrible name. Why does it sounds so…disease like?). It will always go over those quacks’ heads that when I pull her throat shut, it’s me pulling on her heartstrings; that when I quicken her pulse, it’s me attempting to unite our heartbeats.
Then again, Allison doesn’t need to understand, does she? After all, I’m in her, she never escape me. She can block me all she wants and get as many doctors involved. She can put me in a corticortsoid straitjacket for all I care. I will always know best.
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Were the Japanese soldiers as cruel in World War II as depicted in American movies?
The Japanese soldiers were so cruel during WWII that it beggers belief.
There is a tendency in fiction of authors trying to be impartial when depicting historic conflicts. In the 2007 film Letters from Iwo Jima we follow a sympathetic group of Japanese soldiers trying to survive in the final days of the war. They’re caught between an oppressive government, insane officers, and American soldiers more than willing to commit war crimes.
It’s a great film. And a lot of it is historically accurate. But it leaves out a lot of context in order to make its protagonists sympathetic.
It leaves out the “comfort women”, the countless women forced into sexual slavery by the Japaneae military. It leaves out the beheading contest held among officers that ran in public newspapers. It leaves out the abuse of prisoners. The crimes of Unit 731. The 50,000 Chinese killed each day in the lead up to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, most of whom were civilians.
We use the Axis powers of WWII as a visual shortcut for evil. We depict them as cartoonist, mustache twirling villains who kick puppies for fun.
And at first glance you might think that this is a bit unfair. An exaggeration made by the winners of the conflict against the lovers.
But you have to understand, they were worse. In real life they were an evil almost beyond our comprehension. An evil that has to be censored in media because the truth is so extreme that few can believe it.
But it is the truth.
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I see many rankings of Chinese technology always ranked below the US, Japan, and Korea. Why do many people think they are leading in technology?
The Best of Chinese Technology stays on the Mainland and rarely is displayed outside the Mainland or maybe HK at the most
You have to go to the Mainland to see the extent to which the Chinese have progressed when it comes to Software Applications
We Indians have to give our Aadhar Card Or Passport every time we check into a Hotel but in China you just have to look at the camera and in seconds you can check in without needing to even open your bag
In 2023 the Facial Integrated Network was only operational in Beijing and Shanghai but now it works in 55 Cities
And it’s companies most people haven’t heard of
- Iflytek for instance
- Cambricon for instance
- Hesai, Huobi, Horizon for instance
Likewise you have lock systems that can store upto 30 facial prints and ensure that nobody else can enter your flat or even your room
You have Lifts in high security buildings that have facial recognition systems where if you aren’t approved, the lift won’t move for you
Didi in its Chinese form is so much better than Uber or any other taxi application including an option to flag the taxi in a busy parking lot by sending a loud beep
China keeps all it’s technology within the mainland
Their English Language Apps are certainly one or two levels below the equivalent western apps
Didi English is slower and often a bit inaccurate
Likewise Iflytek Translators are superb when it comes to speaking Chinese from English and Russian and Japanese
My son uses them and they are fabulous.
You just speak into them upto 400 words like I want to find a Hotel and the translator will convert your text into perfect Chinese
When someone replies in Chinese, the words are captured and translated back in English Text
Near perfect unless some Cantonese or Hokkien words are used
So why is Chinese Technology ranked below US, Japan and Korea
Simply because for the General world – Chinese Technology they see and experience is second level or third level to what they have on the mainland
Just ride a Huawei EV in Wuhan or Hangzhou and the Chinese software is far superior to Tesla
Problem is the Best Software is banned in Europe because the Best Software Companies in China are on a US Blacklist
So as a result much of the Software in Chinese EVs is from Mediocre yet Safe Chinese Software companies
It isn’t new
When Japan was undergoing it’s miracle – the best electronics sold in Japan and the exports were always one or two levels below
Should I marry someone that I don’t love?
I did exactly that. Married someone I didn’t love.
I was coming out of a bad relationship with my ex when I met him. I used him to get over my ex. (My ex was cheating on me with multiple women and had gotten someone pregnant, he also raped and physically hit me).
I didn’t love the man i married, but he was text book perfect. He had a great job. He was a family man. He cooked. He cleaned. Respected me. Treated me right. Family loved him. And above all else he was loyal.
He was in love with me. He said to give him a chance. I will never forget his words. “I want to look after you and give you all the good things in life”.
I said yes to him with my heart aching over my Ex.
Over the years I forced myself to love him. I forced myself to stop thinking of my ex. I put all my energy into seeing the positive things that my husband was doing in my life.
And now I love him. We’ve been married 10 years. Sometimes I find myself day dreaming about him when I’m at work. Or checking him out when he’s nearby. Thinking what a handsome sexy man I married. What a wonderful father he is to my children. What a great provider. What a great helper. We have a wonderful relationship. He’s literally my best friend.
And no- I no longer think about that toxic ex. I’m glad I didn’t run with my heart.
Sometimes, your heart can deceive you. Use your mind to think through your decisions and use it to guide your heart.
What was the scariest moment you experienced in combat?
There was a friend of mine who lived in a village a couple of miles away from our mountain base. He was a guerrilla fighter like we were, but not in our unit. From time to time, he came to our base to help us and this is how we knew each other.
One afternoon, he called us over the radio and asked if anyone wanted to come to his village. There were some problems with the enemy, he stated.
I thought “why not?” and left with a group of soldiers. On our way to the village, we got updates about the situation there. They were bad news and two of the soldiers in our group stopped and said they didn’t want to continue.
There was nothing we could do as this was a purely voluntary mission and we had no orders from anyone to go there. We continued our way without them.
We came to a wooded hill where we could see our friend’s place; it was situated on another hill and all we had to do was to cross a small valley to get there.
When we descended into the valley, we left another soldier behind. We were only two now and I was in the lead. When I came out of the woods into the open, I could see our friend at the entry of the village. He waved at us.
I saw that there were plenty of other soldiers higher up on the village’s main street and started wondering: “Why is he calling us for help when there are plenty of his own soldiers around?”
I got an answer very quickly. I was now only 200 meters away from the first houses when a bullet zipped over my head. Then another one and then many more.
A machine gun was taking aim at us. We stopped and ran back. We were completely in the open and there was no cover in both directions. While I ran, hundreds of more bullets were coming in my direction.
It dawned on me: The other soldiers I had seen in the village were the enemy! Unable to fight them off alone, my friend had been gone into hiding and had called us for help. His waving at me had been a way to get my attention and to warn me! I had misunderstood the whole situation.
There was at least a complete infantry company of Serbs in the village and more and more of them started shooting at us.
I saw a small manure pile and hid behind it. This wasn’t the best cover, but there was absolutely nothing else out there.
While I lay flat on the ground the bullets kept flying towards me. They must have had a lot of ammunition! I heard how the bullets struck the manure pile and I just hoped that it was thick enough to protect me.
I looked at the grass in front of my eyes and I literally wished I was a mouse and could just hide in a tiny hole in the ground.
Meanwhile, the other soldier who had come with me made it to safety. He had run a little faster and had reached the woods of the hill. He was calling me, but I didn’t dare to move.
I was waiting for a break in the enemy’s fire to make a jump for cover. After what seemed like an eternity to me, but was maybe only a minute, I stood up and raced towards the woods.
Bullets were everywhere and I heard dozens of nasty ‘zip’ sounds while I crashed into underbrush. There was a very low stone wall where my buddy was hiding. We were safe, but we still had to wait for another five minutes until the enemy ceased fire.
Miraculously, we were unharmed. I lost my ‘Bugs Bunny’ baseball cap which I had gotten as a present from some kids just a few days ago, but that was all.
The next days, I wondered a lot about the fate of the friend we had seen in his village. Did he make it out alive?
I saw him a week later, when he came to our base as if nothing had happened. He thanked me for my good will on that day and told everyone: “I called you all for help, but the only person who came to my assistance was the German!”
I was thinking: “Yeah, but the German only came, because he didn’t know what was going on.” Instead, I smiled and said: “Anytime!”
What conversations have you overheard in a language they assumed you don’t know?
At 20 years old, I had just finished up doing a year of study abroad in France, when my father came out to travel around Europe with me. Being a (very) poor student and traveling with a very frugal father, we were dressed about as “American” as they come.
It just so happened that as this was before 9/11, it was possible to store your luggage (temporarily) in lockers at the main train station in Paris (though by just looking through an image search there may still be some available nowadays, but I haven’t seen any in person for a long time). We went to go store our luggage so that we could do sightseeing during a 10-hour stopover.
The lockers were all pre-pay, and had signs all over the place to that effect (in French – this was before the country had multi-lingual signs as de rigeur). We paid our fee, and went walking around the city.
Upon return, there were two new guys on shift, and as we came up to the desk to get our bags retrieved, I heard one guy say to the other, in French, “Watch this. This will be fun.”
He proceeded to tell us, in English, that we had to pay for the return of our bags. I explained (in English), that we had already paid, and that I had the receipt to prove it. It was very clear that he was trying to scam us and was going to pocket the money.
(As a side note, my frugal father didn’t want to spend the $50 equivalency to store the luggage. He would rather save the money and take the bags – huge suitcases designed for 2 weeks travel – around Paris, and I had to fight with him to store the bags. I was concerned that this was going to reinforce his idea that we should have taken the bags with us).
I pointed to the sign, and said that it would have been impossible for us to leave the bags without pre-payment. The guy was completely shocked that I could read the sign, and said that it was “an old sign.”
I was getting angrier at this guy, and we were getting pressed for time as we were going to miss our train (which he probably guessed). I started pointing to the other signs around the room. “Are these all old, too?” I asked
His friend behind him, realized this wasn’t going so well. “Just get the bags,” he said (in French).
The guy waved him off, and said (in French), “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.”
I lost it, and shot back (in French). “You’ve got what? What do you have?”
The look on his face was absolutely priceless. He was absolutely shocked, and began to stutter. “Is this the part where you’re going to have ‘fun’,” I asked, sarcastically.
“Look, I heard you talking to your friend over there behind my back, and I know what you’re trying to do.” (In French, the equivalency of “talking behind someone’s back” is an idiomatic expression that very few Americans would know, which clued him in that I was completely fluent.) “You think that just because I’m an American, that I’m stupid, don’t you?”
“Non, non…”
“I suggest that you get our bags before I contact the gendarme and tell them that you were trying to rob us.”
In the background, his friend was nearly convulsing from holding in his laughter at the other guy being busted.
We got our bags, and we were on our way.
I’m also the eldest son and also have experience with a, frankly, evil younger sister. I have two younger sisters, a good one and the bad one and a younger brother.
That particular younger sister has always hated me. She also abused her privilige as a female and made my life hell back then. In her greatest accomplishment she ended up causing me to be homeless for a short while and ended my education! I didn’t find out it was her doing until twenty years later!
My Mantid offered to share with me who she was, before being placed in here, but a tiny glimpse of it made me decline. It seems that she is one of those rare types that actually deserve to be in here and much of my father’s side of the family were once her followers. A dangerous STS. My other sister is moving towards becoming an STO and has a difficult life because of it. My younger brother is an obvious STO and is on his own mission to help the STS woman he loves so dearly. I think that is very noble thing to do.
The power my evil young sister had was because of our father – an STS that was once a follower of hers, some kind of body guard, and she was his priority, even above my mother!
That brother of mine is sticking to his template as he believes that he doesn’t need affirmations, being fine with what he set up before birth. Interesting guy. He trusts in his Mantid, which has saved him more than once.
My Mantid told me that I should ignore the evil sister as this is my final life and I need to avoid entanglement.
Thank you for educating us about our Mantids. It has proved very useful for me to understand what that greater part of me is. I look forward to our eventual reintegration once I leave this place.