My wife just got a cute little yellow envelope in the mail from an organization called "Project Hope". They were soliciting donations for Ukraine. Yeah right. There's a scam for everything in the USA. So I looked up their executive compensation. Get dafuq outta here! 1. Thomas Kenyon, M.D. $415,652 2. Alan Weil $406,419 3. Rabih Torbay $347,437 -Tom_Q_Collins
I hope youse guys are all doing well. Things are warming up here in Zhuhai. Still funky weather. That’s for certain, here in this installment of MM mixed up subjects we are going to though out numerous songs and some history with food and other fun subjects. I hope you all enjoy this edition.
But first, I want to give a “shout out” to Ohio Guy. He’s one of the handful of special contributors that have been supporting MM all these years. I feel bad that I lumped him in with the many, many who just hop in and go along “for the ride” without a kind note, a friendly wave, or a dollar in the tip jar.
I want all of you to know that I try to make this MM site free for everyone, but those that contribute in some funds, and donations, that place some comments, and that send me some private emails are THE ENGINE that keeps MM humming along.
And it’s really important.
We all have good days, and bad days, just like you do. And MM is no exception, but you know what? It’s that super kind comment that turns my day around. It’s that heart-felt email that I get that put a shine on my cheeks, and it’s that little donation that make me stand a little taller, and makes the day a little brighter.
So, with this in mind, I dedicate this entire post to “Ohio Guy”! Take a bow. My hat’s off to you!
You are the guy who dragged me back to the chair, and kept me working. You are the guy; the man, who inspired me to keep on, going on.
I salute you.
Beef and Green Chile Enchiladas
Try these easy, cheesy ground-beef enchiladas, complete with sassy sauce and mild chiles.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean (at least 80%) ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 (4.5-oz.) can Old El Paso™ Chopped Green Chiles
- 8 oz. (2 cups) shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 (10-oz.) can Old El Paso™ Enchilada Sauce
- 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and additional sour cream, if desired
Philippines’ Marcos wants China ties to ‘shift to higher gear’ under his presidency
- Xi, Marcos to hold more comprehensive talks
- China will respect an “independent” foreign policy -Marcos
- Philippines an issue in U.S.-China strategic rivalry
- Marcos widely expected to lean towards China
MANILA, May 18 (Reuters) – Philippines president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Wednesday said his country’s ties with China will expand and “shift to a higher gear” when he takes power, signalling intent to advance outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte’s pro-Beijing agenda.
Elvin Bishop | Fooled Around and Fell in Love
Yousa! I love this…. It must have been awesome in concert. It was just so and so when I was growing up. But watching the live video is something else.
Vladimir Putin signs legislation allowing him to hold office until 2036 – ABC News
Key points:
- New legislation allows Mr Putin to hold office for two additional six-year terms
- The amendments emphasise Russian law over international norms, outlaw same-sex marriages and mention “a belief in God” as a core value
- The opposition has criticised the legislation, arguing that it lacks transparency and hinders independent monitoring
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation allowing him to hold office for two additional six-year terms — a move that means he may stay in power until 2036. If Mr Putin remains in power until 2036, his tenure will surpass even that of Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for 29 years, making him the country's longest-serving leader since the Russian empire. Mr Putin has served twice as president, from 2000-08 and 2012-present, as well as serving as de facto leader while prime minister from 2008-12. Last year, Mr Putin signed additional legislation granting former presidents a lifetime seat in the federation council or senate, a position that assured immunity from prosecution upon leaving the presidency. The 68-year-old Russian President, who has held power for more than two decades, said he would decide later whether to run in 2024 when his current six-year term ended.
Someone Found An Old Photo Album Full Of Pics Of This strange Woman And Hollywood Celebrities In A Thrift Shop
It’s a mystery.
A thrift shop in Belgium has caused quite a stir on the Internet. People at Opnieuw & Co, a local establishment in Mortsel, discovered an old photo album where a woman posed next to the biggest stars in Hollywood.
After they shared some of the pictures, the online community immediately started their investigation.
Who was this woman hugging Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis, and other A-list celebrities?
After a while, someone noticed a tag she had in one of the photos. Turns out, the ‘mysterious’ woman is actually Maria Snoeys-Lagler, a former member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It’s a non-profit organization of journalists and photographers who report on the entertainment industry. The HFPA consists of about 90 members from around 55 countries, and they’re the ones conducting the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Los Angeles every January.
Looking at these pictures, it’s clear that Maria Snoeys-Lagler has met virtually everyone dominating the biggest screens and stages. Or is it the other way around? Maybe, just maybe, there’s a secret club in Hollywood of all the celebrities who have had their picture taken with Maria Snoeys-Lagler?
S O S Band Take Your Time Do It Right 1980
Gosh this girl is so darn HOT!
China is pursuing a Pacific-wide pact with 10 island nations on security, policing and data – report
Federated States of Micronesia wants deal rejected because it could spark new cold war between China and west while Australia admits ‘we’ve got a lot of work to do’
Wed 25 May 2022 18.44 AEST China will pursue a Pacific-wide deal with almost a dozen island nations covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when the foreign minister, Wang Yi, hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents show. A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers meeting on 30 May has prompted pushback from at least one of the invited nations, which said it showed China’s intent to control the region and “threatens regional stability”. In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders seen by Reuters, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) president, David Panuelo, said his nation would argue the “pre-determined joint communique” should be rejected because he feared it could spark a new “cold war” between China and the west. Wang will visit eight Pacific island nations that China holds diplomatic ties with between 26 May and 4 June. He arrives on Thursday in Solomon Islands, which recently signed a security pact with China despite objections from Australia, the US, Japan and New Zealand, which fear it could upset regional security arrangements and give China a military foothold in the Pacific. Beijing rejects this, saying the pact is focused on domestic policing and criticism by western countries was interfering in Solomon Island’s sovereign decision-making. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the document. The FSM government, which has a defence agreement with the US as well as an economic cooperation agreement with China, declined to comment on the letter. Australia’s new foreign minister, Penny Wong, on Wednesday said: “China has made its intentions clear [but] so too are the intentions of the new Australian government.” Wong declared the incoming Labor government had a lot of work to do to recover Australia’s status as the partner of choice in the Pacific after a “lost decade” of Coalition rule. New vision A region-wide agreement covering security and trade between China and Pacific islands would represent a shift in Beijing’s focus from bilateral relationships to dealing with the Pacific on a multilateral basis – and would likely increase concerns by Washington and its allies. The China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision draft document, as well as a five-year action plan, has been circulated by Beijing ahead of the meeting in Fiji. It states China and the Pacific islands will “strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security”. “China will hold intermediate and high-level police training for Pacific Island countries through bilateral and multilateral means,” the document seen by Reuters states. The action plan outlines a ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation to be held in 2022, and China providing forensic police laboratories. The draft communique also pledges cooperation on data networks, cybersecurity, smart customs systems, and for Pacific islands to “take a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and protection of national security”. Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, which is barred from 5G networks run by several US allies, has been repeatedly thwarted in attempts to build submarine cables or run mobile networks in the Pacific islands by Australia and the US offering rival bids for the sensitive infrastructure, citing national security concerns. China’s provision of customs systems would lead to “biodata collection and mass surveillance of those residing in, entering and leaving our islands”, he added. The letter was also critical of Australia’s lack of action on climate change, which Panuelo said was the greatest security threat to the region. The new Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, pledged this week to increase climate financing to Pacific islands, saying climate change was the main economic and security challenge for low-lying island countries.
Tommy James + The Shondells – Crystal Blue Persuasion
Dust off this lost great…
Ukraine Propaganda – BBC Tries To Sell Telegram Rumors That Make No Sense
From MoA
Do they really think that the people are dumb enough to believe such shit?
Russian media: retired Russian major general killed in skies over Ukraine
Which ‘Russian media’ one might asks:
A [Russian] fighter has been shot down in the skies over Ukraine, and Kanamat Botashev, a retired Major General of the Russian Air Force, was killed.Source: Russian edition of BBC with reference to Botashov’s three former subordinates
Details: Subordinates who had kept in touch with Botashev after leaving the service agreed to comment on condition of anonymity for reasons of personal safety.
Oh, the ‘Russian media’ is in fact the Russian language site of the BBC World Service which is financed and directed by the British government’s Foreign Office. The same BBC World Service which since March has suspended its operation and which had its its website blocked in Russia.
That BBC World Service will surly have reliable sources for making such nonsense claims:
One of Botashev’s former colleagues confirmed that a retired general was carrying out missions in a Su-25 aircraft in Ukraine.In one of the Russian Telegram channels, this participant reported on Botashev’s death …
‘Russian Telegram channels’ are anonymous and also widely used by Ukrainians. They are often unreliable.
The picture above is somewhat curious too. Its resolution is too low to read the name patch of the pictured officer who does totally not look like 63 year old retired man.
The plane the Ukrainians allegedly shot down was a Su-25 ground attack aircraft. Why then is the ‘retired Major-General Botashev’, should he actually exist, pictured in front of an Su-34, a supersonic fighter-bomber. According to Tineye the photo was first published on May 23 by a news site in Tbilisi, Georgia. There is no metadata in the picture and I am unable to find any caption for it.
The whole story makes absolutely no sense:
It is unclear how the 63-year-old retired general found himself at the controls of the Su-25 in Ukraine.
Botashev commanded a regiment of the Guards Air Base in Voronezh. His military career came to an end in June 2012, when he was accused of crashing a Su-27 fighter near Petrozavodsk. The general asked his friend-colonel to let him fly a Su-27, a flight permit he did not have.
So the dude was kicked out of the military? He hasn’t flown military planes for 10 years? Somehow he steals an Su-25, which he probably did not know how to fly, and gets shot down over Ukraine? Yeah, that makes totally sense …
What will the BBC World Service editors try to sell us next? Bridges?
Posted by b on May 25, 2022 at 16:03 UTC | Permalink
Underwater Graveyard Full Of WWII Planes Is Otherworldly
For 70 years, World War II planes have been resting in peace at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Although divers have enjoyed exploring the underwater graveyard since the 1960s, Brandi Mueller‘s photos allow us to admire these treasures without a wetsuit.
“I find diving [to see] the airplanes really exciting,” Mueller, a scuba diving instructor and boat captain, told Mashable. “It’s a strange thing to see airplanes underwater. Shipwrecks you expect, but not airplanes.”
The planes didn’t actually crash at this particular location near the Marshall Islands, though. They were discarded there after WWII because it was too expensive to transport them back to the United States from the Kwajalein Atoll, according to Mueller.
The site includes Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, F4U Corsairs, TBF/TBM Avengers, Helldivers, B-25 Mitchells, Curtiss C-46 Commandos and F4F Wildcats, which sit in the sand about 130 feet below the surface.
Here Are 11 Statistics That Show How U.S. Consumers Are Faring In This Rapidly Deteriorating Economy
Prices are soaring, there are widespread shortages of certain items such as baby formula all over the nation, and at the same time U.S. economic activity appears to be really slowing down. Considering all of that, it makes perfect sense why the American people are feeling so negative about the economy right now. In fact, a whopping 85 percent of all Americans believe that there will be a recession within the next year.
These days, it is virtually impossible to get Americans to overwhelmingly agree about anything, and so the fact that 85 percent of us are anticipating a recession is a really big deal.
Just about everyone realizes that economic conditions are going to get worse, but for those of you that still doubt where we are headed here are 11 statistics that show how U.S. consumers are faring in this rapidly deteriorating economy…
#1 According to a Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll that was recently conducted, 56 percent of Americans say that their financial situations are getting worse, and only 20 percent of Americans say that their financial situations are improving.
#2 Another new survey has just discovered that 66 percent of Americans “have avoided social events because they’ve felt embarrassed or uncomfortable” about their financial situations.
#3 The housing bubble appears to be bursting. At this point, sales of new single family homes are falling at a very frightening pace…
Sales of new single-family houses in April plunged by 16.6% from March and by 26.9% from a year ago, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 houses, the lowest since lockdown April 2020, according to the Census Bureau today. Sales of new houses are registered when contracts are signed, not when deals close, and can serve as an early indicator of the overall housing market.
#4 After breaking the all-time national record in March, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States has gone 42 cents above the old record and is now sitting at $4.59.
#5 The average age of a car on U.S. roads has reached an all-time record high of 12.2 years. Many Americans continue to delay replacing their current vehicles because new vehicles have become so unaffordable.
#6 Millions of American families are struggling with rapidly rising food prices…
The index for food away from home increased 7.2% over the last year, the Labor Department reported earlier this month. Food prices were up 9.4% in April from the same time last year — the biggest jump since April 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported. And grocery store prices increased 10.8% for the year ended in April.
#7 U.S. natural gas futures just crossed the nine dollar threshold – the highest level that we have seen since the financial crisis of 2008. That means that much higher energy costs are on the way for U.S. consumers.
#8 Multiple Fed surveys are showing that manufacturing activity in the U.S. is really slowing down…
The slowdown in manufacturing activity on display in reports from the Federal Reserve banks of New York and Philadelphia was confirmed by a survey from the Richmond Fed indicating that factory activity contracted in the mid-Atlantic region in May. The Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity index dropped 23 points from a positive reading of 14 in April to a minus nine, the lowest reading since May 2020, when much of the economy was still reeling from the onset of the pandemic and lockdowns.
#9 Zero Hedge is reporting extremely depressing news about U.S. macro data: “Other than April 2020 – when the entire economy was closed – May’s serial disappointment in US Macro data is the worst since Lehman”
#10 Thanks to plunging stock prices, approximately 20 trillion dollars in household net worth has been “wiped out” so far this year.
#11 A new CBS News/YouGov survey has found that 74 percent of Americans believe that things are going badly in this country and that 51 percent of Americans actually believe that Joe Biden is “incompetent”.
Right now, conditions are so similar to what we witnessed just before the financial crisis of 2008.
If we had addressed our long-term problems back then, perhaps we would be in a much different place at the moment.
But instead, we appear to be poised to repeat history in a lot of ways.
In fact, many experts believe that the crisis that is staring us in the face will be even worse than what we went through more than a decade ago. For example, just check out what Peter Schiff is saying…
This one is going to be even bigger because the economy has a lot more debt now than it did in 2008. And Americans are less able to pay it when interest rates rise because the balances are much greater. So, we’re in much worse shape as a result of all the bailouts and all the stimulus that papered over the last crisis. So, now the one we’re dealing with is going to be much worse because we kicked the can down the road instead of solving the problem when we had a chance.”
He makes some really great points.
Every time there has been some sort of a crisis in our society, our leaders responded by showering the system with even more money.
In 2008, the U.S. national debt crossed the 10 trillion dollar threshold.
In 2022, the U.S. national debt has crossed the 30 trillion dollar threshold.
Our politicians have been systematically destroying our future, and most Americans didn’t seem to care.
Now a day of reckoning has arrived, and it is going to be immensely painful.
There is no silver bullet that is going to cure inflation.
The Federal Reserve is going to try to tame inflation by hiking interest rates, but that will just destroy the housing bubble and dramatically slow down the economy.
And there is no silver bullet that is going to end the shortages that we are currently facing.
We are now experiencing some of the consequences of decades of mismanagement, and a lot more pain is on the way.
Rita Hayworth & Fred Astaire dance to Led Zeppelin
Genius. Worth a watch.
Journey in the Search for the American Dream
Photographer Pavel Prokopchik plans to travel across the USA trying to capture the essence of the American life today. He’d like to find out what “The American Dream” means to people in the USA today. The project he has in mind is one that will shape itself as it proceeds, and is essentially elastic, where unexpected meeting can easily deviate him from my original route.
Chaka Khan and Rufus – Tell me something Good (RE-MASTERED) Official Video HD
Rufus! Chaka Khan is awesome!
The Level Of Evil In Our Society Is Off The Charts
What in the world has happened to our society? Every day I scour dozens of news websites as I do research for my articles and upcoming books, and every day I am horrified by all of the evil that I encounter.
We are a deeply, deeply sick society, and more symptoms emerge with each passing day. For example, what would cause an 18-year-old to walk into an elementary school and start gunning down young children?
When I was growing up, I never once imagined something like that could possibly ever happen in any of the public schools that I attended. But now this sort of thing is becoming a regular occurrence in America, and the great tragedy that we witnessed on Tuesday quickly made headlines all over the nation…
A gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde on Tuesday, killing 14 students and one teacher, Gov. Greg Abbott said. The gunman, identified by law enforcement as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was also killed, Abbott said. Ramos was reportedly a student at Uvalde High School or was a former student, Abbott said. Uvalde Police Chief Pete Arredondo said it appears that Ramos acted alone. It was not immediately clear how many people, in addition to the dead, were wounded, but Arredondo said there were “several injuries.”
It is also being reported that Ramos actually shot his own grandmother before going over to the school…
The suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother before entering the school and again opening fire, Abbott said. He did not say anything further about her condition.
Decades ago, this sort of incident would have been talked about for years.
But most Americans will forget all about this shooting a few days from now, and that is because school shootings have become incredibly common in our day and time.
In fact, this was the 27th school shooting in the United States so far this year.
How many of them can you name?
Our schools are not safe anymore, and this is one of the big reasons why so many parents are turning to homeschooling.
Of course it isn’t just our schools that have become danger zones. At this point, major urban areas all over the country are rapidly being transformed into war zones. According to the CDC, the number of firearm homicides jumped almost 35 percent just from 2019 to 2020…
The United States suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent compared to 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest data.
Sadly, getting shot and killed is not the only thing our kids have to be concerned about these days.
There is also the possibility that they could be abducted and forced into sex slavery. This actually happened to one extremely unfortunate 15-year-old girl that attended a Dallas Mavericks game a few weeks ago…
A 15-year-old Texas girl was rescued by police 10 days after she was kidnapped at a basketball game while using the bathroom, then trafficked by pedophiles. The unidentified teenager’s father raised the alarm shortly after she left to use the restroom and didn’t return to her seat at a Dallas Maverick game in the American Airline Center on April 8.
She was one of the lucky ones.
There are countless others that are never rescued.
But at least our kids should be safe in church, right?
Wrong.
There are sexual predators there too, and sometimes they are even in the pulpit.
On Sunday, a woman named Bobi Gephart that had her virginity taken by a pastor when she was just 16 years old confronted him in front of the entire congregation…
Turning to Lowe, she continued: ‘I was just 16 when you took my virginity on your office floor. Do you remember that? I know you do. ‘You did things to to my teenage body that should have never been done. If you can’t admit the truth, you have to answer to God. You are not the victim here.’
I can’t even begin to describe how evil this is.
And her husband stated that this abuse lasted for a total of nine years…
Bobi’s husband Nate then added: ‘This is a lie. This is not just adultery. ‘It’s another level. It happened for nine years. When she was 15, 16, the grooming started.’
I wish that this was an isolated incident, but it isn’t.
In fact, a new report has revealed widespread sexual misconduct in one of the largest Christian denominations in the entire nation…
Leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention publicly apologized to victims of sexual abuse within the denomination and vowed to make public a private database of offenders in response to an explosive report detailing allegations of sexual misconduct and cover-up. On Tuesday, SBC leaders gathered to discuss a historic investigation report from Guidepost Solutions that found that the denomination’s leadership mishandled widespread sexual abuse allegations, ignored and silenced victims and engaged in an abusive pattern of intimidation largely to avoid liability.
This shouldn’t be happening.
People go to church to find God, but in way too many instances they are encountering predators instead.
We have become a deeply, deeply wicked country, and it is getting worse with each passing year.
It is in this sort of environment that exceedingly wicked leaders can emerge. In fact, the guy currently in the White House has been telling mammoth lie after mammoth lie for decades…
If we lived in a just society filled with decent people, such a man could never have a career in politics.
Of course the entire world is headed in the same direction, and that has enabled someone like Klaus Schwab to become one of the most important leaders on the entire planet…
This week, Schwab boldly told the elite gathered at Davos that “the future is being built by us”…
Sadly, to a very large degree he is correct.
They are trying to construct their version of “utopia”, but their plans are starting to crumble as a “perfect storm” of war, economic troubles, food shortages, energy problems and major pestilences hammers their efforts from all sides.
As I have tried to explain for many years, ultimately they will fail.
They have destroyed everything that our forefathers worked so hard to build, and in the end their efforts will be destroyed as well.
But right now just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is flourishing in our American society, and that should deeply sicken all of us Americans.
Strawberry Alarm Clock – Incense & Peppermints (1967)
So very groovy!
Double Cheese and Bean Nachos
It’s hard to resist a platter of crunchy, gooey nachos, especially this jalapeño-studded version loaded with cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 cups small round corn tortilla chips
- 1 cup Old El Paso™ refried beans (from 16-oz can)
- 1/2 cup Old El Paso™ Thick ‘n Chunky salsa
- 2 tablespoons from 1 jar (12 oz) Old El Paso™ Hot Jalapeño Slices
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions (8 medium)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (8 oz)
S1 Episode 8 Schizoid Man – Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner
We continue with this episode…
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
New Beginnings 4.
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I am so honored. congjing yu, you have not only made my day, you have made my entire week!
I read the beginning of the post yesterday morning just as I was ending a 12 hour shift at work. On the ride home, I just couldn’t stop smiling and laughing. Here I am again doing another 12 hour work cycle where I just finished this post, then a day off. I will surely send you an e-mail to expand on my thoughts of late.
congjing yu, I will raise a glass to you very soon. As well as to the rest of our fine community here at the mighty Metallicman!
To all us Rufus’.
Ohio Guy
Thanks man! You deserve it!