I really don’t remember if I wrote about Denny.
Denny was a “Special Projects Manager” at the steel company where I worked. And he and I would travel to South Carolina where we were opening up a plant there. This plant was a fully automated rolling mill. They would take steel billets, crush them, form them into donuts and make small rolled rings from them.
Now, Denny was a “Night Owl”.
Always partying, and always out at the lounges… drinking, carousing, and picking up chicks.
Quite the character, actually.
He would come into work and tell me to stand next to him to help him stand up. And he would be shit-faced drunk on the plant floor. And looking busy. Wearing a hard hat, eyes obscured by heavy safety glasses. No one else could tell that he was three-sheets to the wine.
I got along fine with him.
He’s a like a Marketing guy. Party hard, but helps bring in and secure the customers. Valuable.
And I think that he was making the “big bucks” simply because he was central to the new plant operation there.
Now, that’s all well and good, but over the 1980’s though to today there has been various waves of Social Re-engineering that has actually messed up the work dynamic in companies, factories and corporations. It’s not that drinking is good at work, but drinking is actually a serious PART of the social interaction that different people use to find unity and unifying grounds for mutual consent.
Take that away, and you are a machine.
A utility.
A paperclip.
No wonder many Americans are saying “fuck this” and waking away.
I don’t blame them one bit.
The point is, government social intervention has no business in society. If you try to forcibly alter the constructs of society, there will be a backlash that you might not like, and one that you can certainly not handle.
Today…
Do you know anyone who has won a lottery? Did the money change them?
I was sitting in the car with my friend running errands when he went in to check on his lottery ticket at the local Safeway. He came out and said he had won a prize but Safeway said he needed to call the state lottery office. He called and found out he had won a million dollars. He asked if I would drive him over to the lottery office to pick up his winnings. On the way over to the lottery office I told him by all means I do not want you to give me any money because I don’t want money to become an obstacle to our friendship. I already have an adequate retirement and I’m happy.
Ironically he was already fairly well off in his retirement with multiple sources of income. Unfortunately two years before there was a death in the family of his son and it had destroyed his marriage and they were barely hanging on with no love between them. He said he thought of his wife as a friend or like a sister but there was no love.
Of course as you know if you want a million dollars you get about a third of it taken away from you by the government for taxes.
He took the remainder of the money bought his wife a brand new house and paid it in full. He finalized the separation and moved into an apartment. He bought her the car that she wanted brand new and he bought himself a brand new Toyota truck.
Then he and I, at his insistence, went to the church treasure and he gave 10% of his winnings to two different churches that he had been involved in. Then he asked the church treasurer if anyone in the church was in financial trouble and he set aside $3,000 for them. As well he helped a friend with some legal financial troubles and spent all the money within 3 months. He was happy to get rid of the money and see that it went to good places.
Fortunately he had the maturity and the fortitude not to let the money change him. He gave it all away and he’s happy. He felt like God had sent him an encouragement because he had been deeply saddened by the death of his son. I think do you realize that the money wasn’t really his and that it needed to be given away. It’s one successful story.
She Slept With 1,000 Men in 12 Hours.
Hearty Six-Can Chili
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean (90%) ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans chili beans in sauce, undrained
- 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Place ground beef and onion in (6 quart) Dutch Oven. Cook and stir over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into small crumbles. Drain, if necessary.
- Open chili beans, tomatoes, black beans and soup using Smooth-Edge Can Opener. Drain and rinse black beans.
- Add all ingredients including chili powder to meat mixture in Dutch Oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Attribution
Pampered Chef
Canada’s WORST Crisis Yet – Leadership Collapse, Eroding Currency & Panic Over US Economy
As a non-Chinese, do you see China as a friend or a foe?
I cannot speak as non Chinese I am a Chinese origin Born in Malaysia but now a Singaporean but I do Business and live in Malaysia. So I can say how Chinese people see westerners. We dont want them to be a bankrupt and a failure, as that would not be a good Customer. Chinese people think that there are no permanent enemy or friends. There are only interest of the nation which may change from time to time!
We don’t hate the west but we are mindful of the evil deeds that you had shown from doing genocides to murder all the natives to steal their land and causing deaths and destructions to remain the hegemonic nation. We won’t allow that and we will help other nations to stop your shit too. We don’t hate you but we hate your evil acts. China wants to make a better world not one with some hypocrite murderous regime pretending to care for the world but setting rules to rob and plunder.
The west, some racist and Sinophobic racial superiority complex minded group do hate China but to be fair they also call Latinos rapist and murderers, slavic as scum of the world and Africa as shit hole countries! Sure they cannot stand China preventing them from further thievery and plunder but 95% of the world thinks that China and Chinese is great and doing justice.
The MAGNIFICENT RISE of Passport Bros – Why Men TRAVEL Abroad to Date!
Add Vodka to Taste
Submitted into Contest #270 in response to: Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.… view prompt
Jay Wayne
46 comments This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.
Val jolts awake, nearly falling from his bunk as he flails against his sheets. His eyes take in details with trained expedience—rough white walls, a footlocker, a window looking out over the grey tinge of pre-morning light.
Val’s head falls against the pillow with a groan. He knows he won’t be getting back to sleep.
* * *
“Valerian.”
Val sights down his scope, not bothering to hide his scowl. “I’m busy.”
“It’s about Roman.”
Val feels his muscles tense, though the reticle over his target doesn’t so much as twitch. “What do I have to say to make you understand? I don’t need leave, I don’t need another psych eval, and I sure as hell don’t need your pity. Bastard got what was coming to him.”
Behind him, Lena crosses her arms. Val can’t see her, but he knows the sound.
“Lie to yourself all you like, but don’t you dare start lying to me.”
Valerian takes his eye off the scope to turn his head, looking up and over his shoulder at where Lena stands. Arms crossed, hips canted, exactly as he’d pictured her. “Did you come out just to bother me, or are you going to do anything useful to the Front?” he snaps.
Lena rolls her eyes and takes out a scouter. “Wind from 31 degrees northeast. Target at 1572.8 meters out.”
Val presses his eye back to the scope of the long, lean Sovereign rifle, breathing out the frustration lingering in his muscles. The reticle settles perfectly in place, and the trigger pulls smooth as silk.
The air splits with the thunder of the Sovereign’s discharge, and Val feels the weapon kick hard against his shoulder. He doesn’t bother to check whether the shot landed as he sits up and glances back at Lena.
Her scouter is still held over her eyes, though she lowers it as Val turns toward her. “You always were the best,” she says with a touch of wryness. “Now, would you please listen?”
Val scoffs and slings the Sovereign over his shoulder. He gets to his feet, dusting some of the dirt and grit from the front of his uniform. “It’s cute when you imply I have a choice.”
Their boots crunch over rain-parched earth as they start the trek back to base. Valerian shields his eyes against the bloody sunset, content to let his brisk pace speak to his disinterest in what Lena has to say. Still, he doesn’t try to stop her when she brings up Roman again.
“The brass finally made their ruling,” she starts. Her voice is shaped cautiously, neither accusing nor exonerating. “The cave-in was officially labeled an accident. You’re off the hook, not that there ever was much doubt. Honestly, after everything Roman did, I’m a little surprised they never offered you a medal.”
Val’s pace doesn’t falter, but he can tell Lena sees the tension in his shoulders when she softens her voice.
“I don’t want to dredge it all up again; believe me, I don’t. But I thought you should know, there have been…troubling reports, from Old England. Someone who looks like him. Out in the forests.”
This time Valerian does pause. He whips around to search Lena’s face, even though he knows she’d never lie to him (or at least, never lie about Roman). “What are you saying? That he survived? I dropped fifty tons of rock on him, Lena.”
Lena spreads her hands in a gesture devoid of certainty. “They’re not substantiated claims. Just rumors. But you and I both know how potent his genmod was. A healing factor like that…”
The blistering heat of the desert fades from Val’s perception. For just a moment, he’s back in the chill of Old England’s forests, the thunder of falling stone still ringing in his ears. He’d cried, after. Sobbed like a baby, for the man Roman was and the thing he became and all the senseless loss of life he’d caused. Long after the tears ran dry, Val had stayed by the cave, too numb to leave and too scared to sift through the debris.
He feels the exact same, now. Terrified to dig further, not even knowing which alternative he’s scared of.
Eventually, he turns back towards base. He needs, suddenly and unequivocally, to sleep. A long, quiet nap curled up in his bunk sounds like exactly the thing.
“Will you go?” Lena calls after him. “Back to Old England?”
Val shakes his head without looking back. “They’d never assign me there.”
“Didn’t stop you the first time, as I recall.”
Val pretends not to hear her.
* * *
He dreams about Roman again, of course. It’s always been Roman.
Before the disastrous Operation: Crimson Thread, it was Roman’s laugh, his crooked smile, his dancing eyes. That unshakeable confidence. Arrogance, some would say. Roman’s genmod, the genetic alteration that allowed him to heal so rapidly and cleanly, was a powerful one, and he treated it like immortality. His attitude was infectious, intoxicating. Everything about the man lit Val like a fuse.
After Crimson Thread, Roman changed. His fire became feverish, secretive. He smiled less, isolated more, trained harder. He pushed his friends away. He pushed Val away.
Val fooled himself into thinking it was a temporary change, a grief response. Maybe Lena did, too. No one could have truly anticipated what Roman became.
There’s a new age dawning, Val. Can you hear the cries?
Val couldn’t. Not back then. But every night since, he’s heard them: the wails of friends, family, innocents—every life cut short by Roman’s hands, until the chorus of the damned numbers hundreds strong, every last one of them screaming inside Val’s head.
Why didn’t you stop him, Val?
* * *
Old England is cold, damp, and crawling with hostile mutations. Some are intelligent enough to form loose bands or packs; others eat each other on sight. Valerian hates the whole island with a passion.
He starts his investigation at the Lodge—one of the few bastions of sanity on this rock. It’s large as frontier settlements go, with a population somewhere in the triple digits. It also happens to host a small base for the Front, but the other Frontsmen turn out to be of little help. None of them have seen this supposed specter of Roman.
“If we did, we’d put him back in the ground, eh?” The Captain smirks. “Wish I’d been there to kill the bastard myself, but apparently some off-duty sergeant got the honors. Happened here, you know, just 20 klicks to the west.”
Valerian knows.
“Look, kid, I’ll level with you,” another officer tells him. “The locals like to report a sighting now and then, just to keep the Front’s interest. This place wouldn’t last a week without our patrols.”
“Roman Tovhana?” This soldier just shakes his head with a grin. “You’re about four months too late, my friend. Better luck next time.”
The townspeople are hardly more forthcoming. Most of them scowl and spit at Roman’s name. Some of them recall hearing a rumor about the man haunting the site of his death, but no one can remember who reported such a thing.
Val was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. But like the genmod that keeps his hands rock-steady on his weapons, he isn’t easily shaken. With a pack of supplies, his sidearm, and plenty of ammo, he heads out west towards the last place he saw Roman alive.
It takes him almost three days of unrelenting rain to find the cave again. When he does, it’s because he nearly trips over the entryway.
Loose stone shifts and skitters beneath his boots as he stumbles back. Squinting through the downpour, he can just make out the shadowy mouth of the cave behind its shroud of overgrown vegetation.
He approaches cautiously, taking in details. Trampled grass and underbrush. Small, muddy puddles about the right shape for bootprints. Someone’s been here, and recently. Maybe several someones.
That’s when he hears it, a muted echo of a voice he never thought he’d hear again.
“No! No, please, just let me go—”
Val’s lungs lock down. Like getting the wind knocked out of him in training, he can’t seem to find his breath.
Roman.
But Roman has never sounded like this. He never begged, not even staring down the barrel of a gun.
((Knew you’d be the one to find me.))
Val takes a step forward. Another. He stumbles down the uneven, natural steps of the cave, reeling as the smell of damp earth and rotting leaves brings back the memory, as clear as the rain on his skin.
((Roman’s smile. His easy posture. Val could almost convince himself, could almost believe this was his Roman, risen from the depths of madness.))
He falls against the slick stone wall of the cave, drinking deep gulps of air. He has rain in his eyes.
((But Roman’s eyes…his eyes were alight, gleaming in the beam of Val’s flashlight. Feverish.))
A new voice echoes from floor to ceiling. Laughing. “Still haven’t figured it out, have you?”
“No, wait—PLEASE!”
Roman’s scream shakes Val back to reality. That he recognizes, from a hundred reckless missions. From a terrible, thunderous rockslide.
Val’s steps quicken as he scrambles over fallen stone. Someone, he registers distantly, must have shifted enough of the wreckage to make a path.
He plunges deeper into the cave, Roman’s scream still lingering in his ears like the cutting edge of a knife. Finally, Val sees the flicker of light up ahead.
Nothing, not a single one of his fears (hopes?) prepares him for what he finds.
Roman Tovhana is alive. There’s no mistaking that proud nose, those dark eyes, the scar through his upper lip. And there’s certainly no mistaking the desperate, thrashing motions of something clawing for safety, for life.
Two strangers, a man and a woman, hold him down on his back. The man sits astride him, pinning his legs. In one hand he bears a bloody knife. Roman’s clothes—long ago, a uniform—are weathered and torn, displaying the fresh, oozing wound down his chest and stomach.
“That one’s for my sister,” the man with the knife says. “This one’s for my wife—”
Valerian’s sidearm is in his hands before he’s fully pieced things together. As Roman screams again, Val levels the gun.
“Put the knife down.”
Three pairs of eyes snap towards him.
“And who the hell are you?” the woman barks.
Val’s never been so glad for his genmod, never been so fervently thankful that his gun remains steady, regardless of the storm lashing against his insides. “I’m with the Adamant Front. Care to explain what the hell you’re doing here?”
With Val serving as a distraction, Roman thrashes again, almost slipping free before the man with the knife snarls and jams the blade into Roman’s gut.
For once in his life, Val doesn’t hesitate.
The shot rings out over and over, echoing down the tunnel with the force of a cannon blast. The man formerly holding the knife howls in pain as the blade and two of his fingers spin away into darkness.
“Next one goes between your eyes,” Val hisses. “Get up. Both of you. Walk away, and never come back.”
“You bastard,” the nameless man gasps. He’s clutching the bloody remains of his right hand, trembling. “You crazy son of a— Don’t you know who this is?”
“I gave you a fucking order.” His voice doesn’t waver, even with doubt screaming in his ear like a hundred damned souls—
He doesn’t know if he’s prepared to kill these people. He doesn’t know if he could bring himself to cross that line—especially with the scenes of Roman’s murders so vivid in his mind.
Fortunately, his resolve isn’t put to the test. The man and the woman scramble upright and flee, hurrying past Val towards the mouth of the cave. Their footsteps have barely begun to fade when Val holsters his side arm and crouches down at Roman’s side.
This close, he can see the man’s a wreck. Hazy brown eyes squint up at him from a face sunken with hunger and creased from sleepless nights. His body is all angles, his torn clothing now drenched in blood.
“Hey,” Val says, and his voice comes out softer than he intends. “I need you to stay with me. There’s— I have so many questions.”
Roman’s eyes focus slowly, still narrow with pain and confusion. But clear. Lucid.
“Wh-who…who are you?”
* * *
“Here. Eat it while it’s hot.”
Val slides a bowl of ukha across the table, then settles in the other chair with his own. The delicate, complex aroma reminds him of home.
The man once named Roman Tovhana picks up his spoon and digs in. His eagerness to eat anything he doesn’t have to hunt and kill himself hasn’t waned, despite the month he’s spent in the safety of this rickety apartment.
He calls himself Rowan now, after the badly dented name he’d found on the dog tags he woke up with. It’s taken some getting used to, but Val rarely slips up. Rowan is very different from the man he once knew.
Instead of the military buzz of his predecessor, Rowan’s dark hair is long enough to flop in his eyes. He has dozens of new scars, most of which are twisted, knotted things or else deep gouges that never completely filled back in. And, of course, he no longer wears a uniform.
Neither does Valerian. The brass hadn’t known what to do with either of them, and so Val found himself quietly shuffled out of the fold. He misses it, some days—the hard work, the adrenaline, the camaraderie. But he doesn’t linger on the things he’s lost, not when the pieces he does have need so much work. Lena has been after him to try an old world remedy called therapy, which, from what Val can gather, involves a lot of talking and a lot of patience. Well, at least he’s good at one of those.
“This is amazing.” Rowan’s quiet voice breaks through Val’s reverie.
He looks up to see Rowan smiling—no longer a rare sight, but still just as valuable. Valerian smiles back and eats another spoonful. “It’s called ukha. I’m glad you like it. Took me years to get the recipe right, and it was never as good as Roman’s.” His smile fades. “I suppose I’m still missing something.”
Rowan considers for a moment. He takes a slow, exploratory sip. “…Huh. Have you tried a splash of—what’s the stuff called, from Lena—”
“Vodka?” A tiny thrill runs through Val’s stomach as he considers. “Hold on.”
He returns with a half-full bottle. A dash for his bowl, and one for Rowan’s. Val finds himself oddly nervous as he stirs the broth and raises a spoonful to his lips.
The vodka does complement well. It’s exactly what Val’s recipe was lacking—yet it still tastes nothing like Roman’s.
“I think it’s perfect,” Rowan declares. “Seriously, Val, you should write this down.”
Val eats another spoonful, savoring and analyzing. It is perfect. Distinct from Roman’s, but just as good.
Rowan brushes his long hair from his face and happily polishes off his bowl. Val watches him eat with an old, complicated twist in his heart. There will always be a part of him that longs for answers he’ll never receive. But he does know three things.
I loved him. I killed him. I saved him.
His dreams are quiet tonight.
A 12-Inch Monster Of Her Lover Made My Wife Forget Our Anniversary! I Found Them And Took Revenge!
Why did Vietnam boast that it had been ruled for 1,000 years and had never surrendered under the rule of France and Japan, but was the first to kneel down to the United States when the United States imposed additional trade tariffs?
Circumstance change with the passage of time.
After Trump announced a 46% tariff on Vietnam, the Vietnamese leader immediately called Trump. According to Trump, Vietnam even stated that it was willing to reduce tariffs to zero as long as an agreement was reached. Trump was very happy. After all, this was the first foreign leader who took the initiative to contact him after he imposed tariffs.
But will Trump accept Vietnam’s initiative to show weakness? No, Trump did not agree and made more demands.
To understand Vietnam’s “kneeling in 1 seconds” strategy, we must first understand a little-known fact:
Vietnam’s economic lifeline is firmly controlled by foreign trade with the United States!!!
Moreover, the more it is touted by the United States and the Western media as ‘the next China’ and ‘the economy that will replace China in the future’, the more it is actually firmly controlled by the United States.
You guessed it, I mean the mighty India. 😁
In terms of numbers, Vietnam’s exports to the United States account for one-third of Vietnam’s GDP, which is much higher than the proportion of other countries. We all know that “eggs cannot be put in one basket”, but Vietnam just concentrates all its eggs in the basket of the United States. In other words, once the basket of the United States is broken, Vietnam’s economic myth will collapse immediately.
1. Vietnam’s industrial chain level is too low-end.
Shoes, clothing, furniture, electronics, and other labor-intensive products are Vietnam’s main exports to the United States. You can imagine that more than half of Nike’s shoes are made in Vietnam, but the “big head” of the profit has long been in Nike USA Headquarters’s pocket; the Vietnamese do only the assembly process, the income is only a very low-tech processing fees. This model makes Vietnam more like a “porter” in the global economic chain, earning only a fraction. Once the factory moves or the tariff is raised, the Vietnamese economy is likely to return to the starting point overnight.
2. What’s more terrible is that Vietnam has no economic weapons to fight back against the United States.
China can restrict the export of key raw materials, Canada provides key minerals or energy to the United States, but Vietnam has no bargaining chips in these areas and even has to rely on China’s raw materials to manufacture export goods. Factory statistics once showed that 67% of Vietnam’s clothing raw materials had to be imported from China, while electronic products relied on Chinese parts. So Vietnam’s “kneeling” is not due to self-esteem, but the fate determined by its economic structure that it cannot get rid of.
3. Vietnam’s kneeling this time seems to have kept the market for exports to the United States, but this kind of surrender will eventually make itself fall into a deeper dependence.
Vietnam’s dependence on Chinese raw materials is intertwined with its dependence on demand from the U.S. market, and one cannot exist without the other. Without orders from the United States, Vietnam’s manufacturing sector would be in the doldrums; without China’s supply chain, Vietnam’s shoe and electronics factories would have to close. The Vietnamese economy is essentially trapped in a ‘lose-lose’ situation in the global industrial chain. At one end, Chinese businessmen make money through the supply of raw materials, and at the other end, American businessmen take most of the profits through their domestic consumer goods market. All the Vietnamese get is the assembly workers’ hard-earned money. This model is not a sustainable economic miracle.
Many young Vietnamese workers have also begun to question that working in factories is so hard, but the monthly salary is only about 5 million VND ($193). What kind of economic prosperity is this? Some parents let their children drop out of school to work, but eventually find that they can only earn enough to feed their family but cannot escape poverty.
Cracks are beginning to appear on the backside of Vietnam’s economy: while on the surface the country’s annual GDP growth rate is good, the gap between the rich and the poor and the lack of high-tech industries have left the country vulnerable.
In this tariff war, an unexpected fact surfaced that Vietnam’s “kneeling” cannot be exchanged for actual benefits. The reason why Trump imposed high tariffs on Vietnam is not to suppress Vietnam, but to curb China’s “re-export trade”. What does it mean? Most of Vietnam’s exports to the United States actually rely on China’s supply chain. As long as Vietnam’s tariffs are exempted, it is equivalent to indirectly allowing Chinese goods to “smuggle” into the US market through Vietnam – this is obviously what Trump does not want to see.
4. Trump’s tariff “stick” also forced Vietnam to rethink its dependence model.
If an economy is overly dependent on a single country market, it will be equivalent to betting all chips on a gambling table in the long run. The US tariff war against Vietnam this time is just the beginning, and the blackmail threat to other countries in the world may continue. The Russian-Ukrainian war has long proved that any country that is overly dependent on the United States will have almost no room for bargaining once the United States blackmails it. Therefore, Vietnam’s step-by-step retreat is precisely a microcosm of the weak performance of an economy.
As Vietnam is still groping for a path in the US market, the new difficulties it faces are gradually emerging. The first is the high dependence on Chinese raw materials and supply chains. Whether it is the footwear industry or the electronics industry, Vietnam can hardly maintain export production without China’s raw material supply. In the process of opening up tariff-free, Vietnam may be further suppressed by the United States in the space for industrial upgrading. Low value-added income makes it difficult for Vietnam to invest more resources to break through technological innovation, and the low-end lock of the industrial structure has once again become an invisible shackle.
There are also complex reactions in Vietnam. Young workers are dissatisfied with the working environment, and the problem of the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming more and more apparent. The Vietnamese government has to consider domestic employment pressure and social contradictions while maintaining exports to the United States. This multiple dilemma has trapped Vietnam in an “unsolvable cycle” of economic game, which can neither completely get rid of its dependence on the United States nor diversify risks to other markets.
If Vietnam wants to break through the status quo, it needs to do much more than compromise on tariff exemptions. Reducing dependence on a single market and opening up emerging markets in the European Union, the Middle East and even Southeast Asia is the long-term way out. But at present, Vietnam seems to have not learned this lesson at all, but seems to be tied tighter by the US tariff threat. From another perspective, assuming that Vietnam can be economically independent, its tariff-free policy will not be so easily used as a bargaining chip, but the current facts are the opposite. We also need to pay attention to how long Vietnam can maintain this kneeling posture? Perhaps, until the next, tougher bill comes out of the US.
Can Vietnam’s economic miracle really stand up to scrutiny? A country’s prosperity is supported by low-end industrial chains and has been suppressed by Chinese raw materials and the US market for a long time. Is this a “miracle” or a superficial illusion? Do you think Vietnam can still maintain its economic advantages in the future, or will it be completely dragged into the quagmire by the tariff war? Let us know your views in the comments section!
Incidentally, Trump’s next blackmail target is South Korea. Trump recently listed South Korea as a “sensitive country”.
The U.S. debt has exceeded 52 trillion, and the debt alone is equivalent to two years of the U.S. GDP. This means that even if all Americans do not spend a penny, it will take two years to pay off the debt, and the interest to be paid each year is approximately more than 2 trillion.
Sooner or later, the U.S. economy will collapse and the country will go bankrupt. Neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party can save it.
However, Let’s be frank:
Before the US economic collapse, Japan, South Korea, and the so-called “allies” of the United States in Europe will all be sucked dry by the United States.
Don’t expect things to be different in four years with the Democratic Party in the White House. The Biden administration has been even more ruthless than Trump in exploiting European interests. It’s just that Europeans are dumber and believe in the Democratic Party’ bullshit about “common values”. 😂
Farmers raise pigs not to love them like their own sons, but to eat their meat. Understand?
Is eating with chopsticks considered cool? Is it more effective than using a fork and knife?
Although I’m a born-and-bred Chinese, I’m not good at using chopsticks.
I still remember when I was a kid, my parents were a bit worried because I couldn’t use chopsticks well. They feared I might be foolish and tirelessly demonstrated the proper way over and over.
(The correct method is probably like this.)
But I just couldn’t learn. I can use them, but clumsily, always holding them like a pen.
Fortunately, I did well in school, so my parents eventually stopped worrying about my intelligence and gave up trying to teach me to use chopsticks correctly and elegantly.
I watched a video of a Chinese woman who ran a factory in Africa. She held a “chopstick competition” for her African employees, the person who could pick up the most peanuts with chopsticks in one minute would be the champion and win a cash prize.
After watching the competition footage, I thought to myself that if I had participated, I probably wouldn’t have won the championship.
Here’s a fun anecdote. In college, a classmate saw me struggling with chopsticks and boasted that he could use them better with his left hand than I could. I didn’t believe him, but as it turned out, he was far better with his left hand than me.
Seeing my shocked expression, he couldn’t stop laughing and explained that when he was a kid, his parents believed that using the left hand more could boost intelligence for right-handers. So, they taught him to use chopsticks with his left hand from the start.
Though he’s right-handed and later switched to using his right hand, he can still use chopsticks effortlessly with his left—after all, it’s a skill he learned from a very young age。
What are some of the creepiest/worst online experiences you’ve had?
When I was twelve almost everyone in my year (literally over a hundred people) joined a Facebook group named ‘we hate Jake English’ (my ‘nickname’ as it were at the time).
There they posted up about how they were going to kill me, why they hated me, why I should kill myself, all that lovely jazz.
Anyway one of the few friends I did have told me about it and reported it to the police. Before I even got home the page was shut down, and the kid that made it got arrested.
Justice was served, his parents received a fine on his behalf and so he got the living shit battered out of him by his old man.
The deal isn’t cancelled
China instructed their Airlines not to take deliveries of any Boeing Aircraft because of the 125% Tariffs which would cause the price of the aircraft to rise up significantly
These aircraft are delivered from USA after preliminary assembly and the 125% Tariffs are applicable so that could make a $ 100 Million 787 Dreamliner worth $ $ 225 Million
Only the final assembly and interiors are carried out in Zhoushan
Likewise multiple parts from Boeing attract 125% Tariffs because they are shipped from USA
Chinas letter is clear
China has only suspended deliveries
They could’ve exempted Boeing from the 125% Tariffs but Boeings & Soybeans form a large chunk of Chinas imports from US
Plus Boeing is a large company and they might pressurize Trump into easing off the Tariff war
Americans Gaining Big Lessons from China’s Tariff Response |Ancient Civ Insight | China Cares abt us
Please watch this. There is a revolution in the United States going on right now.
Would Make some great Tee Shirt Designs
While My GF Was Secretly Planning To Get Together With Her Ex, I Was Secretly Planning Her Departure
What do you think about China?
I’ve just returned from China after a 3 weeks trip. So I would like to give my full impressions of the current state: the good, bad, ugly, beautiful. So if you only want to hear good things or only bad things about China, please go somewhere else.
Before I go into it, to give some context about me: I grew up in the US since 10 years old. The last time I was in China was 2009. I speak Chinese natively, and also read and type Chinese proficiently with no issues. These are the results of my own interest to keep my Chinese at high levels through practice, reading Chinese novels, and self-learning in general. Before visiting China I’ve also done shit tons of research. I watch CCTV and CGTN on a daily basis. I still have parents who visit China on an annual basis who will tell me about what to watch out for. I read about China on sites such as quora and global times regularly. I watch travel vlogs and China base commentators on China regularly. And I also had a lot of preparations, such as both buying international pass and buying a Chinese SIM card the first day I was in China, even went ahead and opened a bank account in China (it ended up not being used however because I was told to wait three days for it to activate and I didn’t have time to go back to a bank). So needless to say I did not go into China blind.
The cities that I’ve visited on this trip: Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xianyang, Xi’An, in that order. I’ve also transited in Guangzhou. So basically I went to all the places that are considered the historic heartlands and origins of China and Chinese civilization, with the only exception of Beijing that I didn’t go because it’s too cold in wintertime.
Overall impression of China:
It’s definitely the best bang for your buck place to visit. Things are ridiculously cheap. You can pay very little for high quality accommodations, food, gifts, tickets, transportation etc. If you ever go to China, I highly recommend that you pamper yourself a little. Book a more expensive, convenient hotel for example. Depending on where you go, you can literally pay 40–50 USD per night for a hotel that would be the equivalent of 200–300 USD in the west. For example, this is the hotel that I’ve stayed in Chongqing (that’s my childhood friend on the sofa btw not me):
This is the view outside the window:
For those who are familiar with Chongqing, this is literally the equivalent to a hotel with a bird eye view of the Times Square in New York. During nighttime it’s just so friggin gorgeous. Unfortunately when I was in Chongqing it was very foggy, but still beautiful.
The price was 46 USD per night, my most expensive hotel. 😆Yep.
However, China is definitely the least convenient country for foreign nationals to travel, mostly because of their payment system (you always need good data plan or WiFi everywhere, not like in other countries you just swipe a credit card wherever you go which is much simpler), and also many places you have to pre schedule with your passport for entry, at online sites and apps that won’t always work smoothly on your foreign data plan cell phone. And even if you buy a Chinese SIM card and use the Chinese sites, there are problems such as sometimes they auto delete the first letter of your passport ID number, so when you try to get into the places the IDs won’t match. I honestly don’t know how foreigners can travel in China without knowing the language or have a guide. You can download a translating app but the translation isn’t always accurate either. I guess that’s why there really aren’t so many foreigners traveling in China. I can count them on one hand. Of course, I also went at off season, but still compared to other countries, China is definitely not a foreign tourist friendly country. But I suppose some people are just very skilled travelers who are very good at finding their way around anywhere. I cannot hold anything personally against China on this aspect because clearly they want to do their own thing independently of the western hegemony. So it’s frustrating but oh well.
So what I liked about China:
Definitely hands down the infrastructure. The infrastructure in China isn’t just grandiose, but also done with fine taste. In highly developed cities you can see a lot of psychology of aesthetics have gone into organizing everything. The roads for example are wide and spread out, buildings are huge but thoughtfully designed. When you walk down the road in some of these areas you feel small but also a sense of awe and serenity. Like everything is gigantic but also just so comforting on the eyes at the same time.
This is a photo I took in Shanghai. The photo really doesn’t do it justice. When you are there just looking over at the horizon, you half expecting flying cars around those giant skyscrapers. It’s like you are on another planet, and that this is the place for every sci fi movie to be filmed. It blows every city in the US out of the water. And you also realize that unlike what some western China-smearers will tell you, it isn’t just for show. The people who immediately benefit from all of this are the native Chinese people who are living there. Because once again, it’s the thoughtfulness of it all that makes it impressive, not just built to impress foreigners.
In Shanghai I also loved the fact that the names of the roads are very easily found and clearly labeled. Unfortunately not all Chinese cities are like this.
I also really like the fact that so many buildings are now built with Chinese characteristics, rather than the Soviet-style dreary rectangular buildings that I was used to growing up as a child. It makes the atmosphere in China so much better and makes China much more attractive to travel
(Photo I took on top of the Great Goose Pagoda in Xi’An. I was actually born in Xi’An, raised in Guangzhou. But Xi’An is now so different from what it was before, you can see below, so many Chinese style buildings are spurring up when before it was not considered an attractive city to visit).
And of course, cultural heritage sites are now organized and built exquisitely. So if you want atmosphere you’ll get it anywhere.
Of course, you can’t talk about Chinese infrastructure without the transportation. Transportation in China is vastly expansive. You can go anywhere with the metro or Didi (taxi). And the prices are ridiculously cheap (at least to westerners). The metro generally costs no more than 2.74USD, and the Didi costs about 1.65USD to 3USD, for distances that will take 15–25 mins by car. The most we’ve paid for Didi was to get from Xi’An to Xianyang (about 1 hour and 20 min by car), which still only costed us 8USD. The high speed rail is also very expansive, can take you to any city and you’ll get a very smooth ride despite the train going 143+ miles per hour. And the prices are around 23 to 30 USD only, for one hour to 3 hours ride distance. The metro is built just like any metro in anywhere in the world so it’s the easiest to navigate. You can buy a ticket at a kiosk machine, Alipay never had any issues with this, and then follow the lines which are always very clearly labeled. The Didi is very cheap and if you keep using it you get a lot of discounts, but it can be hard to find where to get on the car because lots of times the driver cannot get to where you are because they can’t stop there, or the GPS can have issues with the accuracy. I eventually learned to always go to a well known landmark and call or message the driver where I am exactly and that saved a lot of trouble. The high speed rail you have to be very careful with your booking because changing tickets on a foreign phone is a pain. Alipay on a western service phone is not set up the same way as a Chinese service phone. So if you make a mistake you have to go to a manual change station which also isn’t always easy. In some places they cannot access your booking with foreign Alipay. So basically, for high speed rail try not to make any mistake or having to change ticket while booking, or it can be troublesome. Domestic flights are generally okay. You have to always go manual with a foreign passport, but in airports generally people are more helpful and will point you to the right direction if you ask for help. I like the security checks in Chinese airports much better than the US counterpart. The security check people are less intimidating, and make fewer troubles for you. The security check pathways are also straight and short, instead of huge turn wheels like in the US that sometimes will make your luggage caught in something and not moving somewhere. This is one big positive change in China because definitely this isn’t the case decades ago.
One thing that when you arrive you immediately realize the infrastructure superiority is the airport. The Shanghai airport was so straightforward and easy to navigate compared to any US airport. I’ve transited in Japan and it was difficult to find my way around the Japanese airport (you also had to take a bus to go to T3 for some reason). But the Shanghai one? In, go straight, out. Easy Peazy.
And of course another thing I loved was the food and drinks. Not a huge fan of the dessert tho but then again I generally don’t have a sweet tooth compared to other people. If you visit any highly rated upscale restaurant in China, you’ll get great food anywhere, even though each region will be unique. My Turkish friend who traveled with me has declared that there isn’t one type of food he didn’t like. My favorite however is Shaanxi food (both Xi’An and Xianyang). Because it has the best comfort food (e.g. noodles, stuffed bread, homemade stews etc), not just luxury food you get in high level restaurants. Another huge thing in China that I will most definitely miss is tea, especially milk teas. China has several milk tea Chain stores kind of like the tea equivalent of Starbucks. But the milk teas are so heavenly and the quality of the teas are astonishing, with exotic and luxury tea bases from all kinds. Such as Chagee (Cha Ji literally: Tea Princess). Maybe one day the business can come to the west as well. One can only wish. I loved it so much I had to buy one to go: the Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) milk tea. I think I’m lucky that it didn’t seem to go spoiled with 15 hours + travel. Because unlike in the west, they not only give you a lid which has an opening that you can open and close, they also additionally seal it for you underneath the lid, and when you want to drink it you can puncture the seal with straw. This is so much more thoughtful packaging than in the west where your drink just spills all over as you carry it.
What I didn’t like about China:
I’m sorry to say that the social etiquettes in China still need quite a lot of work. (Except for some very international hubs where people are clearly trained to be very polite and helpful) Chinese people still don’t find some basic courtesies natural to do, such as saying hello, goodbye, thank you, please, your welcome etc. Again, in more formal business settings they are trained to do these things, but working class common people don’t have a lot of these habits. I’ve had several incidents where I say thank you and they are speechless and don’t know how to respond back.
One thing I will say about this is that clearly the Chinese authorities are working hard to make a change on this aspect, because you see signs everywhere telling people to behave (or how to behave) in a civilized manner. For example, this sign you’ll see everywhere you go in China:
It translates to a set of “socialist values” that people need to adhere to, which is: strong and wealthy, free, patriotic, democratic, equal, dedicated (to work), civilized, just, trustworthy, harmonious, lawfulness, and friendliness.
Basically, everything that is good for society is part of “socialist values” (lol).
But in China, clearly it’s still going to take at least a couple of generations for people to behave on such a standard. You still see spitting everywhere (I had to constantly watch the road to not step on any), even on important cultural heritage sites which I personally found spitting on them to be highly disrespectful, not just disgusting. Smoking in restaurants is also still quite prevalent. And again, while services in business settings are generally very good, you’ll encounter some extraordinarily rude people in China that you won’t encounter anywhere in the west, at least for the same time frame and similar touristic places that you’ll be visiting.
For example, when I was at the high speed rail station going to Chengdu, I accidentally dropped something going down the escalator. Now, in anywhere in the west, people’s immediate instinct was to pick it up. But there, a Chinese woman yelled: “who dropped this!” And then KICKED my stuff away so I had to scramble to retrieve it back. Needless to say I was quite shocked and that nearly ruined the rest of my trip that day.
Another time I was departing from my hotel with my luggage which only had stairs, and I was too exhausted and was still recovering from my illness, so I didn’t have the strength to lift my luggage to go up the stairs. I saw this security guard wandering around the hotel looking bored, and very politely asked if he could help. He instead yelled back at me: “What?! Piss off! Do it yourself!” Not even a “sorry it’s not my job.” Again, not something you’ll find traveling in the west anywhere, people will either help you or politely reject you.
I’ve also been called stupid a couple of times when I asked for directions, mostly because when you ask for directions, Chinese people in general don’t seem to have issues wasting your time. They tend to wave at some unclear direction and go like: “over there.” And when you ask for clarifications, you’ll get a couple of: “are you stupid or something? It’s over there!” scoldings. Like, dude, if you are gonna yell at me, at least yell something useful. “Over yonder” (as one of my friend comically remarked when he heard my tale) is not helpful whatsoever.
Of course, all of this does also depend on where you go. Places that are more international and foreign tourist friendly sites, Chinese people, especially younger people, tend to be more patient with you. But again, there is a clear difference in instinct. In the US for example, even if people feel that you are a bit on the slow side, they help you, simply because you need it. When I visited Spain, I’ve literally had people who came out of the train that is leaving in 2 mins to walk me to the train that I had a hard time finding, before going back. In China however, if you are perceived to be on the slow side, people are more likely to feel that you are just a waste of their time.
Now I know that at this point some people will argue with me that it’s because China is more crowded. But sorry, very crowded places in the west, and also in Japan, a high population density country, these things just don’t happen while you are traveling as a tourist. So it doesn’t have as much to do with crowdedness as people might think. Other people may tell me that this is not their experience as a foreigner. But my perception is that if you are a foreign looking person, Chinese people tend to be more willing to go the extra mile to help you, because of a “face saving” culture. But I don’t appear or talk like a foreigner, so they treat me differently. For example my airport direct taxi (I.e not Didi) ride to my hotel the first night in Shanghai I got charged 270 RMB (37 USD), whereas my Turkish friend who came one day after me was only charged 170 RMB (23 USD). So you do see a big difference. Even one didi driver quipped that a foreigner losing his bicycle in China got it back in 30 mins. Chinese people losing their kids sometimes they’d have to wait for years.
What surprised me about China?
The thing that stood out to me the most is that in every region, native dialects are much more prevalent than I originally thought. I thought that after so many decades of people only being taught to speak mandarin in schools, the local dialects would be disappearing. But the complete contrary is true. People speak their dialects not only comfortably, but proudly and as the default, and that is whether it’s younger or older people. In fact, in most of these places, they expect any mandarin speakers to understand their dialect. If you speak mandarin to them, they won’t switch to mandarin to speak to you back. They simply keep on going speaking their own dialects. Even if you tell them you have a hard time understanding them (which I do sometimes, for obvious reasons), they will still keep going trying to make you understand in their dialect (lol). It’s kind of like if you don’t understand these dialects you are perceived to be somewhat retarded, like not being able to read traditional Chinese. Of course, in places like hotels, railway stations, airports, banks, certain luxury services the main mode of communication is still mandarin. But they speak local dialects to anybody who comes speaking the local dialect. Didi drivers are almost all speaking to you in local dialects. The dialects however vary from person to person, not just region to region. So some people speak in the local dialect that is closer to mandarin (these I can understand more of course), others speaking the same would be completely incomprehensible to me. When I was in the Guangzhou airport, announcements are also made in both mandarin and Cantonese. Showing once again the special status of Cantonese, contrary to what some people on quora will tell you that somehow Cantonese is being eliminated. It’s clearly especially being preserved. How you feel about that is up to you.
Another minor thing that surprised me is that the air quality in China is really good. I heard from some people traveling there that the pollution is still very bad. But at least in the places that I’ve traveled, I did not perceive an obvious bad air quality. This is definitely a huge change from decades ago where you can smell smog in the air, or at least the air obviously smell different from the air in the states. This time I don’t smell anything and I tend to have very sensitive smell. Of course maybe the pollution happens in and around Beijing which I didn’t visit. The sky is still not as blue as the skies in the US where I live, but again, it’s much closer than you would think.
One thing that I had both a good and bad experience in is the Chinese medical system. On the fourth day of my travels I developed a high fever of 39+ Celsius (102+ Fahrenheit), I was in Nanjing and had to use the state hospital system. The hospital was not well organized, lots of rudeness and wasting your time, long waiting times and not having places to sit (I could barely stand then as you can imagine), the bathrooms didn’t have soap (in China another thing you won’t be used to is the deficiency of toilet papers, soaps and trash cans compared to the west). However, I was able to get an IV of four bags of medicine for my illness on the same day which saved the rest of my trip. I only spent around 100 USD for the visit. IV in the US is completely unaffordable and only reserved for very serious illnesses. But it is very strong and after the first bag I was immediately feeling better. So, while there are still clearly lots of issues with the Chinese state run medical system, there can be no comparison when it comes to cost and efficiency.
What does the west get right or wrong about China?
Right? I would say, unless they have some real knowledge about China, practically nothing. Even the free speech issue is very nuanced and I would say it’s more of a cultural thing than CPC being authoritarian thing. After my visit to China I still make this conclusion solidly.
What do they get wrong about China? Well at least in China’s current state, it’s fundamentally the opposite of what they say. What I generally perceive is that the Chinese government is trying their best to fix China as best as they could, many of the actual issues clearly lie with the people themselves still being somewhat backward and not being able to catch up fast into a progressive modern society. This I speak not only from what I’ve encountered but also from stories I hear from my own extended families. Of course, westerners will say that this is also the result of communism. But clearly, the governing party has evolved, and unlike the US, they want to actually fix things. So there is really no surprise that people have such high trust in the CPC.
Chinese people are also not brainwashed as westerners think. I’ve encountered Chinese people with many different views. Yes, many saw on the news and believe some propagated information at face value. But I’ve encountered Chinese people who are both very patriotic, like everything in China is just as good if not better than the west, and Chinese people who believe everything in China is worse than the west, and of course everywhere in between. And they speak their mind about their views comfortably. So there is no secret police everywhere waiting in the wings to arrest people. I feel much more comfortable around Chinese police than the American counterpart, even though they are more prevalent and numerous than American police presence. An example of Chinese police patrolling:
He’s riding on this little scooter thingy moving around like an ornament, reminded me of Wall-E from Pixar. There is a cuteness to it all 🥰. There was even a grandpa admiring his little moving machine while he passed him.
Was the Trip Worth it and Will I be visiting again?
The trip was definitely worth it and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I also encourage anyone to travel to China to make up their own minds, despite inconveniences you’ll be having. I would like to go there again however, I realized from this trip that my health is really the main deterrent. Almost every time I travel internationally I get quite sick. And as a result of this trip I think my mycoplasma came back because I couldn’t stop coughing. So that’ll be a big consideration for me to travel again, especially since I will be heading into my 40s soon so my health will only deteriorate.
Meatball ‘n’ Pasta Soup
Yield: 6 (1 1/2 cup) servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1/2 pound lean (90%) ground beef
- 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Soup
- 1 cup zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans beef broth
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (11 ounce) can pork and beans in tomato sauce, undrained
- 3/4 cup elbow macaroni
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Meatballs
- In Classic Batter Bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, Italian seasoning, garlic and salt; mix lightly but thoroughly. Using Small Scoop, shape meat mixture into balls; place in Medium (3 quart) Saucepan. Brown over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Remove from saucepan.
Soup
- Chop zucchini and onion using Food Chopper. Add onion and garlic to saucepan; cook 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add beef broth, tomatoes and pork and beans; bring to a boil.
- Add macaroni, meatballs, zucchini and Italian seasoning. Return to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Ladle soup into bowls; sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 280, Total Fat 8g, Sodium 1340mg, Fiber 4g
Attribution
Pampered Chef
An Honest View on China After 16 Years (Westerner’s POV)
Title: Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Haughty Cat Caper
Ah, dear reader, you’ve returned for yet another installment in the chronicles of my unparalleled detective work. And this one, I assure you, is a tale for the ages.
It’s a story of schemes, alliances, and one very lazy hound dog who surprised us all. Yes, this adventure features not only my usual entourage of companions but also introduces a new player to the farm’s ever-growing cast of characters: Bingo, the farm’s sleepy yet surprisingly sharp-nosed dog. And then, of course, there’s Genghis—the self-proclaimed “kingpin” of the barnyard cats.
Prepare yourself for the uproarious tale of The Haughty Cat Caper, where cunning plans are foiled, lessons are learned, and chaos reigns supreme before everything ends in laughter and camaraderie.
Lazy Days and Suspicious Sniffs
It was a lazy Sunday morning on the farm. The sun was shining, the hens were clucking about rain that wasn’t in the forecast, and Bingo, the farm dog, was sprawled out on the porch, his floppy ears twitching as he snored. I was enjoying a leisurely stroll through the barnyard, tail held high, when Bingo’s nose twitched, and his eyes opened lazily.
“Morning, Whiskerton,” he drawled, his voice slow and syrupy. “Smells like somethin’ funny’s goin’ on.”
I paused mid-step, intrigued. “Funny how?”
“Funny as in… sneaky,” Bingo said, sitting up with a yawn. “Been gettin’ whiffs of somethin’ fishy—metaphorically, not literally. Think it’s got somethin’ to do with that haughty furball, Genghis.”
“Genghis?” I frowned. Genghis was the biggest, fattest, most pompous cat on the farm. He strutted around like he owned the place, a gold chain around his neck jingling with every step. Wherever Genghis went, his trio of lackeys—Lester, Clyde, and Loomis—followed, nodding and agreeing with everything he said. “What’s he up to now?”
“Couldn’t say for sure,” Bingo drawled, scratching his ear with a lazy paw. “But I got a whiff of somethin’ unusual near the granary last night. Smelled like grain, and cats. Lots of cats. Figured you’d be the one to sniff out the rest.”
I narrowed my eyes. A mystery involving Genghis and his gang? This was going to be interesting. “Alright, Bingo,” I said. “I’ll investigate. But if this turns into something big, I’ll need your nose and your help.”
“Sure thing,” Bingo said with a grin, lying back down. “But only after my nap.”
The Plot Thickens
I started my investigation at the granary, where I found Sedgwick perched on a beam, observing the scene with his usual calm demeanor.
“Good morning, Sir Whiskerton,” Sedgwick said. “I see you’ve taken an interest in the granary. What brings you here?”
“Bingo thinks Genghis and his gang are up to something,” I explained. “He smelled something odd last night.”
Sedgwick nodded thoughtfully. “I did notice some… unusual activity. Genghis and his associates were prowling about, muttering to each other. They seemed quite pleased with themselves.”
“Pleased, huh?” I said, my whiskers twitching. “Sounds like they’re planning something.”
Just then, Rufus appeared, munching on a stolen ear of corn. “Did someone say planning? Let me guess—Genghis is scheming again. That guy thinks he’s the king of the farm.”
“He certainly acts like it,” Sedgwick agreed. “But whatever he’s up to, it can’t be good.”
Genghis’s Grand Scheme
As we were talking, the unmistakable sound of jingling reached my ears. I turned to see Genghis strutting into view, flanked by Lester, Clyde, and Loomis, who were practically tripping over themselves to stay in formation behind him.
“Gentlemen,” Genghis said, his deep, haughty voice dripping with grandeur. “What a delightful day to be me. Isn’t it, boys?”
“Yes, absolutely, Genghis!” Lester said.
“Couldn’t agree more, Genghis!” Clyde added.
“The best day ever, Genghis!” Loomis chimed in.
I rolled my eyes. “What are you up to, Genghis?”
“Up to?” Genghis said innocently, his whiskers twitching. “Why, nothing at all, dear Whiskerton. Just enjoying a leisurely stroll with my associates.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, unconvinced. “We’ll see about that.”
Bingo’s Big Discovery
Later that afternoon, Bingo came trotting into the barnyard, his nose to the ground and his lazy demeanor replaced with surprising urgency. “Whiskerton,” he said, “I caught the scent again. Cats. Lots of ‘em. And grain—freshly spilled grain.”
“Grain?” Porkchop said, waddling over. “What would cats want with grain?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” I said. “Sedgwick, Rufus, Bingo—let’s go. And Porkchop, tell the hens to meet us by the granary.”
“Oh, the hens?” Rufus groaned. “Do we have to?”
“Yes, Rufus,” I said firmly. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”
The Hens Join the Fray
By the time we reached the granary, the hens were already there, clucking up a storm.
“Grain! Oh, this is terrible!” Doris wailed.
“Terrible! What if they eat it all?” Harriet clucked.
“Eat it all! We’ll starve!” Lillian cried.
“Starve! Oh no, we can’t have that!” Doris echoed.
“Focus, ladies,” I said.
Together, we followed Bingo’s nose to a hidden corner of the granary, where we discovered Genghis and his gang in the middle of their scheme. They had set up a crude operation involving stolen grain and a makeshift pulley system, apparently planning to hoard the grain for themselves.
“Genghis!” I said, stepping forward. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Genghis froze, his eyes narrowing. “Whiskerton. I should’ve known you’d show up.”
“Care to explain this little operation?” I asked.
“It’s simple,” Genghis said, puffing out his chest. “The grain is wasted on the rest of you, so I decided to… redistribute it. My associates and I were merely ensuring that we, the cats, receive our fair share.”
“Fair share?!” Porkchop exclaimed. “You can’t just take what doesn’t belong to you!”
“Yeah, Genghis!” Rufus added. “That’s low—even for you.”
Foiling the Plan
With the help of Bingo’s sharp nose, Sedgwick’s wisdom, and Rufus’s surprising agility, we managed to dismantle Genghis’s operation. The pulley system was disassembled, the stolen grain was returned, and Genghis’s lackeys—Lester, Clyde, and Loomis—were left looking sheepish.
“Genghis,” Sedgwick said sternly, “this farm works best when we all share and cooperate. Taking more than your fair share helps no one.”
Genghis sighed, his haughty demeanor deflating. “I suppose… you’re right. Perhaps I got a bit carried away.”
“A bit?” Rufus muttered.
The Moral of the Story
In the end, Genghis apologized, and the farm returned to its usual harmony. The grain was shared fairly, and even Genghis learned an important lesson about greed and cooperation.
Sometimes, working together means putting aside our pride—and our schemes—for the greater good. And as Bingo said later, “A nose for trouble is only useful if you use it to sniff out solutions.”
The End.”I Spent the Weekend Supporting ‘My Single Friend’ — Now My Husband Is Acting Strange & Suspicious”
An Apology to Mankind, Two Days After First Contact
Submitted into Contest #268 in response to: Write a story about someone seeking forgiveness for their past actions.… view prompt
D Gorman
- The members of the local Civil War Re-enactment Community, Chapter 239. We are so sorry for not only disrupting your sacred religious violence simulation but also for the extensive damage caused by our ship’s defense response system. Our onboard AI misidentified your replica weapons as authentic, and all your shooting and screaming as aggression. The AI later indicated that 43 human war zealots were vaporized. Zolak and I will be sending personalized apologies to each of the genetic units whose humans were vaporized, once we return to the [HIVE]. We have left two vats of bio-paste to offset any food loss you would have to endure at not getting to consume their remains in the typical fashion.
- The Silver Lake Fire Department, Women’s Auxiliary, Girl Scout Troop #782, the Silver Lake Chapter of the Rotary Club, the Starlight Junior Girls Dance Team, the Chippewa County Antique Car Club, and the countless humans who were in attendance at what the AI has determined is the “Fall Harvest Parade”. I did not take into account just how much heat is produced by our ship’s atmospheric retro-thrusters. In my search for a good place to land I lost track of how close to the ground we were flying. We are truly, deeply sorry for all the lives lost and the labor cost to rebuild.
- To anyone who was impregnated by our [PRECIOUS] spawn, we apologize for any discomfort you may have experienced in the implantation process, as well as any lingering side effects. It has been a long enough trip that many of our brood reached adulthood and needed to secrete their pod glisteners before they started devouring their younger broodmates. The implantation process, while beautiful to us, has been described as [DEEPLY UNSETTLING] by other species we have encountered, depending on the physiology of the host. The good news is that the gestation period for an implanted [NEEDLE-TOOTHED STOMACH EXPLODER] larva is quite short!
- Oh, and please, do not feel guilty about any offspring you may have slaughtered as they ran through your humble village [SOWING THEIR WILD OATS]. If there is one thing Zolak and I agree on, it’s that we have entirely too many mouths to feed.
- We probably should say a few words on behalf of the lake itself. So sorry about that. Unfortunately, the Organic Liquid Orbitals produce an inordinate amount of radioactive runoff that needs to be dumped before it can be reignited. I suggested we wait until we were in the vacuum of space before jettisoning the waste but Zolak was rubbing its legs together quite vociferously at this point insisting that nobody would even care if we just dump and go. The bad news about your lake though is the water will not be [PALATABLE] again for another 3000 years, and organic life will likely never return. The good news is the green glow is a permanent feature that I think is quite pretty.
We understand that we have probably set back relations between humankind and [THE INSATIABLE HORDE] before they’ve even had a chance to start, but I assure you, despite the carnage, we are a very [GREGARIOUS] and welcoming species. We do hope you can find a way to forgive us for our transgressions and understand that we never would have been here in the first place if not for Zolak’s insistence on being the navigator when they have time and again given us inaccurate directions leading to situations like this, where I am having to apologize to a species for ruining their lives.
I just wanted a nice [FAMILY VACATION]. Just me, Zolak, and 200 of our offspring, taking some time away from the endless toil of [FEEDING THE INSATIABLE QUEEN]. My [BROODFATHER] used to take us on trips to Troxon IV to watch the skinworms emerge from the sludge pools, back when I was of an age where I still hadn’t developed my pod glisteners. I don’t know how they did it back then. My brood was well over 400! Can you imagine the mess just in the Dimensional Collapser Transport?
I’m rambling. Anyway, I wanted to take them somewhere amazing, like the Feces Pits of Roobe II. I wouldn’t have brought my brood to a [BACKWATER] planet like this under normal circumstances. You can’t be too careful where you go these days. But, had we ended up where I wanted to go, I don’t think we would be returning to [THE HIVE] so engorged with important life lessons. My brood have a newfound respect for how [PRE-ASSIMILATION] species like your own have managed to barely scrape by with such primitive means. Witnessing such futile determination has truly inspired them to be even more productive members of our worker society.
My brood are not the only ones whose [GULLET STONES] are wearing away the edges of a newly learned truth. I realized that I have been trying to give my brood the same experience I had when I was their age. I thought if I could show them something amazing, maybe they would respect me as much as I respected my own [BROODFATHER]. But then, when I heard them cheering as our ship obliterated your pitiable attempts to defend yourselves, I realized that it isn’t the destination so much as it is the experience. How many of my kind can say they watched their [BROODFATHER] heroically fend off the assaults of a [PRE-ASSIMILATION] species? Nothing will replace those memories.
You know, I really thought I [BLEW IT] with this trip. But maybe I didn’t after all. Maybe it takes getting lost to truly find what we are all looking for.
Oh, before we go, our onboard AI has determined that you are currently experiencing a [CALDERA POX] outbreak. As this is endemic to our planet, I have to imagine you contracted it from one of our pesky brood. Not to worry, the symptoms are very mild—your species should only experience headaches, nausea, dimensional blindness, and moderate to severe hemorrhaging. It’s one of our more survivable [COMMON COLDS]. You’ll be fine!
See you in 250 years!
Mac ‘n’ Cheese Soup
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) package deluxe type macaroni and cheese
- 1 cup broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 (10 ounce) can condensed cheddar soup
- 1 cup cubed cooked ham
Instructions
- Cook macaroni as directed on package in a 4 quart casserole. Drain in large colander.
- Meanwhile, chop broccoli and onion; in food chopper. Combine broccoli, onions, water in the casserole. Bring to a boil: cook 2 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN.
- Stir in cooked macaroni, cheese sauce from pouch, milk, cheese soup and ham. Return to a boil; stirring occasionally.
- Use soup ladle and serve in 6 bowls.
Attribution
Pampered Chef
Why is China so terrible at fighting wars?
This was how the Korean War looked like before China got involved:
This was how the war looked like less than a month after Chinese intervention:
The Chinese attacked with 9 armies (a Chinese army being a small corps-sized formation) of roughly 380,000 men against roughly 350,000 South Koreans, Americans, British, and Turks. So, despite only enjoying a marginal numerical superiority, the Chinese managed to crush US formations in North Korea and push them back to the south. The 8th Army in particular had to retreat 275 miles total, as per their own website.
Many folks like to quote losses from Wikipedia. Yes, if we look at losses of US troops versus Chinese troops, of course these numbers would favor US troops, because half the time, they aren’t the ones doing the dying: They had South Korean troops that augment their formations, which they used like cannon fodder. Many headcounts (which historians based US losses on) do not even count the South Koreans, whose losses were so heavy that during the first part of the war, they just stopped recording their losses.
“waking away” – best typo ever, mmd!
Best regards and happy Easter holidays all’y’all.
*snicker* -MM
I suppose that ‘sleeping with’ somehow became synonymous to ‘fornicating with’… sort of like having a rooster in the chicken coop… sheesh… speech-capable bipeds on an involutionary path… the American Dream… asleep in the Illusion….
Cheerful Love GrizzlyBear Hug
unuk